Thanks to my greatest friend, Mini, AKA Cook uncle, for beta reading this for me lmao
There were many things they were still not used to. All themselves, their parents and grandparents and their parents before them had ever known was the dry, scorching heat of the desert. Hours and hours of merciless sun that was followed by winds so cold there was a risk of losing fingers and ears to frostbite. They were used to travel days upon days in search of any drinkable water, of throwing themselves in Chaos infested areas and risking it all, hoping to be able to get some food… or perish trying.
Esna's sacrifice would be forever down in history, a tale told by them to their children about the hero that sacrificed their mortal body and filled the wasteland with life once again. The meadow that is now their home was nothing like anything they'd ever known, so it was bound that there would be many surprises, sudden changes and new challenges. They'd need to adapt to the new world they've long since forgotten how to live in.
One of these surprises was just how much rain they were having. Rains were something so rare, they'd hold a festival showing their thankfulness to the gods whenever they graced the dry earth with precious water. Imagine their surprise when it rained, and then rained again almost two months later. Normally, there was at least a year long wait before another drop fell from the sky, but that wait was slowly shortening itself, it was still so irregular and no one, not even their wise elders had any clue what to expect.
In that morning, the sunlight was hidden behind dark clouds, the winds picked up their usual pace, accompanied by the roar of thunder. The sudden flashes of lighting startled more than just a couple of folks, most preferring to stay safely hidden away in the shelter of their homes. The electricity dancing on the clouds was mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time, something the folks would love to watch as long as there was a good distance between them and the currents.
A faint knock on the wooden door made the Lili jump, placing the book she was reading down on the coffee table and walking to the front door. Strange, she wasn't expecting visitors today, and there was barely anyone out at the time. Frowning in suspicion, Lili hesitated, her hand just barely touching the handle.
"Who is it?"
"...Lili? It's Mariah... and Levi is here too."
Her eyes widened, a surprised gasp escaping her lips as she undid the lock and opened the door. The inseparable pair stood before the doorframe, the Serkha was holding a large parasol in his hand to avoid being soaked by the rain, but their shoes were still covered in mud. In her hands was a small bag that she held with all the care in the world, like there was a rare and fragile treasure inside. Mariah's troubled frown and Levi's reassuring smile helped snap her out of her shocked state and step aside as she opened the door fully.
"Oh dear, you two are soaked, come in."
"Are you sure? Wouldn't it ruin your floor?"
"No, it's fine! Some mud isn't going to kill anyone." Lili responded, her lips curving in a kind smile as her two friends walked in, closing the parasol outside before leaning it against the wall. Mariah placed her bag on the floor beside her before joining Levi in taking off her muddy shoes to avoid ruining the floor more than they already did.
Lili found the silence coming from them rather strange, it wasn't often that both would be so quiet, especially Mariah.
"I was... wondering if…" Mariah cleared her throat and averted her gaze down, hazel eyes searched around, but never dared to look at Lili in the eye, "...you could help me with something."
"Oh? I mean, sure! What do you need?" Despite her surprise, the fruit seller was sure to offer them a kind and gentle smile in hopes of making Mariah more comfortable so whatever it was that she needed to ask wouldn't be so difficult for her. When she tripped over her words even after that, Lili decided to break the silence.
"Do you want to sit down? I still have some tea left." She urged them in, gesturing to her kitchen, from where a pleasant scent came from.
"Oh, uhm… thank you." Mariah sighed, looking like she didn't quite want to agree, but Levi was already agreeing and on his way to the delicious tea, almost forgetting to thank Lili for it, which made the Seedling laugh in amusement.
"Thanks, Li! You're the best!"
"...sorry about him." Mariah's irritated groan received an amused giggle from Lili as she assured the other that it was just fine.
"Anyways…" The tension rose again, and Lili's laughter faded into an expectant silence. Mariah reached out for the bag she had been carrying and brought it to the nearest chair at Lili's permission. The Seedling opened it and pulled out its precious contents. Lili has always been a "cute things" kind of girl, she was often teased by her friends for running around after Leapards and Tigrets in hopes of being able to pet them. It should come as no surprise that she squealed out loud at the plushie Mariah showed her, black and golden fabric sewed in the shape of a mythical creature, two pointy ears on top of its head and a thin and long tail curved behind it, whiskers painted silver contrasted with the black fabric of its fur, green slitted eyes made for a sharp, yet charismatic look.
"Awwww! Mariah, it's adorable!" She carefully picked the plushie and gave it a light squeeze, finding it was very soft and pleasant to hold. She wasn't very knowledgeable in the toys department, that was the Lagora's job, but if she had to guess by the fabric and stuffing and how each detail was carefully sewed by hand, she would assume it was of high quality materials.
"Heh, thank you." Said Seedling smiled a bit for the first time since she had entered the house, but still refused to make eye contact, keeping her eyes on the toy instead. "Worked all day yesterday for this little guy."
"Oh, so that's where you were?" She didn't mean anything bad by it, just plain curiosity, but she immediately realized it didn't sound nearly as innocent as it did in her mind. She stuttered, squeezing the toy a bit more.
"I-I mean,...you… did a great job! I love how you made the eyes." In an attempt to save them both a very awkward interaction, she shifted subjects as she offered the plushie back to her, laughing nervously.
Mariah, understandably, flinched at her words and her smile faded away as she wordlessly took the toy back, frowning and making that one face she always did when she was feeling guilty but didn't want to admit it, trying to look angry instead. Not that it ever worked, despite her efforts.
"..."
An even more awkward silence stretched out between them, Levi quietly sipping some tea in the kitchen and the droplets of rain hitting the roof were the only sounds that kept them from a near absolute silence. Lili winced at the situation she created for them, fiddling with her fingers as she desperately tried to think of something to say, almost regretting giving the plush back just so she would have something to do with her hands.
"It's for the Chief." Mariah stated without any warning, which startled Lili and almost made her jump.
She was stunned for a moment, she returned her gaze to the toy that she just found out was actually a gift, it stared back at her with cute and charismatic slitted eyes. Then her lips curved into a smile, she finally looked up to meet Mariah's eyes, who for the first time, did not shy away from her.
"Aww…" it was so sweet, Lili couldn't help but squeal again,a warm feeling on her chest. She didn't know it was her smile that made the other smile as well. "It's perfect! He's going to love it."
"...eh, he loves everything we give anyway…" Mariah turned around, searching for something else in her bag while Lili finished her cuteness induced heart attack.
"And he means it! I've been here for a while, I know it." Lili was almost bouncing on her feet by then, her eyes shining like there were a dozen tiny stars trapped inside them. Mariah could swear she saw the other girl actually glowing a bit. Meanwhile, Levi sighed in relief as he finished his tea, but did not return to the living room just yet, listening while being out of sight. If anyone knew how hard this was for the stubborn Seedling, it was Levi. She took his advice and asked for help for once, he was completely honest when he said he was proud of her.
"Uhm… anyways, I was thinking you could… maybe help me make a fruit basket too?" Mariah scratched the back of her head. "To...add to the gift? I'll pay whatever you ask for."
"Oh? Is that what this whole thing was for?" Lili couldn't help but ask, raising a brow at them while laughing a bit. Mariah glared at her, her lower lid twitching in annoyance, Lili laughed as she raised her hands and stepped away from them.
"Sure thing! Anything to help a friend," Lili gestured for them to follow her, making her way to the storage room, where boxes of fruit awaited their turn to be sold, "and don't worry about payment, it's for a good cause afterall."
Mariah smiled, mumbling a thank you as she followed her, giving her dear Serkah friend a nod as he gave her a proud thumbs up.
As much as rain was always a welcome sight, they couldn't help but be thankful the downpour had slowed down as they walked down the dirt roads, a bag and basket containing the plushie and enough fruit to maybe sustain a small family for a day or two wouldn't do good under the rain.
"No wonder it was chilly these past couple of nights." Levi hummed, carrying the now closed parasol under his elbow, just in case they might need it again. It was very unlikely, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. The two Seedlings nodded in agreement, holding the gifts close to their bodies, shielding them from any stray raindrops that might still fall.
"So, I passed by Sakina's house yesterday," Mariah started, gaining the attention of the other two, "we talked a bit and we're good now… but he-"
"Again? But I helped gather materials yesterday." The three turned their heads towards the new voice that unintentionally interrupted Mariah's words. A tall, dark red Serkah stood with his hands crossed by the door, reddish brown eye staring firmly down at the brown and yellow Lagora that stood in front of him.
"Really? I don't recall seeing you there when we went to Woodsea?" Merodac sighed, his ear twitched slightly, his tail lowered and almost dragging on the ground, some scratches still visible on his skin. Zebulon adjusted his hammer on his back, looking rather exasperated as he sighed.
"I didn't go with your group, Merodac, I went to the Wakuto Canyon with Zak and Miclessa. And also I promised Selene I would be sparring with her today."
"Weren't we supposed to have just one material gathering party?"
"Uh...no? I don't know, no one told us anything." He responded with a shrug.
"Ah...yeah that sounds about right…" The Lagora sighed, muttering something that may or may not have been a few not so nice words, not to anyone in particular, just the sheer frustration he felt at the moment. It was hard to hear as they slowly walked away as the situation, thankfully, did not escalate to yet another disagreement. "Sorry, see you-... Wait, you said you went to the Wakuto Canyon?'
"Uh...yes, why?" Zebulon stopped just as he was about to close the door.
"Isn't that where there had been sightings of that old species that returned? You know...that one our ancestors used to say were able to cause panic in entire settlements?" The Lagora's frustration was quickly taken over by fear as he recalled their Elder's words of warning.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Zebulon chuckled confidently, not showing any signs of worry, "they're supposed to move into new areas slowly, it's going to be safe for a while. And the Chief said someone would warn us before going there if it wasn't safe."
"But did anyone get assigned to that look out job?"
The trio were too far away at that point to hear Merodac's distressed voice, and much less see how Zebulon's expression changed from confusion to realization and dread. Both Serkah and Lagora ran down the back roads, presumably searching for Zak's and Miclessa's houses to try and track down their gathered materials, hoping none of the new things they had brought back had an unwanted visitor inside.
Soon, they were standing before the tree, a few flowers had blossomed on its trunk, almost like it's own personal garden. The spring had lost its natural shine and life thanks to Esna's absence, maybe the gemstones that had been put up in the spirit shrine were also a way to get some of that light back. They were more than happy and thankful to live in this world she opened the doors to for them, but the pain of her loss would still be there for a long time.
Mariah barely even looked at its direction, immensely thankful that she was walking ahead of the other two so they wouldn't see her wince. Even after both of them being reassured no one held any grudge towards them any longer, it was still a sore subject for them. She carefully knocked on the door, her grip on the bag tightening until her knuckles started to turn white as the answer never came. She started to wonder if they were being rude for coming in unannounced, but Levi and Lili came to the rescue, the latter knocking on the door once more while Levi took the bag from her hands and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"Chief? Can we come in?" Lili called out just loud enough that someone inside would hear. Hopefully he wasn't asleep. After a few seconds, their answer came in the form of a raspy, but still cheerful voice.
"Hi Lili! And sure."
They were quiet as they walked in, smiling as they waved hello. A tired, yet genuine smile greeted them, dark circles formed underneath soft blue eyes. It was but a far cry of the usual brightness the young Chief was known for, sluggish movements replaced the seemingly unlimited energy he appeared to have. Still, Tethu smiled as always, even if it was small and strained, but the curve in his lips was always there, offering a reassuring gesture even in the most difficult times. Despite his efforts, his state still brought melancholy to their hearts as their smiles faded away.
Suddenly finding herself at a loss of words, Mariah breathed in deeply as Levi offered the bag back to her, silently encouraging her as he usually did. It really wasn't often how she let him know how much he meant to her, it hurt her pride to say it, or imply it in any way, but Mariah had no idea how she would care without Levi and the others. Before she could say anything, that same, tired voice filled the silence, concern evident in his tone despite how hoarse he sounded.
"Mari? Are you okay?" His somewhat jolly expression shifted into a worried frown as he fidgeted with the edges of the blanket, "do you need to sit down?"
That was the final push she needed to finally swallow her pride and open the bag as she walked forward towards the very confused and worried Seedling Chief. She vaguely felt Levi's and Lili's eyes on her, it made her a bit nervous, but she knew if she turned around, she'd find nothing but reassurance and joy in their gazes. Before she could hesitate, Mariah pulled out the cat plushie and offered it to Tethu, whose eyes widened in surprise as he looked between the plushie and Mariah a few times before slowly reaching out and accepting the offering.
"...for you… it's an apology gift." She mumbled, thankfully loud enough so he would hear it. He looked up at her again, then back at the plushie.
"Wha...what for?…" he coughed a couple times after he spoke, his mouth curving into a smile once again as he inspected the plushie, his eyes almost seemed to light up as he squeezed the fabric, bringing the toy close to him in a tight hug. Mariah couldn't help but smile as well, averting her eyes to the side as Lili and Levi allowed themselves to approach.
"...you know what for, you big baby. Just accept the thing." She pretended to be exasperated, huffing as she stepped aside in order to let the other two approach, which earned an eye roll from Levi, who was partially amused and a little bit wondering why he didn't expect that.
"It's so cute! I love it so much." He appeared to ignore her comment, or at least know it was all bark and no bite. There was an expression on his face that could only be compared to an adventurer being gifted with the greatest treasure after looking for it for ages, or a child being gifted with candy, those weren't all that different. It was contagious, soon all three of them, Mariah excluded, were gushing over the toy, patting its head and complementing its pretty eyes. Ah, how they wished cats were real, they wondered if they were as fluffy as they looked.
"Anyways… how're things going? Is the Oasis doing okay?"
...Oh…
"Oh, pfft, yeah everything is fine!" Mariah laughed, her voice cracking a bit at the last few words.
"Yeah, why do you ask?" Levi immediately regretted his words, that sounded much more natural in his head, "I mean, of course you're gonna ask, you're the chief and all... it's all good! Did you hear Aslar and Lili led a successful material gathering party yesterday?"
As expected, Tethu's face was somewhere between worried confusion and suspicion. Refraining from saying anything, the look he sent each of them had delivered the message very well. The three squirmed, looking between themselves in a desperate attempt to ask each other for help… only to find their companions just as lost.
"Oh! Almost forgot." Lili stated, clapping her hands, accidentally startling everyone as she picked the fruit basket she had prepared with Mariah and Levi. She had previously set it down to hug the little plushie again, who had been affectionately named "Mister. Fluffy Starlight" by Levi's suggestion. Lifting the cloth revealed all the fruit they had brought. Levi hummed at the sight of them, he always loved fruit. "We also brought some fruit for you! You're gonna need to eat to recover soon, afterall."
Tethu looked down at the basket, placing Mr. Fluffy Starlight beside him. He offered them a thankful smile and a nod. Thank the heavens for his short attention span. Strangely, he didn't eat at all, instead placing it back on the floor after a few seconds, Lili's face shifted to a concerned frown.
"Is something wrong?"
"No… sorry, they're great…" he quickly shook his head, rubbing his thumb on the sheets. "I just haven't… been keeping a lot down."
One could see the exact moment he regretted speaking up at all. Lili's expression was filled with nothing but concern as she fumbled over her words. Lili was sweet and empathetic like that. "Oh… I'm so sorry…"
In the middle of Tethu wasting no time to reassure her and that the gift was amazing anyway, Levi finally joined in the conversation, although it was quickly becoming a competition of who was sorry the most.
"Not feeling any better, Chief?"
The constant exchange of apologies halted for the time being, Lili walking away to place the fruits somewhere better than just on the floor, Tethu quietly looked up to Levi, nodding his head.
"I am!… I'm just tired still."
It did not have the effect the young Chief had hoped. Levi crossed his arms and gave him a stern, doubtful glare, that clearly showed he wasn't convinced. Tethu sighed in defeat, averting his eyes to the little kitty plush.
"...I...I'll be okay soon, Isaac did say it would take a couple of weeks."
The Serkah's gaze softened, there was a hint of sadness and worry that was so
unusual to the usually carefree warrior.
The wise elders always say the truth was often hard to hear, but necessary. No one fully understands the meaning of those sayings until they are facing a situation like that. Everyone wanted to believe everything would go back to being the same soon, but the truth was they still had a long path ahead of them.
It was a nice morning they had, sharing snacks and chatting about so many things they had long forgotten what the original conversation was about. Despite Tethu coughing and sneezing rather frequently and unintentionally causing the rest to worry all over again, it was pretty nice.
The sun was high up when they had to leave, the dark clouds had long since disappeared and the puddles on the roads were already drying up. Regardless of being purified, that land had spent the last four hundred years as a scorching wasteland, the climate would still be hot and dry for a long time.
"See ya, Chief!"
"Get well soon!"
"Bye!"
"See y'all later!"
Their mission was completed, Levi and Lili chatted happily with each other, Mariah should be happy as well, but she silently walked behind them, a thoughtful expression on her face. There was something she had to do… something she promised Sakina she would when she passed by his house earlier that morning.
"You two go ahead, I forgot something."
She walked away without any more explanation, leaving the confused duo behind as she made her way back to the tree house. This was...hard, but if no one else wanted to do this, might as well be her. Sakina wished he could, but with his and the Chief's condition, they might end up making each other worse.
"Hey…. Chief?"
She quietly pushed the door open and stepped in. The Seedling in question sat up, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the sleepiness.
"I forgot something I promised Sakina I would ask. It's important." Tethu immediately looked more alert, waiting patiently as she tried to find her words.
"How exactly do you... do this? Running the Oasis I mean. Things have been going okay, really, but we've been a bit….lost."
His fear quickly faded away, there was something like understanding in his eyes, she was glad he didn't freak out like she expected to.
"It's okay," his voice had gotten a bit more hoarse after he spent so long talking to them, "it's hard to get used to."
"Yeah... anyways, let's cut to the chase. What's the secret? What's the routine?" She crossed her arms, an urgent tone in her voice. She might have sounded a bit harsh, but she really didn't want to bother him for much longer, he was tired and she had to wake him up from a much needed sleep.
"There's no routine," Tethu spoke quietly after a moment to organize his thoughts, "there's balance."
"How do you balance so much stuff?! I- people almost went crazy trying to do everything."
"I don't do everything… not on the same day. Sometimes you need to keep the pests out first, then another time, harvesting the crops has to come first."
She had to take a couple of steps closer to properly hear his quiet voice, he spoke slowly, but Mariah didn't rush him this time. She wasn't good with emotions, but she was trying and hoped it showed.
"It's not doing everything, or giving everything the same amount of attention. It's just doing what needs the most at the moment, and that can change depending on the day...or what happened...or if someone asked a favour."
There was nothing but silence for a few seconds as the toy maker processed everything the chief had just told her. It was… nothing like she expected. Mariah was ready for some mind blowing, secret time managing trick or even some witchcraft, after seeing how much trouble 20+ people were having to do something Tethu does everyday, using magic doesn't sound too farfetched.
"So… you don't have a plan at all? You just wing it?"
"Well… yeah. Esna and I had a list at the beginning, ya know? It helped a lot when we were lost."
Mariah stopped for a moment, processing the new information given to her. This was really nothing like she expected. So everyone's been doing this wrong all that time? Well, now that she thought about it… almost nothing ever worked in the Oasis if it was planned in advance, if you wanted something to have high chances of working out, do it spontaneously.
"I see, yeah that makes sense. Thanks, Chief." Mariah tried her best to smile, to try to give some form of reassurance. She began to walk out towards the door, waving as she did so.
"Mariah?"
She stopped in her tracks, she had forgotten when was the last time Tethu had called her by something else than the nickname he gave her.
"What happened?"
She was hoping he wouldn't ask… how foolish, of course he would. Would people be mad at her for snitching? She had just been forgiven by the other residents and Sakina himself, maybe it wouldn't be so wise to risk it all again. Then, just when she thought she had made up her mind, she found she couldn't lie to that kind young soul, not after everything, not when she's looking right into his eyes, which had nothing but concern. No judgement, no anger, only worry.
"... it's just-"
They were interrupted by a shrill scream. Outside, there was a sound similar to a small stampede passing by the water spring, concerned voices almost masking the sounds of dozens of feet running past them.
Mariah turned her head back to the Seedling Chief, only to find him already trying to stand up, leaning on to the wall for support as he slowly walked to towards the door as well, only to be blocked by the toy maker.
"No! No… you stay here."
"W...what? No!"
She knew he made an effort not to cough, or to show how tired he really was. She wasn't falling for those weak attempts.
"No. You go back to bed, we'll deal with this, I promise." Mariah opened the door and walked out of the tree house, not taking her eyes off of that stupid, self sacrificial seed.
"Chief...stay."
The door closed. The eerie silence was Tethu's only companion as the commotion moved on to somewhere else, far from hearing range.
"...Ugh.."
Without much of a choice, Tethu walked back to his hammock and prayed to the gods he'd be able to sleep again. He somehow felt even worse now, stressing over the residents was really slowing his healing. Sometimes he'd be a bit more awake, free from headaches, then something would happen and he'd end up passing out from fever again.
…
Maybe… he should trust Mariah in this one… not much else he could do.