Hardened (A Yogscast Fanfiction)

13

        "What did you do... before?" Sjin asked me cryptically as we worked on the automatic harvesters, side by side. I was concentrating on replacing one of the broken gears, so the question didn't really register until a few minutes later.

        "What do you mean?" I asked absently, still trying to wedge a screwdriver between the bent gear and it's counterpart so I could pull it out without causing too much damage. Sjin watched me for a moment and then stepped up behind me, reaching around to add more muscle to my effort.

        "You know," he shrugged, looking at me out of the corner of his eye, "before you came here."

        I froze, having nearly forgotten that night. Now that he brought it up, I could almost feel the claws and teeth grazing my skin again, and the oppressive heat of the sun made me feel as if I were back in the blaze. Phantom pains shot down my back, and as we finally managed to get some where with the screw driver, I gave an involuntary shudder as I thought about the death crawl I had endured to get here.

        "It's just that I never asked..." he continued, not sensing my discomfort. I stepped out from under the bridge of his arms so he could take over, and crossed my arms over my chest to stop my hands from shaking slightly.

        "I was a farmer," I muttered quietly, causing Sjin to pause, "I mostly worked with animals though." I hunched my shoulders against the memory of their human-like screams, feeling bumps rising on my skin even though I was sweating in the sweltering heat.

        My partner grunted as he finally managed to pop out the jammed gear, and I waited in silence as he quickly replaced it with an identical one, giving it a quick test spin before shutting the access panel and picking his way out of the fields.

        "So what happened?" he asked as I followed him back to the house. We were going to grab our sparring swords and practice as we regularly did before lunch. I felt a bit resentful that our peaceful breaks were now filled with pain and suffering, but I was excited to finally perfect the new dodge I had learned a few days ago. Last night was spent practicing when I was supposed to be pruning the berry bushes, and I think I finally understood the mechanics of it.

        Sjin tossed me one of the wooden swords that hung from the wall, and after grabbing a few provisions, we headed to the clearing that was slowly being trampled flat from our fighting. The farmer must have noticed my silence as I was lost in thought, but I let out a sigh of relief when he didn't push the subject. "So you're good with animals?" he asked as he held the door open for me, his question much lighter than the original.

        Still, I had to squeeze my eyes closed again to try and shut out the memories of that night. "I guess," I muttered, hurrying ahead down the path so he wouldn't notice my change in attitude. Acting suspicious would only spur questions and demands for explanations, and I wasn't ready to relive my near death experience just yet.

        I sensed the farmer wanted to say something by the strained silence between us, but it wasn't until we reached our sparring field that he said to my back, "I was actually thinking about getting some pens up..." Something about his voice was off, and as I whirled around to face him he continued. "We could get a few cows, maybe some sheep..." he said, studying my face for some type of reaction to the suggestion.

        The idea actually excited me; it would be nice to return to my roots. This time I wouldn't stand by and watch as their throats were mercilessly ripped out as they called for their caretaker. "That's a good idea," I said, trying to keep my voice level when all I wanted to do is run around and laugh with the idea of having something to look after again.