"Master, there's a new assignment." Jae's steward walked into the room and held a printout in his hand. He sounded like he had run from the back office to the front to find her.
His auburn, wavy hair was a little messy from the running, and fox ears quivered atop his head. "Are you alright?" He asked when he saw her disheartened appearance.
He paused before the sofa and looked at her. "Did the last assignment go poorly? Maybe you should take a break for a few days. These clients just keep coming to the teahouse, not giving you any time to rest."
"It's fine." Jae sat up and gave her longtime friend a comforting glance. Taking his hand in hers and patting it, she added, "the more clients I help, the quicker I'll regain my powers. There is no time like today."
"Well, if you're sure." If his master said she was fine, there wasn't much he could do. He knew how stubborn she could be, and despite her desire to retire, she wouldn't let it hinder her work. She wanted to get her powers back, since the incident a century ago.
Syl gave up trying to discourage her and explained the new assignment to her.
☽
A forest surrounded the old town of Daldare. The town had been built a century before, and since a certain incident, had become more rundown and secluded: nowadays, the only people who inhabited it were the elderly who had lived there their whole lives, and a few younger people who were guards hired to protect the town.
These guards often braved the woods to hunt, but otherwise, no one would dare to enter it, because of the rumours that surrounded the place. The appearance of said woods was also enough to deter anyone: the trees were tall and seemed to touch the sky. The sunlight never breached the canopies above and left the woods in almost impenetrable darkness. Mist billowed along the ground and gave off an eerie feeling. If the people didn't need meat and other foods that the woods provided, no one would enter it.
So, the teahouse that Jae owned was hidden well in the centre of the woods and was only visited by the people who knew it was there and could enter the barrier that encased it within.
The barrier was put in place to hide the teahouse from human eyes and from the ones that Jae wanted to hide from. It was a powerful barrier and could only be seen by the ones that she allowed to, or the humans that had a little magic in them. Just like the girl who had given Jae the last task, but because of her having a little tiny amount inside her, it had gone undetected and it could stay that way for the rest of her life.
If anyone stumbled upon the clearing that the teahouse occupied, they would see nothing but an extensive field surrounded by trees and a little stream that flowed through it. As picturesque as it was, it was still an ordinary sight and no one would suspect anything - just like Jae wanted it to be.
☽
Inside the teahouse, Jae was studying the assignment that Sal had given her, and a frown formed between her brows. This was new...
The tasks that came to the teahouse were ones to do with helping relationships, finding a lost cat, or smaller miscellaneous tasks, but there had never been one like the one today; escorting an important person to their final destination. It wasn't something they had ever been trusted with; to be honest, they had just been seen as a frivolous company that helped with unimportant things, so them being able to escort someone seemed to be out of the question.
There was also the fact that the journey could take a long time, which meant they had to camp or live rough for a month or more. And to some people, Jae looked like the type who wouldn't be able to handle having to spend days in a tent, and without proper food and shelter. However, unbeknownst to them, Jae had spent most of her younger days living without these things for days at a time; especially when she went travelling with him.
So, it was something she could handle. The only problem was, was that this assignment was a big one, and she would pay dearly if anything were to go wrong.
Syl, who still stood by the sofa, looked like he was struggling with something internal, and waited for a long time for his master to speak. The flipping of the pages was all that could be heard in the spacious sitting room, and it made the Fox Spirit even more anxious. Gathering up his courage, he blurted out: "Master, what do you think? Are you going to accept?"
"Accept?" Jae sneered and closed the pages. "Of course, I'm going to."
"But..." Syl stammered and inquired, "this assignment seems dangerous, would it be ok to do it?"
Jae flung the pages onto the sofa and decided it was best not to look at them again. Ignore the things you want to ignore, and they should disappear: out of sight and out of mind. This saying had been her mind's saving grace these last few years, and she wasn't ready to go against it just yet.
"Some of my powers have returned to me, but it still isn't enough." Jae flexed her fingers like she could feel the power flowing through them. "The assignment might be dangerous, but it should be enough to get back the amount that I need to get back to the stage I once was."
"Yes, but..."
"No more buts." She snapped. Then she apologised after realising how mean she had sounded.
Syl was a Fox Spirit who had appeared in Jae's life when she had been at her lowest. And, so had been the Fox Spirit, who was freshly abandoned by his clan - he hadn't gone into the details, but judging from the injuries that had littered his body, and his spirit mark being almost completely gone, Jae could guess how bad it was.
A clan was home to many spirits, however, to others it could be like a prison, a cage, and that had been the case for Syl. Those many years ago, he had escaped with his life barely intact and ran into a Jae who was on her own last life strings.
He had saved her, but she had also saved him. And since that time, they had been together and helped one another with whatever tasks had come their way after establishing the teahouse.
☽
Days later, Jae and Syl stepped out of the barrier and made their way over to where they knew the guards were meeting. There, they would meet the person they would be escorting and would officially start their task.
Although they still felt sceptical about it, they knew they didn't have a choice, so when they met up with the people who had clearly been waiting for them to arrive, the master and steward pair put on their best smiles. Then greeted them warmly and quickly integrated with the group.
Sometime later, as they prepared to set off, Jae paused to take a sip of water and looked about the group. She had to remember everyone's names so she wouldn't mess it up later. As she did so, her eyes swept over one particular man.
It took all of her willpower to stop herself from spitting out the water in shock; in doing so, the water went down the wrong hole, causing her to choke. The coughing fit caused a stir in the group, and everyone turned to her in concern. Syl rubbed her back in comfort and tried to ease the coughs somewhat, whilst asking her if she was ok.
Jae could only nod, and with streaming eyes, she raised her head to look in that man's direction once more. This time she was shocked again, but for a completely different reason.
Their eyes locked in midair, and she saw an expression on his face that she was sure mirrored her own. It was one of confusion, long-forgotten affection and love that went so deep it was hard to hide. Of course, Jae was too focused on the hurt that had occurred in the past, so she wouldn't notice the last two, but it was still there nevertheless.
One question appeared in both of their minds... Why were they there?