"Fog person?" Her voice was low as she bent down trying to look at the face. "Hey" Ayumi touched the shoulder of the form as white eyes shot up staring at her. With a huge gasp of air, the figure screamed mutely, then crumbled to a heap on the ground. A loud ringing filled the air as the sound came crushing to the world about. Ayumi covered her ears as she crumpled to the floor her eyes rolling into the back of her head as unconsciousness grasped her.
The night drifted as the embers of the flames died in the fire about them.
/////////
The sun filtered through the cratered land, multitudes of birds called from the trees and buildings about. Inside the ruined building Ayumi lay still on the worn and torn wooden floor of a once great hall. The sun filtered in the various cracks and holes lighting the dust-riddled room in rays of the afternoon as the coolness of night retreated to the distant walls.
Ayumi tossed and turned on the floor, the embers in the fire had long dwindled. Dried blood lay in small droplets about her with remains still hanging in her ears.
"Hot!" Ayumi shot up from the ground leaning forward she scratched her ear rubbing away the red stains. Looking about squinting her eyes landed at the place of the pile of clay covered in a ragged layers cloth.
"Fog is a clay person?" Ayumi stretched her foot and poked the remains, shifting they tumbled to the side, pulling her foot back she cocked her head and stared but the pile remained unmoved.
Slowly she turned her gaze to the rest of the room. The stairs where she'd descended ran along the back edge of it. Overhead the second-floor rafters were uncovered filled with layers of grimy webs. The rest of the area itself held an empty floor, save for a spot, under the stairs was built up with boxes and a thick curtain that hung off to the side. The rest of the room had bits of broken boxes, pottery, and general debris from the failing room above.
Standing Ayumi approached the boxed area. In it along the back wall, a shelf held some old books, worn by various passages of time, cracked pots filled with potted mushrooms, which she gave a dirty glance to, and various other broken items. Along the floor to her right held what looked to be waterlogged earth in large patched up vases. Tucked away under the stairs was an area with pillows and blankets strewn about it. Opening a few potted lids along the shelf, Ayumi slammed them closed, her noise filling quickly with a burning smell causing it to run.
A growl came from her belly as she wiped the snot away. "I know I know…But Hakk isn't here."
Ayumi walked to the window across from her sliding the shutters open revealed a murky glass window that creaked open. Outside there were a few birds sitting about the ruined buildings no bigger than her fist. The rest of the cratered area was filled with a grey-black haze that drifted along the ground. The ruins paint peeled off the old buildings as wood eroded away with each day. Smells of the damp moss and mildew lingering in each breath.
Drawing in deeply … Ayumi paused.
"HOKAI! IM HUNGRY GET BACK HERE!"
The birds scattered at the noise that filled the air and a short silence filled the void before it returned to it's routine.
Turning back into the room she froze, the pile of earth and cloth was gone. Her eyes scanned the room from one side to the other, the hair on her arms stood on edge as goose bumps pricked her skin. She closed her eyes digging her nails into her palms as red lines began to form.
"Still here…" the words came under her breath, her heart beat in her chest as she steadied her breath.
Opening her eyes her body made a dash across the room her arm ripped back the large ragged curtain.
"Leave me alone!" The voice came as a form crumpled into a ball on the floor before her, a hand raised over its head shaking, the other held at its side rigidly contorted.
Ayumi took a few steps back, the form of the fog or clay person huddled before her. The grey-white hair that had flown around them was now waist height, split ends and natted sections strewn about its otherwise uninterrupted form. Bare feet crumpled pointed inward, and layers of ragged clothes sun died in browns, greys and off whites hung loosely half on them.
Her eyes stopped as her eyes fell to the left arm, a black mark lined it in vein like fashion that feathered out from it to make purple skin crawling up the entire forearm.
Ayumi plopped to the floor pulling her satchel out before her. Dumping the whole of it to the floor before them, she pushed through the nicknacks and odds and ends turning over several items in rapid succession.
The person looked up from the crouch it'd formed letting its hand fall to the side as it watched the other. "What are y-"
"This!" She unscrewed the lid and looked up as her eyes met the other she reached out to the others hand touching the contorted one.
"DON'T!" The form pulled away its eyes closing tightly wincing. Tears forming at the edges of their eyes as Ayumi held firmly to the hand.
"Sorry." Ayumi applied the green paste salve to the whole of the forearm, gently wrapping it gauze and tying it at the end. "In a few days, it should work again."
The form looked up at her as it took back it's arm, holding it tightly to its chest. "T-thank..you."
"Hakk made it, you should thank him when he comes."
Ayumi rubbed her hands together as she worked in the remaining ointment into them. Looking up she faced the other, their eyes were hollowed and sunken with a paler complexion than herself, the hair parted in the middle left of the skull and fell down over the face almost obscuring their amber golden eyes, the lips were thin and cracked and the neck slender with the collar bone and clavicle slightly visible above their clothes.
"Are you a golem?"
"A what?"
"A person made of clay."
"I AM NO-" They tried to stand up but fell back against the wall slouching against it.
"You okay?"
No response came, Ayumi reached out touching their forehead. Standing up she went about gathering bits and pieces of scraps of wood and placing them in the fire bit by bit stoking the coals as she did. The flames began to burn brightly as they consume the offerings given.
Ayumi went over to the other squeezing behind them she placed her hands beneath their armpits and dragged them to a proper distance from the heat. Laying them down she covered them in the blanket from her satchel and a pillow from the room.
Night fell on the two as Ayumi huddled in next to the fire in her hand she tore of the crispy flesh of a small lizard-like creature that had been piked on a stick and cooked. A stack of wood piled disorderly beside her and her satchel on the opposite side.
The other's eyes flickered open as they gazed into the fire.
"Are you trapped here." Ayumi tossed another piece of wood into the embers of the flame.
"I…" They paused, pulling their one good arm under them they sat up tugging the blanket around themselves.
"Are you okay?" Ayumi's head tipped to the side as she looked around the flame of the fire.
The other looked at her the whites in their eyes visible as their pupils dilated.
"You look sickly, people always talked about my skin like that, but yours is like water."
"Why are you here?" The figure pulled themselves tighter into the blanket.
"I said before didn't I?" Ayumi scratched at the back of her head and adjusted her yukata more tightly about her form.
"Where is he now then?"
Ayumi shrugged her shoulders. "He comes and goes, he'll return eventually, probably."
"You're making fun of me aren't you?" Their gaze turned downward as their brow furrowed and shoulders tensed.
"I guess I see how you might think, but I'm not, I don't think?' Ayumi tossed another piece onto the fire. "I'm going to sleep, I left you some lizard things to eat." Ayumi pointed to a spot with two sticks piked with lizards.
The others form tensed "Wait why are you going to sleep. You should stay awake if you don't…"
"You might off me in my sleep?" Ayumi rolled over with her back to the fire and curled her legs up alongside her. "There's some wood side you too…for the…"
"No, but…it might return…whatever it was that… don't sleep please…" The words died in their mouth as they clutched their injured arm shrinking further into themselves.
The fire danced about the room creating shadows as it crackled and cackled. The night rolled on as the other sat nodding off only to awaken when their head dipped to far passed their shoulders startling them back to life. Outside moons hung high in the sky and a low growl emanated from the world about as a shadow cast itself on the closed glass window before them.
"Hey…hey…" the raspy voice echoed from their mouth "wake up please..."
Shifting they moved briefly but their legs collapsed under them, reaching over they grabbed a small stick from the pile and threw it hitting Ayumi in the back.
Ayumi mumbled a bit and turned over, again another stick this time hitting her in the face, Ayumi's eyes slowly opened as she rubbed the sleep out of them...
"Wwha?"
"It's h-" They grabbed their throat as they bit their lower lip a cough escaped from their mouth.
The shadow disappeared from the glass as the boards outside crept and moaned. Ayumi slowly got to her knees as she slid across the floor without a sound. The other huddled in a ball as they held their injured arm with tightly closed eyes.
Ayumi crouched down beside the other, beneath her cloak, she drew a short blade no longer than her forearm of a simple design. Her eyes cast about the room, she took the others good arm pulling it about her shoulder and neck hoisting them up, in a few moves the two were back near the curtain once again. Above the boards began to creak as the sounds made their way to the stairs.
A stench began to fill the air as Ayumi covered her nose her eyes watering, the sound descended down the stairs unlit by the flames. At the bottom of the stairs, its form came into view.
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