Naviri was small when it came to cities. A quiet little place with mud huts, wide fields, and sparkling ponds. Forests and streams surrounded the kingdom. A single path was cut through the trees, leading to the city gates. It should've been full of people at this time of the day, but it was as quiet as a ghost town.
The silence was interrupted by three figures appearing outside the gates. Aarin gracefully stepped onto solid land, Lina landed on her feet, and Kian fell on his back. Lina leaned over him and smiled softly.
"Good job," she said, much to Kian's irritation, and offered her hand.
"How was I supposed to know we were gonna appear above ground and not on it?" Kian protested, accepting her help and pushing himself up.
Aarin tuned them out as the two continued to bicker, instead looking over the landscape. Perhaps the locals knew of the festival. Even if they didn't know its name, spiritual activity of such magnitude could probably be sensed by the mortals. He strained his ears, trying to get a feel of the situation, but he couldn't hear a thing over his students babbling behind him.
"Maybe if you had a brain you'd know I'm-"
"Did not ask."
"Stop interrupting me-'
"Not like you have anything worthwhile to say anyway."
"Oh, like you're so smart-"
Aarin closed his eyes, exhaled deeply, and cleared his throat. The two stopped immediately and stood at attention.
"If the two of you are done," he sighed, "let us find a place to rest."
The three white-clad reapers looked like floating tufts of cotton as they made their way deeper into the city. The houses were well kept and clean, with the spare few farms well-irrigated and cared for.
"Don't ghosts like to feed off of mortals? Why have the festival near some place as abandoned as this?" Kian asked. Lina looked at him with a proud smirk.
"Look around you," she said, "it's clear people live here."
"Then why not, I don't know, come outside?" Kian countered. "In a small place like this, I'd assume they'd rush to greet any newcomers."
Aarin had a clear idea why, but he wished to test out his theory. He walked up to the nearest house, a structure with no more than one floor, and knocked on the wooden door. Silence.
Lina and Kian caught up to him, looking at him questioningly. He raised his hand in a gesture for patience and knocked again.
This time, he was answered by a muffled whimper.
"Greetings. We're new here and looking for directions. Could you please help us?" Aarin called, his voice weaker than usual. He couldn't wait for the day to end so he could finally rest. Considering he wasn't getting a break, he needed to find ways to heal whenever he could.
"G- go away! Don't k- k- kill me-!" came a terrified squeak from inside the house just as he'd given up hope. It sounded like a woman's voice, high but not child-like. The three lit up instantly at the sound.
"We don't have bad intentions," Kian said excitedly. "We're reap-"
Aarin slapped his hand against Kian's mouth and shook his head.
"We're merchants from the north," Aarin said as he pulled Kian farther away from the door. "Could you please show us to a place we could rest? We've been wandering the forest for days now."
After a moment, the meek voice responded, directing them to a field nearby.
"Th- there's a hut there," she quavered. "It must be e- empty now."
"Why? Did the owner leave town?" Aarin questioned.
"N- no… he-" she let out a scared sob, "they killed him!"
The silence that followed was only interrupted by the girl's sniffles.
"...Thank you, please take care," Aarin said courteously before turning away.
They walked along the deserted path, their footsteps interrupting the deafening silence. Lina and Kian looked a lot gloomier than they had initially. Aarin could see how the light in their eyes was a little dimmer now. He drew in a deep breath. The best distraction was always responsibility.
"First, we will set up camp at the hut. Then, while I explore the forest, I want you two to knock on every single door and get as much information as you can," he ordered. "I want written records; any piece of knowledge could be crucial. Any objections?"
"Nah."
"Understood, Master Aarin."
Once they reached the field, it became apparent that the hut had been abandoned for a while. Clothes on the clothesline outside were scattered on the ground, torn and dirtied. The bucket near the well was overturned. The hut's windows were all open, and the door hung off its hinges.
Aarin was about to draw a repairing talisman when he heard a faint 'meow' from inside the hut.
Lina and Kian immediately drew their weapons, but Aarin remained relaxed. He couldn't sense a strong spiritual presence. That meant that it was either harmless or so powerful that it could mask its presence from him. And anything that strong was not worth fighting against; failure was guaranteed.
Another meow came, making the two juniors jump.
Aarin stepped and leaned forward to peer inside, a curious glint in his eyes.
"Careful," Lina said sharply, tilting her spear down to point at the door.
From inside the darkness, emerged a silky, ghostly white… cat.
Just a mortal cat. It meowed once again, stretched languidly, and looked at the three with disinterest. The juniors lowered their weapons, and Aarin straightened up, paying no more attention to the creature. He stepped over it and into the hut, earning a well-deserved hiss of annoyance.
The inside of the hut was no different in its state of disarray. There was a cot, a few upturned stools, a broken table, and scattered pots and pans. He drew a repairing talisman, closed his eyes, channeled his energy, and slammed the strip of paper against the floor.
Of course, he overestimated his strength. As cracks began sealing themselves, broken furniture and cutlery returned to their previous state, and the windows and doors righted themselves, he felt his heart thundering against his ribs. A blue light spread through the ground, restoring everything in its path. By the time Lina and Kian entered the hut, Aarin had collapsed on the cot.
"Are we supposed to take a nap now?" Kian asked, not sounding too disappointed by the idea. Lina sighed and massaged her temples.
"Should we leave for our objective, Master Aarin?" she inquired. Aarin propped himself up on his elbows and nodded.
"Remember… records," he said, voice weak. The worried look the juniors exchanged didn't go unnoticed, but considering they didn't ask, he didn't bother explaining his state.
The two bowed, shut the door, and left.
With the last of his strength, Aarin retrieved a protective talisman. He let it gently drift over to the closed door. The moment it touched the wooden surface, a faint light passed through the hut, and his body finally shut down.
"Meow."
"Hn…" Aarin hummed softly, throat dry and itchy.
"Mrrreow!"
"The… hell…" He tried to crack an eye open, but the outside was awfully bright. It came back to him in pieces. Why was the hut so bright all of a sudden?
Wait- when did the door open?
Aarin sat up, his eyes wide. The hut was filled with a faint fragrance of cloves and jasmine. At the door, a silhouette sat with its back against the door frame. It disappeared before he could focus on it; however, he felt something graze against his neck. He unsheathed his spear and looked down in hopes of catching the spirit, but-
All he saw was the cat from before, purring on his lap. It looked up at him and rolled over, belly up.
"What-?"
"Meow!"