Chapter 2-The Rain Bearer, Part Two

And so…I remain in Nestant Village for a few days, where I continue to make it rain upon the small town, as I help them cultivate their land and grow more crops, just as I always do.

Once my few days are over, I take my rewards–a huge banquet and a stockpile of water and food to go, and with that, I'm off.

"Rain Bearer sir, do you really have to go?" The village guard sadly asks as I step out of the village gates, with a bag of food in hand.

"As much as I'd love to stay and help you guys, I've already stayed longer than I usually stay in each village," I sigh, "There are hundreds of villages who need as much help as you guys do, if not even more."

"Will you…ever return?" The villager asks.

"If the path I walk ever leads me back," I answer with a small smile, and with that…I turn around and leave Nestant Village behind for good.

"Now…for my favorite part of my journey!" I say to myself as I shove another carrot into my mouth, before comping it down with a satisfying crunch. I raise a hand and aim my palm at the wither patch of shrubbery before. Slowly, a small stream of water flies out of my palm and sprays the small piece of foliage. And then, after another moment, the plants begin to grow and expand, forming a satisfying piece of green in the middle of the barren, mountainous desert wasteland.

"How beautiful…" I marvel with a small smile, "Now that I've eaten, I have enough strength left to water a whole bunch a' plants!"

"Alright," I say to myself as I whip out my decaying map again. I run my hands logn the map, tracing a finger from Nesant Village, and over to my next target, the closest village nearby.

"Tanhatam Village is where I must go next," I say to myself.

As I continue on with my trek towards the next town, I eat the food that's been given to me by Nestant Village, and using that strength, I water whatever bits of greenery I find. Once night falls, I set up camp with my small tent, and once the sun has risen, I pack up and roll out!

After a few days of watering plants, and a few nights of restless sleep, I begin to spot the outskirts of Tanhatam Village in the horizon, and after another day's walk, I find myself standing before the front gates of the village.

Much Like Nestant Village, Tanhatam Village is incredibly decayed and run down, although the village is larger and holds a few more wooden structures than Nestant Village. But of course, its fields are just as dried-out.

I brandish my map and take one look at it, before peering up at the village before me.

"Yup, this is Tanhatam Village," I say as I put my map away.

I then take a step towards the village, but the second my foot touches the same soil that Tanhatam Village is built on top of, the earth begins to tremble.

"SAND WHIP!" A voice booms.

"Woah!" I exclaim as I stumble backwards a step.

Next, two tendrils of sand fly out of the sandstone floor on either side of me and wrap around me, binding my arms to my sides.

"Wh-what's happening?!" I cry as I frantically wiggle around, attempting yet failing to break free from my sand constraints.

And then…a man raises out of the sand before me with his arms crossed. He has thun, slicker back silver hair with Golden-tan eyes, muscular, about six foot one, or so, and is wearing a black gi and mask which makes him resemble a ninja. The wrinkles around his eyes suggest that he may be older.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" The man booms.

"Is this going to happen EVERYWHERE I go…?" I sigh.

"ANSWER MY QUESTION!" The man booms, and I grunt in pain as my sand restraints grow tighter.

"I-I'm the Rain Bearer!" I wince.

The man's face remains blank.

"You know…the guy who guys from village to village summoning rain and helping the villagers cultivate their land?" I ask.

"No, I…don't know…" the man answers, causing me to sigh.

"GREAT, I'm dead…"

The man then stands up straight as he presses both of his heels and then his two pointer and middle fingers of each hand together.

"Why…is he standing like that…?" I ask myself under my breath.

Golden-tan sparks of energy begin to emit from the man's body in the form of a faint Golden-tan burst.

"What the heck is that…?" I marvel.

"Sand Charge…" the man begins to say as he crouches down and aims to hand towards me, but before anything can happen, the man's eyes go blank as he stumbles backwards a step in a daze.

My eyes widened.

"I don't know what just happened, but I'm taking this chance to get the heck outta here!" I cry as I spin around and begin running away.

"Oh no you don't, intruder!" The man booms as he thrusts a hand towards man, which releases a powerful arrow-head of sand, which flies through the air towards me.

"Woah!" I cry as I turn and peer over my shoulder at the arrow of sand, "This guy can produce sand?!"

Swiftly, I spin around as I thrust a hand towards the sand arrow, releasing a small squirt of water, which douses the sand, and causes it to harden then fall to the ground.

"Whew!" I whistle as I wipe my brow, "Close one!"

The man's eyes widened.

"You can…control water…?" He asks.

"Uh, yeah, a little bit," I answer, "Hence -y'know- the whole 'Rain Bearer' thing."

"I see…" the man replies.

"THEN ALLOW ME TO TEST YOUR RESOLVE!" he then booms as he brings a fist up and charges me.

"WAH!" I instinctively cry as I thrust a hand towards the man. A small stream of water slowly sprays a couple inches out from my palm, before puddling to the ground like a leaky faucet.

The man blinks. "Is that…it?" He asks.

"My water isn't for hurting people like your sand is!" I snap, "My water breathes life!"

"You're a terribly weak E-Charger!" The man booms as he launches his fist towards me.

"Alright, you asked for it!" I cry as I launch my own fist towards the man.

But before my punch can connect…I slip!

"WAAAHH!!" I cry as I slip through the air, before falling to the ground on my butt.

"Ow…" I wince as I sit up on my rear and rub my sore bum.

The man pauses as he lowers his fist. "You're…incredibly weak…" he says. "Have you ever been in a fight before?"

"No…" I admit, "I've never punched someone."

"How…is that possible in this world…?" The man asks.

I shrug.

"Now…to drive you away, foul bandit!" The man booms again as he enters that same stance as before, with his heels and pointer and middle fingers of his two hands pressed together, followed by an accompanying faint burst of Golden-tan energy.

"Sand Ch-" the man begins to say, but he's interrupted when he lets out a violent cough. Next, the man falls face-first onto the ground, where he remains still and silent.

I blink.

"What…just happened…?"

"Oh no, Master F!" A voice cries, and I peer up to where I heard the voice, watching as a girl who appears to be a bit younger than me with a long, frosty-blue ponytail and bangs that partially cover her left eye, and icy-purple eyes standing at around five foot five jogs out of the village towards the man laying on the ground.

"Ohhh…" the girl groaned, "I TOLD YOU that you don't have enough strength to E-Charge, yet here you go, trying to scare everyone off again!"

The girl continues scolding the man as she reaches down and drapes one arm around her shoulder.

"Sorry about whatever trouble my master caused you," the girl apologizes to me, "He may seem like a dick, but all he's doing is trying to protect our village."

"Ah…no problem," I replied.

"Alright, Master F, I'll get you back to bed," the girl then grunts as she turns around and slowly struggles to drag the larger man away.

I watch the pitiful display for a few moments, then sigh.

"Alright, this is getting hard to watch," I sigh, "Need any help?"

"Ah, no thank you!" The girl answers as she turns and peers over her shoulder at me, "My master has done you enough harm!"

"No, no, I insist," I reply as I approach the girl and drape the man's other arm around my own shoulders, "This town was my destination, anyway."

"Thank you," the girl replies with an apologetic smile, as the two of us begin dragging the man through the front gates of Tanhatam Village.

"This way," the girl grunts as we continue dragging the man through the village. And as we make our way through, the girl and I earn many confused and worried glances from the villagers passing by.

"What happened?" One of the villagers calls to the girl.

"Oh…Master F is just a little hungry!" The girl answers.

We continue dragging the man through the village, until the girl grunts: "Through here," as she kicks the door to the hut in front of us open, and I help her drag the man inside, and then throw him only his bed.

"Whew!" The girl exhales as she collapses on the bed next to the man, "For a guy who hasn't eaten in a while, Master F sure is heavy!"

I take a brief moment to look around the hut, which is rather barren, other than the bed that the man is lying in, and the slightly smaller bed next to him, which I'm assuming belongs to this girl. Hanging on the wall, is a single picture of the girl and the man, and the hut is adorned with much pottery, from vases, to bowls, and more.

"Thanks for helping me out!" The girl says as she sits up, snapping me out of my trance.

"Ah, no problem," I reply as I turn to face the girl, "I'm here to help, anyway."

"So who are you, anyone?" The girl asks with an innocent smile, "And what brings you to Tanhatam Village?"

"My name is Noah," I answer, "You may know me by the name that's been given me thanks to my fame, the Rain Bearer?"

The girl shakes her head. "No clue!"

I sigh.

"So what do you do, Noah the Rain Bearer?" The girl asks.

"I have the ability to control water, to a small degree," I explain, "So I go from village to village, relieving them of their drought by causing it to rain, and then helping the villagers to farm and cultivate my land using my water powers. As I make my way from village to village, I also help to water what little dried-up plant life is left in the world. It just so happens that the path of like I'm wandering on brought me here.

"So you're going to help us farm?!" The girl excitedly exclaims, sparkles lighting up in her eyes.

"That's my job!" I answer with a wide smile, "So what about you, what's your name?"

"You can call me Khione," the girl answers, "Khione Grovel."

"And is that your dad?" I ask as I motion to the unconscious man laying next to Khione, "You two don't look very alike."

"You could say that," Kione answers as she rubs the back of her neck with a small shuckle, "His name is Flint Grovel, I call 'em Master F, because he trains me."

"Trains you in what?" I ask.

"It's hard to explain," Khione sighs, "I don't know much about it myself, it'll be easier once Master F wakes up."

"Uh-huh…" I reply.