[Episode 140760] [Episode 140760]Spinning feathers. That was the impression Nausicaä had, as she plunged head-first though the bright blue sky. There were spinning feathers around her. Horizon, sea, clouds and sky alternated themselves in her vision as strong, lithe arms enfolded themselves around her spiraling form, catching her in a gentle and loving grip.
The wind-rider shook her head to clear it, and found the spinning slowing down as she looked at a very familiar face. Angel!
Greetings, Princess Nausicaä, the mute girl with the beautiful wings and simple white dress sent, smiling at her. I've been expecting you.
Expecting me?
Yes. Angel paused as she spread her wings and pulled herself and the Princess out of the fall into level flight. Nausicaä marveled at the strength hidden in her slight frame. I'm to take you to a special place.
Nausicaä looked around. There, perhaps five thousand or so feet below her, was the bright, shallow aquamarine sea, with little islands dotting its surface and--what was that, a road? Of Mehve and Juna Ariyoshi there was no sign.
Her feet grew cold and she swallowed nervously and clutched tighter at Angel. Please don't drop me, she begged.
Of course I won't. Angel let out a silent laugh. You don't need your glider to fly any more, Nausicaä, as long as you're with me. Take my hand.
Nausicaä unfroze herself long enough to grasp one of Angel's small, delicate hands in her own.
Good. Now let go of me. It's okay, trust me. Let go.
Nausicaä closed her eyes and sent a prayer into the heavens as she removed her arm from around her rescuer's chest. She waited to fall.
And didn't. She opened her eyes and, to her amazement, found herself floating a few inches beneath the smiling flaxen-haired girl.
See? I told you you didn't need your glider any more.
Happy and relieved beyond belief, Nausicaä held on tight to Angel's hand as she, by main force of will, maneuvered herself to fly beside the bright-winged girl. Am I dead? Where are we going?
No, you're not dead. You're just beginning your journey home. As for where we're going, I think I'm going to keep it a secret until we get there. In the meantime just relax and enjoy the view.
Together they flew on, hand in hand, as the day grew older and the sun climbed higher in the sky. Angel beat her wings once in while, but apart from the sound that motion produced and the whispering of the wind everything was absolutely silent. Nausicaä felt like she was flying into a painting and becoming part of an eternal picture that knew no time or place. The languorous pace of their flight served to calm and soothe her.
------oOo------
The little being in brown-and-red robes and olive-green cap rushed frantically down the bathhouse Aburaya's stairs, yelling as he went and upsetting everyone in the process. "She comes! She comes!"
"Who comes, manager?" asked one of the long-haired, marked-forehead yuna as Aniyaku sped by her.
"The reason why we've been hiring extra crew and working twenty-four hours the last two days! She comes! Quick, tell everyone to get ready while I go inform Yu-baaba!" Then he dashed back upstairs and into the elevator leading to bathhouse owner's office.
Consternation spread throughout all the floors as all the servants who weren't busy with customers made themselves ready to greet the special guest. Yu-baaba had sternly warned them earlier of the consequences of a faux pas: she was going to 'borrow' the being Kaonashi (No-Face) from her twin sister Zeniiba and feed them to the frightful monstrosity. There was a mad rush for the living quarters and bathrooms; faces were scrubbed and makeup applied, the requisite floors were cleaned and polished with lightning speed (even though the bathhouse was in operation), special robes were put on, and the special bath stall was double- and triple-checked. No one wanted to get eaten by Kaonashi, not even for a mountain of gold with nuggets the size of boulders.
Everyone was frantic with preparing themselves, except for two beings, who stood calmly at the front door of the bathhouse. One was a dark-haired young woman in her twenties, while the other was a handsome young man with shoulder-length black hair and straight bangs. The woman wore something resembling her old red bathhouse uniform, except that this one was richly brocaded with gold thread, while the man wore a more grandiose version of his usual blue-and-white robes, decorated at the sleeves and neck with little sinuous embroidered indigo dragon patterns.
"Where is she?" he asked as he peered into the blue sky.
"Don't be so impatient, Haku," his companion chided him. "You were so reluctant to join me for the first Koganei Christmas party, now you can't wait for Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind to arrive." She smiled slyly. "Maybe you want her to replace me in your heart."
"Feh." The homeless incarnation of the dead Kohaku River rolled his eyes upwards. "I'll replace you any time I want with anyone I want."
"Haku! That's so cold. I'm glad I'm not marrying you. That's the problem with you river spirits: you're too independent to settle down, even after a million years of existence. I should've hooked up with the spirit of another river, preferably one that's placid and peaceful."
The young man chuckled. "I was just kidding, Chihiro. Besides, when did you ever see a river settle down and stop flowing to the sea? The moment it stops, it's no longer a river. It's a lake, it's a swamp, it's something else entirely. I just can't pause and stop living, Chihiro." Haku looked into the bathhouse and its teeming throng. "I wonder what's taking the old crone so long to get here. She usually isn't this late coming to the door when there's a special customer to be met."
Chihiro smiled fondly at her friend's back. Marriage doesn't stop you from living, Haku, she thought. It's just a change from the narrow confines of riverbanks to the trackless wide vistas of the ocean. I wish I could make you understand that. But I'll always be here if you need me.
Together Chihiro Ogino and Nigihayami Kohaku-nushi maintained their vigil at the bathhouse doors, while the rest of the staff ran helter-skelter around them, and the otherworldly customers, informed of the temporary change in schedule, kept coming in and going out of the establishment. It was just another relatively normal day at Aburaya, except for the arrival of Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind.
------oOo------
Juna Ariyoshi slowly woke up to a see a green jungle canopy above her. The sun-gilt leaves fluttered, and the wind made a gentle surussus as it passed through the tree branches, as if whispering to her welcome, welcome. She felt warm and comforted, despite the thousand questions flitting through her mind.
"Oh," she moaned as she tried to move. Her body ached something fierce in a thousand places. She looked down to see herself wearing her shredded aura suit. Or at least, a teensy-weensy part of it. She was virtually naked; almost nothing of the suit was left, just pink strips and patches here and there. Her exposed skin was red, as if she had been sunburnt.
She shook her head. Why was she still hearing that Arkan song of Ka-chan's? She no longer had the iPod. The last thing she remembered was the bomb's counter ticking down the final three seconds, and her body spontaneously turning into Arjuna as she, terrified, said her last farewell to the Princess of the Valley of Wind. Then the whole world exploded into a blinding white nova. There was a sense of fear, of sadness, regret, tearing pain, and longing... then nothing. Nothing until she woke up here.
She focused her vision and took in her surroundings. She found herself lying alone in a shallow pool about fifteen meters in diameter, her upper back and head propped up against an ancient-looking structure resembling a gigantic needle with unreadable markings. The pool was as still as liquid glass and the surrounding jungle, aside from the wind, seemed hushed and quiet.
Juna started a little as she saw, standing at the perimeter of the pool, a young woman with long, straight black hair. Her oval face was framed by the cloth headband in her hair, and she wore a loose cream-colored shift with dark-banded sleeves and hem, and a standing collar decorated with alternating purple and violet triangles. She bore a wing-bladed staff in one hand. A golden medallion in the shape of a stylized bird with one staring eye hung from her neck. She was looking intently at Juna.
"Who are you?" the Avatar managed to stammer across the water. Somehow it seemed sacrilegious, disturbing the silence like that with her voice.
"I am the hand guided by the wind," answered the strange girl as she waded into the pool and helped Juna up. "I am the keeper of my people's lore. My name is Sara Nome."
Juna found herself somewhat surprised she could understand the woman's speech. Her dusky features and tribal dress reminded Juna of one of her anthro classes in college, the one with the strict bald-headed professor and the difficult paper. The Effects And Ramifications Of An Expanding Technological Civilization On Isolated Ancient Cultures: An Overview And Opinion, she had entitled it. She had put her best effort into that work, but had received a lower-than-expected mark for it, simply because her world view clashed with that of her teacher's.
College. That life seemed so far away now, and for a moment the Avatar felt a rush of longing to return to it. It was safe and small. And it had her friends in it.
"I'm Juna Ariyoshi," the Avatar introduced herself. She offered her hand in friendship, and after a moment of careful consideration Sara clasped it in her own. The woman's grasp was firm enough to convince Juna that she really wasn't dead. "Where am I? Is this Heaven?"
Sara's eyebrows went up. "Heaven? I don't know what you're talking about. If you're dead, then so am I. You're on Mayan Island. This place is my home. I was taking a swim in this very pool when you suddenly fell out of the sky and almost landed on my head." Her eyes narrowed. "Are you a tori no hito?"
Bird-person? Juna thought in confusion. She had only heard that term used in reference to Nausicaä. Brave, selfless Nausicaä, who was no longer with her. For a heartbeat she wondered where the Princess was.
"I am not," she answered. "I'm just... I'm just a lost soul who doesn't even know how she got here."
"A powerful spirit protected you and sent you here," Sara replied self-assuredly. "It has instructed me to help you get back home."
Hope appearing out of nothingness sent Juna's heart soaring. "You can do that?"
Nodding, Sara affirmed, "Yes, but you must help me."
"I'm not sure I can, Sara," said Juna, feeling herself empty of the Avatar's power.
The other girl chuckled. "After what you've been through, I'm sure you can't help me now. Judging by your looks, you need a lot of rest before I can send you back home. Come with me to my village. You may stay in my house until you're well enough. Oh, and before I forget..." The woman reached behind her with her free hand and brought out a parcel of folded cloth. "Here. I was going to wear this, but you might want to use it yourself. As it is, you're too indecent for me to bring you to the village."
Juna looked down at the vast expanse of skin showing through the pink slivers of her torn aura suit, accepted the parcel and gulped as Sara continued to stand there, watching her attentively. She blushed and covered her nakedness with the package. "Umm..."
"What? Oh, I'm sorry!" Sara excused herself, and for the first time Juna saw a smile on the other girl's face. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I'm just not used to seeing someone with skin as fair as yours. And then there's that dark mark on your forehead." Sara gestured at the pool around them. "Do you wish to bathe first before changing and going to the village with me?"
Dark mark? Juna would learn shortly that the Drop of Time embedded in her forehead had changed color to a flat, dark indigo, becoming almost black. "Bathing would be a good idea," she decided, warming to the thought. She placed the parcel on the rock she had woken up leaning against and stepped into a deeper part of the pool. After she had sunk into the clear liquid, she tore off the remainder of her aura suit, modestly covering up her private parts with her arms and hands.
Sara looked on as Juna folded her legs to further conceal herself. "Would you mind if I join you?" she asked. "I still haven't finished refreshing myself."
Juna smiled slightly. "If you want to. I'm not so comfortable being the only one without clothes on."
Sara nodded, buried her staff in the sand so it stood upright in the water, then boldly removed her dress. Underneath her raiment she wore nothing. She carefully hung her clothing on the staff. Juna watched as she dove into the pool, swam a couple of laps, and broke the surface near her, eventually adopting the same position as the Avatar and sitting in the water, facing her across a small hollow lined with flat gray rocks.
"Your mind is filled with questions. But answer mine first: who are you, stranger, without your name?" Sara asked. Her water-beaded, slick-haired countenance was now much more friendly than when Juna had first seen it.
"Well..." The Avatar gathered her thoughts and began to talk. Behind her, the ancient structure with its mysterious markings flashed in the sunlight.
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(Posted Sat, 21 May 2005 23:02)
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