Chapter Three: A Learning Experience

Chelsea P.O.V

It was surprisingly easy for me to meld into Shea and Wada's small community. I was given a pallet in the corner of the room for me to rest on and, when I inspected the men's pallets, I found that they had purposely given me a softer one. When Shea found out that I didn't eat meat, he began hunting less and foraging more, accustoming me to the taste of smoked mushrooms and fish. I even found myself a job in collecting water, wood, and mending Wada and Shea's furs.

About a week after I started staying in the jungle was the first storm of the summer. Since there was a hole in the roof for the smoke from the fire, the fire wasn't lit, and there were leaks everywhere in the ceiling, so I had a mini panic attack about my asthma.

Shea, however, had different ideas. He jumped out of his pallet and threw his bed furs over me, tucking them in all around me and making me considerably warmer. "Chelsea look cold," he said in explanation as he tucked them in. "Chelsea get sick if cold."

"Thank you, Shea," I said. "That's very kind of you."

And then I started coughing.

As I had that first day, my body immediately hunched over, yanking the furs out from around me. Tears sprung to my eyes and my throat burned as I coughed and I could hardly breathe.

Shea jumped up from where he'd been kneeling next to my pallet, startled. "What wrong?" he demanded worriedly.

"My…asthma…" I choked out in one of my few seconds of peace. "It happens…all the time. I just need…water."

He hurriedly grabbed a bowl of water and shoved it into my hands. I gulped it down greedily, wincing slight at the freezing liquid hitting the sensitive inside of my throat. When it was completely drained, Shea grabbed the bowl from me and shoved it under one of the leaks and grabbed another as I took several deep breaths. We continued this system until the coughing stopped.

Exhausted, I fell back onto my pallet and kept taking deep breaths to calm my speeding heart. Shea leaned over me, face still concerned. "Chelsea okay now?"

I nodded. "I'm okay, Shea. I cough like that a lot, and I usually use my inhaler, but I dropped it when the bear attacked me. I'll just have to drink a lot of water and be careful when it rains like this."

A contemplating look overtook his face as he suddenly vaulted to his feet and dashed out into the storm, despite my futile calls for him to come back.

When Wada awoke, he came to check on me, still wrapped up in my warm furs. "Heard…..coughing. Chelsea…okay?"

"I'm okay, Wada," I said softly, "but Shea's run off."

A grin overtook his face. "Looking…..medicine…coughing….instincts."

I took a moment to decipher his speech. "His instincts are telling him to look for medicine for my coughing?"

The old man nodded, delighted I'd understood him. "Shea….protect….family. Chelsea…..family."

I felt a swelling in my chest and I sat up to smile at Wada. "Really?"

"Yes. Chelsea…..part…..tribe. Chelsea…..stay…..jungle."

My stomach dropped. They expected me to stay.

How could I? I was going to be the first member of the Saunders family to graduate from college! I was going to be educated and live in the city where I could easily get all the medicine I needed and I could educate my children. My future husband, wherever he was, was going to help out with finances so our family could live comfortably! How could I give up all my dreams?

Even as I thought that, Shea's face flashed through my mind. In just a short week, I had become part of their small tribe. Maybe I could live a life here.

Before I had any more time to think on it, Shea burst into the hut, nearly soaked through and grinning victoriously. I automatically leapt out of my pallet and grabbed one of the worn furs to drape around his shoulders. "What were you thinking?" I demanded, and his eyes grew wide.

"Chelsea worried?"

"Yes, I was worried! What if you had gotten sick or lost?" I sighed and, on impulse, wrapped my arms around his waist.

His chest was hard and soft at the same time, radiating heat like a furnace. The darkened skin there smelled like the rain falling outside and something else that I couldn't place. He stilled for a moment but returned the hug quickly, tucking my head under his chin. "Shea sorry. Shea worried about Chelsea. Went to find enhayler."

En. Hay. Ler. Inhaler. I stepped away and covered my mouth with my hands. "You found my inhaler?"

A hand I hadn't realized had been curled into a fist unfurled, revealing the yellow L shaped piece of plastic, the medicine canister still safely lodged inside. "This enhayler?"

"Yes, this is my inhaler! Oh, Goddess, Shea! Thank you so much!" My arms were around him again, this time around his neck, and I buried my face in his shoulder. I felt his skin heat again and I quickly let go, only to start coughing again. Relieved at the slight weight of the plastic in my palm, I shook it and took two puffs of it, trying to ignore Shea's gaze on me.


Chelsea P.O.V.

As I was washing our furs a few days later, Wada approached me, hobbling slightly and leaning heavily on his cane as always. I smiled up at him from my position next to the river and scooted back on my knees. "Hi, Wada."

"Chelsea…" he said in way of greeting, patting my head softly with one of his wrinkled hands.

"What's up?"

He took a minute to gather his words. "Chelsea…teach…..Shea…?"

"You want be to teach Shea? About what?"

"Read…..write…maths…" As if he wasn't sure I'd agree, he added, "Wada…..tell…of tribe…."

I thought it over for a moment before slowly nodding my head. At least it would give me something to do in the evenings. Plus, I was rather eager to learn more about their "tribe." "Sure, Wada. I'll start this evening, okay?" He merely gave me a silent nod before he hobbled back off.


Shea P.O.V

I was very confused when I got back to the hut that evening. Chelsea was standing outside, the dim light of the setting sun catching in her light hair and making it glow slightly. I liked it. "What wrong, Chelsea?" I asked.

She gave me a soft smile, making a weird feeling appear in my stomach. "Wada asked me to teach you how to read and write. I don't have paper, so we'll have to do it in the dirt." She spun on her heel and walked to a nearby patch of dirt with such confidence that I felt no choice but to follow. So I did, squatting next to her as she knelt next to it. She picked up a stick and began making odd markings in the dirt. When she was done, she dusted off her hands and pointed the stick at the markings. "This is the alphabet. Every word in our language is made of different patterns of these letters. There's even a song to remember them!" She hummed it, and, after a while, I found that I could remember some of them.

"How make Chelsea?" I asked at one point.

She smiled and picked the stick back up. "C-h-e-l-s-e-a. Chelsea."

"Shea?"

"S-h-e-a."

I was enjoying myself immensely at this point. "Wada!"

Chelsea chuckled softly under her breath and began "writing" again. "W-a-d-a."

I clapped my hands together lightly. "Writing fun! Shea try?"

She handed me the stick and said, "Go ahead."

I leaned forward and studied the words Chelsea had already written. Shakily, I tried to copy her writing. "C-h-e-l-s-e-a. Shea right?"

A shocked expression overtook her face. "Shea, you did it perfectly!"

"Shea fast learner?"

Another laugh escaped her throat. "Very fast learner. Good job, Shea."

Shea's falling in looooove~ Of course, he doesn't realize it yet. Chelsea's getting there, too.

ANYWAYS, I'd like to tell you the result of my lemons poll.

*Epic drumroll*

THEY'RE IN!

I'll put an AN at the beginning of each lemony chapter so those of you with innocent minds have an advanced warning, but fear not! The lemon for this story won't appear until later.

Please review~