Menewsha Avatar Community - View Single Post - Shīfu no Kouda (The Master of The Rainbow Snake)

01:37 PM

Gisela thrashed, moaning quietly in her sleep. Her eyes moved quickly beneath her lids, her hands involuntarily twitching at her sides. Tiny drawings flashed across her subconscious as if turning the pages of a book, each containing sketches of odd-looking creatures that became increasingly disturbing and violent. The ink of their lines spread and multiplied until they flooded her vision entirely, strangling her with their inky darkness...

• • •

Gisela woke with a cry and sat bolt upright, her chest heaving, her skin slick with sweat. Her head whipped about, taking in the unfamiliar room. "Where am I?" she asked the darkness, not expecting an answer. Looking down at her hands gripping the futon, Gisela noticed the black-bound book slipping off the covers. "Oh, that." Gisela sighed and let herself fall heavily back against the pillow.

She was in the home of the Shīfu no Kouda, the Master of the Rainbow Snake. He had given her the book to look at last night following their first meeting. It had been both satisfying...and terrifying. To most, the man probably seemed completely bereft of his senses, speaking of creatures that the eyes couldn't see, but to Gisela, it was a deliverance from insanity. She had been beyond relieved to find that the odd shapes and monsters that had been chasing her since her accident weren't the inventions of a lunatic.

No, she wasn't going crazy. The first Mushi Master had said as much, but she'd had her doubts.

Yesterday she'd spoken with the Master of the Rainbow Snake for hours over steaming cups of tea. She'd pleaded with him to remove "the curse" as she thought of it, but the Master had waved away her requests saying that she "had great potential" and should "stop rejecting her destiny" and needed to "train her mind". Nobody in her 22 years had ever seen any sort of potential in her. So while the situation was anything but ideal, she'd found herself agreeing to an apprenticeship with an old man she barely knew doing who knew what. Whatever, it came with housing and three square meals a day so it was worth a try at least.

With a huff, Gisela threw off the blanket and stood up, shivering lightly in the cool morning air. It was still dark out and after sliding open the outer door, she judged it was at least an hour before sunrise. Running a hand through her messy brown hair she inhaled deeply. She could smell the approaching autumn, the faint earthy tones of the season mixed in the morning air. It would be a nice day.

Stepping out into her sandals, Gisela wobbled slightly as her ankle threatened to roll. Righting herself, she looked around the compound. To the south was the large gate she had walked through yesterday afternoon, the stone path meandering around a small pond and approaching the main house. That was all she had seen yesterday before stepping inside for her meeting. Now, spotting a small well, Gisela stepped forward and splashed her face and arms with the cool water to wash away the sweat from her sleep.

Feeling refreshed, she stepped back inside, dressed, and put away the bedding. Standing in the middle of the room, she looked down at the black-bound book. The information and drawings inside made her uncomfortable. Shivering again, Gisela poked the book with her toe. When nothing happened, she picked it up between two fingers and stuffed it under the blankets, hoping to forget about it for now. With that out of the way, she stepped back outside meaning to explore what she could of the house and the grounds before the master called upon her to continue their discussion.