Disclaimer: I do not own the characters used in this piece of writing.

Long before the knock on the door was heard, Watanuki had been instructed to bring out simple grain, and a variety of nuts to be snacked upon, and pull the dark German lager from the back of the store room and place it in an ice bucket to chill it. The dark haired teenage was used to the routine of doing as he was told, mumbling slight grievances about the habits of his employer. Yuuko changed into an outfit more suitable for her to see a client in, low cut, embroidered with deep red flowers, and two layered shirt that nearly split up to her hip, but it was still better then the flimsy silk slip she had on before, the one with the straps that continuously slid off her shoulders. The dark haired witch took her place at the table in what could be considered a parlor by European standards and, with the perfect timing that had become expected by her young servant came, the knock on the door. "Get the door Watanuki." Maru and Moro chirped the split version of the space-time witch's command as disappeared into the depths of the shop. The high-schooler went to door, turned the knob and started to open the door. A breeze made the door push against his hand. Feathers fluttered across the floor and the visitor entered.

Her hair hung down her back unrestrained, long and light brown with a slight wave that reminded Watanuki of the breeze and made him forget of the feathers he'd have to sweep up later. Her dress was grand and European in style but not one of the modern Europe, but one of the old. Its skirts dragged the floor, but didn't have any sign of wear or dirt on them. The woman lifted them as she stepped up to the main floor from the entryway where most people would remove their shoes. Her bare feet shown for the second it took to make the step, and the skirts to fall back in place. "Vitch Yuuko, I zee you've been expecting me." The tall woman walked to the side of the table across from Yuuko and looked down at the variety of treats laid out before them, including the lager.

"Of course, did you expect anything less?" Watanuki disappeared behind of the sliding panels as he had become used to doing. His ears perked like a dog's to listen. The clink of ice cubes against glass was the only sound heard. The shop owner had already started in on the alcohol. He moved the panel ever so slightly as to be able to look in on the scene. The client hadn't taken a seat. The boy wondered if she even could in that restricting of an outfit. The rustle of skirts and a slightly undignified plop answered his question.

"Never, Yuuko." She picked up a glass from the table. The movement of the cloth sounded off almost like the scrape of feathers on one another. Watanuki looked harder at the woman. Soft, fragile, and judging from the hint of an accent and the unusual dress, he determined her to be of supernatural origins. The black mokona bounced behind him, startling him to almost awkwardly falling through the screen.

"They got the German out!" It squeaked trying to wiggle through the small crack to get some of the treasured alcohol. The boy's hand reached out and snagged the small creature before it revealed his location. He put a finger to his mouth to tell the mokona to be silent. "But I want beer!" It whined quietly as it sat in his hand, it ears sadly lying against its back and a small frown of an expression.

"Who is that?" Watanuki looked through the small part in the screens holding the mokona so it too could see.

"That's the one with a wish that could not be granted. You can't bring the dead back to life." The black manju's voice was so quiet it could only be heard by the most skilled of ears. The wish meant a lot to the young man clad in a black school uniform and apron. He had often let the question of how his life wouldn't be different if he could bring his parents back, or how it would have been if they had never died. "It would never be the same. No one could pay the price. The person she looks for has gone to the far shore, and nothing can bring them back. They went a long time ago." The black mokona paused for a moment then started to wiggle violently. "I want beer!" He let it go. The servant boy looked back into the room. The woman and Yuuko had been discussing the weather, the season, the festivals, and anything but the real reason the foreign woman had come but the time for idle chat appear to be over as the fragile brunette set down her now empty glass.

"I vish to have Dog back." Silence filled the room, and even mokona, who had finally reach the much-desired beer stopped. Watanuki drew back from the slit. He mouthed 'dog'. She wanted 'dog' back. He understood that, as with many of Yuuko's cliental, there was more of a story then was being told on the surface.

"I cannot grant your wish. It is far too late to do anything for your brother." The dark haired woman took another drink from her glass. Her voice had been in the smooth, cool tone that she talked to her customers in. His eye went back to looking between the screens. A breeze grew, assorted candles that had been lit were suddenly extinguished, the woman stood up. Unlike when she sat down, the motion was completed with the greatest of ease almost as if the clothing was not estranged from her being.

"It iz not too late!" Feathers fell from the woman as she pointed at Yuuko. "You tell me that every time Vitch! But it tiz not true!" Tears poured down her face and she pulled her hand back. "You von't help! You never help!" The tears flew as the woman shook her head.

"No one could ever pay for what you ask, Sparrow." Yuuko brushed a feather off the edge of the table and looked up at the molting woman. "No one can help you. You already have a heavy price to pay." The woman drew back.

"I have no price to pay! That Vaggoner got vhat he deserved." The Sparrow's tone had not quieted in slightest but it was now tinged with anger. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing quick. "Dog vas good. There vas no reason for him to die! No reason vhy he shouldn't live! Now Vitch! Bring him back!" Talons grew on the hands of the unearthly woman and she held them out to show that she meant their use if she did not get what she desired. Yuuko stood up and looked at the Sparrow.

"You should keep in mind who's shop you are in before you threaten anyone, and there is no price you can pay to bring back anyone, let alone your good Dog, from the far shore." Her eyes were steady but the woman's shook with rage. She gathered her skirts so they would not inhibit her movement.

"Zee you again, Vitch Yuuko." Her steps were light, and her feet, which were human when she entered were now those of a bird. It took the changing creature two steps to cross the room, and three to reach the door. Watanuki had come out from his hiding place behind the screen to watch the events unfold. He was unsure if the Sparrow had opened the door or if the wind had flung it open for her, but when it opened a strong wind entered the room, bringing leaves, feathers, and twigs with it. Soon her arms were wings, the dress changed to a dress of brown and white feathers, and last her face to a sharp beak and beady eyes of a bird. She flew from the porch, no bigger then a normal bird. She really was a sparrow and she left as quickly as she had come.

Watanuki stared at the speck as it disappeared into the sky. He turned when Yuuko righted the table that had been knocked over from the wind. A twig stuck out of his employer's hair. She pulled it from her hair a looked at it. "Watanuki, you were watching?" It was more of a statement then a question. He nodded; slightly embarrassed that she had known, but figured that she probably didn't care. Mokona shook nuts and grain from its short hair and grabbed the bottle of beer. "Do you wish to know the story of the Dog and the Sparrow?" She tossed the twig away and looked at the mess around her.

"Yes," He said as he left the room to grab a broom from the broom closet. He might as well clean as he listens. When the dark haired boy entered the room again Yuuko had dusted off her usual chair and was sipping at a glass of beer. He started sweep mainly around the table since that appeared to be the main focus of the fierce winds.

"She comes every year. Her story is one of loss, and vengeance." She paused for another sip. "To began a long time ago, in a far away land, a good Dog had a bad master, who let him starve. Being a simple Dog he loved his master, but knew that he could not live on nothing and sadly left." The sound of bristles sweeping the floor and the German lager being chugged by the black manju was the only other noticeable sounds besides Yuuko's voice. "He met Sparrow. He was not one for stealing and knew not how to get food. Sparrow got him food, enough to satisfy a large Dog. He dined on Meat and bread, he had more then he'd ever dreamed of and it was all because of his Sister Sparrow. They grew together like two trees planted too close to each other." She paused and Watanuki did so as well. He looked up at her wanting her to continue. "One day Dog needed to rest and Sparrow said she would watch him a tree. A Waggoner came by. Back then the roads were made of dirt and the wheels of the wagons would make ruts; back then animals were more apt to speaking. The Waggoner would not leave the wheel ruts for the sleeping Dog, even though Sparrow had threatened to make him poorer. Dog died killed by the Waggoner. Sparrow wanted her revenge." The witch's hand brushed hair over her naked shoulder and she adjusted the way she was sitting. "First she robbed him of his wine."

"What a waste!" Mokona chirped from the floor it echoed slightly because of the proximity to the bottle.

"Then the Waggoner's three horses." Watanuki winced. "Yes. Even the innocent horses paid for the Waggoner's mistake. Next the Sparrow gathered all of the birds and took the man's grain and corn, but that was not it for the Sparrow's revenge." Yuuko took another drink. "She basically killed the Man. Too high a price."

"How do you basically kill someone?" The boy asked as he knelt to sweep the waste onto the dustpan.

"She caused his wife to cleave his head in half with an axe." Watanuki made a disgusted face at the answer.

"Sorry, for asking." He dumped the pan into the trash. "Why does she come every year if you always say no?" He went back to sweeping since he only managed to finish the table area during the story.

"It's all a matter of hope." The young man nodded as Yuuko's delicate fingers packed her long, thin pipe. "Hope drives people to wish for impossible things. If she would give up hope of finding a way to bring Dog back then she would probably get to see Dog sooner."

"Is her hope all that is keeping her here?" He had created another pile that he bent to retrieve.

"You're catching on quickly." She drew her pipe, since the black mokona had finished the last of the alcohol. Smoke came from the end of the pipe. "Hope is strong, and it sometimes makes people stupid similar to hatred."

"Is that the lesson to be learned from Sparrow?" He asked to make sure he understood the tale. Watanuki looked around the room and noticed it to almost be clean once more.

"That and never be mean to horses, they generally never do anything to deserve it." She puffed out smoke and sat a little more comfortably in her chair.