Zakar sat on a rock by the road, and stared into space. He'd been traveling for two days now. The last village had been kind enough to him. It had been a peaceful stay, but a group of travelers had wandered into town. Zakar had thought he had recognized one of them. That had been enough to start him on his way. He sighed to himself. Life had been this way since he and Misha had fled their home in Adela months before. A group of rogue Mordecai had turned up in the village they called home. No one had said anything about Zakar, and he had simply worked with herbs when one of their number had come to him for healing. A poulstice and a bandage had seen the fellow on his way. But Zakar had been sure the fellow had been able to tell the subtle illness his presence brought. Zakar and Misha had fled that very night. It all seemed so very long ago.
So very long...
His attention wandered to the other side of the road where wildflowers grew in great abundance. Standing amidst them and picking especially pretty ones was the small skeleton of a human girl, Misha. Zakar's first...servant? Familiar? Child? Misha was the very first corpse and spirit he had rejoined. That had been years ago. Zakar didn't think of her any differently than the children who ran clothed in flesh through the streets of villages. Misha was a child. A very special child, yes, but a child nonetheless. A smile played across his face as Misha put tulip through her eye socket. She was aware of what she was, if only dimly. Her spirit was a child when she died, and had returned to her own bones. Zakar doubted she understood exactly what had happened, but Misha knew she was "alive" again and was happy with what she had.
Waving a hand, Zakar caught Misha's attention and waved her over to him. The small skeleton skipped across the road to Zakar and presented her face to Zakar, as if asking him what he thought of her addition. He smiled at Misha, playfully tapping the bridge of her nose. Misha started back in mock indignation, and fell backwards across a rock. There was a faint clicking sound as she hit a smaller rock, but it was mostly muffled by Misha linen dress, dirty from the days of traveling. Zakar laughed cheerfully at the sight. Misha, however, didn't move.
"Misha? Oh, Misha, what's wrong?"
Did something disrupt the magic? Is there a mordecai around?
Zakar's eyes darted around quickly, but he saw no one.
"Misha?"
He crouched by the small skeleton. Waving a hand over Misha, Zakar tried to figure out what had gone wrong only to have Misha spring to life and hug his midsection. Zakar smiled at the sight.
"Silly girl..."
