Chapter 3: Living Together
Esteleia was hungry when she first started smelling the salty air. The forest has slowly been getting brighter. However, Fyvan had explained he hadn't thought he'd ever eat anything more than lunch in the forest. They were both surprised at how long it seemed to take get to the beach. Now however, it was easy to tell they were close. She could here the faint roaring, which she guessed were the waves Fyvan enjoyed telling her about.
Fyvan had described everything about the place he'd found, and she'd made suggestions for how to keep a fire going, a garden, and clay. Fyvan was surprised at how much she knew on some things, and yet how she seemed to know nothing about others. He could see that even if he hadn't found any new food, he'd found something infinitely better.
While neither had talked about their past, they had learned a lot about each other. Esteleia had been shocked when he told her he didn't like books, but that small fight had lasted a few seconds. She had burst out laughing, wondering aloud why they fought over something they obviously didn't have. Fyvan had joined her laughter, and they'd laughed for almost a minute before managing to calm down.
Now, he could see the sand in front of him. He smiled and ran towards it, totally forgetting Esteleia wouldn't be able to follow him. When he reached the sand, and turned to talk to her, he saw her where he'd started running, searching for him.
Esteleia walked carefully forward. She guessed he'd run ahead, but she didn't like having been left behind like that. Sometimes she found him a bit annoying. Already she could see his now familiar outline coming back towards her.
She stepped towards it, and heard the quick sorry. Then he led her out into the open area of sand. She could hear the river flowing somewhere on her left as she breathed in the sea air blown from the ocean breeze. It relaxed her, and left her energized at the same time. While the forest air seemed to calm and distract you, here it focused you. She tasted salt as she slowly breathed in the air. Fyvan was next to her, staring out at whatever was ahead. She couldn't tell where the ocean began and land ended, but she'd figure it out.
She stared at the sun, the only thing that had a clear outline. It was already low in the sky, but maybe there was time to look around near the burrow Fyvan had told her about.
She turned towards him. 'Is there time to show me the burrow and the river, and the stuff around there?'
Fyvan thought about what he'd have to show her. He'd need to lead her everywhere at least once to make sure she didn't drown herself because she didn't know where the river was. He'd forgotten to tell her everyone in a while that there was something to step over, and she'd tripped. Overall, she seemed capable of finding her way around a place she'd already been to.
There was enough time to at least show her the burrow where they slept and where he sometimes kept the fire burning later into the night. 'I can start to show you, so that you don't drown!' He teased her.
Esteleia just smiled, and ran towards the river. The sand was blown flat by the wind, but she slowed enough to let Fyvan pass her, watching carefully where he went. She was memorizing each step as she ran. Soon they were back at the river. It had split in two, and they'd found a log to cross just a little earlier. Fyvan had known the way to the beach, so they hadn't gone back to the river. Instead they had gone straight out to the beach.
Fyvan splashed her, and she just walked toward where his laughter was. When her paws reached the waters edge she stepped out, her tail swishing along the bottom to help her find any rocks along the bottom. Her careful steps led her to map out a square of the stream. Now, she looked back up to where Fyvan stood watching her, probably wondering what she was doing, and splashed him.
Fyvan watched Esteleia make her way in a swirl. She started along the edges, circling toward the middle of the river. When she reached the middle she looked up to where he was watching her. A smile appeared on her face, and her tail came out, soaking him with water. He just splashed her back, and very soon a full-blown splash fight broke out. They kept at it, both carefully staying in the area Esteleia had mapped out in her head.
Finally, he stepped out of the water and shook himself, spraying water droplets all around him. His fur stood up at odd angles, and he was soaked, but he'd had too much fun to care. Esteleia followed him up to the bank, smiling.
Fyvan glanced at her, before walking toward the burrow he'd dug. It was small, but comfortable enough for him. He hoped she didn't mind the size. It had taken plenty of work to make it this big; he didn't want to work on it when they had other things to do.
Esteleia soon caught up to him, looking much like what he had to look like. She stayed a bit behind him, yet more to his side. He led her to the burrow and stopped outside. He lifted a paw and pointed out the fire pit he'd made. 'The fire's over there. I haven't figured out how to keep it going through a rainstorm like the one from two nights ago.'
Esteleia nodded. 'You can't. You just have to start it back up each time. Do you have a candle and matches?'
Fyvan started. 'Of course, I'm not stupid!'
Esteleia just snorted. 'Are you sure about that? Let's go inside. Tell me if I'm about to run into anything.' She walked toward where he sat, feeling the cooler air that came out of the burrow he'd dug into a part of the river bank, where the sand formed a hill along the river. The stones leading up to the entrance made it even easier to find. She stepped inside, her tail brushing the thicker branches he'd used to help support along the walls. She felt more comfortable in the forest, but this was close. Lifting up her tail, she could feel the top of the tunnel, leading father in and down. A roof of leafy branches was above. It kept the sand from falling, even though it was more of a clay-like soil down here. It probably was what had made it possible for Fyvan to carve out his home without it crashing. She hear his footsteps behind her.
'Didn't you say you needed clay? You're surrounded by it.'
Fyvan froze. He felt the walls again. They were dry where they had been moist when he dug them out. He hadn't noticed before. How stupid was that? Well, that simplified the prospect of making cups and plates and bowls and jars and all the other things he could use. Not to mention it made him feel better in his burrow. He was always slightly afraid of being trapped in it. Xweetoks were instinctively good diggers, yet he had some weird fear of being trapped. It might have had something to do with being stuck in the cellar a few hours, or it might not.
'That's nice.' His tone of voice was uninterested. Esteleia just laughed at him. She could hear the slight curiosity in his tone.
After a few more moments she felt the tunnel widen into a dingle room. Fyvan walked past her. He put his tail of her shoulder to guide her. First he walked over to where he'd piled a bit of sand to make a bed with the blanket on top. He let her map it out. He'd explained what it looked like earlier; he just needed to guide her around it. He showed her where the shelves holding some of the berried and nuts he'd gathered were, and where the rock for the candle was.
Esteleia took it all in. Now she had a map of the river area, and the burrow and the distances around that. She yawned.
'Is now a good time to fall asleep?' She asked aloud.
Fyvan just went over to where his bed was. In this burrow he was almost as blind as she was. He was tired from last night.
'We'll just have to share the blanket.'
'As long as I can lay down and sleep'
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Fyvan was the first one awake. He shot a look at Esteleia, but she was still sleeping peacefully. She'd told him she could make things out of clay, and that you let it dry in the sun a bit, before putting them in the fire to finish. Then you could either fill in the cracks with more clay, or leave them. He went outside and looked at the non-existent fire. He might as well rebuild it for breakfast.
He went over to his fish trap and checked for fish. A few were swimming around. He let three of them out, and left the other two in. He ran down the river toward the forest, just because he could. When he got to the forest, he found the firewood he needed. He grabbed a few smaller sticks. Picking up the entire bundle, he used his tail to help keep it on his back. Walking back to the fire pit, he dropped his load.
He stacked up the sticks around the large logs that were already there. The smaller stick went in three different piles around the fire pit. He went back in to light the candle and bring it outside. He carefully lit the piles of sticks, until they were burning well.
Then he went back to the trap, killed two of the fish and just stuck a stick into their mouths and out somewhere near their tails. The stick he laid across the two Y-shaped ones he'd had to look fir a long time before he'd finally found the right ones. It worked well enough. He cooked one side, and then the other, and you had fresh fish for a meal. He just cut off the edible sections, leaving the rest to drift down the river. He didn't gut the fish, or remove the scales. That you could wait until you were eating them.
He frowned as he realized he'd have to share his knife. He'd only brought one. He went back inside and grabbed the map. He could maybe get some supplies at a small town he'd passed when he'd made his way here. He still had all his neopoints. They'd need an extra blanket, knife, and some seeds. Esteleia has said she could plant a garden if she had some. He should have just enough for that.
He didn't realize Esteleia was awake until he looked up to see her shaping a glob of clay into a small pot. Soon it was a very simple cup, but it was smooth and useful. The seed of an idea came into his head. Was it possible to sell what she made out of clay for cloth and other things they might end up needing? How much could they get for each small thing?
He watched her walk over to where he'd laid some stones around the fire, and place the cup on one of the flatter river stones. He went over next to her, and flipped the fish over to cook the other side.
'I think I could go to a nearby village and get some stuff we might need.' His suggestion made her think.
'How do we get neopoints?' It was the first thing she thought of. They could use some things, but they both wanted to stay hidden. Fyvan had made a place where he could survive alone. She didn't want to have to force him to make himself known.
'I've got some, and you could probably sell those, if you make them like that.' He pointed at the clay cup that was slowly drying out.
'That would work.' Esteleia smiled at the thought that she could help. As much as she probably needed someone taking care of her, she didn't like being a burden either.
Fyvan looked at the fish. 'I'll go grab some berries and we can eat breakfast. Having one knife may be just a bit troublesome for now. I'll go see about the village thing today. There's not actually much I have to do here, but keep the fire going, anyway.'
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Eating took all of their attention as they finished the fish. Fyvan took care to give Esteleia the pieces with the least bones, since she couldn't see them before eating them. She was done a little before her, and went to check her cup. She picked up the cup. It was almost dry.
She looked up when Fyvan walked over. 'I could stay here and make us some bowls and stuff, while you bring us back some extra stuff.'
Fyvan nodded, and walked over to where the map was. 'The nearest place is probably around three hours walk away. I could go there and be back between lunch and dinner. For now, let's go show you the ocean.'
'What about the waves? I can't see them!' Esteleia exclaimed a little frightened.
'You don't have to go deep, just where the water laps up. It's rather cold anyway. The stream's a lot warmer.' Fyvan started to walk along the river, Esteleia following rather reluctantly.
Fyvan sped up, as they got closer to the water. Esteleia almost slowed down. She didn't want to fear it, so she just wouldn't go into the water. When Fyvan's footsteps turned into splashes she stopped, and sat down in the sand, watching his fuzzy shape jump around in the water. He soon came back up to shore, soaked. He looked around and quickly found a seashell that had a hole through it. It would make a good present as a necklace. He picked it up and held on to it.
'Let's go see the berries. We need to figure out where to plant a garden if we're going to have one. I need to stop by the tunnel to grab my bag.' And to hide this shell.
They headed back the way they came, Esteleia in front. She very happily managed to find her way back to the exact spot they'd started out at. She waited for Fyvan outside, and when he came out he led her to the berry bushes. She walked around, carefully sticking her paws out and down. She slowly made her way in a spiral going farther out each time. Next time she came, she would figure out a bit more. For now, she went to various bushes, picking a berry, squishing and sniffing it and eating it she found on she knew she liked. Fyvan was the one collecting them for later.
'Can you make flour out of nuts? We could have pancakes.' Esteleia almost jumped at the seemingly random question that interrupted the comfortable silence that had settled around them.
'I think so… we could try. I'm not sure how it would turn out. Let's get some nuts to try it out for lunch. We can use a stone bowl and put in water and nut flour. We just have to moisten it, because it can't be runny. Then we'd have to pour it onto a rock in the middle of the fire—'
'The fire might burn out! I don't have enough matches to keep lighting it back up!'
Esteleia actually jumped at the interruption. 'Those logs were large enough to keep burning as long as it doesn't rain. After a storm like the one a few days ago, I doubt it's going to happen.'
Fyvan relaxed. 'Let's go find some nuts and try your idea. I'll add some more wood to the fire, and then head to town.'
Esteleia just nodded. He led her to a tree he'd found was easy to climb. He jumped up into the branches. He had always loved climbing trees.
Esteleia stayed on the ground. She wasn't about to leave it to climb up a tree that she could barely see. Fyvan came down soon after, with plenty of almonds to crush into flour.
They headed back, teasing each other.