Chapter Text
A lone ray of sunshine woke Javier up the next morning. It took him a while to figure out that he was slumping by a tree on the edge of the same forest the party came from last night, his lone cargo bag lying by his side. The field he got lost in last night looked as clear as it could be in the morning light, no trace of the mysterious fog, his horse or even his own path from the grassy meadow to where he was sat.
Taking a shuddering breath, he closed his eyes, trying to recall whatever happened the night before. All he could see was white, the cold lingering on his body as if it was still present. Then he saw a face. Nothing more but a pale, almost mask-like expression, features so smooth and yet so sharp. Enchaning. Inhuman.
He knew he was supposed to be scared of it, whoever that was, lurking in the mist and watching him. And yet all he could feel was a soothing warmth, the sense of drifting off just before one fell asleep. The heat of Its hand holding his, drowning in the drowsiness. Javier had felt safe in the arms of the unknown. And then it was all black.
---
The man found his way to the village his party was staying at at about middday. It took him a while to get rid of the dizziness he felt and settle on the track of others, carrying a heavy duffel bag his horse should‘ve aided him with. As soon as he reached the village, baring almost no difference to dozens of others he had passed by earlier, Javier was met by somewhat shocked looks of the locals, quickly exchanging whispers as he passed by.
As Javier was about to try communicating in a weird mixture of lost Japanese words and sign language with any nearing native, he heard a soothing sound of Spanish in front of him.
„Fernandez! I can‘t believe it,“ a man in his fifties approached Javier, taking the cargo from his hands in a swift motion, and patting his shoulder esctaticly. „Dios mio, no one here thought you were alive.“
Neither did I, he took a breath that made his ribcage rattle.
---
He had eaten, poured himself over with cool water that counted as a bath and changed when a tall man entered the small living space. He was Antón de Olmedo, a scholar from the University of Valencia, chosen for the mission because of his knowledge in Japanese language as well as the culture, and also one of the few friends Javier had. Taking a seat on the tatami by the door, he took a deep look at Javier.
„So you survived the night. We thought we had lost you,“ Antón offered Javier a small smile, lightly shaking his head in awe.
„Yeah, well, I thought I lost you too,“ the answer was vague, as if he was trying to deal with the idea himself.
„Rodrigues and Galla noticed a part of cargo was gone as we arrived. We thought we‘d misscalculated,“ Antón almost snickered, eyeing the floor. „And then your horse came down from over the hill. Looked scared. There was no sight of you. And a part of the goods was missing, too.“
He raised his head, sight landing on Javier‘s face, narrow eyes asking the question. Javier cleared his throat.
„It- the cargo, it dropped, when we were walking across that field in the south. I saw the fog, but I never thought- I didn‘t think it would move so fast. I thought I would be quick, pick it up, load it again, catch up with the party. But the fog,“ his hands quivered as he took a sharp inhale. „The fog covered the road and I was stuck there. Barely any visibility. I tried calling out for you.“
Jorge raised his eyebrows, eyes widening slightly.
„The whole party went calling out for you. No answer, just silence,“ Javier‘s heart sank. „Some wanted to go out and search but the leader advised us to stay here. He was right. The fog was thick, no way we could‘ve come back.“
Javier‘s head was buzzing as he was trying to process what his friend was saying. A shiver ran down his spine as he musstered on an answer.
„I didn‘t- the was no sound. Maybe... Maybe the wind, maybe it redirected the sound, or...“
The stumbled over his own words as Antón stared at him in concern. They both knew there was no wind. The night was as still as ever, not a single branch on the trees in the forest moving as they passed by them earlier. Javier breathed deeply. He could trust his friend, he could rely on him not to assume he went insane over night. He swallowed thickly before opening his mouth again.
„There was someone. Or something.“ As Javier lifted his eyes, he could see Antón‘s interest peak in seconds. „A man. Well, I think. I saw a silhouette in the fog and...“
The scholar‘s eyes were peering through Javier‘s as his expression got serious.
„It- he, he saved me. But I don‘t remember much.“
The both men knew it didn‘t make much sense for a man to appear wandering in the thickest fog they‘ve ever seen at dusk just like that. It was borderline crazy for the party to attempt to look for Javier, let alone for a single person to find their way in the mist. It was barely possible to survive in the freezing cold of the evening dew and the milky white.
Antón swallowed, looked up at the man in front of him as if looking for an answer in his face. Javier said nothing. Moments passed and the scholar snickered, shaking his head lightly.
„The locals, they have a story. About a creature, a demon. They call it kitsune, a fox spirit. They say it tricks people, plays with them as if they were its toys. That‘s why they never go out at night. Afraid it might hurt them.“
Javier froze. Antón was a Christian just like him, and they didn‘t believe in things like these. Yet his friend‘s words sounded strangely serious, despite the chuckle that seemed to be meant only to hide the feelings of the man. It was foolish, believing in this. Childish, a tale of the savages. It was a simple man, lost in the fog just like him. Maybe a hermit even. He saved him, that was what mattered the most. Yet somehow Javier felt as if the ends were connecting.
„It‘s just a legend, of course.“ Antón cleared the looming silence, offering Javier a crooked smile. It didn‘t look very confident. „What is important, is that you are alive. And I am glad. Now get some rest. We move again tomorrow.“
As Antón stood up to leave the room, Javier could see his fists clenching and unclenching a if somethign was bothering him. It was stupid, Javier repeated to himself. But as he lied down to rest that night, he couldn‘t chase the image of the being staring at him and the warmth on this wrist away from his mind.