The Tale of O'Khasis

5 - The Past

When Aphmau arrived at the fields, no one was there. She hovered uncertainly for a minute before heading to the plaza - or what she assumed was the plaza. It was empty but for two people with stands falling apart.

A redheaded woman spotted her, her face lighting up. "A visiter!" she squealed. "Oh, Logan, look!"

"I have eyes, you know," he grumbled.

"Um, hi!" Aphmau said with a wave.

"Welcome!" she giggled, a ke-ke-ke sort of noise. "Don't mind Logan, he's always grumpy. I'm Kiki!"

"Im Aphmau. I was looking for Brendan, do you know where he might be?"

"Oh yes! He's my younger brother. He decided to tear down the old lord's home. It was burned by a fire, just a bit sore on the eyes. I think Zenix is with him."

"A bunch of fools, they are," Logan muttered. "Out in the woods, in a building that could collapse on them? No sane man would do that." Kiki winced.

"Thank you very much!" said Aphmau. "Erm, which direction would that be?"

Kiki pointed north, and after thanking her profusely, Aphmau headed in that direction. The woods were thick and dark, even in the middle of the day. Aphmau had to fight her way through the woods and emerged into a clearing with many scratches on her arms and legs.

The clearing was creepy. There was fog - or maybe leftover smoke - that hung over a charred, half torn down house. The remains of a campfire was positioned in front of where the door should have been. Aphmau thought she could hear a rustling in the brush.

She shook herself lightly and pushed forward. "Hello?" she called. "Brendan? Zenix?"

"Over here!" someone shouted. She hurried inside the building with its half walls and shattered glass. A man who must have been Brendan was hunched over, hammering away at something. Zenix stood, arms crossed, keeping guard. She supposed it wasnt a bad idea to have someone watch over you while in the middle of these woods.

"Aphmau! What are you doing here?" he asked.

Brendan wiped his forehead and sat up. "Who's Aphmau?" He caught sight of her and his mouth fell in an o, his face pinking slightly.

Flattered, Aphmau searched for words. "I just arrived in the village. I was talking to these girls and they said if I wanted to help out, to find Brendan."

"You're helping out?" Zenix asked, incredulous. She nodded, and he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Oh, thank Irene. I've been doing this all by myself for months. Help would be amazing. Do you know any carpentry?"

"Uh . . . No," Aphmau said, beginning to feel like she might not be very good at helping.

He waved it away. "I'll teach you. It's not that hard to learn. See, look, when we finish tearing this down, we'll get back to farming. Maybe we'll even have enough to survive after this," he mused.

"Thank you so much for the offer, Aphmau, but we can't expect a visiter to do so much-"

She cut Zenix off. "No, I'd love to be of service. But if you don't want a visiter to do it . . . Then I'll live here!" She grinned, expecting them to be ecstatic. But her face fell when she noticed their hesitance.

"Don't commit to anything just yet. Phoenix Drop is falling apart. I'd hate to drag you down with it," Brendan said.

"I'll stop it from falling apart," she said stubbornly.

"If you're so sure," Zenix sighed. "I suppose we'd better get to work."

For the next few hours, they worked side by side, tearing at the wood and putting it in a cart if it was salvageable. Near dusk, they found a hidden cellar.