One moment Maka had been conversing with Black Star and Justin around the fire, the next she is waking up to the sound of clattering cutlery.
"Oops, pardon my clumsiness." Justin sighs as he bends down to retrieve his dropped plate. "I didn't mean to wake you yet."
Maka yawns and stretches her stiff muscles. She had fallen asleep in the grass next to the fire, a wool coat draped over her for a blanket and another one stuffed under her head for a pillow. Black Star and Justin had forfeited their coats for her sake and it's enough to make her feel choked up. Maka is beset by a profound sense of tenderness for these two men. How much they care for her is a very strange feeling, one that she may never grow accustomed to, but will always be beyond grateful for.
The sun is still low, casting shadows across the prairie as the earth slowly wakes up. Meadowlarks sing their early songs and the grass is wet with fresh morning dew.
Justin crouches next to her and hands her a tin cup and a plate heavy with food. The smell of coffee and bacon wash over her as she eagerly accepts them.
"God bless you, you wonderful man." Maka moans as she forks a huge mouthful of scrambled eggs into her mouth.
Justin coughs into his hand to cover up his embarrassment.
Maybe one day she would get these stubborn men to accept compliments.
"Better eat up. I have a feeling you're in for a long day." Justin says before taking a sip from his own coffee cup.
"Are we tracking more cows today?" Maka asks around another mouthful of breakfast. Her manners really were becoming deplorable, funny that she didn't care a bit about it either.
"Oh we're tracking cattle, but I doubt you'll be with us today. I betcha you'll be working with the boss."
"Maka nearly dropped her fork as she tried to swallow down her eggs, they tasted as if they had suddenly turned to sawdust.
"What?"
Justin shoots her a sly smile. "You worried the hell out of him yesterday. I'd bet my boots he's not going to let you out of his sight for a long while."
Maka huffs loudly, exasperated by the turn of events. Justin chuckles in return.
"I figured you'd be happy to spend the day with him."
"Well, you figured wrong." Maka lies, even though there's a distinct fluttering in her chest.
"What's the problem then? Yesterday you were all moon-eyed over the man."
"Yesterday I was a fool."
Justin crouches down next to her, his eyes searching her down-turned face.
"What's really eatin' you?"
"I can't be around him, I just can't." She almost whispers.
"Why not?"
"Because I am supposed to be a man." She sighs, gesturing to her male attire.
"But you're not a man."
Maka rolls her eyes and laughs without mirth.
"He doesn't know that."
"Working together is a good excuse to be around him without raising suspicion. I think you should just spend some time with him, see where things go."
Maka looks at him like he's lost it.
"Spend time together?! I will surely give my intentions away. And he's just so... so bloody distracting!" She adds in a huff.
Justin's eyebrows raise in amusement.
"I'm not saying you have to kiss the man. In fact, I highly recommend not doing that, unless you want another shiner."
He smiles and pats her on the head affectionately before continuing.
"One of two things will happen. One, you spend more time together, really get to know the man. Maybe you learn that he's not right for you, that the feelings you thought you had for him were a passing fancy. That's fine and dandy because you took the time to know him, you come out with a really good friend. He's one hell of a friend too."
"That doesn't sound so bad. A friendship sounds a lot less complicated!" Maka exclaims, her mood perking up.
Justin nods in agreement but he looks grim enough to chew his own hat.
"Or you fall in love with him, and you have to live with the knowledge that you can't be with him unless you tell the truth." He gives her a sympathetic look.
Maka sighs in despair. "I can't let that happen. I love living here, being with all of you. I would never risk that. I know my uncle has a rule against women being here."
"It's true, other than Tsubaki there's never been another woman allowed on Forsaken."
"Why is that? What has caused my uncle to feel so callused towards women?"
"No one knows for sure. Our best guess is that he had his heart broken."
"By who?" Maka asks, intrigued by a man she has never met.
"We don't know. It could have been his mother. Word is she left him when he was very young. She married off and started a new family, I suspect that's when she had your father. He has a deep mistrust because of it."
Maka is shocked by this news. Her father and uncle were only half brothers. That explained why her papa had never mentioned having a brother before. They had never truly known one another. It also explained the hate her uncle felt towards women and love.
"Why is it that Tsubaki is here if no women are allowed?"
Justin's shoulders are visibly tense and he takes a shaky sip of his coffee before replying.
"Tsubaki's situation was a precarious one. I don't know all of the details, it all happened before I was hired on here. You'll have to ask her yourself. All I know is that Stein has a funny way with people. He finds them when they need help the most."
"Finding the Forsaken people," Maka murmurs, processing this new information.
She still doesn't know how she feels about her uncle, but she is slowly learning more about him.
"Do you think he would accept me as a woman if I told the truth?" Maka asks hopefully.
"Honestly I couldn't say." He shrugs his wide shoulders.
"I know you have your reasons for this, but the longer you wait to tell the truth the more it's going to hurt." He says worry lines etched into his face.
"You don't have to worry about me," Maka says, trying her best to reassure him.
Justin's eyes cut toward the tents and Maka's eyes follows suit. Soul is walking towards them, yawning and stretching his arms above his head.
"It wasn't you that I was worried about getting hurt." He says softly before standing up to take his leave.
Maka swallows slowly, a bitter taste more potent than the coffee stuck on her tongue.
Soul, bleary-eyed and bedraggled, pours himself a cup of coffee and looks her over slowly. His gaze intense enough to make her reconsider being anywhere near him, no matter what advice Justin had given.
"Your face is red." He drawls.
"What?" Maka's hands shoot up to her face.
"You got too much sun yesterday. Where's your hat?" He chides.
Maka gives him a sheepish look. "I don't have one."
He makes an unintelligible sound and dumps his coffee out before marching back into the maze of tents. Maka's shoulders relax the minute his form disappears from sight.
Maybe Justin was wrong. The thought of spending the whole day with Soul made her feel jittery.
Maka watches the tents, hoping that he comes back, yet dreading the feelings he evoked in her.
She catches a glimpse of something red from her left.
Tad is crossing the camp towards the campfire, his hair glinting copper in the early morning light. Their eyes meet and he halts abruptly, torn between fight or flight. Maka smiles and waves at him, but he sticks his tongue out and flashes her a rude gesture with his hand.
Maka pretends like it doesn't affect her, but inwardly she is frustrated.
She was just trying to be friends with him for bloody sake!
Terror flashes in his eyes unexpectedly and he sprints off in a rush, his red hair flying.
Maka tilts her head back to see Soul looming there, a menacing wall of a cowboy. He doesn't look pleased with the boy's behavior, but he makes no comment on it. Instead, he plunks something down on her head.
"Here, keep it." He says simply.
Maka reaches up and feels the soft wide brim of a well-worn hat.
"I can't take your hat!" Maka winces.
"It's my old hat. I won't miss it none." He reassures her.
"Thank you." Maka stammers, touched by his gift.
"Besides," he says giving her a crooked smile, "anymore sun and you'll turn into a beet."
Maka rolls her eyes, but she's rather pleased to see him smile.
Soul looks towards the East, gauging the rising run.
"Well, I reckon it's time to hit the trail."
He grabs his saddle and heads for the picket line where all the horses are tethered. Maka is just about to thank her lucky stars before he calls out over his should, "Grab your gear kid, you're with me today."
"Bloody hell." Maka curses under her breath.
Justin's prediction had come true, and she feels rather annoyed that he's somehow always correct about these things.
Grabbing her own saddle she reluctantly follows. Kippy nickering softly as she slides a bridle over his velveteen nose.
"You're getting stronger, kid," Soul comments as she hefts her saddle over her head and onto Kippy's back.
Maka pushes her new hat back and beams at him. Soul rarely praises anyone and it makes her feel warm down to her toes.
"It seems like it was only a while ago you came here, sick and puny lookin'." Soul reminisces out loud.
"It seems like only a while ago that you were being nice to me," Maka says with a half-laugh.
He returns her laugh with his own and the cowboys working nearby stop their work to stare at the oddity of the sound.
Soul clears his throat, clearly uncomfortable.
"Let's go."
Soul rode north for a time, and Maka plodded along beside him on Kippy. The day has just begun and the prairie is already turning warm. The grass is wet from the dew and it clings to the horses' legs as they cut across the gently rolling plains. It is so quiet that every little noise no matter how insignificant catches the attention. The creak of leather, the shuffle of hooves, and the constant droning of something Maka could only guess was an insect.
"What is making that horrid noise?" Maka whispers, trying not to break the peace of nature around them.
Soul cocks his head to the side and listens intently.
"There's a lot of sounds, can you be more specific?"
"It's almost a whirling buzzing sound." Maka tries to explain.
Soul gives her a perplexed look. "Can you mimic it for me?"
Without thought, Maka tries to make the sound and fails miserably at replicating it.
Soul's mouth quirks at her interpretation of the sound.
"Hmm still not sure, maybe try again."
He's trying so hard not to smile it looks painful.
"You lout! You are making fun of me!" Maka hisses.
"I wouldn't dream of it," he snickers.
"So what is it? Or are you just going to keep making fun of me?" Maka scoffs.
He flashes her a disarming grin that deepens the grooves in his cheeks. The sight makes the breath in her lunches hitch painfully so.
"Sorry kid, teasing you is just too easy sometimes."
Without warning Soul slides from his saddle and drops into a low crouch. Like a silent apparition, he melted into the tall grass, vanishing completely from sight.
"Evans?" Maka calls out, completely stunned by the bizarre spectacle.
He doesn't answer.
Maka looks around wildly, her pulse beating hard. Were they in danger? Should she hide too? Soul would have surely warned her though, right?
"Evans? This isn't funny!" Maka whisper yells.
The only reply is a gusty exhale from the empty plains; the wind causing the grass to shimmer and shift in great swirling arches.
Maka dismounts trying hard not to panic. She is suddenly alone, in a vast and endless place. She wades into the billowing prairie sea, her eyes scanning for any sign of Soul.
A strong hand shoots out and latches onto her booted foot, and before she can let loose a scream she is being dragged down into the verdant ocean. Maka's legs are sprawled out, her bottom firmly planted, nearly jarring her teeth from her head. She comes face to face with a set of indescribable eyes, and they are filled with much mischief.
"Hey, kid."
He greets her much too passively and she feels her hackles rising.
"Don't hey kid me. You scared me to death!" She gripes, trying to keep her voice from being so high-pitched.
"Why were you scared? I thought you were braver than that." He jabs.
"Because I was alone." Maka grits out.
"What's wrong with being alone?"
Maka is at a loss for words, his question deflecting her anger.
"I don't know. Maybe because I don't know where I'm at. Or how to get back to camp?"
Soul nods, like she's hit the nail on the head.
"You were relying on me to guide you. What's your plan if something happens to me though? How will you get back?"
"I, I don't know." Maka stammers, the thought of Soul not being here very unnerving.
She goes perfectly still as Soul leans forward, as if he is going to tell her a well-kept secret, both hidden from the world in their grassy oasis.
"I'll let you in on a little wisdom kid. If you're ever lost, look to the sky," He says in a hushed tone. "The sun during the day and the stars at night will never fail you."
Maka tilts her head back and looks up at the sky.
"Think kid, where was the sun this morning when we left camp? Was it shining on your face, your back, or your side?"
"It, it was shining on my right side. I remember because it felt so warm." Maka recalls.
Soul nods enthusiastically. "Good kid, now if the sun rises in the east and it was on your right side, what direction do you turn to get back to camp?"
"I head south, I turn so that the sun is on my left?"
Soul beams and reaches out a hand to ruffle her hair.
"You're a fast learner kid."
Maka pushes his hand away, brushing off his praise.
"So this was just a test?" She asks incredulously.
"You didn't have to scare me like that! Why can't you just talk to me like a normal person, Evans!" She says smacking him on the shoulder.
He chuckles at her weak attempt and grabs her wrist. Maka freezes at his touch, his fingers brushing against the exposed skin of her wrist.
"That was only half the reason I went into the grass. I was also hunting."
"Hunting? For what?" Maka falters, her brain not comprehensive past his fingertips.
He places something into her upturned hand and gently lets go of her wrist.
"It's called a Katydid."
"A Katy who?" Dumbfounded, Maka inspects a single green leaf in her hand.
"You were hunting for leaves?" Maka inquires, looking him up and down, questioning his sanity.
"Look closer."
The leaf in her hand flutters with the breeze, only, the wind has stopped, the leaf is moving on its own accord. To Maka's great horror and amazement, the leaf stares back at her with beady little eyes. It vibrates in the palm of her hand and emits a high-pitched trill.
"Bloody hell!" Maka gasps dropping the insect out of fright. Quick as a whip, Soul pounces on the insect, re-capturing it in his capable hands. He's laughing, but the sounds the non-leaf creature is making drowns out the sound of his mirth.
He grins at her, like a child playing outside; happy in his pursuit, wisps of grass stuck in his hair, a bit of dirt smudged across the bridge of his nose. There's an air of innocents about him, his demeanor has completely changed. His face is relaxed and an easy smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. Maka is conscious of this shift in him and recognizes how rare it is. He's in his element here, away from people and the responsibilities of the ranch. He's no longer the foreman or the man with the bizarre features that everyone scrutinizes. Out here, he's simply himself. Soul. Strong, clever, free, and most of all, at peace with himself and his surroundings.
He is one with the earth and sky, the whisper of the grass, and the maddening sound of her heart. Just like the wildlands around them, in her eyes, he was a beautiful sight to behold.
An image, unbidden comes to her, of a young boy with black feathers stuck in his white hair, sneaking through the grass, feet bare, catching bugs and chasing the clouds. Had his Indian captors been nothing but cruel to him as a child, or was it them who taught him how to read the sky and the stars?
So many questions burned inside her, seething to the surface, itching to be asked. But it was not her place to ask such questions. She knew it would make him uncomfortable or even angry. He didn't share that part of his life with anyone. Soul was a very secretive man, and with her own secrets hidden away, it felt wrong to press him.
"Cat got your tongue kid?" Soul questions, her far-off thoughts leaving her disoriented.
"No, I was just surprised is all." Maka lies through her teeth. Soul gives her an amused look, before releasing the insect. They watch as it opens its wings and flies away, making a disgruntled sound as it leaves its captors.
"I wasn't expecting such a loud sound from such a tiny creature." Maka laughs as it disappears from sight.
"That was a female, the males are even louder," Soul informs her, grinning at her shocked face.
"I don't see how they could possibly get any louder."
"Just wait until summer and they start singing their love songs."
"Insects have love songs?"
"Everything has a love song kid. Whether it's the call of a Katydid, the howl of a wolf, or the preening of a mockingbird. Just like man, the ebb and flow of life revolves around the courtship, the fight for survival, the dance and romancing of attracting a mate." He says pointedly with a small smirk.
"What a romantic notion," Maka replies, feeling quite unsettled by the change in topic.
He leans back on his hands his face tipping up to the cloudless azure sky above them.
"There's nothing romantic about it. It's a pure carnal urge, a white-hot hunger that can't be quenched."
Maka's mouth feels unbearably dry and she tugs at the collar of her shirt, the temperature of the day suddenly more intense.
Without thinking, without a single thought to the propriety of the matter, Maka leans forward closing the small space between them, and asks in a strangled voice, "What's it like, being intimate with another?"
She feels the shame of her question burning on her cheeks, but she doesn't care. It's a question she has always wanted to ask but was never allowed to as a lady. Soul is a knowledgeable man and a handsome one at that. She would wager her boots that he knew the unknown secrets, the mysterious happenings between a man and woman. Soul had always been nothing but truthful with her, he was the most logical person for her to ask about this, she could count on him to be honest.
But bloody hell, why did it feel so sordid?
Soul raises his pale eyebrows at her blunt question and she feels the urge to sink into the grass further and never return.
Soul leans forward, his voice dropping an octave. "Word is, you spent time with a saloon gal recently, wouldn't you already know?"
Maka averts her eyes, humiliation coursing through her whole body.
"Were you so drunk that you don't remember?" He blurts in disbelief.
It was an intrusive question, but Maka latched onto it quickly, a lifeline to her unfortunate blunder.
"Yes, I don't remember much from that night."
Soul grunts, obviously still sore about the whole ordeal.
"Fucking Black Star and Justin are to blame for that. They got you so sideways you couldn't get on your horse the right way."
Maka covers her face with her hands, her voice somewhat muffled. "Don't remind me."
Soul snorts, but his face is no longer pensive.
"I'm glad you don't remember. Your first time shouldn't be spent with a saloon girl and drunk off your rocker."
"What's wrong with saloon girls? They're actually very nice women." Maka argues, defending her newfound friends.
Soul raises his hands in a playacting gesture before continuing.
"Ain't nothing wrong with them. They're just more interested in your coin than your company, and a lot of men fall victim to their charms. In fact, I've got a right mind to forbid from going back there and carousing with those doves. You're a bright kid and you're not half bad looking for a pup, all I'm saying is you could do a lot better."
Maka opens her mouth to protest, but snaps it shut at his words.
He thought she was good-looking? For a pup?
She didn't know how she felt about that.
"You've still got a lot to learn, kid." He jokes, crushing a blade of grass between his fingers, releasing the sweet and earthy aroma of green plant life. "You're still young, you shouldn't be in a hurry to bed down the first filly who shows you her petticoats. Waiting is hard, but when you find the right gal, it's worth the patience. Women are fickle too though. Sometimes it isn't worth the trouble."
"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Maka hedges.
"I suppose so." He hints, with a small frown.
"You've been with women though, haven't you?" Maka queries, her curiosity getting the better of her.
The skin across his cheekbones flushes, and he presses his lips together hard.
"Of course, but that's something I'm not going to brag about, kid. A man never kisses and tells."
She's obviously embarrassed him, but she presses further, wanting a glimpse into this forbidden realm.
"I'm not wanting names or great details. She insists. "I just want to know what's so great about it. Is intimacy truly worth the trouble of courting?"
Instead of laughing at her like she expected his face turns thoughtful.
"It's worth it if you have the right partner." He contemplates as he tugs grass blades from his hair.
"It's kind of like dancing. If you get some big-footed clumsy gal who steps on your toes the whole night you'll regret it. But finding a partner who's intune with your every step and move, well, that's a rare and lucky thing. You hold on to her, and the dancing will always be good.. umm if you catch my drift?" He says trailing off awkwardly.
"So it's just like dancing?" Maka asks, rather perplexed.
"Yes and no, it's so much more than that." He replies, his voice oddly quiet. It's enough to send shivers rolling across her body.
"It's truly indescribable. So many contradictions rolled into one act. It's gentle but fierce. It can be slow, but with an underlying sense of urgency. It grounds you in the moment, but also sends you crashing over the edge..."
Soul stops abruptly, coughing into his hand and averting his gaze.
Maka tears her eyes away as well, trying to calm the fluttering of her pulse. She had been hanging on to his every word, completely mesmerized.
His metaphors are beautifully worded, but she still has so many questions. Judging by Soul's ruddy cheeks though he's done discussing such private things with her.
She might be pushing her luck, but she can't resist one more question that has been plaguing her.
"Do you have someone Evans? Do you have an attachment to a woman off the ranch?"
Soul slaps his hand on his knee and barks a dismal laugh.
"Fuck, no! I haven't been with many women, but the few that I have were more trouble than they were worth. Besides, women don't want a freak like me. No one will have me."
So he had no secret sweetheart, Maka felt a guilty sense of relief at his o
Confession but regretted it almost instantly. His face was gloomy and his whole body looked stiff. Even though he had tried to joke about it, the feeling of being shunned by women stung him greatly.
"Maybe that's because they were the wrong dance partners." Maka quips, turning his own words against him. "Don't despair, you just haven't found the right one."
Soul gives her a tight-lipped smile before replying.
"Yeah, maybe so. Who knows, maybe I'm better off dancing alone."
Maka gives him a cheeky smile. "I'm sure one of the Thompson sisters would be more than obliging."
This time he laughs for real, his body relaxing and his shoulders shaking from the force of it. "Fuck off kid."
Maka laughs as well, not taking offense to his harsh language.
Soul stands up, his joints popping from sitting down too long. He offers her a hand up, and though Maka isn't ready to leave their grassy cocoon, she accepts it willingly. Electricity courses through her whole being as his strong hand makes contact with her arm.
He lets go of her and takes a quick step back, something strange flashing in his eyes.
Did he feel it too, the overwhelming sensation she felt every time they touched?
She rubs the heavy brown serge of her sleeve where he had touched her. Rubbing hard, trying to erase the imprint of his fingers.
"I reckon that's enough lessons for today. We should probably get back to work," He drawls, a hint of confusion still there.
Maka nods and steps over to where Kippy and Soul's pinto are lazily grazing. He's watching her intently, and she feels as if he can see right through her. Through her disguise and even her very private thoughts. She forces all of her attention on re-tightening a loose saddle strap and ignoring the intensity of that burning gaze.
Soul's head snaps away from her and he cocks his head to the left, listening. It's not long before Maka can hear it as well. The sound of hooves, and coming in fast. Soul captured her arm and pulls her behind him. His whole body rigid and alert as he waits for the rider to appear. He has placed himself between her and the threat, using his broad body to shield her.
"Stay behind me kid." He growls, his voice low and dangerous. It reminds her of their fight, how he had been on the verge of becoming someone who reveled in violence. Only this time it wasn't directed at her. At this moment, he was here to fight for her.
Fast and silent he removes his pistol from the holster slung at his hip. The gleam of steel is bright and angry in the early afternoon sun. Maka feels her stomach heave at the sight of it, but it passes quickly with her resolve. This time she is not as scared. Not with Soul here with her. If she must, she would kill again. To protect him.
The moments tick by heavy and slow, pregnant with an acute sense of foreboding and dread. Finally, the rider comes into view and Soul lets out a pent-up breath. It's Justin, heading right for them waving his red bandana to get their attention.
"Something's wrong."
Soul leaps onto his pinto and in one swift motion rides with great urgency. The man rides with all the grace and talent of someone born to the saddle. He meets Justin halfway before Maka has even put one foot in her stirrup
Maka can not hear the exchanging of words, but Justin points to the East. Soul turns his mount and gallops off leaving a trail of dust in his wake as he cuts across the grasslands.
"What's happening? Maka yells, her horse still not within earshot.
"It's Tad!" Justin hollers back, his face pale.
"He's been hurt bad!"
Without thinking Maka turns her horse and chases after Soul's retreating figure and Justin follows hot on her heels.
"Please let him be ok," Maka begs the sky as they fly across the unforgiving prairie.