The Travels of Rose Ashmaw

Chapter 22

Ezlana removed her hand from the tree from in front of her, panting slightly. As she looked around she could see that barely an eighth of the forest had any signs of life or growth. A few leaves on an odd branch of some of the trees, and a shrub or bush here or there.

Leiko: Hey, you okay?

Ezlana jumped slightly and spun around, when she saw it was just Leiko she sighed.

Ezlana: Yes, I'm okay.

Leiko: Just wanted to make sure, you have been doing this for a few weeks at this point.

Ezlana: I know. It's going to be a while before this forest is even close to being back to what it used to be.

Leiko: That's true enough. So, how have you been getting along with Varna?

Ezlana: Well, she stopped avoiding me.

Leiko: That's good.

Looking up at the sky Leiko could see that the sun was starting to set.

Leiko: We should go if we intend to eat before it's dark.

Ezlana: Sounds good to me.

***

As Leiko, Ezlana, and Varna sit around the crackling fire Leiko begins adding onion to the stew in the pot sitting over the fire.

Varna: I'm starting to have to go further out to hunt anything, getting ahold of meat might start to become difficult.

Ezlana: Sadly, that is expected considering the condition of the forest.

Leiko: Hopefully after enough time the animals will start to show back up.

Ezlana turned her head and looked up at Varna.

Ezlana: Varna?

Varna: Hmm.

Ezlana: Is there anything you like to do for recreation or entertainment?

Leiko raised an eyebrow and had a slight smirk on his face when Ezlana asked Varna that.

Varna: Sparring, hunting...

At the end of what Varna said she mumbled the last thing.

Ezlana: What? I couldn't hear you.

Varna mumbled something again louder, but still unintelligible.

Leiko: You know, you usually want to make sure that others can understand what you are saying when you're talking to them.

Varna glared at Leiko before taking a deep breath and steadying herself.

Varna: Growing flowers.

Ezlana had a stunned expression while Leiko did his best to keep his laughter to himself.

Leiko: I could have told you what she had said, but that would defeat the purpose of her telling you herself.

Ezlana shifted to look at Leiko as he was adding venison to the stew.

Ezlana: Wait, did you know that before she had said it?

Leiko: Sure did. When you have spent as much time as the two of us have together, you pick up on things. Like the fact that no matter how rough she acts, Varna really is a sweetheart after everything is said and done.

Varna: If you say something like that again, I'll...

Leiko: You'll what?

Varna simply huffed and looked away from him.

Ezlana: You would have to be the only living thing that could possibly talk to her like that and remain alive.

Leiko: Oh, believe me, I know that. But that's only because she really does care about those close to her.

He pauses to add some potatoes to the stew.

Leiko: You should have seen what happened when I was brought into Clan Deadfang, What she would do to some of the Gnolls that felt that it was a good idea to say some less than pleasant things about me and the fact I wasn't a Gnoll.

Ezlana remembers what Varna did to the bandits that attacked her and her mother all those years ago and blanched.

Ezlana: I think I'm okay not knowing.

Leiko lightly laughs to himself as he adds pepper to the pot.