Breaker leaped to his feet as Am’aleh rose in a wave. His hazel eyes danced like exploding stars as he smiled and swept her off her feet, swirling her around in a circle. She laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist like the tide, curling her translucent body up to kiss him.

Touching her gave him everything he needed; everything he craved. With her in his arms, he forgot the mountaintop village glowing in the distance. He forgot the brook that babbled merrily past. He forgot everything but the taste of her lips and the shape of her body. Like in his practice of martial arts, he became truly like water - almost one with it.

Am’aleh broke the embrace and climbed down from her perch in his arms. The breeze trifled in her transparent tresses and swirled about her skin as she stepped uphill toward the lantern-like village. She tilted her head to one side and extended a hand.

“We must away, for the meeting draws near.
Come now to the Sacred Crystal Cavern.
Only there may we summon Gingitsu.”

He took her hand and they ran together, up the mountainside, through the gathering mist, toward Ninyama Village. His boots beat the hard rock while her bare blue feet pattered, barely seeming to touch the soil. He drew even breaths while she breathed not at all. She glowed in the moonlight, and he exalted in her presence.

“Wherefore do we seek the guardian fox?” He asked as they ran like hawks climbing thermals.

“He is more than just a clever trickster,” Am’aleh explained.
“Gingitsu guards the mortal bridge back home;
The only portal which goes to our realm.”

Her tone took on a mote of shyness, as haunting as the wind whipping past their ears.

“The Realm of the Thaynes is a diff’rent place.
Time passes strangely there; deceptively.
This meeting may last days or mere minutes,
Depending upon the needs of each Thayne.”

Breaker ran through the mist; the mist ran through Am’aleh. The village grew larger, the details of its intricate Akashiman architecture becoming clearer to his powerful gaze. The wooden walls, the vaulted pagodas, the verandas piled high with rolled tatami mats. On the far side - the westward side - the entrance to the secret cavern loomed.

“What is the nature of this great meeting?” The demigod asked.

“We unite to speak on many topics,
But that which I wish to discuss is you.
I shall entreat them to meet you tonight.”

Breaker stopped a stone’s throw from the sleeping village, pulling Am’aleh up short. She felt like she might fade to nothing in a moment, so light was her touch. His brow creased in concern as he cupped her face, a callused thumb caressing her cheek.

“Are the other Thaynes not expecting me?”

She touched his hands like a kiss of morning mist.

“Thaynes do not arrange to meet with mortals.” She sighed like a summer breeze.
“At least, none but me, oh my champion.”

“Am I like such a mortal? Tell me true.”

“You are not, and yet you are not like us.
But when they meet you, in flesh, in our realm
I feel certain that you will win their trust.
I know in my heart you will leave a Thayne.”