As Eff watched the mammoth lumber away off across the plain, she felt a sudden ache in her heart. She had raised the mammoth since it was just a baby at the menagerie and now as they were letting it free four years later... Emotions were suddenly assailing her from all sides.
Now that she didn't have the slew of mammoth duties to perform as its caretaker, she almost didn't know what to do. She felt a sudden panic rising up inside her.
"Well, at least it wasn't around long enough to be eaten." Professor Torgerson said, patting Eff on the shoulder and walking back to the camp.
Well, that was as much sentiment as the Vinlander could usually drag up when it came to matters like this, but it didn't help her mental state. Eff turned and picked up the still-enchanted mammoth harness, blinking away tears that forced their way out.
Back at the camp, arguments were already breaking out. Eff, feeling raw enough already, made for the far side of the island to unenchant the harness and be alone with her thoughts.
When she found a semi-quiet spot to sit and work, Eff began pulling and poking at the spells on the harness, unravelling them slowly as to take more time on her own.
The mammoth leaving wasn't that big of deal... It just reminded her that each of them could be lost instantly out here in the unknown. Each little step could be their last, especially when there were new creatures springing up every day. The magical foxes were just the beginning, Eff was sure.
Which brought her back to the mammoth. He had helped kill those foxes, even at the risk of its own life. Not that he did it out of any regard for their lives, but it still helped when he gored two of the foxes with his tusks.
Eff gave up on the harness before she blew it up in her distress and burst into tears.
"Eff?" Willam's quiet voice startled her. She hastily wiped her face nd willed her breathing under control.
"Eff, are you okay?" William's footstep advance slightly.
"I-I'm fine." Eff replied, trying to cover the catch in her voice. William came over and knelt down in front of her, pushing his glasses up and studying her face. She looked away.
"Look, Eff. I know letting go of the mammoth was hard, but-"
"It's not the mammoth!" Eff objected, turning away.
"I- What?" William asked. "Eff, come here." He reached for her chin and turned her face to his. "What's going on? You're not one for crying."
"It's nothing, William." Eff replied, turning away again.
"Eff... Don't make me get Lan and pin you down until you tell us." William threatened. To his surprise, Eff burst into tears.
"Wait, i'm sorry! Eff, please don't cry..." William protested, obviously at a loss. Eff just brought her knees to her chest and cried into them.
"Shh, Eff..." William tried to calm her down, pulling her into his arms.
"The mammoth just... Reminded me how worried I am..." She mumbled into the cloth of his shirt.
"There, there... It's all right. We're all safe right here on the island. We'll all be together for the winter." William tried to comfort her further.
"Maybe that's half the problem!" Eff burst out, pushing herself away from him and beginning to storm around the clearing.
"I-..." William said, watching as she fumed.
"Do you know how pig-headed you and my brother are? How mind-numbing you are? Did you two even know that Roger Boden asked me to marry him? No!"
"He asked you to what?!" William said incredulously.
"-Because when was the last time either of you checked in with me? Never! Not even in the letters, William. I had to tell you the news, you never ask for it. I'm just as inconsequential as a mammoth, you can just let me go at any time!" Eff lashed out at a nearby tree, kicking it repeatedly.
"Eff-" William tried again.
"Never mind!" She snapped, getting to her feet and picking up the mammoth harness, kicking a tree for good measure and furiously unravelling the harness magic as she walked back to the center of camp.
Eff went back to her tent, ignoring the surprised glances from those she passed. Her mood was hot enough to melt even a steam dragon's tail.
She sat in her tent the rest of the afternoon, unravelling and re-casting the spells on the harness. By the time she re-cast the spell for the twelfth time, she was exhausted.
Eff threw the harness in the corner. Winter hadn't even started yet and she was picking fights with her only source of male companionship. No wonder she didn't have any friends outside of her own family. Lan would probably lay into her after dinner, when word of the fight got around.
Head pounding with exhaustion, Eff laid down on her bed roll and dropped off into a dreamless sleep, ignoring the supper bell when it was rung an hour later.