Spiras chapter 5

           I was dreaming. It was a strange dream, because I was not asleep. I was awake. Being unconscious was still being awake, right? My mind was fuzzy, and so was the floor. I seemed to be on a carpet made of fur, but the fur was alive. There on the animal floor was Salmon, but it wasn't. This Salmon was a woman, only a year older then I. She had beautiful long white hair that went on forever. She was wearing such a cheery blue sundress, but the bottom was blood stained. I don't know how I knew this was Salmon, but I was certain. I just knew. Salmon smiled as I opened my eyes. I didn't know they had been closed.

           "I've been healing you. I'm a healing spira you know."

           I nodded, because this was so obvious.

           "I wish I was a water one though, you know? Water is cool."

           I understood this too, and I told her so.

           "I'm glad you do! One reason is that I don't like fire. It's so warm but too warm. Way too weird."

           I gave her a thumbs up to show my understanding.

           "Hey, your pretty cool. Want to be my host? I don't have one."

           I tried to tell her I had a spira already, but suddenly the animal floor flared up, sending us flying above the ground.

           "I have to go!" Said Salmon, before disappearing in a blink.

           My dream ended there, leaving me confused and worried about my sanity and Salmon.

            When I woke up, my first impulse was to check the pouch for the gem. Good, it was still there. Then I felt the pain. Aching pain from my back and on my side-

            Well, my side hurt. A lot. I didn't dare touch where Salmon had slashed me. Instead I slowly lifted myself until I was sitting up straight. I didn't have to life my shirt to see the blood or the gashes. I was hurt badly. Sure, Knat had done his best to keep the pain away from me, but it was bound to come back at full force soon. Using a nearby tree, I edged myself along until standing. That's when I noticed the forest was not where I had been previously. The trees were older and a neat pathway ran through the forest. Reiba was too poor to have paths; most people were too busy working to go for long walks.

            By moving along the trees, I was able to slowly move down the path. I knew I needed help, even if I had to rely on a foreign town. My only solstice was Knat, who didn't have much to say, but it was still someone to talk to.

            "Any idea of where we are, Knat?"

            No. I'm afraid these woods are as foreign to me as they are to you.

            "No guesses?"

            No. Stop talking to me, I'm busy.

            I didn't know what a fox could do in a gem that would keep him busy, but I did as he said.

            Eventually, the trees started thinning and a much more built road started to form. The dirt pathway I had been following joined to a black stone one. I had never seen such a road before, and marveled at the smooth but bumpy surface and the heat it gave off.

            This must be the road to Khine, I thought.

            As I slowly moved along the warm road, I became aware of a rumbling sound. Gradually it became louder. Glancing behind me, I saw a approaching shape on the horizon. As I drew closer, I saw it. It had strange wings on the side, but they appeared to be folded in. It was floating about the height of a person above the ground, and it gave off a shine in the light. It also had wheels on it, though they appeared to be made out of some sort of weird material.

            Is that one of those automobiles I heard about...? I thought hard about what Lopan had told me. I didn't recall if automobiles floated, but it did have wheels and move by itself. I decided it must be.

            I stood on the road, watching the automobile approach. It moved pretty fast and I gazed in awe as it past me by, making a artificial wind behind.

            It defiantly was cool.

But maybe not. More automobiles started flying towards me at high speeds. One of them almost knocked me over. I couldn't even try to cross the road without one almost taking my head off. Crawling didn't do good either.

            I sat by the road watching the automobiles fly past as the sun climbed slowly up the cloudy sky. Sometimes I could see the driver- usually with a smug look on their face. Were they happy that I couldn't reach Khine? Surely they didn't know I was there, but I felt they could have paid more attention. A excuse to cross happened suddenly; an automobile plummeted to the ground suddenly, blocking the road for other drivers. The driver climbed out unhurt and started their automobile again, but there was enough time for me to cross.

            -

            Khine was huge. I knew the city was supposed to be, but I hadn't expected this. Just about everything flew and the ground moved by itself. Lights, which my family couldn't even begin to afford, were everywhere. I saw around me strange people, with bright clothes and hair. Tall buildings stood over the enormous crowd of people, each one heading their own separate way. I decided to find a place, maybe a inn, to ask for directions to Reiba. Sure, Khine was neat, but I didn't like how alien everything was.

            The place I found was called Epiziah's Bar and Tavern. It was possibly the only wooden building around by the looks of it, probably the only one in Khine. Inside it smelled like rotting wood and old beer. It wasn't exactly what I had been hoping for.

The old man behind the counter didn't acknowledge me when I entered. He was a quite tall man with graying hair and a equally as gray beard. 

            "Excuse me," I asked, "may I get directions to Reiba from here?" 

            The man spoke in a simple and gruff voice, "No. You look underage. Get out."

            "I'm not here to dri-" 

            "Get out."

            I sat against the the dark brink wall in the small, smelly street next to the bar. A few other people were also leaning against the wall, but none of them were moving. They seemed to be sleeping, for whatever reason. I went over my choices out loud, hoping Knat would offer some feedback.

            "Okay, I could... guess the right way? Maybe walk until I found someone who would help me? Or maybe I could stowaway on one of those fancy auto-mo-biles they have around here. See where it's heading. Perhaps I should just Try and find another inn, one that is nicer to me."

            I paused, waiting for Knat to respond. When he remained quiet, I reached for the gem to try to wake him up. My hand reached empty air. The gem was gone. I sat dumbfounded for a second, before setting my priorities right. I jumped up in a hurry and looked around. Nothing was moving in the small street way, but the bright light from the main road was blocked out for a short moment. Sure, it could have been any ordinary person, but I didn't have anything else to do. I went to the edge of the small street way and checked the nearby people. A woman with stunning blond hair was talking to what appeared to be a rock, while a well dressed man hurried off. One person caught my eye. It was a short person in a long black coat, jogging in the direction opposite me. He had a black cap on as well, but the little hair I could see seemed to be a royal purple. I didn't know why I suspected this boy of stealing the gem, but he stood out in the colorful crowd. He ducked into a side street like the one I had left, and as a result, I broke into a run after him.

            The street was cramped and I barely had room to enter it. The boy was now clearly holding the gem out in front of him, examining it, "The gem is mine!"

              "I-I'm sorry! Forgive me, I'm sorry!" He stuttered with a shocked look on his face.

The boy put his hands up in the air.

            I didn't know what really to do. The boy was a thief, so certainly he should be put before a council of some sort, "Okay, I'm going to report you to the council. Tell me where it is."

            The boy's eyes widened. He gave a small grin, "Follow me then, I know the way."

            The boy wove a confusing route through Khine. Out of the street way, (alley, according to the boy) we went through the crowd and into a shop. The man there nodded tiredly from behind the counter as we passed. There was a small passage behind there that lead to the rooftop. From this point, the boy jumped down onto a ledge and climbed down the way into another alleyway. He hurried down this alley and into another sunny street. He strolled up to a pure white house, and walked right in.

            The interior is was spacious and nice. Sunlight shone through the glass-less windows into the room. There was wooden chairs and a table, cluttered with things such as paper and empty dishes that once held food. There was a stone staircase on the left wall, that I couldn't help but go up. Upstairs, there was two single rooms. One of them had a single bed while the other was empty, in each of the rooms there were various other paraphernalia scattered about. I don't exactly know why, but I was drawn to the bed. I may have been tired, but it was still odd how I felt like I needed to sleep, right then and there. I slipped into the incredibly soft bed and fell asleep quickly.