Chapter Text
Prologue
The morning rays warmed over the rooftops of the quaint Kilima Village. A crisp air helped the early morning denizens rouse to their daily workings, especially at the Daiya Farm. Pekis crooned and chirped away. Ormuus stretched and meandered their way to a fresh batch of hay put out by their beloved farmboy Nai’o. Badruu whistled away as he trimmed his vegetable plants. Auni was already dashing away towards the village, nearly knocking over the new human resident. Rogue stumbled and caught herself before her baskets full of apples toppled over.
“Sorry, sis!” Auni called out, still running down the road, “Gotta get my work done before the dragonflies are gone!”
“You’ll scare off the bugs, bro!” Rogue yelled back, “I’ll show you how it's done later!”
“YOU WISH!” Auni shouted, probably waking up the last of the villagers.
Rogue chuckled to herself and continued her way to the Daiya Farm. Two large baskets stacked on top of each other and filled to the brim with fresh apples took up most of her arm space. It was definitely a heavy load, but between cliff climbing, tree chopping, boulder breaking, and sernuk hunting, she found it fairly manageable. As she walked past the front gate, Delaila was setting up a table with a few open pots and utensils.
“Gooooood morning, Delaila!” Rogue called out in a playful tone.
“Morin’ to ya, dearie– Oh!” Delaila finally looked up at her and saw the bushels of apples. She rushed over and took the top basket from Rogue. “Ya carried all of 'em from yer farm?”
“Like I said, I’m in a jam .” Rogue grinned wirily.
Delaila rolled her eyes. “Oh you stop now! I hear anuf that from me husband.”
Rogue chuckled as they took the baskets to the table. “You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to be my Shepp.”
“I did, and so did ye.” Delaila replied as she handed Rouge an apron. “Now go wash yer hands, and we’ll start sortin’ these apples.”
Rogue did as instructed. As much as she loved bringing a lighthearted air to those around her, she was equally as determined to get going with her new hobby. Months ago, she had tried a slice or twenty of Delaila’s pies, and Rogue was determined to learn her baking secrets! Of course, Delaila wouldn't just give them to anyone, but Rogue found her way into the sweet farmer's heart enough to make Delaila her Shepp. Something about Delaila made Rogue feel at home. Delaila wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, but she also knew when you needed a hug the most. Maybe she reminded Rogue of her own mother, but alas, she couldn't remember who her own mother was.
Many of the humans who had re-emerged were bothered by their lack of memories. The mystery of where they came from and why did they re-emerge here itched in their minds. Rogue, however, wasn't as concerned. She was curious, of course, but she found that the life here in Kilima more than made up for what she missed. There was so much she was thankful for: her home, the adventures in Bahari, her new friends both human and Majiri, the Daiya family, and her dorky chef whose pin she was currently wearing.
One of the things she absolutely enjoyed was baking. She had honed her cooking skills and was ready to dive into some more complex recipes to satisfy her sweet tooth. Today was step one in the baking process: jam.
Rouge carefully peeled her apples, making sure not to nick herself. Delaila was already a few apples ahead of her, years of practice showing itself with how smoothly her knife skinned the apples.
“It will take ye some time before ye can peel ‘em quickly.” Delaila encouraged Rogue, “Just keep at it, and ye’ll be peelin’ ‘em as fast as Auni eats these apples.”
Rogue chuckled, “I think I'm getting the hang of it. I am a fast learner.”
“That ye are. I’m sure everyone in Kilima knows that now. Even Eshe herself saw how much effort ya put in to learn our traditions.” Delaila wiped a small tear coming from her eye. “Oh, I’m gettin’ teary-eyed thinking about yer welcoming party.”
Rogue smiled. It was a night to remember. She didn’t quite know what to expect, but she got a little emotional herself when Delaila officially welcomed her into the village.
“I know. The fireworks, the wreath, everyone in town. It was beautiful.” Rogue agreed, “I even saw Eshe smile at me!”
Delaila cleaned up some of the apple peelings into a bucket. “She was proud of ye. We all were. Our Majiri traditions can be a bit much for an outsider, yet that didn’t stop ya.”
“I think at this point I’ve learned to ask a lot of questions. Did you know I went a whole month not knowing how the pins worked? It would’ve been nice if someone had told me I needed to make Reth a pin sooner.”
Delaila laughed, “Oh dearie, I’m so sorry! That poor boy must’ve been aching to know.”
Rogue flushed red. When Ashura had asked her when she was going to respond, she basically ran out the door and demanded Sifuu get her a pin straight away. Thank the Dragon Sifuu gave the exact same energy back to her. Together they made a silver pin shaped into a slice of pie. She was Reth’s Sweet Tooth, after all.
Rogue stole a glance at her pin just below her left shoulder. It was a ceramic pin shaped like a soup ladle.
“Oh he was.” Rogue shared, “You should’ve seen the look on his face.”
She could remember that mixed look of elation and disbelief in Reth’s eyes, like he was waiting to wake up at any moment. A quick kiss on his lips, though, brought him back to the reality that she wanted to be with him. No one could make her laugh like he did, plus he was a good cook to boot. Even his infamous lettuce soup was oddly refreshing.
Rogue finally finished her apple and put it in her bucket of peeled apples. Not that she would admit it, but she quickly counted how many apples she had peeled compared to Delaila.
Rogue, three. Delaila, twelve.
Delaila put another apple in her bucket. Thirteen.
“It seems like the two of ya are quite happy.” Delaila commented, “I don’t know him much meself, outside of his soups.”
“Yea, he can be a hard fellow to open up.” Rogue said, trying to work on her apple faster, “You really gotta peel back the layers.”
“I hope ye don’t mine me pryin’, sweetie.” Delaila’s tone became more motherly and deliberate, “As yer Shepp, I believe I can ask ya questions only a mum can ask.”
Rogue looked up at her, realizing that Delaila was serious. Even Delaila slowed down her apple peeling.
“I’m sure ya heard of choosing yer Path for us Majiri.” Delaila stated, “Now, nothin’ is ever black and white, and it’s none of my business to his reasoning’s for leavin’ his. What I see is my business is how that affects the two of ya. Have ya talked about what that there pin means for ye both?”
“Well… sort of….”
Delaila raised an eyebrow. “How do ya sorta talk about it?”
“I know he wants to be with me,” Rogue responded, “but I think he’s still a bit afraid that I’ll drop him once he screws up.”
Rogue waited to see if Delaila would interrupt, but her Shepp seemed content listening. “And he screws up, a lot. But… that’s okay. He keeps going. He’s made a lot of mistakes, yes, and I know the Path thing is very important to Majiris. I see what he did as… necessary, brave. If Paths are meant to show Majiri are contributing to society, then you’d want to contribute in a positive way, right?”
Delaila nodded, starting to peel her apples again. “I can’t argue with that. And it’s important to keep growin’ past yer mistakes.”
“And he’s got a good heart, too.” Rogue added, “I mean, he tends to make things worse for himself just to help someone else, but he tries his best to help a friend in need.”
“Oh! I can’t believe that boy took apart his own fryer just to fix me ice cream machine at the market!” Delaila exclaimed.
“Exactly! Just like that! Except… well… he can get himself in a lot of trouble trying to help someone.”
Delaila smiled and sighed, “It’s easier to have yer heart the right place and then sort out yer limits than it is the other way ‘round. So then, how serious do you want this to be?”
Rogue hadn’t quite thought about it in-depth. She was mostly looking for some friends and some grounding when she first came to Kilima Village. She enjoyed coming to the inn to get a laugh and some pointers on her new cooking abilities. As she got to know Reth, though, she started seeing past the “bad boy” routine he tried to put out. He was just a dork who needed a friend, similar to herself. She liked the dork. Reth was caring and sweet. Despite all the mistakes he made, she found herself falling for him more and more.
“Hmmm….” Rogue pondered, “I… I’m not sure. I guess part of me is determined to get him to see that he is this amazing guy, and he’s not making that easy! If he could just see that, I think there could be something there. And… I’d like that. A lot.”
“Well, ye need to make sure ya know what you want. There’s no rush there, but something fer ya to think on.”
Rogue smiled and continued peeling her apple. “I’ll do that. I know that I do find him a-peeling.”
Rogue flashed another smile. Delaila tried to hide a smile herself but wasn’t doing a good job.
“Well, ya got a lot of apples to think that over. Just one more thing I’d like to ask….”