They had been traveling together for a number of days when the fire-maker vanished. AsaHi searched her pack nearly twenty times over. She dumped everything out, including the pockets on the outside, all to no avail. It was absolutely nowhere to be found.
She frowned as she imagined having abandoned the little silver-squared device somewhere in the grass at the camp the morning before. As careful as she always was to make sure to pack everything, it was extremely discouraging to have left such an important thing behind.
“Nnnnn…. Ohhhh… Peeeeh…”
AsaHi craned her head back as Kaze came to stand next to her, carrying a teaching scroll in one large hand. He blinked down at her in a curious manner, pointing to the strewn contents of the pack.
“Qwwuuh… Errrrrr… Ssssss…”
The girl gave a long sigh.
Kaze gave a long sigh, too. He promptly flopped down on the ground, facing her in a grim crosslegged manner. Head tilted horizontal, he pointed again.
“Teeeh… Oooo… Vvvv…”
AsaHi’s mouth curled up slightly, “Aren’t you tired of practicing that? It’s all you’ve done for the past three days.”
He shook his head and proudly exclaimed, “Wuuh… Ezzz… Yuuh… Zeeeehh..!”
She gave a quiet laugh, clapping to applaud his efforts. “You read it all again? That’s wonderful, Kaze!”
He gave a proud fangy smile in return.
This had all started when she first noticed that Kaze took a good deal of delight in watching her read her maps and scribble notes on the margin of her books. AsaHi wrote out the letters of the alphabet for him on a little teaching scroll. She went through each letter once and told him how to pronounce it.
The very next day as they set out along the path, Kaze had pulled out the teaching scroll. In a strange lilted accent, he began reading the letters off of it.
AsaHi was surprised at how much information he retained from such a short so-called “lesson.” The man never asked her to repeat a single letter. He simply kept working to sound each one out to himself. Before she knew it, Kaze was teaching himself how to speak. Or at least, learning the basic sounds of speech.
The longer she was around him, the more she had come to realize that his understanding was actually much more vast than she could have guessed. The rate that he learned new things was fearsome. It only took one demonstration, and he was able do something on his own.
After the first day, Kaze was proficient at balancing and moving around while standing upright on two legs. Now he could literally run – and jump – circles around her without a second thought. More often than not, it was AsaHi who found herself hard pressed to keep up with his huge, ground-eating strides as they traveled.
His whole outer appearance had taken a sure step for the better, as well. AsaHi wasn’t certain if it was just a trick of her eyes, but the more she looked at Kaze wearing the small over-cloak she had given him, the more it appeared to actually fit him. She also taught him how to wrap his arms, hands and feet with black cloth. It didn’t make for true gloves or boots, but it was all she could give him for the time being.
It took the better part of a day to comb through his hair and work all the snarls out. Still, it was quite wild and did exactly as it pleased no matter how much AsaHi brushed it. She did the best she could to pull it back at the sides to keep it out of his eyes. At first, Kaze hadn’t been crazy about the idea. But once she told him that it was the way the men of her town wore their hair, he had agreed to allow her to pull his back, too.
Also, she discovered ways in which he was startlingly different. It bothered her deeply that she had never seen him eat nor sleep in all the time that they had traveled together. He refused food or drink even when the girl tempted him into taking it by offering to teach him what to do with it. She shuddered at the thought that maybe he had things he liked to eat better in the forest. But over time, she realized that he rarely left her side, and certainly never long enough for him to hunt or gather anything for a meal. When they stopped by a stream to rest, she was usually parched and thirsty. But he never drank.
Though they often walked from sunup to sundown, she never saw him sleep or even rest. She was so exhausted from the long trek of the day, she was ready to topple by the time night came. But, Kaze never appeared to get tired. Often, when she woke up, AsaHi would find him sitting the exact same way she left him the night before.
Maybe one day I’ll ask him about it. It looks like if he keeps it up, he’ll be able to talk in no time.
“Muur?” a soft nudge on her shoulder brought her back to reality.
“Uh? Oh. I’m sorry, Kaze,” she said, looking up at his troubled face. “What’s wrong?”
He pointed at the contents of her packs which were still strewn about on the ground from her attempt to locate the fire-maker.
“Oh, you’re right. I was looking for something. I think I might have accidentally left it behind,” the girl frowned at him unhappily.
Kaze frowned unhappily back. Then he stretched out one hand, palm open. She didn’t know how she knew what he was trying to ask. But she did.
“What did I lose?” She wrinkled her nose, “The fire-maker.”
He pursed his lips with a cocked head.
“You know…” she pointed to the pile of brush in the center of the ring of rocks. Then she flittered her fingers to imitate a rising flame above it. “It makes fire so that I can cook food. And it keeps us warm at night.”
Kaze’s face was grim and questioning at the same time.
“If I don’t find the fire-maker, I can’t start the fire,” AsaHi finished, hoping she had explained everything. “Do you understand?”
He reached over the fire pit and imitated her finger motions, painting the rise and fall of a flame, too. Then he blinked at her.
“Yes. Fire,” she spread her hands, making a small square shape between her fingers to indicate the fire-maker. “I can’t make a fire without it.”
Nodding, his eyes grew bright with sudden understanding. After a moment of observing the unlit pile of brush, Kaze turned back to her with an air of expectancy.
“What?” AsaHi peered up at him and repeated, “I told you I couldn’t start a fire without the fire-maker.”
The man shook his head and began motioning in all sorts of strange directions with his hands. He was obviously trying to explain something to her, but she had no clue what it was.
“Kaze,” the girl shook her head. “I’m sorry… I don’t understand.”
Kaze snorted softly. Then the man held his index finger aloft, a motion that obviously spoke: Check this out!
Pressing both of his palms together, Kaze began to rub them back and forth, with a strange amused expression. Then, he flicked his fingers forward in a striking motion. A hissing flicker erupted from between his palms as a small ball of flame shot down into the fire pit. Instantly, the dried brush caught, creating a small cooking fire.
AsaHi shouted, falling backwards over her half-emptied pack in astonished panic. Loose articles of clothing, scrolls, and rolls of wrap scattered as she put a good seven feet of distance between herself and the unexpected eruption of flame.
Magic!?
The girl stared at the fire, eyes wide in shock. Then she turned towards Kaze with an open-mouthed, questioning look.
That was a full-fledged fire spell!
The man was watching her with a pitiful look, head tilted to one side. A coaxing purr rose from his throat.
But, how? The only ones who know that sort of magic are the Dragon Apprentices. I don’t think there’s any way that Kaze could have been trained!
Finally, she closed her mouth and swallowed deeply, “How did you…?”
Kaze grinned with a self-satisfied chuckle.
“Nooo… none of that! I want to know!” she demanded.
Kaze captured her chin between his thumb and forefinger and lifted it until they were staring eye to eye. His grip was gentle. The light in his eyes was unyielding.
“Kaze?” She frowned, uncertain what the strange expression on his face meant.
He leaned down until she could feel his breath tickling her ear. A sound arose within him that began as a warm, deep-throated purr, “AsaHi…”
The girl gasped as the word brushed past her cheek. She pulled back away from him, staring up with wide green eyes. His own expression was unfathomable.
“What did you say?” she choked.
A brief hint of concern rose in his eyes. Then he ran his tongue over his lips, “AsaHi… Fire. For. AsaHi.”
