Chapter Text
The wooden door to the house slammed with a ferocity that made Monty jump out of his skin. Eyes wide he peered through the dimly lit room to see the sodden outline of Poros, framed brightly as the lightning flashed outside. The rain had started coming down earnestly, and while Monty, Kaiyo and Olga had made their way inside, Poros had committed to securing the cattle and sheep in their respective pens for the night. Concerned that the weather was going to settle in for the long haul, Olga had instructed him to prepare them for a few days, in case access to their fields was cut off by the swollen river.
Dripping and grinning like a maniac, Poros stepped across the threshold and looked around apologetically for a towel or a rag to dry himself off, rather than drag water throughout the house. Olga sprang into action, tossing a large bath sheet across the room towards the towering Aasimar now standing in the doorway of her home. “Didja get ‘er done then Poros? Plenty of food and water for at least a few days?”
“Aye, enough to get them through if we cannot wade through the waters.” He nodded, clearly invigorated by the frigid wind and rain, “I took the liberty of clearing out the little drain that runs along the house also. Hopefully that will be enough to direct some of the deluge away from your gardens.”
“That’s.. good thinking Poros, thankyou,” she blinked, a little bewildered at the strangers willingness to help. “I.. here, come sit by the fire and dry off. I’m afraid the weather will only get worse before it gets better again. Mind, it’s a huge load off my shoulders knowing the animals are safe this time around.”
Monty sat in a threadbare armchair near the fire, with a steaming cup of tea perched on the table next to him. His hands moved quickly, extremely dexterous for someone with such large digits. He fiddled with a small contraption that appeared to have stag-beetle antlers and glowed a curious dim magenta colour in the dark. He looked up from his tinkering and cautiously asked, “my dear, how do you usually manage on your own? There’s not another sentient mind out in these hills for days?”
She grinned, “Oh, I manage quite well normally, it’s these damned storms that really throw everything in a big kerfuffle. I never quite have enough time to prepare and secure everything. Each storm, there’s always some sort of damage I didn’t account for.”
Squinting at her, Monty nodded and poked further, “Do these storms.. have some regularity? Are they… natural in origin do you suppose?”
“As far as I know, it’s been like this as long as I can recall. Every spring and summer brings a long series of wild weather through the hills,” She laughed, a sound both hearty and irrefutably human. “Even my father, who lived in these hills long before myself. He used to tell me about the wild weather in these parts. Something about the influence of the mountain range to the north east he said.”
Kaiyo with his hands busy at the table stopped chopping the carrot he was holding and called out across the room, “If it’s always been like this,” he flinched as a flash of light crossed the window in front of his face and he waited for the rumbling to end. “Why do you stay here? Surely it would be safer, easier for you to live elsewhere, closer to others?”
“Now Kaiyo,” Monty interrupted admonishingly, “that’s really none of our b-”
“No, no.. it is a reasonable question,” Olga looked at Kaiyo with a gentle smile. The rain hammered down on the tin roof, constant and oppressive, “I.. I was born here, I have lived in these hills my entire life... and a long time ago, so did my wife.”
“You have a -” Kaiyo started, cut off by a strong stare from Poros, who had crossed the room and taken up the seat across the dining table from him. It dawned on him, “Sorry ma’am, I didn’t mean to..”
Olga placed the sock she was darning down on the arm of her chair and peered with gentle eyes at the young man. “You have not offended me young one, the people of the Hartswood are a strong bunch, resilient.” She nodded and winked gently at him, “Those of us that are left out here are tough, weather hardened. I’ve got thick enough skin and enough time in the world to have accepted my lot in life.”
Kaiyo, unsure what to say to that, continued his task of preparing dinner for the four of them. He took the bowl of prepared vegetables and batter to the fire and pulled aside coals enough to cook over. Olga, sensing that he would need a pan, stood up from her spot and retrieved a well seasoned cast iron pan and handed it to the genasi, handle first. Looking up, Kaiyo accepted the handle gratefully, and busied himself cooking their meal.
“Her name was Lorelai,” she sighed, “she was the one who wanted this life, more than I that’s for sure.” She sat back down and picked up the sock she was working on with a huff. “I was happy to spend my days as a shepherd, basically nomadic. But, she dreamt of settling down in a garden.. with fruit trees and chickens.” A true smile, reaching the creases of her eyes and the corners of her lips crossed her face as though she was remembering the smell of Loralais hair, or the colour of her eyes. “I can’t leave, not now. I made her a promise that I would steward our land, give back to the earth in the same way that she used to. And I won’t break that promise,” she looked up and caught Poros’s sparkling eyes staring intently at her own, “not this time.”
Poros lowered his head in understanding, not willing to break the silence that now spread out between them all. Olga huffed again, “come, let us not dwell on things we cannot change. It is the weekend and we are stuck indoors, let us make the most of it.” She beamed as Kaiyo handed her a bowl of freshly fried vegetable fritters, “Monty! What are you working on over there? Tell me all about this ridiculous object that captivates you!”