The fierce flames of a raging fire licked at his flesh, their heat growing unbearably hotter by the second, but he could not seem to get away. Instead he was trapped, cornered in a small area of the house he shared with his family at the edge of town. Dark wood creaked and groaned around him as the fire continued destroying his family’s home. The eventual loud snapping of the wood marked yet another large pillar falling and more of the upstairs started to collapse towards the center of the room. There was a foul smell in the air and young Uzumati realized that it was the scent of his own legs as burning pain raced up his limbs. However, the fire did not get to have its way with the youngling as a pair of hands reached through the inferno to rip him from the destruction and shove him into the fresh air of the night. It was remarkable how the house still burned despite the scattered rain coming down from the dark storm clouds above, a testimony to the power of the lightning bolt that had struck their home just a few moments before. His fascination was short lived as a scream urging him to run split through the night air as the remaining part of the home let out another loud groan before collapsing in on itself. The boy was terrified and knew nothing more than to continue running, his feet burned and bloody with the skin ripped to shreds when he finally stopped hours later at the first sight of dawn. It was then that he allowed himself to cry before curling up into a tight ball and accepting the darkness that consumed his vision and allowed him to finally rest.

Panting, Uzumati shot out of his new bed and rolled onto the ground. The man’s chest was sticky with sweat and heaving from the adrenaline racing through his blood as a result of the nightmare. How many times had the dream haunted him since losing his parents as a child? Uzumati was still confused about why the fire had taken his family in the first place but he had shoved the tragedy to the far recess of his mind while fighting to survive in the wilderness on his own. The appearance of the hermit who had helped bandage him and taught him so many things about the forest had probably been the only way that he had managed to survive such a disaster. But it was as if Uzumati was cursed and he lost the hermit only a year later to the Extremists who had murdered the man while going on their rampage through Tale. Such events had only fueled Uzumati’s terrors and his distrust of others. Why go to town when he could live out here in the forests alone without risking another loss? He had hated feeling fearful of loss and had opted to simply avoid it entirely until….well until recently that was. When he had before avoided others out of fear he found himself now drawn to another person and was more fearful of a life without her than anything else. Uzumati was older now and wanted to be brave and protect her from any potential harm. He had been a child before but now he was stronger than any witu in the forest. Uzumati was determined and would defeat any dangers that threatened them!

Despite his recently found courage, Uzumati still found himself restless whenever Padma went away to visit town. What if she never came back or worse something happened to her while they were separated? Often he would spend hours upon hours working around their little home in the forest to pass the time and to keep both his hands and his mind busy. Even though it had been weeks since they had started living together Uzumati still found himself riddled with nightmares and worries when she was away. Each served as a reminder that once before he had others to care for in his life but that various events had brutally taken them away from his side. What would stop such a thing from happening again this time? But Uzumati refused to simply submit to the fear of losing another person and did his best to keep the panic at bay. Instead he forced himself to focus on doing things that kept his hands and his mind occupied. Perhaps one day when he learned more about speaking and felt more at ease discussing his past he would tell the flower more about himself and his fears. For now though Uzumati was content to take each day as a new challenge so that his courage could grow and allow him to be strong enough to protect those he cared about and overcome his fear of loss.

[808]