Charles Smith x Reader

Two

Little bugs crawled over your feet as you walked barefoot across the forest floor. Small feet tingled on your skin. Startled by the sensation, you shook off the insect.

"Careful.", Aponi placed a hand on your arm. "Anthill."

She pointed to the ground in front of you. The whole grass was full of little animals. Millions and millions of bodies huddled close together, carrying resources for building and feeding.

"Huh.", you carefully took two steps back and took a different path that Aponi showed you. "I need to wash my feet..."

"Stand in the water. It will cool.", she said.

The water was so icy that it almost hurt more than the ants' bites. With a shaky breath, you waded along the shore next to Aponi while she kept pointing at things to explain them to you.

"That one.", she pointed to a plant that looked like tall grass. "It tastes bitter. Good for injuries. Uh... bandages? And that..."

She pointed to a bush full of plump berries.

"You can't eat those.", you said with a nod. "Rowan berries. They gave me cramps."

"Yes. Very good. You are learning."

"I want to know a lot. Everything, if I may."

She frowned but in an amused kind of way.

"No. Some of it is not... meant for you. Only for the people of this land."

Understandably, you hummed and didn't ask any more questions.

As an outsider, you knew that not everything was allowed to you. Some secrets and traditions you would never get to see, but that didn't bother you.

Aponi and her tribe were kind-hearted people. They had already taught you more than you had expected. Thanks to them, you could feed yourself for a few days in the wilderness, they had taught you how to hunt rabbits and which plants were poisonous. Thanks to them, you knew where to find fresh water and how to recognise it.

And in return you did what was actually a matter of course. You let them live in peace and only entered their land if they allowed it.

A simple alliance. But it held a lot of power.

"Here.", she stopped at a bend in the bank to press her hand against a tree trunk.

"What is that?", you let your eyes wander over the tree.

It was an evergreen tree, with dark needles instead of leaves. The trunk had bark so dark that it looked almost black.

"It's not a fir tree...", you mumbled to yourself.

She frowned.

"I don't know the word."

"Fir, a tree that is always green. Even in winter."

She had to think for a moment whether there was a similar word in her language.

"It's... not a fir tree.", she finally said. "But yes. It's always green. Even when winter covers everything in snow."

You scrutinised the tree again. It smelled of resin, sweet and woody. Like the inside of your hut.

At the top, between the green branches, cones were already growing like flowers. They had a different shape to a fir tree, longer and slimmer.

"Is it... a pine tree?", curious to know the answer, you looked at it.

Her dark eyes travelled over your face.

"Pine...", she said to herself. "Yes. I think that's... it. We have different words. But the soul remains... same."

"Soul?", you tilted your head.

She frowned.

"Not? Or... how do you say? Meaning."

You smiled.

"Yeah, I think that's the one.", you reached behind you to pull out the axe that you carried strapped across your back. "Can I cut it?"

"Yes.", she took a step back after pressing her forehead against the bark, her eyes closed. "Grows fast. Next spring one will return. Watch the other trees."

Using a piece of chalk, you marked the spot on the trunk from which you wanted to fell the tree and set the axe to work.

The wood and bark splintered with the first blow. The blade sank into the surface and got stuck briefly. You pulled it out again with more force.

With a glance upwards, you made sure that everything was alright. Birds were startled. They fluttered away, chirping.

"Is it a home?", you asked, glancing at Aponi.

She had settled down on the bank and was dangling her feet in the stream.

"No.", her eyes flitted through the dense trees at the other end of the bank. "It's good."

A few minutes passed and you didn't say a word to each other.

Sweat glistened on your forehead. Your breathing became heavier. Every blow with the axe made your arms heavier.

After half an hour, you had only cut a notch in the trunk that would make the tree fall towards the stream. The sun was shining down on you both.

Suddenly Aponi stood up and waded through the water to the other side. Surprised that she took her eyes off you, you stopped.

"Where are you going?", you called after her, frowning.

She stopped when the water reached her knees and glanced back. Her dark eyes were watching you. She seemed to be thinking.

"Come on.", she said suddenly and held out her hand. "We need to... look at something."

Confused but not averse to her request, you strapped the axe back on your back and stomped through the water towards her to take her hand. Her fingers closed around your hand, cold and wet.

Water soaked into your jeans. Goose bumps covered your whole body even though the sun was particularly warm that day.

"Where are we going?", you asked.

"I don't know...", she pulled you to the other shore and then let go of your hand. "But I think there is... something."

Your fingers reflexively groped for the revolver dangling from your hip in a holster.

"Calm. Don't rush.", Aponi said when she realised. "Violence is not necessary."

"Not always.", you agreed and let go of the gun. "But if we don't know..."

"Fear feeds violence. But just because you don't know something doesn't mean you have to be afraid of it. It is... foreign. Not dangerous."

"I admire you, Aponi. I'm not as strong as you."

She shook her head. The braids of her black hair danced with the movement.

"No. We are... different. Simple."