Into wild places our party wanders, avoiding places with people as much as possible. If anything needs to be bought, Gentle Whiskers will go with his Fluttering Bird or Swaying Blossoms into the villages and towns, while the rest of us detour around the borders to wait for them on the other side. Nobody uses their names anymore. Our names are the ones I have given to everybody.
Fighter insists he must stay by my side to keep me and Baby Tofu safe. I don't want him and I don't like him, but we have no other strong men in our party. No one else who can fight and deal with any bad people or bandits we come across. It would be safer for Fighter to travel on his own to hide from his enemies, but if he did that, our party would look like refugees that are easily bullied.
Two good things about Fighter. He is strong and he is a very good fighter. Because of these, we put up with his demanding ways and ignorant selfishness. Besides, Baby Tofu likes him. Especially when Fighter holds him and plays with him. I also don't want Baby Tofu to grow up without a father. I have been as patient as tofu. I can still be as patient as tofu.
Some nights, Fighter teaches the girls simple moves that they can use, so that we will have a better defence than solely relying on him. This comes in handy when one night, some bandits stumble across our camp. Gentle Whiskers hides my face in his chest, ensuring I will not see anything. After burying the dead bodies and cleaning up all the blood so that I will not see, Fighter teaches the girls how to deal with the troubles in the heart after making a kill. Swaying Blossoms cries and I hold her tight. Fluttering Bird keeps herself busy, while tears drip from her chin. Gentle Whiskers watches nearby with worried eyes while he holds Baby Tofu. Fighter prays for the dead.
Deeper and deeper into the mountain we travel. When the paths disappear, we make our own, travelling up ridges and down ridges until halfway up one, we find shallow caves in the cliff face. The caves are connected by walls and columns but are not deep enough for any wild animals to live in. From the forest signs and thick undergrowth, few people come here. Even fewer dare come near. This is a few days journey from the nearest village and even their hunters dare not come so deep into a forest they say is the home of an old mountain god.
Tired from travelling, we stay in the shallow caves a while. Until nearby, we find some flat ground and I imagine what having a house here will look like. The soil to one side is not too bad. We can grow vegetables there.
"There is a house here," I tell Fighter, walking through this flat and relatively open area, following imaginary borders. "Here are the walls. The bed can be here. Over here, the outhouse and wet area. See that green patch. There may be water beneath. We can dig a well. Build a wall around the well so that Baby Tofu cannot fall in. Can you see the courtyard, looking out onto that little path we have made there? It's like a little road. I can sit here, under the shade of apricot trees to look at our garden. Over there to the side. The soil looks good for growing vegetables. Can you see it? Over this side, another house for Gentle Whiskers. A herb garden here. Do you see? Can you see it?"
Fighter is silent, walking the borders I show him, marking them by dragging a stick through the dirt and leaves. He rubs his chin in thought, looking up at the trees in the way and measuring sizes with his stride. Using a stick, he digs at the green patch and smells the dirt there. Closing his eyes, he turns around and nods to himself.
"Go back to the caves," he tells me. "Call Gentle Whiskers to me. You go back and rest. You look tired. Do you need my help walking back?"
"Tofu will stop and rest when she is tired," I reassure him and walk back toward the cliffs. The distance couldn't be said to be far, but it is far enough that I still need to stop and rest two or three times to catch my breath despite my slow pace.
"My Lady," Swaying Blossoms comes to help me to a log that has become a bench. She brings me a cup of water. "You look tired."
"Tired," I agree. "A bit dizzy."
"You should lay down and rest then," Swaying Blossoms says. "You must conserve your energy and make sure you are strong for when winter comes."
"Fighter wants to speak to Gentle Whiskers," I tell her, allowing her to help me to my bed after drinking the water. Baby Tofu is already there, sleeping. I lay down beside him and Swaying Blossoms tucks me under a warm blanket.
"Fighter is looking for me?" Gentle Whiskers checks my forehead with the back of his hand and smiles, patting my cheek. "What for?"
"Build a house. Dig a well. Make a garden," I look up into Gentle Whiskers' face with sparkling eyes. "Give you a house. Dig a herb garden. Plant some trees."
"You want to stay here?" Gentle Whiskers strokes his chin. "Do you like it here?"
"Quiet here. No people. Baby Tofu is getting too big and heavy for us to carry all day. Winter is coming. Shelter is needed. Need to prepare and store food."
"I see. Swaying Blossoms, come with me."
Nodding to himself, Gentle Whiskers walks down to where Fighter is with Swaying Blossoms, gesturing to Fluttering Bird with one hand. Fluttering Bird sits by my side and pats me to sleep, singing a song about birds in the spring.