Private Tales I Forgot to Remember

[Xiuying]

Xiuying jumped hard enough to bang her elbow on the table when he spoke suddenly. Between the surprise and sudden pain in her elbow, she nearly inhaled the piece of bread she had been nibbling at. She coughed and got up to get a cup of water, waving her hand and trying to laugh to dismiss his worry. She drank, then felt her way back to her seat.

"Ah, I was just thinking about going to the village and gathering some fruit and things from the forest." Perching on the chair, she faced the bed. Hopefully she would be looking his direction.

"I will have to leave you alone for part of the day. I hope you do not mind." Her expression brightened. "I think they have lots of offerings this time of year. If there is anything you want, I will gladly get it for you. Consider it a gift."

// Trahaearn //​

 

[Trahaearn]

She jumped hard enough to make him regret alerting her to his conscious state. Aside from hitting her elbow, she also nearly choked on the piece of bread she was eating, and it took significant effort for him to remain in the bed as he was. He distinctly disliked being at such a disadvantage as she waved a hand at him to dismiss his prodding words of concern.

She had sat back down and made to face him, and he said nothing as she sat slightly askew of where he sat. It likely had something to do with hearing him better, especially now that she knew he was not sleeping. A lesson she might yet keep in mind for future thoughts.

"Leaving me shouldn't be any problem. At least so long as..Bao, doesn't come in the house." He tried to joke, unsure of how much free rein the chickens had in their home. She mentioned getting something for him, and while he gave it some thought, he couldn't produce any thoughts of need.

At least not in the immediate sense anyway. A lack of memories provided an outstanding ability to not want for things. "I shouldn't need anything before you return. After all, I am supposed to be resting." He laughed, becoming a bit more serious as he thought a moment. "I know you have been doing this for a while likely, but take care when you do go out, I can't exactly help and I feel bad for such."

// Xiuying //​

 

[Xiuying]

She laughed and nodded. "I will be sure to keep the door shut. They should not disturb you at the window. The weather will be changing tonight; you may enjoy watching the rain." If he had no memories, then everything was new. The rain was one of her favorite spectacles.

He didn't have any requests from town, but asked that she be careful. Xiuying nodded and bowed forward. "Yes. Do not worry about me. I have lived here my whole life. I will be safe."

Turning back to her plate, she picked up the last fruit. "Mother had books here. She used to read to me in common to teach it to me. If you are bored, I can get them for you." She took a bite of her fruit with a grin.

// Trahaearn //​

 

[Trahaearn]

"I appreciate that. I doubt I would be able to chase any of them off should they get in." He laughed at himself, thinking what a miserable sight that would have been to see. "I will at least enjoy listening to it certainly."

He couldn't argue with her being safe given her time here. He knew nothing of what the town was like, the people that lived there or the wild life that surrounded the area she called home. It was likely that he either was, or knew something that was far more dangerous than anything in town at least if the scars were anything to go by.

"The books would be welcome certainly, see if I can read anyway. If I can, would you like to hear any of them?" He offered to her. It was one thing to not be able to read, another entirely to have the stories at your palms and not be able to see the words before you.

// Xiuying //​

 

[Xiuying]

She smiled and nodded, happily chewing her fruit. But his request caught her somewhat off guard. Her face went blank. "Would I like to hear any of them?" Xiuying put the fruit back on the plate and turned toward him. Her mouth opened to reply, but she, instead, looked off elsewhere in the home.

She hadn't heard any of the stories since her mother's passing. After forty years, she hardly knew them. Was her memory of them true to the actual stories? Or would they be entirely new to her now?

After some silence, Xiuying turned back to the man. "I would like that. Can you read the covers for me? I do not remember their titles."

She finished her light meal, carried the dish to the pan to be washed later, and went about to collect the books she knew of. Most of them were tucked away together in a dusty box, which she brought over to him and and set down beside the box bed. Xiuying sat on the stool to clean them with a rag to hand to them.

Of the nearly fifteen books, ten of them were in her native language. The other five, however, were written in common. One was a book on herbs and plant uses in daily life and medicine. One was a book of poetry translated from famous Weiam poets -- finally providing the name of the country she lived in. Two more were epic tales. The last was a strange collection of faerie stories.

"I remember one about a white fox falling in love with the black dragon god-prince of the heavens. Can you tell which is that story?" she asked. She could hardly contain her excitement.

// Trahaearn //​

 

[Trahaearn]

She seemed almost lost in the possibility of his reading the books to her. It was likely one of the few things she had enjoyed with her mother, and even just being allowed to hear them again was something she was probably not going to be able to have for sometime if he figured right.

She looked off for a time, and he wondered if he hadn't overstepped at first before she gave him an answer. "I can certainly try." He offered, figuring they might be in her language after all. Nothing like a foreigner, who didn't know where he was from, to butcher a language trying to be nice.

She cleaned up after her meal and fetched the books. Which were all covered in a healthy layer of dust since the only person in the house could not read them. Ten he could not read, but five he could, and did recite the titles for her.

"A white fox, and a black dragon god prince?" He repeated her words, the spaces between the slow spoken words more for him to think on the story than actually thinking on the mythos behind it.

"Ah, Everlasting Love, that the one?" He asked, having skimmed through and spied a few key words in the tale to recognize the context she spoke of. The words around those pieces however made his head spin a bit, trying not to focus on the aspect of a strange and new culture and their customs.

He was both relishing and dreading the chance to read.

 

[Xiuying]

He repeated the subject and she nodded. "A fox spirit becomes a goddess under the tutelage of another god, but she loses her memory and becomes a mortal woman where she meets and falls in love with the black dragon god-prince of the heavens, but she does not know he is not a mortal man." She grinned through rambling account and moved her stool closer to him. "Is it a long story? I remember that it made me very sad as a child, but I have forgotten the events of the story."

Her hands found the crate of books and pushed them aside. Xiuying sat with her hands in her lap, eagerly awaiting the story. She bit her lip, then paused.

"Oh. But if you are tired we can start them later." She turned her face toward the door. "It is afternoon. You have not had your rest." She smiled haphazardly back at him. "I may nap in the sunshine as well. A storm is coming tonight."

She stood and replaced the books, leaving the five in his language beneath the side table. She paused by the bed to put a brass bell beside his water, the stood with her fingers twined together.

"If you need me, I am not far. Ring that and I will hear you." She gave him a polite bow of her upper body and smiled. "Make sure you are actually resting this time."

// Trahaearn //​

 

[Trahaearn]

He held the book in his hands as she spoke, and the tale sounded interesting. Her question made him gauge the size of the book, and he was certain they wouldn't be able to get through the story in one sitting.

"It seems a fairly big story." He answered, and she paused in her excitement. She further dismissed the story with talk of his needing rest and her own as well. Her call for a storm later made him wonder if her blindness had given her some sort of strength in her other senses, or if she just knew the area that well. "Tomorrow we can start reading it then."

He hadn't seen a chair outside, but she likely knew where things were better than he, so he didn't ask about the outside napping. She replaced the books, leaving those he could read within reach as she placed a bell beside his water.

He didn't have to ask as she explained its purpose before giving him a bow and smiling. "I will actually rest this time, at least I will try to." This time he actually laid back and rested his eyes, preparing to sleep.

 

[Xiuying]

She left with a final grin and walked along the path, turning back and listening for any sounds from the house. Xiuying didn't know if she fully trusted her guest yet, but he had yet to do anything but be a polite amnesiac. What a terrible thing, that. She felt sorry for him, and didn't quite know what to do. She could mend cuts and stop bleeding. She could lower a fever and relieve aches. But how was she supposed to help him remember what he had firgotten?

Xiuying walked to a grassy meadow, several minutes away from the cottage. She held her hands out to feel the sun's path and flopped down in the grass. As much as she felt like a normal person most of the time, deep down there was a dog that wanted nothing else but this. The cwn stretched out and rolled I'm the fragrant grass before settling in to nap in the sunshine.

She woke an hour or so later when the shadows of the trees began to creep over her. Refreshed and bright, she returned to the cottage with a skip in her step. She silently went about her laundry, sitting in the lawn to fold it all into the basket and carry it inside.

Once more, she heard the man's even breathing, but there was no faking the slight snore. Smirking, Xiuying put away her things and went about preparing what she could quietly for dinner.

It was a quiet night. Xiuying let him sleep until dinner, when she roused him from his slumber to eat and tend to his recovering wounds. The dressings almost didn't need changing, but she always erred on the side of caution. She did let him wash himself, promising that tomorrow he could go bathe properly at the river if he gave her his word he would mind his healing cuts.

When it was time to bed down, she pulled the spare mat and blankets out from under the bed and began making a pallet for herself. She had a busy day ahead of her tomorrow, but that was a good thing. She felt so terribly idle here alone that a guest gave her lots to do. It was a good, useful feeling.

// Trahaearn //​

 

[Trahaearn]

His head throbbed, like a headache that wasn't pushing into danger of a migraine, yet relentless with making it's presence unmistakably known. At first sleep was not easy when the calm of the room took over with her leaving. Being outside had made it easy to ignore the annoyance, but with nothing to take his attention away from the gentle but incessant thrum of pain, he was at it's mercy.

Granted, it still didn't take him long to finally sleep, half and hour at best once his mind stopped fixating on the pain. His dreams slipped into him laying back and being in much the same situation. He blinked in the dream, alone and seemingly on his own. It wasn't comforting being in the same position even when he dreamed.

A slow deep breath had him shutting his eyes once more, this time sitting up but still injured. His hands were about his waist, as if holding something in. Crimson stained his arms and hands, he stared at what he held. Blinking again, his hand now wrapped around what looked like a claw or talon of some sort as he laid on his side.

Drawing in another breath, he calmly drew the protrusion out and watched the wound bleed. In the middle of assessing himself, he felt hands softly touch him. Panic took hold in his dream as his head whipped around to stare at whatever was threatening him.

His surprise at seeing the pure white woman shook him awake.

A startled gasp had him snapping to attention, trying to explain what he had just moments before been dreaming about and drawing a blank. She checked his bandaging after feeding him, allowing him a quick rag bath with the promise of possibly going to the river if he minded his wounds.

He mentioned his headache from the last attempt to sleep, and she made a tea to help with that shortly before pulling out what looked like the makings of another bed.

His thoughts whirled for a minute as he watched her and sipped his tea. What had he dreamed about? What was she doing? Where had she been sleeping?

"You don't plan on sleeping on the floor, do you?" He murmured, surprising himself. He had been thinking the words, and hadn't meant to blurt them out. Or had he?

// Xiuying //​

 

[Xiuying]

When he complained of a headache, Xiuying perked up. Her hands had no issue finding the containers she needed, and when the kettle over the fire was warm she brought him a pot of tea. She set it down beside the bed for him, and poured him a glass. Holding her fingers just inside the rim of the cup, she could feel when it was full.

"It is valerian, chamomile, and willow bark. It should help you sleep and relieve the pain." she explained, smiling and sitting back on her heels. "Do you want cream or sugar?"

When he was settled, she went about making up her nest for the evening, but she looked up at his question.

"Ahh..." She laughed nervously. "Well, yes. I only have the one bed." Her snow-white cheeks warmed to a soft blush. Xiuying and her mother had shared it until her mother's passing, but that didn't mean she was sharing it with a strange man. The cwn annwn slowly continued flattening out the blankets.

"You are my guest and you are injured. Sleeping on the floor will not harm me, but it could harm you." She finished and sat back on her heels once more, her face turned toward him. "I do not mind. I must insist." She smiled sweetly.

Xiuying hung up her yellow jacket in a wardrobe and sat down in one of the chairs to brush out her long hair. It took a while to do, but she braided it for the evening and went to lie down. She didn't bother shedding any layers of clothing. She might have been blind, but her guest was not.

Lying quietly for a few moments, she sat up on her elbow. "Is the hearth too bright? O-or too low? I... do not know how bright or how dark it is." She paused. "I will get some candles from the village for you, too. It has been dark for a while. My apologies."

Her cheeks were redder now than when mentioning the bed. Xiuying laid back down, frowning. It was easy to forget how different her unseeing life was. Nobody ever came around, and even fewer had stayed the night here since her mother's passing. She forgot that seeing people needed things like candles when the daylight passed.

// Trahaearn //​

 

[Trahaearn]

The ingredients she listed off sounded familiar, but nothing that jogged his memory. She informed him that it would relieve the pain, and for that he was grateful. At least this time he would be able to fall asleep quickly rather than trying to distract his mind with some inane thing.

"A little of both." He replied as he took a sip. His eyes narrowed when she explained about the sleeping situation, and he couldn't very well make an argument against what she was saying. Especially when she was sweet about how she explained the situation.

He watched silently, taking a sip every now and again as he watched her routine for bed. When she laid down, he did the same and nearly had his eyes shut when she sprang up and spoke. He turned his head, keeping his core still as he spoke to her.

"It is just right actually. And no need to apologize, I can't imagine-" He cut himself off when getting close to speaking of her blindness. "There isn't a need to waste when others might need, and I need the rest anyway." He tried to speak politely, unsure of how the words would be taken.

"Try to get some rest, both of us need it." He spoke quietly, enjoying watching the light dance across the roof once more, throwing odd shapes against the thatched ceiling and walls in a chaotic dance.

// Xiuying //​

 

[Xiuying]

With her mind put to ease, Xiuying laid back down. Listening to the night sounds of the house, she closed her eyes. She had little trouble sleeping, and slept well.

Waking again quite early, she rose well before the sun to begin her day. She worked quietly, adding wood to the fire to fight off the morning chill for her guest. She went out to collect the eggs and feed the chickens a mix of vegetable waste and grain. She washed baskets for collecting fruit. She prepared a cloth sling to carry lotus in.

Xiuying started his breakfast when she thought he might be waking up soon. It was a wild guess; how was she to know when a stranger would rise from bed? Breakfast consisted of a plain omelette with some sweetened rice porridge, a bun, and two little loquats. She warmed up some water for tea and, waiting for him to wake, set his breakfast near the fire to keep warm while she started mixing up some new dough for more buns. More flour, then, would have to go on the list. That she could part with a few copper pieces for. She had some left, stowed away. It would get her started on her winter stores.

// Trahaearn //​

 

[Trahaearn]

He listened idly as he waited for sleep to come to him. It swept him away without notice, his sharp inhale of breath before quieting the only sign of his slipping into slumber.

He woke when the pot was set to boil. Fingers flexed first, straightening his back as everything woke from the deep sleep that left him feeling refreshed. Nothing ached just yet, but he didn't think that would last for long as he pushed himself up gingerly. He watched her for a moment, setting a tray near the fire to keep it warm.

"Morning?" He spoke softly, not entirely sure if he woke in the morning or if he had slept till a time later in the day. He was healing, and he didn't believe he would wake so readily to be up at early light.

Hopefully he hadn't made her waste any food while he slept.

 

[Xiuying]

Her guest's voice cut through the silence. Not easily startled, Xiuying straightened from her dough and turned toward him with a smile.

"Morning. Are you surprised you made it through the night?" she replied with a touch of amusement. "I am going out this morning, but I should be back in a few hours. I have set out your breakfast, but if there is anything else you would like, I will get it for you."

Cleaning her fingers on the bowl, she felt around for her towel, wiped her hands, and covered the dough to rise. Xiuying put on her jacket then found a basket with straps and put it on her back. She paused near the bed and looked toward her guest, awaiting any special requests.

 

[Trahaearn]

She turned and smiled at him, her question making him wonder briefly it his words his surprise, or merely seeking an explanation. When she spoke of going out this morning, the unintentional answer made him relax. He had not slept through the day. The dough she was working on smelled wonderful.

Or maybe that was the breakfast waiting for him. He thought for a time on anything he could need, and realized he didn't know what he could want for. She provided, even if it seemed the amount was stacked in his favor. An ache began to warn of it's presence in his back as he licked his lips.

"Am I to stay inside the fence while you are gone?" He finally asked, nothing material coming to mind for a need. Not that he honestly could tell her what he could need or want.

 

[Xiuying]

She was quiet for a few moments before answering that question.

"My neighbors do not know you and you have not yet regained your strength. There was rain last night, so there is mud. It may be best to stay close to the cottage, yes." Xiuying smiled softly. "I won't be long."

With nothing more and her warning carefully masked with concern, she felt for a wide woven hat hanging by the door and stepped out. It was still drizzling and cool, but the fire inside would last him until her return.

Putting her feet to the path, Xiuying set off into the forest.

---

The cottage was quiet. Mostly. The fire crackled in the hearth and the rain hissed outside the open shutter. Occassionally the wind would stir the trees and heavy showers of droplets would fall from their branches onto the roof. The pails were filled with the steady drips from the roof's leaks.

But there was a sound that didn't belong on the witch's cottage. Never more than a rustle or a small chatter, it scurried beneath the bed and across the shelves. It was brief and elusive, gone the moment the strange guest looked toward it.

 

[Trahaearn]

He listened to her words, slowly associating the things she said with what she meant. Neighbors didn't know him, strength hadn't returned, it had rained, all a recipe for trouble should he stray too far. Not something he planned to do given the circumstances.

He watched her go, his eyes lingering on the empty doorway where she had once stood before donning her hat to leave towards supplies. He ate, sitting quietly after he was finished and relaxed, laying still across the bed as the sounds of the cottage washed over him.

His hearing picked it up before his thoughts could even wonder what was making the sounds. Scurrying, small chatter, there and gone sounds when he would look. His attention was focused sharply to finding the sources as he watched the pans and gathered books.

A thought at the back of his mind, a straining that gave him little more than a headache as something tickled at the back of his thoughts. A knowing, but without the name or understanding. Unable to reach it, the thought slid away, his attention focused once more to the unknown as he schemed.

He lay his head down, turned to the side to watch the fire as he acted as though sleeping. Altering his breathing, something instinctual it seemed that confused him, he kept an eye peeled open as he faced the fire to see if anything making noise walked that way.

 

[Xiuying]

The scratching continued, softer when he stirred and silent for some time after he laid down. When he had been still for some time, however, the creature drew nearer. Under the bed to the side table it went. There was a small chattering sound answered by another and then a third.

Over the edge of the box bed, a tiny arm reached up and felt for the edge of the bedside table. Thin and gaunt, it was strong enough to effortlessly pull the following figure up -- with the aid of two other pairs of hands pushing its rump into the air.

Its body was small, save for the paunch of its belly, but its head was two sizes too large. Two floppy ears dangled to its hips on either side of its oversized head. Its furry coat was a patchwork of copper and black, and while it had all the features of a dog, it also resembled a small person, right down to the hand that held the empty porridge bowl as it peered into it.

 

[Trahaearn]

It took an enormous amount of effort to refrain from stealing a better glance at what approached him. Something instinctual inside him screaming to see what was coming, but his rational mind knowing if he moved, he would never catch sight of the thing.

...things.

There was more than one.

The chattering was near enough to make him break his careful trick, but his eye twitched when in an effort to blink and wet his now dry eye. Even though it was very near closed, he could not suppress the motion.

What the devil were these creatures? Did Xiuying know about them? They were so quiet, but she had sharp hearing. Surely she must have known about their existence. Unless they only appeared upon her absence.

What did they do? Hunt for scraps? The curiosity was near to getting the better of him as he watched them further.

 

[Xiuying]

Unaware of his observation, the creature tipped the bowl and leaned in. There was a loud snuffling from within before the sound of it licking up what streaks of porridge he'd left behind. Below, both of its companions gasped and reached up toward the lip of the low table. They softly chattered in protest and their companion lifted its nose from the bowl.

Its velvety face was streaked with porridge. The largeness of its head was explained by the enormous eyes that glinted in the light. Caramel and cinnamon, they were almost orange in places. The creature looked down at its companions and chattered back, pointing to Trahaearn. It's eyes followed and met his.

It wore a look of surprise as it froze. Two other sets of eyes turned to look over the edge of the bed at him. For a beat there was silence.

Then, in an explosion of movement and noise, they scattered. The one on the table kicked the bowl and cup in its haste to flee, leaping down. The two on the floor scampered back under the bed. All three were squealing and chattering loudly in fear.

 

[Trahaearn]

He blinked softly, watching the whole exchange as the group, he assumed a group given the sounds, seemed to track down the remnants of his meal. He was very near to chuckling when the bowl bandit turned and noticed his gaze.

The flurry of activity nearly made him jump in the ferocity with which the little creatures scurried away. Surprise above all else making him startle and tense as he slowly rose, mindful of his lightly aching muscles.

His brow knit together, pondering just what they had been, settling in a spot while balancing at first on an arm as he scanned the room. They didn't seem malignant. Or at least not without him being mean. They hadn't struck out at him for the secretive spying he had done.

Scared.

Most likely conclusion given they had sought hiding places.

"It's...it's alright. I won't harm you." It felt strange trying to call whatever was in here out. They had likely already been around him if they came as she went. Had likely already looked him over, or at the least got a very good look at him.

He set the bowl down on the floor rather than it's upset place propped between the wall and bed stand. Scooting it further from his reach, he sat quietly a moment before speaking again.

"Really, I won't harm you. Have at it."