Mayoi Michi: The Stray Path

by SoneAnna

Prologue: Axe Crazy

It’s just that kind of thought that a bird of any breed, God forbid a songbird, could go mad. Maybe his wife ran away with a toucan, and his kids left the nest, and his new next-door neighbor is a woodpecker, keeping him up at night. That could drive him mad.

Then again, that would drive anyone mad.

Or maybe some dirty human is poking at his nest with a stick with no look of concern on his face at all, and one of his friends is standing in the background with a stupid look on her face, the other one nagging him to stop, but not doing anything about it herself.

Yes, that’s the perfect thing to drive a songbird mad.

“Varian…shouldn’t you leave that bird alone?” Teaka asked the boy, who was sitting up in the large tree dominating the backyard, indeed poking a bird’s nest with a stick he had found. The rain pounded down hard, leaving her soaked to the bone, her skirt especially wet, dripping down on a patch of daisies, practically killing them.

“He’s not gonna listen to you,” Pidge said, trotting into the backyard, the rain matting her scruffy blonde hair down to her head.

“But Varian, you’re—”

Varian, the tone and emotion completely drained out of his voice these days, replied, “You should take her advice. And what do you care? You’re not a bird.” His gaze drifted away from the bird.

The bright red and blue lights of the police cars and ambulance, although parked in the front of the house, managed to reach the back yard, playing some sort of disturbing shadow game against the trees and fence, as if a reminder of what had happened.

Teaka turned to look at Pidge. The blonde was staring emptily into the distance, her hands locked behind her back, and doing some sort of absent-minded shift-foot-bounce dance. Teaka shivered. Pidge could look so innocent, sometimes.

“Why are you staring at me?”

She broke out of her trance to see the girl staring at her quizzically.

Teaka gulped. “N-Nothing…h-how are they doing?” She motioned to the front yard.

Pidge shrugged. “Mister Kness is freaking out at all of the blood.” She laughed slightly, the globe-shaped pendant worn around her neck bouncing around.

Teaka unconsciously put her hand up to her right ear. Her earring was gone. The one that mirrored Pidge’s necklace and the pin Varian kept on his shirt collar. What would they do if they found out she lost it? Varian would probably just look at as though she was an invalid and say no more, but Pidge couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She’d go and tell Kness, and he’d report her and then…

She shuddered again. No, she couldn’t think about that.

“You three!”

For the second time, Teaka was jerked out of her thoughts, and looked up too see Kness walking towards them, looking rather shaky.

“Varian, get down.”

The solemn boy hopped down without another word, and tossed his stick into the next yard.

“Now you guys…those people—”

“Were out of it,” Pidge supplied. “They really didn’t see anything.”

Kness sighed. “They did see. The person they said they saw sounded like Teaka.”

Teaka bit down on her lip. She said nothing. She stared down at the hem of her skirt, which had turned the daisy patch into a puddle of mud.

“Teaka?”

There is no point.

Pidge poked her. “Teaka? Teaka did you lose your earring?”

There is no meaning. There is no “bad Teaka”. There is no “good Teaka”.

“Teaka, look at me,” Kness said, beginning to lose his patience.

Teaka is Teaka.

You are the only Teaka.

You are the only you.

And they are trying to take the only Teaka away.

“T-Teaka?” Pidge stuttered. She took a step away.

See? Now she’s the one who’s scared.

“Teaka!” Varian exclaimed, shaking her by her shoulders.

Kyeh, let’s say something. Otherwise they’ll just get mad.

Let’s make…

“Teaka…?”

“…it interesting,” Teaka mumbled. She fiddled for something in her thigh-length stocking.

“Varian! Pidge! Back away! Go out front! Get out of here!” Kness ordered.

Interesting! Let them smile! Make them smile!

“Because there’s no point in smiling when nothing’s funny.”

From her stocking she withdrew a sharp looking knife.

“But it’s very funny now, isn’t it?” Teaka let out a laugh crossed between a hyena and something inhuman.

The thunder boomed overhead, and Pidge reached into her back pocket.

Teaka caught the shiny glimpse of what she knew to be a hand gun and in a fluid motion she aimed and threw it at the blonde girl like a dart.

The sun was due to set and the rain had darkened the sky, and the only light came from the faint ones out front and the small porch light near the patio. Pidge only had time to see the knife wiz toward her and moved to the right, only to have it wedge in her shoulder, making her drop her gun.

“You think you can be crazy?” Teaka asked, reaching back down into her stocking.

“Varian get out of here!” Kness screeched.

“And you? You think the dark and brooding act works?” she spat, her smile rising disturbingly.

He made no movement.

Kness slowly moved towards Pidge, who had gotten back up on her feet.

In a fashion almost identical to the two girls, Varian grabbed something identically shiny from his coat pocket…

“What?! So you carry hand grenades in your pocket?” She pulled out a second knife. “You probably think it makes you look cool.”

With her working arm, Pidge aimed at Teaka.

He raised the object over his head.

“You’re too flashy!” Teaka screamed.

Flashy never wins.

Tell me, did it impress them?

Are you happy now?

Happy is overrated.

“Is it really? Mister Kness?” Pidge asked, wincing as she rubbed her arm.

“Is what?” Kness asked, wiping the sweat from his brow, the sun beating down unmercifully.

The rain had stopped the next morning.

The backyard was swarmed with police and medics.

“Is being happy really overrated?”

“Who told you that?” Varian asked only half-interested.

“That’s…that’s what Teaka said.”