Chapter Text
Kaiyo opened his eyes to the gloom of an unfamiliar room. A ramshackle building surrounded him, with crocheted blankets draped over old, threadbare armchairs. Warmth emanated from a well used woodfire and a comforting orange glow reflected off a small pitcher which had been placed on a little table some feet away. Groggy, but determined, the young man brought himself up onto his elbows, closed his eyes and took a deep breath into his lungs.
After a moment, Kaiyo pulled his body from the warmth of the blankets that hung around his figure and padded softly across to the waiting pitcher of water. Filling his cup, he noticed a dull thudding, repetitive and earthy, coming from somewhere beyond the walls that enclosed him. Taking a sip of water, he now realised just how thirsty he was. His head pounded painfully and his throat felt scratchy, drier than sand dunes in the height of an Inari summer. He sat back down on the edge of the bed he'd just vacated and took the time to slowly consume the entire cup of water, and then another.
The thudding outside continued, sometimes pausing for a minute or two and then recommencing once again with the same dogged intensity. Eventually the thudding outside began to sync up with the pounding inside his skull and Kaiyo focussed carefully on slowing his breath and taking in more water.
A breeze blew across the house and the structure creaked and chattered as the walls and rafters shifted and flexed. Looking around the room Kaiyo could see particles floating in the air, flickering in the beams of light that poked around the edges of the heavy curtains. The dust floated, shifting with the small breeze that whistled lightly through the small gaps under the door and around the window frames.
Steeling himself, he pulled himself back off of the bed and up into the room, collecting another cup of water as he went. Moving towards the door that the outside light was leaking through, he could hear that the thumping had stopped. Between breaths he listened at the door before placing his hand gently on the handle. A muffled voice some distance beyond the door called out, though Kaiyo would not make out the specific words. The voice was responding to something, perhaps someone else just beyond his hearing range. The brightness of the outside world temporarily blinded the young man as he stepped out onto a narrow decking, one hand on the door and another still holding his worn ceramic cup.
Eyes slowly adjusting to the bright day, Kaiyo scanned the scene in front of him. Somehow, after he’d passed out the night before, Poros and Monty had found shelter in what looked like a small scale farm, sheep, cattle and all. The sweet smell of hay mingled with the earthy stench of animal manure and the sound of braying cows filled the morning. In the distance, he could see a large marble skinned man, glinting in the morning sun as he stacked up piles and piles of fresh split firewood. A sound immediately to the left of Kaiyo made him jump out of his skin as he whirled around to the sudden noise.
A dull clatter broke the relative silence of the rural morning and Kaiyo let out a sigh of relief as he found the large frame of Monty snoozing gently in a sturdy rocking chair. The source of the sudden noise that had startled him was made undoubtedly clear to him, as Monty’s glasses now rested on the floor beside him, having fallen from his lap. Smiling, Kaiyo stepped over and plucked the spectacles from the decking and placed them on the side table nearby. “Rest up old man,” he said under his breath, “Gods knows what Poros has gotten us involved in now.”