A warm breeze ran through the tilted rotting window as it rustled the tattered curtains beyond it. Bellow them in a hobbled bed lay the sprawled form of Hakk covered in the fur of a long-dead animal. Its patches of grey, black and brown fur dulled in the room lit by the moons light.
Sweat ran down his face as he tossed to his side, his arm flung the blanket cover off, a cloud of dust went soaring as it hung in the rays of moonlight. His body stiffened as he pulled himself forward to the edge of the would-be bed. The bed groaned as the mismatch of objects holding it up shifted at the motion.
A dry look filled his eyes as he gazed about the room. A pile of waterlogged earth piled in the corner of the other side of the room caught his eyes first, floorboards rotten filled with rocks, a ceiling half caved in. The building a single big open room with a 'ladder' leading to a loft long rotted away and a chimney at the center, with its dim embers, glowed faintly to the watchful eye. Over it, a holed cauldron hung above it. On either side of it, long blades of grass hung by the rafters, dangling dried herbs and plant matter at their ends.
Moss and other such greenery grew into the windows and on the roof above, beneath the caved in part a small tree sprouted under the moonlights night. Hakk rubbed the ball of his shoulder and began scratching at the other with his hand, pulling the fabric draped over him up to meet his eyes he stared. The brown sandpaper cloth was sewn in large swaths down its center, and it's sleaves only met to his elbow with the rest of the attire ending just before his knees. Lifting up the animal skin he tossed it to the back then looked about the ground and bed before him, his eyes narrowed.
Hakk placed his hands on the side of the bed pushing up, the floor whined as he extended out his hand to the nearby wall. Step by step he made his way to the door he'd spotted in the short distance from the bed. The floor whined again and the door creaked open as it twisted off its hinge falling outward to the ground. Hakk passed the threshold as he looked up at the framing and hinges briefly before casting his eyes to the world outside.
The stars alighted the sky, two moons waning in their cycles and between them, a swath of white, gold, and orange decorated their backdrop in speckles of various sizes. A heavy air hung in the warm night as the smell of damp underbrush filled his senses.
Reaching up he scratched his face, stopping he looked down, his hands tugging at the beard it was now slightly engaged with. Pulling at the middle he wrung his hands through the mess. Then reaching to the back of his head he pulled forward his hair. Down past his midsection in light waves of curl it flowed. Pulling his hair he wrung his fingers through it forming a tail, then twisting it he coiled it to an unkempt bun and lopped it in itself atop his head.
Walking out over the now ramp door his feet settled in the damp moss grass, all about him overgrowth engulfed the trees, shrubs, and bushes. Dioscorea vines clung and covered the nearby tree and any other open space it found. Either side of him a small path eeked its way into the dense foliage.
Taking the one to his right he followed the winding way as it navigated over fallen logs and misplaced rocks, to the back of the house. There a well rose squat like from the ground, a small bucket lay on the ground with a rope dangling from the handle. Moss crawled from the brick as it overtook the edges and melded into the ground about.
The backyard was a sea of large emerald leafed Asarum ginger dotted with honeysuckle plants. Through it, a stone paved path cut it's way further beyond. Hakk traveled along with it to stone stairs that carved its self into the side of the slope. Here the trees were tall but narrow with whiteish bark, high above they rustled in the air currents, a dim fog picked up as his decent continued.
The air took a cooler tone as the trees parted away forward. Distantly a voice began to fill the air as he paused to listen:
Sado-Oe-Arya-sa,
Sado-ehe-e
Arya-arya-arya-sa
Sado-Oee tooo-kusaki mo nabiku yo!
The words lilted unevenly in the air, hanging long and rising sharply to his ears with a hint of childlike wonder. Through the trees fireflies called in the nearby air illuminating with a ghostly visage to the Ukiyo. In view, a small unevenly circled pond of white sharp water steamed in the thicket that unfolded before him. In its edge sat bathed in dense fog the figure of Ayumi, next to her a pile of clothes sitting strewn about the fused stone path that encircled it.
A wooden bucket lay tipping to its side in the water, as her feet splashed behind her in uneven beats. Her hands cupped before her as she watched between them twirl a small wooden top of faded colors and marrings. Dancing about the rock it dipped and dived until it spun out.
Hakk stood at the edge of the tree line for a while his eyes scanned the area about them as she continued repeating the out of ordered tune. His bare feet crossed the rock, echoless, as he approached her.
"Morning."
The song words drifted into the night, the top spinning out, her gaze focused beyond it.
"Morning sleepy head." The words came out unlike her song, empty.
Hakk bent down grabbing the bucket that had floated off to the side. Taking the bucket he dipped it in. In a swift motion, he sat down with his back to the pond. Pouring it on his feet he scrubbed, pausing on his left foot. A faded purple remained in the dim light that reached up and beyond his knee, dumping the rest he rinsed with the remainder.
"How's the side?" Ayumi pointed to him, tilting her head slightly up she caught him in the corner of her eyes.
Hakk turned himself about and placed his feet into the water's edge. "Side?"
Ayumi reached over poking at his side, Hakk's face contorted as he reached for her hand, lifting up the garb slightly he saw the beginning of a pinkish looking mark, letting the garment fall back he ran his hand over it slowly.
"I don't remember this."
"You feel asleep, so I woke you, maybe, I think." Ayumi looked away as she buried her head in her arms.
"I see...Where is the other one?"
"Fog?"-Hakk nodded- "You walked past him probably, in the house."
Hakk's vision froze for a moment.
"He sleeps next to the fire pit most nights." She spoke with muffled words.
"I broke the door."
"We lost your clothes."
Hakk looked down at his current get up and stared at her with an eyebrow raised. "Explains something."
"I say lost..we found them, but there wasn't much left after the seas got-a-hold of them, Fog donated his cloak which we made into a night suit!"
"The jacket?"
"Lost, where are we anyway?" Ayumi leaned her head to the side as she rested on her arms.
Hakk looked up to the stars that shown through the trees. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Month almost two I think. I looked around but haven't found anything save for this piece of area, you're heavy by the way."
"I intended to take us to...but I may have overshot that-"
Ayumi turned into the pool of water, facing him, with hands cupped to a fist she sending a small wave of water towards the other as she ran it just under the water's surface.
Hakk didn't move as it hit his face soaking his garb from head to torso. Slowly turning to face her he leaned forward dipping his right hand in the water, barely grazing the water's top he sent a small tidal wave that submerged her backward into the pond.
Ayumi rose to the surface spitting out water and snot, her nose twitching as she rubbed it. "No fair you cheat! And you got it in my nose too..." She smiled as she pulled her hair back from her face.
"I always cheat." The edges of Hakks mouth raised.
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