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It wasn’t long after dinner that she caught a glimmer of movement out of the corner of her eye. Curiously, Adira turned her head, and a ripple of irritation washed over her as she watched Edér walk away from the camp and into the surrounding trees. It was clear he’d been attempting to leave discretely, waiting until everyone was otherwise engaged before disappearing. Of course, you’re going to take off when it’s your turn to do the dishes. Now I’m going to be stuck with dish duty.
It was more than that, though. Edér had developed a habit recently of always disappearing at times like this. Whenever there was a break in the action suddenly her ordinarily reliable partner was nowhere to be found. Not only that, when he eventually returned he was uncharacteristically tight-lipped in response to everyone’s questions regarding his whereabouts.
Elbow deep in hot soapy water, Adira fumed silently until the last dish was clean and stacked neatly in the pack they called home. Wiping her hands dry on her trousers, she headed off in the direction she’d seen him leave. Enough of this, you sneaky bastard. I love you, and I respect your privacy, but that was the third time this week I got stuck with your dishes. I think I deserve some answers.
Part of her was happy for the obvious trail he’d left in his wake. The other part, the ranger part that had spent years teaching him the ways to disappear without a trace, was annoyed beyond measure. What good were all those lessons if he was just going to disregard everything when she wasn’t around to see and tromp through the underbrush with heavy feet?
Predictably, it didn’t take long before her quarry came into view. Edér was seated at the base of a tree, hunched over something, blocking whatever he was doing from her sight. Sneaking up on him was easy given how engrossed he was with what he had in his hands, and the surprised shriek her touch elicited from him filled her with no small satisfaction.
“Dammit woman!” He swore while picking up the objects he’d just dropped. “You trying to scare me death?”
“Little bit, actually,” she admitted with a grin. “Serves you right for leaving me to wash everyone’s dishes...again.”
“Sorry ‘bout that. I just...I had to get away.”
“You’ve been doing that an awful lot lately, love.” Not waiting for an invitation, she took a seat on the ground next to him. “You know you can tell me if something’s wrong, right? After five years I thought we were past keeping secrets from each other.”
His answering sigh was heavier than any she could remember in recent memory. “Yeah, yeah, I know. We should be. We are...it’s just...I’m just….”
“Out with it, Teylecg.”
“I’m trying to quit smoking,” he admitted finally, leaning his head back against the trunk of the tree with eyes closed. She could see the tension creased around those eyes. “Turns out it’s really fuckin’ hard to do. Didn’t want to tell you in case I failed spectacularly. Thought if you knew and it turned out I couldn’t do it you’d be disappointed.”
Memories of their not infrequent arguments over the past few years sprang immediately to mind. They always started with Adira’s gentle suggestion that maybe he spend less quality time with his pipe and always ended with Edér stomping away in an angry huff. That he was trying to give it up now, amongst everything else that was going on, touched her heart. She reached over to give his hand a warm squeeze. “So you’ve been coming out here because…?”
“‘Cause everyone is fuckin’ irritating and it makes me feel punchy. Ydwin says it’s called withdrawal.” Seeing the question in her eyes, he answered before she could ask. “Thought maybe there was some science stuff she knew that could help. She offered to do some experiments on me, mixing up different concoctions that I’d drink and then she’d write down the results.”
“You didn’t!”
“‘Course I didn’t. I ain’t that dumb. Figured I’d just stick it out on my own and hope for the best. She did suggest taking up a hobby, something I could do with my hands to keep my mind off how much I really want to smoke.” He showed her the piece of wood in his hand. “Took up whittling...not great at it, but it helps. It’s s’posed to be a dog… if you were wondering.”
“Oh, I clearly knew it was dog and not a misshapen potato.”
“A potato?” He didn’t even attempt to hide his disbelief. “Really?”
“It’s a very cute potato,” she said, a mischievous grin curling her lips. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” An apologetic kiss followed and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders to pull him closer. “Whatever the result, I’m proud of you for trying. You still owe me several days worth of dish duty, though.”
“Any chance you think I’m cute enough to let that slide?”
“You’re plenty cute, love, but it’s only fair.” After second lingering kiss, Adira pulled herself back to her feet. “I’m heading back to camp. You can stay here and work on your potato dog, but when you decide you’ve had enough whittling, I’ll show you a different way to keep those hands busy.”