Emea was tired. Yeah, he probably should have expected being chosen to do this, but it wasn't his fault that the date he'd suggested for the elder's niece's wedding had been rained out. It wasn't like he could control the weather, Yet, he was blamed completely for that and was in virtual exile.
So, here he was having sat in the area where he'd found the stranger that seemed to be from somewhere so far away that Emea got a headache just thinking about it. He'd rather grow his raspberry bushes and be left alone.
He used to go into the village almost every day during the summer and autumn to sell his raspberries, but now he usually was doing that just outside the village. His regular customers were fine with it, but it did hurt his business and he doubted the elder shed a tear over that.
Emea sighed. While he wasn't upset at having had this happen, he did wish that the elder could have selected someone else. That way he'd be able to return to his home and carry on with his life. Besides, this really did require a skill set that he really didn't have. As this required the skills one of the watch would have, especially the part of staying up all night and then all day, just to see if the stranger's friends returned during that time. Although, Emea knew that if they didn't return, he was supposed to remain their until they did show up or the elder told him otherwise.
Even if that meant he remained here for the rest of his life. Which was entirely possible since he was confident that the elder likely wouldn't think about him much, if he crossed her mind at all.
Though, he also kept himself out of sight, since he'd always been taught to do that when waiting for something by his parents. Just as everyone that was a bear-kin had been. As such, as he'd been looking into the fire that the stranger had apparently created with her 'magic' was one of the few times he'd even been this close to the edge of bear-kin territory while not staring out of sight.
Emea felt himself starting to fall asleep. The dawn had broken and Emea had remained vigilant on his watch. Though, while he hadn't been instructed to not fall asleep, he knew if someone was sent to bring him food, he needed to be awake then or they wouldn't leave him the foo. But at the same time, if he didn't get any sleep, he wouldn't be able to adequately do what he'd been assigned.
Even though he really doubted that it would occur, there was also the possibility that the stranger's friends would show up. They probably wouldn't arrive at this time, but that didn't change the fact that he really should stay awake.
However, despite his best efforts, his eyes closed of their own accord and soon he was sound asleep. It was only when he woke up with the sun high overhead, that he noticed that deer-kin had passed him by going up the mountain. He could tell because what he knew about the deer kin and recognizing the signs they left without realizing it that pointed to them.
Sighing, he knew he would be in trouble for this, even though he hadn't been assigned to keep a look out for potential enemies going up the mountain. Besides, he couldn't leave now anyway. If nothing else, he could tell that the stranger's friends hadn't passed by yet. The only signs on the ground were those of the deer-kin.
_
Charlie woke up slowly. Even though she was waking up, her body was telling her to go back to sleep. Her stomach complained to her that it was empty, but she wasn't sure what to do about that, especially since she wasn't sure what need her body had that she should work on taking care of first.
She wished she could take a bath, but wasn't sure about what bathing facilities the bear-kin had. Though, she wasn't sure if there might be other options she might find to take care of that at some point.
When she was awake enough to sit up, she realized she'd slept on top of her sleeping bag and was in the clothes that she'd worn the day before. Though, she didn't like how public the area she was in, at least in relation to changing her clothes.
The other pronghorn-kin were around her, but only the children were still asleep. The other pronghorn-kin she'd led here were awake and talking among themselves just outside the structure they'd spent the night in.
Charlie yawned as she got up, wondering if maybe she should change her clothing in her sleeping bag. While they'd brought tents, Beth was the one with the tent that they were supposed to share. She remembered that much when they were told what to expect in their packs when they picked them up.
Though, she wasn't sure if she'd have time. She wasn't sure when her friends would get there or if there were any other difficulties that could come up that would make it difficult to merely change her clothes. Yet, rather than taking care of that right away, she was more interested in getting something to eat.
Charlie quietly walked over to the adults outside the hut, primarily to keep from waking any of the children up rather than trying to sneak up of the group. Though, at the moment, the group of adults were in a lull in their conversation. Not that she could say why.
Aina's father noticed Charlie first and motioned for her to sit next to him. Charlie nodded and sat in the proffered spot as she began to listen to them talk.
"What will we do if we're all that's left?" one of the women asked Charlie.
"I really don't know, but I know that my friends will bring back any that are still alive," Charlie assured her, not sure what else to say.
"When will they bet back here then?" the other woman asked.
"Again, I really don't know," Charlie answered, feeling like she might be more of a broken record at the moment. "Part of it depends on how far they had to go to chase the deer-kin down as well as how many there are."
When both opened either mouths to ask something again, Aina's father held up a hand and the two women closed their mouths.
"Just trust that what can be done is being done," he told the pronghorn-kin women in front of him. "We might not know what's going on, but we need to trust that we'll find out soon enough."
The women nodded and Charlie felt like she should say something, but nothing came to mind. Partly because she really wasn't completely awake, partly because she was hungry, and partly because she really didn't know what would be acceptable in their culture and what wasn't. She also thought of them as allies, so she felt it wouldn't be right to peek into their minds without asking them first.
"Um, did they bring us anything to eat?" Charlie ventured, not sure if she should be bringing this up anyway.
"They'll bring us something soon, but you were tired when they last brought us something to eat," Aina's father said. "Are you doing well?"
Charlie thought that was a weird way of putting it, but she couldn't argue with it. "I'm doing alright, thanks," Charlie replied. "I slept really well, but I really would like some breakfast.
"Patience, young one," the man said. "They'll have the food here soon enough. Just relax and and enjoy your time here. I don't think the bear-kin will let us go until their elder can speak with your friends first. So, take the time to let yourself rest from your hard journey."
Charlie sighed. Was that what he'd gotten from her story that she'd put in everyone's mind? She didn't think of it that way herself, so was more than a little surprised to realize that.
"Actually, yesterday was our first day on our trip," Charlie replied. "So, if I'm tired, I think it was from using so much of my magic yesterday."
"We can't argue with that, but you didn't seem like you were fresh out of your own world, so it seems like you were getting tired from all the walking you did that we saw," the man said.
"Oh, well, I'd have to say it probably was more than just me walking," Charlie replied. "I've had times when I use my magic too much that got me even more tired than this."
The man nodded, clearly not going to argue with Charlie. Though, he was spared any other thoughts that Charlie would have sent towards him with the arrival of the young man who had shown them to the hut, bringing them breakfast.
Charlie had to assume that they were upwind from the food, as it looked like it should be giving off more than the steam, but rather whatever aroma it should have with it. Yet, it wasn't until the food was being set down in front of them that she could smell the mouth watering smells that came from the food.
She couldn't say what it was, nor did she really care at the moment. She was sorely tempted to throw out all table manners that she'd learned since she was little and try to gobble up as much as she could get her hands on.
However, she also knew that if she did that, she'd likely stuff herself so much that she probably wouldn't be able to move for at least several hours without her stomach hurting. Then there was also the fact that she wasn't sure how much food the bear-kin had to spare and the pronghorn-kin kids had to eat as well.
As she ate, she couldn't help but enjoy the flavors that he encountered. What she was eating was a kind of bread that she hadn't had before, with a texture that seemed almost like pudding. Then there was some kind of meat that almost seemed like a kind of sausage that was soft and full of flavor, but it also seemed to chase all the fatigue she had felt.
When she was done with her first helping, she was surprised to find that she wasn't hungry anymore. This was the first time she could ever remember feeling that way after eating so little. Although, she did notice that the others were still eating theirs.
Standing up, Charlie wondered about when the children would eat, not sure if she should wake them up or not, but that decision was taken away from her when the kids started coming out of the hut and started getting their share of the food.
The only thing she could think of that had woken them up was the aroma of the food. After all, if she'd still been asleep, she wouldn't be surprised if she woke up after smelling that.
Charlie was about to talk with Aina's father some more, but as she turned to him, the same young man from the night before approached them.
"Excuse me, but Charlie Rivers?" he said. "The elder wishes to speak with you."
Charlie nodded. Then, turning back to the pronghorn-kin, she excused herself and quickly followed the young man. She was eager to continue on with the expedition, but at the moment, she knew she'd need to wait for them. So, in the mean time, she thought she might as well as try to learn as much as she could, in addition to trying and helping the arachnoids out as best as she was able to.
While she'd been able to look around a good amount the night before, she hadn't noticed how all the buildings looked like they were made out of a single block of wood. She couldn't say that the buildings themselves were growing, but the architecture was like nothing she'd ever seen before.
Each of the buildings had various ornamentation that Charlie couldn't tell if it had been grown that way, carved, or attached in a way that looked rather seamless.
Then as they entered the building that Charlie had met with the elder the night before, Charlie was surprised at how even the inside looked like it was all a solid piece of wood. She couldn't even tell if the rooms had been carved and sanded down really well or if it was some other method that allowed the rooms, corridors, doorways, and window to be there without any tools being used.
As she was ushered into the room where she'd met with the elder previously, she saw the elder present as well as two other bear-kin men. The two men had spears leaning against the walls right by them. They looked at Charlie as she entered, looking like they were thinking that they might be the butt of a joke.
"Good morning, Charlie Rivers," the elder greeted as Charlie walked over to them.
"Good morning, elder," Charlie said, doing her best to be polite. "How was your night?"
"It was restful, thank you," the elder replied.
Charlie had expected for the elder to ask her how her night had been, but she instead motioned to the two men present. "These are the strongest warriors in out village," the elder said instead. "I wanted them to talk to you about what you might be able to do to help our defenses as well as what the arachnoids you mentioned could do themselves to help in that way as well."
Charlie sighed. She really had no idea what the capabilities of the arachnoids really were, though she was sure of what she could do while she was here. However, she didn't plan on staying here for that long.
"Well, I believe the arachnoids are rather strong," Charlie started, but was quickly cut off by one of the men.
"That's good to know, but first we'd want to know what benefit we'd be able to receive from them," he said.
Charlie fought to roll her eyes. How was she supposed to talk to them about that when she didn't know what they would need? After all, she didn't now what the bear-kin would need in order to benefit from her proposal.
"Well, why not show me what you need, so I can know how best to explain what you would consider a benefit?" Charlie asked, hoping that the men would start being useful rather than wasting her time.
After all, if she didn't have anything else to do, she'd rather go back to her horrible sleeping bag and take a nap. Barring that, she wouldn't mind walking around and enjoy viewing the artful ornamentation over all of the buildings.
The men whispered quickly to each other and when they parted, Charlie could see they'd made up their mind about something.
"All right, follow me and we'll discuss what you know about the arachnoids as well as our people," the second man said, motioning for Charlie to take the lead ahead of him.
While she wasn't exactly happy about this turn of events, she couldn't say that it would be a waste of time. If nothing else, she'd be able to get something established here that would potentially allow her and her friends to resupply themselves as their expedition went on.
As they left the room, the man quickly took the lead and led Charlie to parts of the village where they had some defenses, storerooms, and even what they had in regards to their own tallies about their population growth and needs. showing Charlie some of what it took to keep the economy in the village flowing.
Their first stop had been where Charlie learned about the population growth and needs, which Charlie was surprised actually caught her interest. She'd thought most of this day was probably going to either be one she would be able to relax and rest or bored out of her mind.
Throughout it, something was bothering Charlie, but it was almost like there was some noise in the back of her head that she couldn't quite place. She was able to ignore it with some effort, but she couldn't figure out what it was that bothered her about it. Almost like it was on the edge of her conscious mind, but just barely out of reach.
The second was the storerooms, so Charlie could see how much space they had to store food until it was needed as well as weapons for replacing worn out or broken weapons.
They were on their way up to the top of the slope to show Charlie some of the defenses they had when a bear-kin girl ran up to them. She looked like she was probably a few years older than Charlie.
She whispered something to the men who then looked at Charlie in a weird way. She didn't think she was going to like what they were likely going to say to her, but it wasn't like she could avoid it. Especially since she was needing them to accept her proposal of creating a settlement for the pronghorn-kin and arachnoids by the entrance to Petals' forest.
"It looks like the deer-kin are encroaching on our territory deeper than they know they should," the first man told Charlie.
"So, what does that mean for me? Are we going to put this little tour on hold while you take care of this problem?" Charlie asked, part of her hoping he'd say she could go her own way for now.
The man smiled and shook his head. "No, we think this would be a good opportunity for you to show us just what you would do to deal with them," he replied calmly.
Charlie sighed. She couldn't say she was surprised. Especially with how this would apply to their defenses. Or at least what she could potentially contribute to it.
Though, part of her mind was demanding to know why she was being cooperative in this, seeing as how she wasn't planning on being around for long, so she shouldn't really be getting involved at all. Even peripherally. However, she couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for this happening. After all, if she hadn't brought the pronghorn-kin here, then the deer-kin wouldn't be as likely to have approached the bear-kin's territory, which is where the pronghorn-kin currently were.