Questions

Inga was half sitting half lying off of the edge of Kaeruko's trunk when she finally returned. He sat up excitedly, grinning at her and waving her over to him. Kaeruko's hair was half done and she was wearing her normal jacket and robes. Her face was smudged from a haphazard job of taking her makeup off. She did not look at him and immediately grabbed the tea that was waiting for her, drinking it down despite how hot it was. It burnt her tongue, but she just kept drinking it until the cup was empty. She placed the cup down before taking a deep breath, tears spilling down her face as she allowed herself to collapse on the floor. Inga stared at her blankly before he walked to the cup and poured another from the pot he had made up for her. 

"Kae." He said, handing her a small towel. "Let me clean up your face. You look like a wreck." He sighed, as he lifted her chin, gently wiping away the makeup with the sleeve of his shirt. "A leader like you should never look like a mess. There is too much at stake to show weakness. Drink another cup of tea if you must." Kaeruko huffed and took the cup, drinking it far more slowly now. Her mouth felt numb from getting burnt previously, and her lips felt dry and cracked. She bit down and tore some of the skin that was falling off, spitting it out and proceeding to take another sip. It tasted metallic. 

"I am terrified, Inga. I… I understand now. I get it all. And I don't want to understand. I am so scared." She sobbed, wiping her tears. "I miss Kuma.." 

"I know. They will be back soon. You have to stay strong. Come on now. All you did was talk. Nothing has happened yet." He seemed almost annoyed, although Kaeruko didn't have the capabilities to pay it much mind. "Why are you breaking down now?" 

"I don't know." She took another sip of tea. She couldn't taste it, but it felt nice now. The heat was welcomed. "I don't know what I am doing… Everything has been happening so fast. I feel like I haven't had a choice, and even if I can sit by and do nothing, that isn't much of a choice. Its not a choice if my options are die or lead." She looked sharply upwards at Inga, staring at his lavender eyes intensely. "You are a spirit, you cannot understand what I am going through. To you it must be so easy.." 

"That is true. I do not understand human emotions well. Though I have tried. I love humans, you see. Maybe you are right, I am being far too logical for the human world." Suddenly he smiled and wrapped his arms around her. "There there. I am sorry, Kae~ I promise I will try to be more understanding. You make a very good point after all. Come now, don't worry so much. It is scary but you have me by your side. Your connection to me is far stronger than that priestess's connection to the goddess. We have the same goal, and I will do anything to get you there." He mused, kissing her forehead affectionately. Kaeruko laid there in his arms, struggling to know how to feel. 

"You say Kuma is coming back… How do you know?" She sniffed, staring at the ground. "How can you be so certain?" 

"Because, I know exactly where they are and who they are with. I can't tell you more than that. You will understand why soon but until then I can't say." He sighed, thinking for a second before suddenly he grinned. "Oh I know what I can tell you! Perhaps this will make you feel better. You are not fully human!" 

Silence filled the tent like a heavy fog. Kaeruko sat up, pushing Inga away as she stared at him.

"Please tell me you are joking.. You cannot be telling me another insane thing like this. I can't take it." Kaeruko begged him, her grey eyes wide. 

"Surely you already knew that. I mean, come on. Both you and your sibling are deeply connected to the spirit world. You have always had deeper knowledge and power than those around you. Your ability to come to the spirit realm was proof enough of that. Any other human would have died in the process, yet you did not. Why do you think that?" Inga smiled, calmly, patting her head affectionately. "You have the spirit's blood in you. It is not to say you aren't human, as you must definitely be human. My guess is that your grandparents, one of them must have been a spirit. Did you know your grandfather and grandmother?" 

"My grandfather was the leader of our tribe! Grandma… she died of great sickness.. They were not spirits." Kaeruko said, thinking hard about her life thus far. Her family had always been normal.. They were weavers. That was all. This all was just happening by chance, by some stroke of fortune. 

"Fine, then your mother and father? What of them?" Inga asked, though he seemed more annoyed at her rejection of his words. 

"My father was leader of the tribe as well, but he died fighting chaos! My mom she--" Suddenly it dawned on her. Inga grinned, laughing then. 

"Your mother, what?" 

"She was adopted… She always said that her family had died at the hands of the chaos, but no one has ever mentioned her side of the family… Renatsu never mentioned it either." She clutched her chest, shaking with unknown emotions. "Could it be possible that she.. Was never human?" 

"Looks like we have a winner." Inga giggled, spinning around like a child who was playing. "I can't say for sure but it seems like your mum was likely a spirit. Of course, she could have made herself seem human. LIke I am now." Inga mused, tilting his head as he bowed. 

"But how would that work? I mean, can a spirit even do that? Everyone else cannot see or touch you!" 

"That's the key. It's mildly gruesome, I suppose.. But a spirit can inhabit a human body. If the human is willing, and close to death, the spirit can take over that body and give it continued life until the body breaks down. It can take a different amount of time depending on how strong the spirit and body is, also how young the body is." The small boy looked at Kaeruko seriously, his eyes narrowing. "Do you understand, now?" 

No more needed to be said. Kaeruko sat quietly to think by herself, twirling the cup of tea she had been given. Inga sat by and waited, quietly, occupying himself with undoing some of the half done braids in her hair. Once he was finished, Kaeruko lifted her head. 

"Inga, when I am dying, please take my body." She said, suddenly. Inga blinked, looking around as if to see if she was speaking to someone else. 

"What?" 

"I want you to take my body when I die. I will die, I am assuming. If I am half spirit, that means my body won't decay easily. It seems like a waste to just let it rot away. So you take it when I die. In exchange, while I am alive, you will help me with whatever I need." She raised her hand towards him. "Deal?" 

"That is interesting. It means I can stay amongst humans… huh. Ha. Hahahahaha! That is wonderful. I accept. Until your death, I am but your humble servant." Inga took her hand and kissed it. "And when I do have your body, I will treat it with the utmost respect and kindness." 

"Good. Then it is settled." She wiped her face again, almost as if she was trying to shed the despair that she had been feeling. "Okay. Well.. I suppose I have to wait for Kuma to come back. Until then we should start gathering weapons… I am not used to battle, so I am not sure how I can help everyone train to fight." She had fought before, of course, only with other kids in the tribe. The young people of the tribe were not generally taught how to fight. The focus is always on basic survival and running, how to best escape if danger came near. A few men were chosen to protect the tribe physically, but that was it. Kaminoko also knew magic, but Kaeruko did not know the first thing about it. 

"Leave that to me. I have a lot of knowledge on human fighting tactics. I can share it with you." he hummed, a little stone suddenly appearing in his hand. "Here you go. Swallow this, like a pill. Its a concentration of energy infused with the memories of my knowledge. Amazing, isn't it?" Inga hummed, presenting the butterfly shaped stone to her. 

"I have one more question before I do." Kaeru took the small pill into her hands. Inga tilted his head, allowing his hair to fall to the side revealing the black spot over his eye. "Why butterflies?" 

"I used to be a butterfly. Long long long ago when I was still weak, that was the form I took. I suppose I have some attachment to the form now." Inga mused, putting his hand over his chest. "Now it represents everything about me. I can change it if you would like, but my magic wouldn't be as potent." 

"No, I like butterflies. Thank you." She swallowed the pill whole with a sip of tea. It tasted a bit like yuzu.