Gift- Book 1

Chapter 14

Out of boredom, Sheyric and Leiea decided to go set up the stall anyway. It wasn't hard, since they already had shaded set up at all the spaces. All they had to do was pull out some barrels and crates, props up the glass display case, and fill that up with their wares. He left it up to her to select the products they want to show off.

Before they left earlier, Plei had cleaned out their wounds. As they thought, the gash wasn't infected or needing stitches, so all she did was lather on a thick layer of ointment and wrap it up in literal inches of gauze, making any use of his arm impossible. For Leiea's, she put on a fresh and soothing lotion and even fewer layers of gauze than she had there already.

She even force-fed Sheyric the rest of the bread and honey that was left out. Almost like Plei's used to him coming over, half-starved out of his wits. Fepko, on the other hand, apparently hates him, barking and trying to attack his feet constantly. The "competition" between them is even more obvious when he's practically growling and baring his own teeth.

Leiea pours a handful of small reddish rocks into the display bowl on the counter, almost wishing to go back to the motel. As the day wears on, the sun only gets hotter, but nothing seems to affect the natives of Karyk. She's already become sick of the people here, walking around in layers of clothes while she and Sheyric can lift 20 pounds without needing to pause. Even other pet drikszuns- which she has seen running around- aren't bothered by it. It makes her feel uninvited, even when she was welcomed with open arms.

She walks back to the caravan and lays on the floor, fidgeting with the shag rug near the door frame. Hopefully, customers will not be difficult here, or maybe Sheyric knows everyone enough to the point that they're friendly, she thinks. That would be ideal.

"Can you help me here?" He asks, bringing her back to attention. She jumps up and helps him take off the top of a crate he was struggling to open.

This makes her realize just how well he's handling his injury. No outbursts in anger or pain. No whining. The only alarm- or frankly, emotion- he has shown towards it was when it happened. But even then, all he did was grunt and stumble away to find Leiea on the ground. Not seeing to himself.

If she knows anything, it's that he's only been showing pure kindness to her, even at times like this where he's stressed, in pain, tired, and hungry. She could only imagine having the Sheyric back that was like how he was back in the village. Happy and generous and cheerful the whole time. In a few days of care, he should be back to that mentality, maybe better than before because they've arrived in Karyk.

She could use that mentality, too.

"Really, Sheyric? Please," Leiea rolls her eyes, and Plei laughs.

"What of it? It's true."

"There is no way you could've seen that, especially in Eissen. Isn't it all just wetlands? There couldn't be significant mountains there."

He takes a drink of water and shakes his head. "Of course there are mountains. Do you remember anything from that map? It's in a humid, wet valley between the mountains and their forest. And Dofia."

"Okay," She pauses. "But it couldn't be so close to those mountains that you got snow there. The time you would reach Eissen is barely even near wintertime, no matter how north."

He smiles and points his fork at her. "Exactly. Eissen's even more north than Galerus, but they are at similar levels on the ground. See? You can imagine how bad Eissen would be later in the year when Galerus is already growing cold by late summer, early fall."

Leiea furrows her brow, still grins. It's so like him to turn a stupid story into a lesson about climate.

"What about the fact it's all wetlands, as she said?" Plei finally asks, taking a bite of her grain. She had made dinner for them while they were setting up. Luckily, she had made something that wasn't streaming hot from the oven, since it's still abnormally hot outside to the two.

He nods. "It evens out. Humid and sticky in the summer. Bitter in the winter. Wet all the time in between. But, as fall draws near out of summer, the wetness just becomes cold. Go away, you stupid dog." Fepko, who must have been under the table, whines, and pads away on his ridiculously long legs.

He continues. "See, I have the proof I need. How about we hope for it in person."

"You make it sound like the storms back home," Leiea almost sneers her words. "I will not get anywhere close to Eissen if cold just follows us around like that."

Plei sets her fork down and pats her mouth clean with a cloth. "I wouldn't think there would be blizzards in early autumn, even north." She talks through the fabric quietly as if she doesn't want to be a part of the conversation.

"It's not even close to those. Far more... pleasant, really. Still, abundances of frost and snow."

"Then what about Dofia? They're more south." Leiea crossed her arms.

"They're pretty far from the mountains. They only get hot rain."

"What about that swampy lake you hate? That's pretty close to the mountains.

"Lake Harii's northern edges can get frosted over. The rest is just... gross. And the rest of the river goes too far south."

Now she's just curious about all of this. Somehow, he made this small lesson enjoyable. "Are there any settlements deeper into those mountains?"

He takes a bite of his grain. "A few tiny ones. But somehow they get by. It's not like we would very go in there, though. There's plenty of towns and villages we skip over because it's so far out of reach. Even some that are right on the route aren't to be tampered with."

"Alright, I believe your little story."

He gives a sharp nod and she has a drink of water. All the water here is stale and warm, but much better to have some of it than face the effects of the heat. Even now, when the sun is almost over the horizon, it's warm.

Later that night, they immediately go to bed, not bothering to unpack their things, and instead throwing the bags on the floor. With some reluctance, Sheyric convinced her that they could share a bed to "Share bodily warmth for the colder nights to come."

By the time the sky's completely dark, Leiea climbs into her side of the bed first, trying to avoid it. The straw-filled mattress pricks her back and the scratchy blanket on her legs is unbearable.

When Sheyric walks back into the room, she's almost asleep. "The bed hurts," She warns with a smile.

He snorts. "Yeah, I know. Better than nothing." He gets in with her, not bothering to use the blanket, and bundles up in an extra jacket that was on the floor. Knowing they won't fall asleep anytime soon, he turns over on the rough canvas bed and whispers, "Remember that one year a long time ago in the village when it snowed, what, two days after the equinox?"

Leiea nods. She was only 10 then before she had to start working through the winters. If she had been at the time, the dread coming from everyone afterward would have crushed her. Early seasons are never welcome.

"I was 14," he continues as if reading her mind. He chuckles, "I remember being really excited after that storm. Waiting to go play in it."

She can almost feel her face register surprise. She had forgotten that he was a child once, too, and he went to school at the same time as her. I wonder how many times I have passed him there. She thinks, Even if we were separated by four levels, everyone went to the same school back home.

She decides to ask him, a little hesitant. "Do... did you ever remember seeing me at school? We must have seen each other around at some point."

He smiles and nods. "The one with her hair down and the same shoes every day."

She grins back because it's true. Even now, she lives by wearing the same boots on the daily, and leaving her hair down, unlike almost all other girls. It's not like she wanted to be different in that sense, she just wanted to feel how she likes, not following all the popularities.

There's no reason to, anyway. Times change, and being popular doesn't matter at times like these.