A Spark in the Mind

Krenen's body automatically woke up before dawn due to his training. It was still dark, and the fire had gone out. The woman that had saved him was still asleep under a blanket made of wool. As he sat up, he noticed there was one just like it over him. He must have fallen asleep before her, and she covered him

He enjoyed the silence and calm of the early hours in the forest for a while. It was soothing, not having stick to a routine immediately after waking up. The stillness and quiet of his surroundings permeated his mind, and he allowed it to become just as empty and still.

Then, a voice made him start.

"What are you thinking about?"

It must have been the woman that saved him, but she was still asleep, and the voice wasn't the same. Hers was deeper. This one was higher and sounded cheerful.

"Don't speak," said the voice. "Let's not wake her up. Just think and I'll hear you."

Krenen looked around, looking for the owner of the voice, but he could not spot a thing in the darkness before dawn.

"Your mind is too quiet. Did you know that?" said the voice.

"Who are you?" thought Krenen with an uncomfortable sensation in the pit of his stomach. The anxiety made his stand, ready to take whatever action was necessary if they were attacked.

"Calm down, calm down. You don't want to wake her up, do you?" the disembodied voice sounded amused.

"I will if I have to."

"Well, of course. If you have to do something, you do it."

The reply made Krenen feel like a fool. "Don't mock me," he demanded.

"You take things too personally. I was not mocking you. I was mocking that phrase, that expression. You simply spoke it, but you did not create it, did you? I would be needlessly spiteful if I were to mock you for expressing yourself the same way everyone has for more time than I care to count."

The thought-out answer made Krenen pause. His dread was gone, and he went from turning every which way to standing still.

"If I wanted to mock you, I would have asked if you actually thought that threatening to wake her up would stop me from doing whatever you thought I wanted to do." said the voice.

Krenen felt foolish again, but admitted to himself that it was his own fault.

"Who are you?" he repeated.

"If I answer, will you answer what I asked you first?"

"If you repeat the question, because I can't remember it."

"I'm just an owl," said the voice. "And I asked you what you were thinking."

"I'm thinking about owls, then."

The voice laughed joyously. "Did you lie because you think I lied?"

"Owls cannot speak."

'Very well. Let's leave that aside. I don't want to get into eye-opening, mind changing conversations. I just want to help you."

"How?"

"Last night you said you didn't know what it is you should be doing."

Fear sprang in Krenen's heart.

"If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it while you were sleeping," said the voice in a bemused tone. "Calm down, man. I was just eavesdropping."

"If we were to switch places, you might understand my concern."

"Hmmm. Well said. But the sun is coming up, and she's going to wake up soon. It's very likely she'll decide to part ways with you then. You can lose time arguing with me, or you can get a move on."

"A move on with what?"

"You said you wanted to help. How would you help her?"

"I don't know. I don't know her."

"Think about it. What were you thinking before I spoke to you? Was it close to nothing?"

"What does it matter?"

"I'm trying to make a point, and you're not cooperating. I have to say I admire how difficult it is to influence you, however. I really, really do. But since you're not going to help me, let me see if I can guess."

The voice seemed to wait to see if Krenen would reply somehow, but he didn't. So she continued.

"You've always done what you were told to do, or had to do. When you were a child, you lived guided by your parents' bidding. Then, you did as the higher ranking guards told you. Am I correct?"

Krenen let out a grunt.

"It's admirably noble of your part. But that means you haven't thought for yourself in too long a time. Start now. Ask yourself what you'd like to do."

The voice fell silent and said nothing more.

"Are you done?" asked Krenen in his mind.

No answer came. The silence stretched on.

Krenen knew better than to think he was left alone with the woman, but at this point, he was convinced whoever the owner of the voice was did not want to harm them.

He sat again. It was still dark, but not so much that he could not notice the shapes of things around them. There was now a dim morning light that allowed him to inspect his surroundings better. He looked up, and saw an owl staring down directly at him.

"Oohoo," it said.

Its body was covered with black feathers, it had silver eyes, and the head had golden feathers.

"You're not an owl," said Krenen in a whisper.

"Oohoo," replied the bird.

In that moment, Krenen knew what he wanted to do, but had reservations about leaving the woman that saved him alone with that creature.

"You won't hurt her, will you?"

The owl shook its head.

Krenen walked away. In his mind, he heard the following words:

"I never confirmed I was an owl. Remember that I didn't lie."

When the sun was done dawning, Afena woke up to the smell of something cooking. She looked at the fire, above which there was a hare on a spit.

Krenen saw her awaken, but preferred to say nothing.

"Did you have to kill those?" she asked groggily.

"Are you one of those that does not eat meat?"

"I avoid it, but I know there's no other way sometimes."

"I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't. Don't worry about it. I'm not hungry, but I still thank you for getting breakfast."

"Even if you're not hungry, it's better to have something to eat," Krenen said wisely. "I've fainted a few times during my patrols for not eating."

Afena smiled and stifled a chuckle. He didn't know that her Inarenta lore allowed her to not eat for several days. "Thank you," she said.

"It's to thank you for saving me. Do you need company to your destination?"

"Not at all."

"The woods aren't the safest place."

"After years of living by myself here, I can assure you you are right."

"Ah."

They ate placidly, and in silence. Afterwards, Afena pulled out a board from her bag. They played a a game with tokens and dice on it. Afterwards, Afena packed up all her things.

"I'm assuming you know how to survive in the woods?" asked Afena

"My father was a woodsman," said Krenen.

"Good. Follow his teachings, and don't come out on a new moon. Heed the howlings of wolves, will you?"

"And run away when you hear music in the woods," Krenen recalled a lesson from his childhood and chuckled.

"Indeed," Afena returned the smile, but knew it was no joke to hear music in the woods. She was glad the man was at least cautioned against it, even if he didn't take it seriously.

He handed her a small pouch. "It's full of nuts and berries, for the trip to wherever you're going."

"Oh." Afena realized he'd sacrificed a sleeve of his tunic to make the little pouch. "Thank you, truly."

"No problem. Be careful."

"You too."

They parted ways. And even though he was no warrior, Afena found herself lamenting he was not the person she was supposed to meet and help. Along the way, she even realized that that thing had happened. The same thing that happened every time she met someone whose company made her comfortable.

She hadn't asked his name.