By the River, Utter Curiosity Speaks the Loudest

As the snow, time was too, melting through the inconveniently terrible way with a good aim for the life to carry on its one and only purpose... mourning for the unfortunate chance to grasp the withered gaiety while cruelly carrying on with the peaceful flow of its placid pursuit to move the sun towards its resting place in far western horizon behind that seemingly endless white fence - concurrently ticking the clock, and coincidentally melting the unlucky snow for wandering too far from its chilling environs. Many avalanches occurred, either major or minor didn't make so much different as it was the result of assured reality, unspoken and unwritten law of nature yet the comprehension was securely grasped amid the sentient structure since before the dawn of the age.

It was biorhythm, yet many accounts cited it as cycle of life, a common term that was undemanding to grasp... for even such an item, devoid of life such water that was found easily throughout ages and across the continents... appeared having similar kind of that cycle. Changing its variation of shape along with the temperature, channeling such a compelling feeling along with every skin it touched, depending on the expected emotion to be released from it. Becoming one with the flow - the melted form of the soothing snow, inducing one's wishes to shoot away the sheer amounts of concern that overwhelmed quite a troubled mind... granting the somatic sensation to take control over the body while resting the mind was. Seemingly became one and only kind of purpose for its existence, besides dividing this plain of green with its narrow blue line of geometric abstraction in a great length... delivering that of melted snow for all the inhabitants inhabited along its azure line, assembling a community eventually for their sources of primary needs had already been preserved for those who were willing to seek for it.

One in particular, a village... a small community that was established on a remote corner of this plain of green, traversing too, that blue line was at this village as its journey continued to bring so much garden fresh even to this remote spot after so much happened in there, as for now were undergoing a recovery phase - both physically and mentally - its residents... likewise their savior whose solitude became her foremost preference at the moment.

Splashing sound of gentle water within this solitude, breaking against its kismet - meant to be another placid pursuit of finding the camouflaged remedy from a tragedy latterly. Despite destined to gain the happy outcome, for it was already clinched, for there was no other mean to receive the contrary as the difference in power was so discernible amid them whose idealism was conflicting one another... betwixt the devil and a mother of a long-deceased son. Yet, there was still something left from the frozen struggle.

The drip of the water from the crimson ends of her hair, once resurfacing the white head was from beneath the aqueous layer of freshness. The dribbling water naturally found its way home, becoming one again with this line of azure as the one-horned girl sitting inside of it, simply letting her pale skin getting drowned inside this coldness while her lemon-yellow stare enjoying the scenery of the white fences in the distance that were now the orange tint of dusk slowly painted its colorless stature despite only the slightest difference in appearance in the end. Moreover the green plain too, couldn't escape from its equally-spread color of the orange star that about to bury itself behind those white fences.

'Onizacija, huh? Literally means demonification...' leisurely began to whisper the one-horned girl was, without moving her lips, recollecting the event occurred on top of those white fences, 'I hardly can believe what just I heard. Never expecting humans to reach a stage beyond their capability... that is, if she was really can be trusted at all.'

Slowly loosen her body she was then, her head looked up and fall on her bare back thus allowing the buoyant force of the water pushing her mass upward. Becoming one with the flow of the river while her yellow stare was calmly staring at the orange sky lack of clouds and mind that wandering around the postulation and possibility... contemplating the incomplete picture of a bizarre plot of which she unintentionally stumbled upon,

'And the rest... I think I should dig up myself, eh,' she carried on with her whispering thought, 'Maybe I should give the capital city a try as there's might be a possibility that one of them is in there. Well, if proven otherwise, at least I can collect some basic information around this region and if I'm lucky I also can obtain any information about their Secret Order. It's okay even if it's just a rumor.'

Seemingly lamenting she was, through the serenity of the fluvial processes with a muffled sound of a stream burbles as it traveled along its azure bed, subtly resonating over the many pebbles on the riverside. Openly unfolding her well-thought, ripe plans for the following days after a peaceful moment such as now... for there was no point of turning back, as she was already involved within this intricate issue in the first place since her decisions - eccentric in practice - to ramble around the mortal surface of the world. Humanity was her main factor that stimulated such a peculiar decision, and curiosity was the leading factor that braced the idea.

Barely a Great Cycle of Seasons had passed, yet many things had happened seemingly out of nowhere and never anticipating it for once... whether it was an annoying moment or a pleasant meeting, from a harrowing incident to a saddening tragedy... she simply learnt that there was more there than meets the yellow eyes of hers for the first time. She learned her lesson, and changing her own perspective into a passive one following the frozen struggle on top of those white fences. The frozen struggle that successfully induced her perception with the darkest side of the humanity itself, that human appeared to be more complicated to comprehend, as the crimson thread apparently was tangled into an untraceable pattern. Mainly such a tendency was traced back from the last statement of a blonde woman that was once had traded her humanity for power to alter the reality as she wished, but instead... it was her swansong that managed to alter the perspective of that one-horned girl, compelling her to put different lens upon gazing at the gripping mankind.

Slowly thereafter, the third party leisurely intervened between her and her solitary situation. A pair sound of the dragging leather footwear above the grassy ground, was came from the riverside, silencing those burbles of a subtle roaring stream as it little by little, came closer... thus compelling the one-horned white head to turn her neck and her lemon-yellow stare to meet the owner of such a sound. Moreover after hearing her name being called,

"Erynew..." voice of a girl, calling the name of that one-horned girl, "Your clothes, I'll put it in here."

Erynew, as the other girl has mentioned her name, was staring at a simple farm girl... brownish long hair on her oval-shaped face and that pair of deep brown eyes staring back at her lemon-yellow's. Displayed quite a polite demeanor that farm girl, wearing a brown long gown with long sleeves tunics - apparently a homemade attire - and imbedded with many layer of seemingly thick animal furs around her neck, swathing around her back, her chest and stomach. Because winter season was near, therefore protection from the cold and cool rain became a must.

Something came to her second thought however, it was something in her arms, as the farm girl appeared to bring something in it. It was a neatly-folded attire, white in hue and seemingly had so much soft texture on it even when the skin had yet touched it - entirely the opposite nature from the ragged rag she wore beforehand. Placed it - that neatly-folded attire - beneath the lonely shady tree that girl was then, close to where she leisurely standing above the same grassy ground. And the solitary shadow of a lonely tree, formed quite a restful canopy to shelter anything beneath it having such an insignificant insight before the dusk skies that reigned over this plain which slowly devoured by its orange shade, nearly vanquishing such a vast hue of green. Thus creating such a proper mark, for that neatly-folded attire to preserve its white while being protected by the dim shadow of the lonely tree, because in common perspective, more than often... white stood out the most in the darkness.

Lowered her knee, crouching a bit when her leather feet came closer to its large trunk and where its solitary canopy already reached her as a whole, thus the orange tint of the dusk was no where seen on her body... only its dimmer blackness of shadow... meaning it was time for her to let go of the white attire from her arms and placed right above its root buried beneath the grassy ground like she just said... preparing some fabrics for that one-horned girl whom she called Erynew, to cover her bare pale skin.

Finishing her simple task, the farm girl had yet to leave from her place, she remained standing beneath the dim shadow by the riverside and about to initiate a brief space of talking with Erynew as she began to greet her upon her sudden appearance yet expected one,

"Ah, Reya..." turned her whitehead toward the riverside, staring at that farm girl whom she called Reya. Erynew noticed her waiting gesture of wanting something to talk about, "Thank you, and I do apologize for troubling you to please my selfishness."

"Please, Erynew, don't mention it. After what you have done for our village, this is the least we can do to return your kindliness," smiling a pleasant one, Reya provided a warm reply for this little conversation she wished for, under the orange sky of the dusk, "You were looking for a nice place to relax your body and cool down your mind, and I wish this river could provide all of your needs after a tiring day."

Enthusiastically showed her one nod in agreement, meaning that this river was more than sufficient to meet all of her necessity, "Yeah, don't worry about it... the water is doing its job properly. It is so refreshing that seemingly has gone my fatigue."

"I am glad to hear that." still preserved her smile, intending to keep the light-hearted conversation flowing as peaceful as the river before her, therefore more than happy to perform the desired deed Reya was, "Azuri River they call it. The water mainly comes from the melting snow that is covering the upper side of Eterna Nieve, creating this riverflow that stretches across Jaderural all the way from the mountains. And this uninterrupted stretch, seems like splitting the green plain into two with its azure line. It also became the reason why Kasala Village was built in such a remote place. The farther it flows from the mountains, the warmer it becomes. In colder seasons, the river stream can be calm as it is now, yet in warmer seasons the stream can be a little swift and the water volume increases as well, and so does the the water temperature... making it quite a reliable water supply, even in dry season."

Felt more than happy to listen Erynew was, smiling after knowing such trivial yet quite useful information about the physical features of the land, its atmosphere and seasons, "I see... nature really does know how to pamper its inhabitants, doesn't it? It is indeed such an ideal place to start building a proper settlement and strengthening the bond within the community and nature. Moreover this village is... the first human settlement to ever accept me and my nature."

There was no sound of the wind, but the utter silence of confession conveyed throughout the only ambient noise of the riverflow that was available in such a subtle manner, hence it became clearer her confession... the devil's last statement to be caught by a friendly interlocutor whose curiosity yearned for contentment.

"Say Erynew, If you do not mind that I may ask you something? It's not that I have yet believed in you... I believe in you, and so do the rest of Kasala residents. But I'm curious about your origin, given that the demon kin should've been extinct long ago, yet you made a sudden appearance and saving our village."

It was the devil's - Erynew's last statement that was somewhat piqued Reya's curiosity concerning something she couldn't comprehend yet, specifically the motives and origin of that one-horned devil. She was first, surely felt hesitant to voice her little heart, because there was no a little courage to do so... yet eventually, her curiosity bested her, providing herself with the necessary utterance to express her curiosity by the river.

"Why did you save our village?"