Every Little Memory

Entry #15: Burnt Sienna

This is the market district of Tayri; a sprawling mass of plazas and street corners, chock full of merchants trying to sell whatever they can. It looks the same as usual. Well-dressed merchants waving at everyone who passes by. Traders arguing over prices. Doe-eyed tourists too amazed to do anything but stand and gawk at every little thing their eyes fall on. Though it is early morning and only few people come by, all the merchants are still active, trying to sell off their wares.

Though Tayri looks the same on the outside, I can tell that this is a vision of the past. I don’t see the flower merchant that I give blue bells to every weekend. I can’t find the man we sell our meat and goods to everyday. There is no group of children to play my flute for. In their place are strangers I’ve never seen before. A tell-tale sign that this is a memory.

I notice one stand has all kinds of clay goods on display, from pottery to beads for necklaces. A middle-aged woman runs this stand, her hair tied back messily and her face covered in powder. She is carefully arranging her wares on her counter.  Since it is still quite early, only a handful shoppers and tourists stroll by to glimpse the goods.

Something catches my eye in the alley behind the woman’s stand. When I look, there is nothing in the shadows. All that’s there is the woman’s pottery materials. Strange; I thought I saw something move…There! It moves again! It wasn’t my imagination! Whatever is back there throws a large mound of wet clay out into the street. The woman looks up from her display, and frowns at her material lying in the road.

“What on earth?” she mutters as she leaves the stand to retrieve it. I hear a snicker behind me and Kaiya sneaks out of the shadows, grinning.

She looks around a few times and crawls over to the stand. What is she doing? She’ll get caught! The lupine crouches by the stand and eyes the woman. She is standing in the street, bending down to pick up her clay. Kaiya examines the wares on display and snatches some painted clay beads and string. She then returns to the shadows, clambers up the wall of a building, and hides herself among the rooftops. By the time the woman walks back to her wares, Kaiya has vanished completely. I think she may be heading back home.

The woman returns to her stand and tosses the clay back where it belongs. As she continues her work, she notices her clay beads are missing. Her eyes widen and she looks around in every direction, but the street is empty.  “Damn thieves,” she curses with a frown.

I head out in the direction Kaiya went, finding her quickly in the blue bell field. She is sitting cross-legged in the flowers, stringing the beads together into a necklace. Every so often, she holds it up and admires her handiwork with a gentle smile.

“What is that?” someone says, causing Kaiya to jump up and hug her necklace protectively. She starts growling, but stops soon after when she realizes it’s just Kain. He is standing beside her, looking down at her project.

“Kain, you ass, I thought you were a guard!” she snarls, slapping his arm.

“Apologies. I had no intention of startling you,” he replies, rubbing the spot where she hit him.

Kaiya huffs and sits back on the ground, sending petals into the air. “Just make sure I see you coming next time. Oh, and this is a present for mom. It’s her birthday today,” Kaiya says merrily, grinning down at the necklace as she ties the final knot in the string.

A strange look crosses Kain's face, as if something is amiss. His face gets paler, if that is even possible with is already light complexion. A disgruntled frown forms on his face.

“I see. Give her my regards,” he mutters, sounding a bit choked. He then begins to walk eastward, towards the plains. I guess he wasn't planning on conversation today.

“Hey! Where ya goin’? Aren’t you here to bother me or somethin’?” Kaiya shouts after him, looking a bit bewildered and completely oblivious once again to whatever is wrong with the northern demon. 

“Actually, I was just passing through. Good day, Kaiya,” he finishes hastily, not bothering to turn and address her directly.

“You are one weird dude,” she mutters to herself as she completes her project. I couldn't agree more with what she said about Kain. There's something about him I just don't like. Sure, he has made every attempt to prove he is harmless, but I still find it hard to believe him. Kaiya may be easily fooled, but I am not. If he claims to not be a threat, why does he still lurk in the forest as though he were stalking prey? And what is it that makes him appear so afraid? These memories are like pieces of a puzzle that I so desperately want to fit together. I hope the answers materialize soon.

I stare back a Kaiya, who is  examining the necklace once more. She is making sure that all the beads are in the right place, and it is the proper size. Satisfied, she leaps up onto her feet, bearing an excited expression. Then she takes off towards Nocturne Hollow, eager to give her mother the gift.

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A/N: Sorry, this one's a bit short. I think they'll be shorter for the time being.

Anyway, theme #15 was "burnt sienna". At first, I thought, "What the heck is sienna?" So after a bit of Google-ing I found out that it is some sort of mineral used to make oil paints. So, this chapter is arts and crafts. :D