They had already spent over an hour hiking up the foot of the mountain, and it hadn't escaped Phillip's notice that Cam was taking a very long time to find the right mint.
Rain still pelted the landscape all around them, creating small streams here and there between the openings in the trees, dropping into the lightly swirling rivers that webbed in and out around them. The sound of frogs was the only accompaniment to nature's cascade, and the young farmer found himself cherishing every breath of crisp, enlivened air as they traversed the forest.
It made him hope fervently that Lilly was well, breathing the same amazing air and enjoying the surrounding embrace of the land as he was.
The mountain was gorgeous in spring.
As they went Cam began to share a little bit more, it was almost as if this is where he could be himself, far away from other people. He alternated from pointing out unique places in the trail (although the rivers were his favorite place to be), and unique plants that could be used for survival.
Cam's light-hearted expression explained why he knew the woods so well, why even pathways that weren't friendly to Phillip's feet opened for him.
It was as if he loved the mountain, and it loved him back.
They came to the head of a long winding river and stopped for a bit, Phillip reaching to pluck another perfect-looking mint from a hollowed out-log where it was nestled into the shade.
"What about this one?" He asked, carrying it over for inspection.
Cam shrugged, barely looking it over. "Seems too young. There are buds on it, but not enough full blooms."
Phillip made a face as this was the fourth rejected mint, and the request could've been fulfilled over half an hour ago. There were almost six full blossoms on that one. Eileen just needed fresh flowers for her door, anyways. She wasn't pressing the petals in her diary!
But something in the other guy's mood kept him from arguing, and being on the mountain in the rain was far better than sitting alone in the barn, staring at a fat cow and listening to a cackling hen.
Cam got up and started to move again, not waiting for Phillip to catch up. The pace increased noticeably, maybe the florist had realized that time was ticking?
Yet he didn't seem to want to head back any time soon, and that was fine. Before long the two had gone further in than any of the other trips they'd taken in the last couple of days. With every step the mountain seemed to grow more beautiful, and there was nothing in it compared to the uncertainty and darkness of that first night.
Maybe it's not so bad here…
Along the way Cam managed to reject three more mint, and Phillip started to piece things together.
He recalled the guilty look on the young man's face the last time he'd come back from searching for Lillian, how Cam had hovered for a few seconds more after shaking his head in the usual 'no, I haven't found anything.', as if he had something in mind to say.
He recalled the way Laney had reacted when Cam packed a lunch and the way she'd said 'it wasn't safe'.
Caught in the midst of his thoughts, he didn't notice he had stopped walking and after a few steps Cam stopped too, looking over. The land was leveling off a bit and was less vertical; they might have been getting close to the summit. He decided to ask the obvious.
"How far are we going?"
Cam's green eyes opened up a bit as if feigning surprise.
"I know you aren't supposed to let me get this far from the town, so what's going on?" He challenged, his voice even.
Cam grabbed the end of his hat and looked away, a gesture that was becoming a communication of its own. "Well…"
Phillip decided to sit down on a nearby outcropping of rock, ironically finding a mint right next to it. He laughed a little, plucking it, and couldn't resist offering it to the florist. "Unless…. This mint is the holy grail of mints that you had in mind?"
Cam rolled his emerald eyes skyward.
"We have picked enough mint here to make herb salad for a week's worth of lunches, so can you please drop the pretense of this trip? If you need help with something, you can just ask." Phillip crossed his arms, waiting.
"You're right." Cam said, after twirling one of the stems carefully in his fingertips. "No- you were right from the beginning. We never should've taken you off the mountain and into town."
He finally leveled his gaze at Phillip, although it looked like it took an effort for him to do.
Phillip kept his arms crossed, waiting for the rest that remained locked behind the other's eyes.
"And- I have been looking for your sister." Cam continued. "But she's not on this mountain. If she were here, I would have found out about it." Another pause. "Which means…"
"Which means she's in the other village." Phillip said finally, nodding in understanding. He relaxed his pose and sunk down a bit on the rocks, flicking his hand through his rain-slicked hair a few times. "So, back to the original question?"
Cam's eyebrows went up.
"How far are we going? I'm sure you know me well enough by now that you know if I end up anywhere near that place I'm going in to get her."
Cam frowned. "Right. You should probably… be prepared though. I'm not going to be able to get you very close. You know how the festivals allow us territory?"
"I think I heard something like that. So right now, we can get farther without having to risk backlash?"
Cam nodded, dropping the new mint into his bag. "The risk to overstepping their lines is very real- it will endanger the entire village, and I won't be involved in risking our people's lives."
Phillip sat there for a moment, trying to take in what had just been said, then he shrugged and shook his head. "Well excuse me- I've heard that too, but what are you all talking about? Wasn't this feud something that started so long ago nobody knows how it happened? Is that worth risking your life for?"
The other said nothing.
"Then- Is it worth trafficking people for?!" He was getting angry now and didn't care. Before he could keep talking he got up abruptly and stood, just clenching and unclenching his fists as his sides. It was as if the fight or flight response had gotten caught in his veins, adrenaline coursing but having nowhere to go. He felt like… something needed to be destroyed.
Cam offered a sidelong glance and let a few more moments pass, until the other's breathing began to come back under control. "Laney's mother died in a raid." He said, as if remembering.
Phillip went still as a statue.
"Konohana back then, their mayor was an old military man. Ina is the current mayor, it was her father, I think. He would send raiding parties every month, like clockwork."
Phillip sat back down again, gray eyes narrow. Once again he waited.
The plaid hat covering his eyes, Cam folded his hands and rested them on his knees, pensively. "And we would ruin their festivals, pull up their crops. They lived on only fish for a few years. We filled in their sluice canals and poisoned their rice paddies- it takes nearly three seasons for rice to grow. Well, we took care of that!" A bitter laugh.
'I was young when I arrived in Bluebell. I remember the first time we were raided, but not why it happened. They swarmed the mountain- took people hostage. Our moms were foraging together at the time and were taken to the summit. Only my mother made it back. Hers was executed, a sacrifice to the Harvest Goddess."
He shook his head, and Phillip stayed still, solemnly watching the rain in the misty woodlands that surrounded them. He folded his arms across his chest again- in thought.
He realized that Cam's parents were not in Bluebell now and wanted to ask, but wondered if he ever would gather the courage. The things Cam was telling him now, he got the feeling he told no one. Most of the people he could talk to would have lived through it, anyways. Did no one ever discuss what happened? Memorialize it? They all seemed to pretend their world was perfect- a snowglobe of picturesque happiness. Who was going to work to make that happiness real?
Again, only an obvious question came to his mind. "So, how long has it been since someone has died?"
Cam looked up at this. "I think once the mayor of Konohana passed away, there were a few more incidents, but everyone was exhausted. You've seen how the town is now- broken families- Jessica doesn't talk about what happened to her husband. Ash spoils his sister every day, he can't help it- she's the first child who's grown up in our fragile peace. Rose and Rutger- they had five sons. Five!" His expression turned fierce, and he pressed his hat even further on his head, leaving his hand there for a moment. "Can you imagine- losing every child because of this?"
Cam suddenly snatched his hat off of his head and began to roll it in his hands. His hair, the color of wheat, immediately began to get pelted with raindrops. He sighed in refreshment, as if the cold water dancing in spring air brought him back to life.
"So- the way they are now…" Phillip let his voice trail off, picturing the elderly couple together. "Walking the village every day, sneaking gifts to each other…"
A small smile played on Cam's face. "Rutger used to be such a spitfire. He had every guy in the village learn how to fight. Every girl was taught first aid. Georgia, when she moved here wanted to learn everything. That's part of the reason she's so good at it- the drive to prove herself to us, I guess? Anyway, Rutger changed after his eldest died- like he realized we were all going to die in the war. He started… working to preserve our village, our lands."
Phillip couldn't help but hear the notes of compassion and respect in the other guy's voice. It was hard not to fall into the picture he was painting. To be able to see the same people who had humiliated him in a different light, under a different brush, was impossible to express.
He resolved to try and learn more about the people from Bluebell, after this. He let out a long breath and stretched. Before he could ask, Cam loosened his tie a bit (nervous habit, probably), and offered: "I'll take you as far as the line. From there, let's see what their patrol does. If we sneak around they'll think we're up to something and you might never see her again."
As the soft breeze picked up speed and ran madly through the clearing, the young new farmer's face was far away. "Do you think…" He stopped himself, then regained courage. "Do you think she's alright?"
Cam tightened his tie this time. "I think she's alive." He said. "They need new people as badly as we do. Ina's not one to kill someone just because she doesn't know them, from what I hear. So as long as she… survived that night in the mountain…" He looked away.
"Right." Phillip sighed. "Right. Let's keep going then. And Cam?"
No answer, just and incline of the head.
"Thank you."
A light nod replied back.