#
Muranu and Rhun sat in the shade of their base camp, staring at Fasho as she closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on Kino.
Muranu was noticing how Fasho had changed — she was not a child anymore — her legs had grown long and strong, her lips were now a deep purple. She was actually rather attractive — a thought Muranu never thought he’d have.
He’d known Fasho as long as he’d known Rhun, and had never thought of her as much more than a nuisance.
But now she seemed different.
She had grown into an intelligent, kind, beautiful almost-adult. No longer was she just another player to even up the sides when playing games – she was an actual person, one Kino would like to spend more time with. He watched her reach out with her lend, seeking Kino’s point of view.
“All I can see is darkness,” she said. “She has her eyes closed — she must have her eyes closed. I can’t —”
Fasho’s words hit a wall, and her eyes shot open.
“What? What’s the matter?” asked Rhun.
“She — she opened her eyes.”
“And?”
Fasho searched for the words. “Kino is not in Guntheck Wood, or anywhere in this wilderness. She is inside of some sort of room. And — she is not among Hundarians.”
“What do you mean ‘she’s not among Hundarians?’” said Muranu. “You’re not making any sense.”
Fasho was visibly trembling.
She looked Muranu in the eyes and repeated herself. “She is not among Hundarians. I saw a strange creature — like a male, but with no wings and odd facial features. I saw another — a female — but she had no tail and strange lumps below her shoulders.”
“That’s crazy,” said Rhun. “You’re making this up. And it’s not funny, Fasho.”
“No - I think she’s serious,” said Muranu. “Look at her, she’s shaking, and I know she’s not cold — it must be thirty-three jenkos out here.”
“Okay, okay,” said Rhun. “Let’s try to make sense of this. Fasho, tell us again, exactly what you saw when Kino opened her eyes.”
“She was in a room, I think she must have been lying down. There was a strange male with no wings — he had three eyes and silvery hair on his head. A female was there, too. She had no tail, and two lumps in front — up on her chest. She had four eyes. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Could you get a sense for where this room is?” asked Muranu.
“No — it was just a room — there were no windows so I have no idea where it might have been.”
“Alright, we’re going to have to try tracking Kino. We need to find a way across the gorge, and then we’ll see if we can follow her trail,” said Rhun.
As the oldest of the group, and a natural leader, Rhun took charge.
Rhun and Fasho’s father was a friend of Kino and Muranu’s father. Both men served in the Eschelon Council - the Hundarian governing body - though at different levels. Rhun felt they should deal with this problem themselves for now - to save any embarrassment for their parents.
This wasn’t the first time one of them had gotten into trouble, and it wasn’t the first time they’d decided it was best handled on their own.
But it was the first time anything this strange had ever happened.
“As soon as First Orb starts to set, I’ll go out and fly over to the other side of the gorge. I’ll see if there’s some way to get you two across.”
“What are we supposed to do in the mean time?” asked Muranu.
“Fasho should keep trying to tune into Kino’s point of view — see if there’s anything else that can give us a clue as to where she is. Muranu, you’ll just have to sit there and — concentrate on trying to grow some wings.”
“Very funny,” said Muranu with an eye roll.
#
“Where am I? Who are you?” asked Kino. She was scared out of her wits. Now sitting up on the bed, she had retreated back against the headboard and was curled up as tight as a spring. Looking anxiously at the two creatures who held her captive, she felt like crying but was too frightened. The creatures kept their distance, and when they spoke to each other, it was in low whispers that made no sense to Kino.
“Fiifmvif mimdmsm dpiiddpmv,” said the female to the male.
“Dmimmfwv uwvnwonq cpmwic hu wekmwl diiemwi,” replied the male quietly.
Despite their strange appearance and unintelligible language, Kino gradually felt more at ease. Neither one had approached her or tried to hurt her, after all. Then the female slowly stepped forward and gently placed a vessel on the small table next to the bed, and moved back to her original position, without taking her odd-looking eyes off of Kino.
Kino glanced over at the vessel, and saw that it contained a softly steaming liquid. The male then turned and picked up a similar vessel, and began to drink from it. He exaggerated his motions, as if trying to communicate to Kino that it was alright to drink the fluid that had been set before her. Kino was so thirsty, she decided to take her chances, and cautiously reached for the vessel. The smooth surface of the vessel was warm to the touch, and as she moved it toward her lips, she could smell the sweet vapors rising from the liquid. She carefully took a sip. It tasted foreign, but not unpleasant. A sweet sensation passed over her tongue, followed by a mildly bitter aftertaste when she swallowed. Feeling it was safe, and deciding she liked it, she quickly finished off the drink and set it down on the table. She decided she should try to communicate to the creatures.
“Thank you,” she said, slowly and clearly, as if speaking to a child.
The two creatures turned and looked at each other with confused expressions. At least, they seemed like confused expressions. It was hard to tell, given their bizarre features.
“Ycosddnncw hwc iwmcw mompppw,” said the male. “Fimisws wnvncmm cwm.”
Whatever language these people were speaking, it was not Hundarian. Kino needed to get some answers — where was she and what was going on? What happened to Guntheck Wood, and the trees and the cave? And where was Muranu? Did he get Rhun? She missed them already, as well as her best friend Fasho. She decided to try to reach out to Fasho with her lend.
#
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Time and Again: A Collection of Crazy Chronology Page 31
