Next to where the slightly rusted sword had been, sat the sheath, made of dulled, imprinted leather. The sword itself fit perfectly into it, and it fastened well to Leita's torso.
She continued on through the black slate cave, the dripping walls threatening a noxious smell at worst, and a slip hazard at best.
She couldn't see the liquid itself, or even feel it as her outstretched arm infrequently bumped into the cold walls. But, she could hear the small droplets tumbling to the ground, splashing onto the meticulous flooring below, creating small pools in the rock.
Occasionally, she would tread in such pools, and they would soak through her crocs, leaving a sticky film throughout the rubber. Gross, she thought, as she trunged through another puddle, I can't wait to get out of here.
Eventually, she came towards the end of the seemingly endless, one way, tunnel. Light started to glitter across the walls, touching the surface of the rocks delicately, bringing out a deep purple that was hidden beneath.
"Wow," Leita breathed loudly, her arm slowly retreating towards her body, to join her other hand clutching the bag's strap, as she could now make out the shapes surrounding her. It reminded her of being inside an ocean wave at dusk, the way it sparkled with each step.
A small gasp drew her attention to a more important subject. "Dad!" She exclaimed loudly, running towards the light that grew brighter and brighter. "I found a really cool sword in h-"
Her sentence was cut short as she ran out into the blinding sun, onto an insanely narrow ledge. Her leg shot over, causing her to stumble back, falling into a sitting position. She breathed heavy breaths, shuffling back into the relative safety of the cave opening. That was close...
A sharp, shooting pain spread up the back of Leita's calf, causing her to wince. "Haah, that hurts a lot more than a jellyfish sting."
The wound wasn't deep, but it did start to bleed heavily. It trickled down her leg and ankle, into her shoe, mixing with the goop that had already filled it.
"Maybe this has something I can use," she said, sliding the bag into her lap and opening it to explore the contents. She, unbeknownst to her, had the same contents as everyone else; one bar, one bottle, one tin of balm.
Unscrewing the tin unleashed a scent that contradicted her environment. It smelled almost like... "Disinfectant?"
She dipped two fingers in, rubbing the balm between her fingers, close to her nose. It definitely smelled medical, and she didn't see and reason not to use it. As she pulled her fingers away, she noticed two numbers apparently tattooed on her palm - 69.
"Ah?" Leita questioned, hastily dropped the tin to her side, rubbing her palm with her other hand. "I don't remember getting this tattoo..."
A sharp, and very painful, throb came from her leg, distracting her from her previous thoughts. She had something more important to deal with right now.
She took her shirt off, revealing the top half of a one piece swimsuit, decorated with a turtle motif, and her original tattoos.
After gently placing the shirt her lap, she set about rinsing the stinging wound with the water in the bag, after giving it a quick sniff and a little sip, just to be sure it wasn't anything else. Then, she slathered the balm over it, quickly tying her shirt around it tightly.
She used a small amount of the water to swish the slime and blood from her shoe, before putting it back on her foot. She tucked the rest of her supplies back in her bag and stood up, setting about making her way down the side of what appeared to be a mountain.
There wasn't any kind of path, except for one at the very bottom of the mountain. However, she wasn't as high up as she had previously thought, there was a good chance she could climb down, especially now her leg was feeling slightly better.
Leita had climbed a fair distance down the sharp, black mountain. She still had more to climb, but was making good progress.
Halfway down, she had decided that all the tiresome climbing had warranted a short break, so she perched on a thin, but sturdy, ledge to her right.
After taking out her bottle of water and taking a few sips, she let out a small sigh, starting her descent again, hoping she would reach the bottom soon.
At least my leg doesn't hurt anymore. That balm must've been a calming antiseptic or something...
Looking around, there seemed to be little indication of time where she was; the sun covered by thick, darkening clouds. She didn't know how many hours of daylight she had left, for all she knew hours could've passed.
A small drop of rain grazed her shoulder, drawing her attention, followed by a few more across her back and legs. The gentle droplets quickly turning into a heavy shower, soaking her and the rocks around her.
"Man, I missed the water." She grinned upwards, letting it rinse through her hair, dripping down her face. The scent was fresh and reminded her of home, which was a welcome note.
At first, she was glad about the unexpected rainfall, as it washed the slime and dirt away. But, it had started to make it difficult for her to cling to the rocks, her croc'ed foot slipping off every few steps.
Thunder rattled through the sky, lightning following shortly after, striking the side of the mountain. This caused Leita to freeze, pulling herself as close to the stoney wall as she could.
Bing. Quiet chiming broke through the angry growl of the sky, calling to the girl on the rocks.
Leita looked up, spotting a small, humanoid, rock-creature. It had no mouth or nose, just two tiny eyes that appeared to be carved holes, dissappearing into a void. It was reminiscent of Kodama, and made out of the same material as the mountain.
There was no sign of hostility from the creature, it just seemed curious. Which was a good thing for Leita, because she couldn't have reached her sword, even if she wanted to. "What the- What are you?"
The creature chimed back in a happy tone, then took a few steps closer to Leita. It used one of its handless arms to tap her finger, its head twitching to the side, like a dog who'd just heard its favourite word.
It started to walk away, its stumps of legs tinkering against the wet stone, heading towards a slim opening in the rocks. After a few steps, it stopped and glanced back at her, as if to say: "
Are you coming?"
Leita thought she was going crazy. She'd never seen anything like the little carved creature before, and now she was about to follow it.
Maybe it's altitude sickness. This has to be a hallucination.
She hoisted herself up the slippery mountain edge, carefully testing the rock edge as she followed the creature as it led her into the slim cavern.
"Great, I'm back in the mountain again." She stated, flicking some of the water off of herself and checking her bag. "At least we're out of the rain."
The tiny creature tapped her leg insistently, tinkering further into the cave, prompting her to, once again, follow it.
She didn't want to go back to the slime-filled hole she had woken up in, but something told her that she wasn't being led back there.
This creature was taking her somewhere else.
