Arrow Lake the water in my bones was running dry

It was foolish to think that strange witch would still be here. Ephraim knew that, and yet here he was, skimming stone and ice with his pointed little nose for some trace of a redhead with venomous green eyes.

Things were different for him these days. Somewhere around the time Qiao pointed out the eyes of a spirit upon him, Ephraim's luck shifted. Things occasionally happened that he could not explain, only that when they did, he always got the same sensation of fog rolling over his back and pricking miniscule fingers against his flesh.

A bear abandoning its half-eaten meal out of nowhere when he came near.

A tree falling across his path moments after he had already crossed to a safe location.

Ephraim tried not to think about these things much. Fate was not a concept he subscribed to. And yet, here he was, in the last place he had seen Qiao and the first place he had become aware of the taotaomo'na, seeking without acknowledgement, because it could not be real, after all.

*yoinks this thread*

qiao would have informed ephraim that taotaomonas were very real: that which we could not see with our eyes were no less real simply because they eluded our perception! that was qiao's take anyway, but she'd eaten many mushrooms to arrive at such a omniscient conclusion.

she was drawn to this place again. like ephraim, arrow lake had a powerful pull upon her. it was here she had discovered the antler -- an artifact so powerful she was often breathless when she came near it.

bending to drink the crystalline waters, a scent lingered among the rolling fog which gave qiao pause. the boy. what had his name been?  qiao rose from the bank, eyes searching for the soul that was perhaps more connected to her than she knew.

There it was again. Ephraim paused as a feeling like static swept over his spine. He could swear the sound of trickling water echoed in his ears, distant but reminiscent of the constant drip-drop often heard in caves. It made him lift his head and swivel it. Even in the fog, he recognized the silhouette.

The taotaomona had spoken. Not in voices. He did not hear any voices, but that feeling and that sound were equally unmistakable now. Ephraim ignored the way his heart beat a warning behind his breastbone. That happened with everyone. You can never know which friendly face has ill intentions with you until the knife is in your back, and Ephraim hadn't survived by letting his guard down even when the face was a familiar one.

What did you do with that antler? he called from a healthy distance, swinging his dark tail several times in amiable greeting, yet the suspicion that characterized his very being was present as ever.

i hoped to wedge it in a wolf’s throat. qiao called back over the water, her reflection shimmering as she rose from the bank. she stayed a distance away, for the taotaomona forbade her approach with bristling energy. 

but the time has not been right. qiao lamented this, thinking of how the antler sat on a shelf back at akashingo. no one but Ephraim knew the power behind it — and while qiao did not know whose life it had already ended, she sensed its points had been baptized by blood before. you look better than last i saw you. how is that paw?

The corners of his lips quirked up. There was truly no better use for an antler than shoving it down the nearest jackass' throat, especially when it radiated power the way that one had. Ephraim could still remember the sensation of his hair standing up when they unearthed it. He couldn't help giving in to superstition even if he fancied himself a nihilist.

How will you know when it is? he wondered, the curiosity rooted in a greater question still: how did Qiao determine what was important? She had assigned significance to the specter that followed him around and dragged it into the light. Ephraim had been forced to confront it ever since. He could no longer deny its existence, at least not in his reality, where the mere idea of a haunting breathed life into it. What had made her do that? What had drawn her to the antler?

She asked about his paw. He gave it a few deft flicks. Works. He made as though to take a step toward her, to drop his guard just a little, then lowered his foot back to the earth again as if held back by a tether. This was close enough.

if i knew, perhaps the deed would be done already. had she missed her shot?  she thought of the circus back at akashingo.

her gaze apprised ephraim. he was healthier than she saw him last. his fur was thin still, but no longer possessed that lackluster glare of a wolf deprived. the deft flicks of his paw spoke of his healing: a wolf of poor health would sport a limp still.

for a moment she thought he might come closer. like him, an unspoken tether snarled between them. that taotaomoa... qiao did not trust it would not hurt her. in that way, perhaps the three of them were wolves cut of the same skeptic cloth. every wolf was deserving of a little suspicion, no? i wondered if you might work for me.

Something nameless leapt between them like a spark. No, not some silly chemical attraction or other such nonsense — Ephraim hardly had time in his stacked survival agenda to entertain the thought of a real connection with another living being, and besides, Qiao's ability to see the unseen gave him the creeps — but there was something tangible there.

A sense of mutual benefit and matching values, perhaps. He didn't have to think long on it before Qiao voiced a thought in a similar vein, teasing Ephraim's lips into a smirk. That depends on the work, he drawled in a voice far more confident than it was the last time they met, and what's in it for me.

oh! she liked this new ephraim; how he'd grown since their last encounter!

perhaps knowing something beyond the void tracked his survival bolstered his confidence. yet, he was still a man -- qiao found them difficult to trust fully. but what of that taotaomona? it writhed in ether, its gender undiscernable.

there will be a time i leave akashingo. she announced. if you were to join me, i could show you how to see the overworld -- including that taotaomona that guards you.

a light smile followed: and how to be well fed.

qiao's thin spine turned and she made for the redwood. ephraim could follow -- or not. she would leave that ultimate choice to him.