Tradition's End (A Touhou Project Fanfiction)

A Single Step

Mornings were of no trouble for Alice Margatroid.

Sure, she was a magician and therefore required no sleep, but that had been true for her even before she'd become a youkai.

She'd always considered herself to be an early riser.

...

It was early when Alice stepped out onto her front porch, fully dressed and prepared for the journey ahead. She had awoken beneath a canopy of twinkling stars, and now the faintest of them have already winked out of sight.

The first hints of daybreak crept over the horizon, a soft, otherworldly glow painting the eastern sky. It was but a presage, a herald of the coming day.

The Forest was quiet, save for the most stubborn of insects, refusing to end their cacophonous serenade. The youkai of the night, quickly wrapping up their activities, were headed for their homes, or wherever it was that they spent their time under the harsh light of day.

The cool morning air graced her skin and filled her lungs. She made a point to savor it before the sun could render it stiflingly hot.

The morning twilight was peaceful, and... nostalgic. The unnaturally cool weather... The long periods of darkness... The strangely quiet hinterlands...

It... reminded her of home.

No... her previous home. This was her home, now.

Gensokyo was her home.

...

She picked up speed as she glided through the Forest, keeping low and following the path. Any confrontations would inevitably delay her passage. Thus, she sought to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

As she flew, a gentle breeze slithered its way through the trees, nudging at their branches and catching at their leaves, urging them all into a discordant symphony. The hollow rattle of desiccated plant matter was eerie, a sound far more suited for late fall than early summer, especially in the hazy, early dawn light.

It was... not a good look. Shouldn't one of the gods have done something about that by now? How long would they allow this drought to persist?

The longer it kept up, the more she considered adding a well of some sort to her property.

...

...

...

The Human Village, once teeming with life, now silent, save for the odd guard or lone figure slipping through its dark streets. Soon, it would boast a return to normalcy. For now, its residents slept, clutching at those last few precious moments of rest before the start of a new day.

The guard at the gate had given her an odd look, but had let her pass all the same.

Alice made her way from street to street, relying on memory to reach her destination. A haphazard smattering of torches lit her way, helped along only slightly by the increasing morning visibility.

...

She approached a door, one that had quickly become familiar to her. It was a simple pane of glass framed by metal, a utilitarian metal handle on one side and hinges on the other. At its center hung a sign, which currently read 'CLOSED'.

She raised a hand, the one not occupied by her grimoire, and rapped on the door. The sound of her metal rings on the glass produced an unpleasant racket.

It was fortunate that the surrounding buildings were businesses; there were few who would be disturbed by her early morning clangor.

...