Aftermath

by Meiling Colorado

  Bet she can do it, too, thought Dinain, ruefully. In spite of being grateful for not having to face anymore visitors tonight, he couldn't help but think that she herself hadn't done anything as gracious as ¨ knocking¨ on the door. Not that he was about to mention it, braving her sharp tongue once in a day was more than enough for him, thank you.

  ¨Hmm, Leiren,¨ Lorenna's soft voice made the Healer look around just as she was about to cross the threshold. ¨If you don't mind, and don't need me anymore, I'll stay and help Lillith put things up...¨ the apprentice hesitated, shooting the older woman an uneasy look, and looked decidedly relieved when the wise-woman shrugged. ¨As you wish. Check the boy every hour and call me if there's a change,¨ she called over her shoulder to no one in particular as she strode out into the night.

  Ren released the breath he had been holding without being aware of it and smiled with relief. He could swear the Healer had left a sense of vacuum after her, so strong was her presence, but a welcome one, at least as far as he was concerned. He winked at Lillith, ¨I don't care what you say, that's an uncomfortable woman to be around,¨ he remarked. ¨Hey, even my uncle looks rattled.¨

  The man in question was feeling pretty uncomfortable, and he was sure he looked it, but it had little to do with the Healer and her prickly ways. Lorenna had been acting...strange, for want of a better word. He found the feral look in those bluish green eyes disturbing. And earlier, at Council, she had been touching him more than was necessary, or so it seemed to him. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate a pretty woman's interest, but....

  What did the woman want with him? He was aware she had stayed behind for a purpose, he wasn't that green, but for some reason he wasn't too keen to find out what it could be.

  Chuckling, Dinain patted Ren on the back. ¨I've known your uncle for quite some time, and few things scare this man,¨ he said. ¨Leiren on the rampage, however, is high on my personal list. In fact,¨ he directed an amused look at the red-headed woman, ¨any woman can make that list in a minute if she puts her mind to it.¨

  Benton shot his graying friend a suspicious look, which was met by a merry twinkle in the brown eyes and an apologetic shrug of shoulders. So, he'd noticed, had he? Well, he wasn't helping much, in fact he seemed to be enjoying himself mightily.

  Luckily, none of the women seemed to pay any attention to this exchange. Yeshra headed back to the bedroom where her son was lying, while Lillith and Lorenna hunkered down and busied themselves sorting out the medicines Leiren had left. The men watched as they stacked the little cloth pouches on a low table between them.

  ¨Have you guys had dinner yet?¨ Dinain asked, ¨we were just getting started when Leiren arrived. I think only Yeshra finished. I'll have to re-heat it but there's more than enough for everyone. That includes you, Lorenna,¨ he added quickly, addressing the woman kneeling next to his daughter. She was quite something to look at, this girl, and apparently determined to get what she wanted. Maybe a tad too determined, judging from Benton's reaction. He chuckled under his breath. Wasn't that a thing to see? He'd never thought he'd see that man caught off-balance by a woman.

  She seemed to get on well with Lillith though, and he wouldn't want her to feel he was leaving her out. He did have the grace to flush when Benton shot him an accusing glare, however.

  ¨Great, tha,!¨ Ren looked truly animated for the first time since they had arrived. ¨I'm famished!¨

  Dinain headed to the kitchen to reheat the stew, shaking his head at Benton's efforts to convince the boy it was time to go. He didn't think he would win that argument, the kid was hungry, and had already made it clear he had no intention of leaving yet. For some reason his friend sounded panicked to his ears; he must be imagining that, he could think of no reason the man would want to go that bad. It would soon be dark and he doubted they had anywhere better to be at.

  The girls finished their task quickly enough and helped Ren and a resigned Benton to light more oil lamps and set the big wooden kitchen table, chattering in a relaxed fashion about commonplace happenings at the settlement. Soon the four of them were sitting down in front of steaming bowls of hot stew.

  ¨Well, that's a whole lot better!¨ exclaimed Ren after a couple of minutes of silence, while all of them enjoyed the warm meal after the emotion filled day. “You were right,¨ he said addressing Benton, ¨eating in company is much more pleasant. But though I'm sure Serbell is a nice woman, I'm glad she couldn't eat with us when you asked her. I much prefer the present company!¨ He broke out into a cheeky grin directed at the young dark-haired girl sitting across from him, and guilelessly continued to spoon his stew, totally oblivious to her father's stony stare, or Lorenna's calculating look. Benton was not aware that there was anything beyond friendship between those two, but judging from Dinain's thunderous expression the fool boy had better watch his step.

  Not that he had any time to spare for the kid's problems.

  He narrowly missed dropping the bread basket Lorenna shoved at him with a bit more force than he deemed necessary, green eyes flashing when he looked up at her in confusion. Oh yes, he was in hot water with her apparently, for some reason. Was the woman bipolar? She had seemed happy enough a minute ago. He was definitely missing something here, and too tired to figure it out, he decided.

  They finished the food in relative quiet, each musing over their own thoughts. Once everything had been washed and put away to Dinain's satisfaction they checked on Yeshra and Resnan. The boy was still sleeping, much to Ren's chagrin. Lillith convinced her fellow apprentice to spend the night, claiming she was the next best thing until the Healer herself could get there, should her brother wake up and need some aid during the night. Lorenna herself was doubtful on that score, though grateful for the girl's belief in her. She allowed herself to be talked into preparing a pallet in the living room, since Yeshra refused to leave her son's side.

  Dinain, meanwhile, promised Ren and Benton he would let them know as soon as there was any change. Hardly satisfied but seeing no alternative, Ren allowed his uncle to lead him home.

  The first thing he was aware of was the smell, of course, the never forgotten aroma of home.

  He had imagined it often, and even dreamed of it, but it was what convinced him that his last memories had not been a hallucination brought about by exhaustion. He could not doubt his nose. He trusted it more than his eyes, at times. In fact, in the last few months it had proved far more reliable than any of his other senses.

  Slowly, gradually, he regained consciousness. It's raining, he thought, inhaling the rich scent of wet earth deeply, and somebody's baking bread. His eyelids fluttered and he was aware of a dim light filtering through his lashes, but they felt heavy. It would be an effort to open them more. He could hear a hushed conversation at a distance, but couldn't quite make out the words, though he could tell the voices were female.

  As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized his whole body hurt. That was to be expected- he had collapsed from exhaustion after all. His mind had allowed his body to take a break as soon as it had recognized Serbell's familiar features, but he didn't think he could have continued much longer, anyway.

  It had been close, he thought grimly. He'd nearly missed the settlement altogether, just stumbling into its southern perimeter by chance. Heck, by then even his sense of smell had been all but useless.

  He lay there, slowly opening himself to the smells around him, letting them sink deep, searing the moment into his consciousness. The rain, the warm yeasty scent of baking, something sweet and flowery he couldn't identify, the ground dandelion roots his mother roasted and used as an alternative to some beverage from before the wars...the gasp that escaped his lips sounded almost like a sob to his own ears.

  The whispering stopped immediately and quick steps approached the bed. Someone took his hand, their fingers soft and warm. He tried to open his eyes again, but full consciousness eluded him.

  ¨Resnan…¨

  His mother's voice.

  He'd been an a
rrogant fifteen years old the last time he had seen her, thinking he was an adult and not in need of her anymore. It had taken him less than a month to understand that, however old you were, all you ever wanted when things turned sour were your mother's arms around you, her soothing voice in your ears. He'd witnessed strong tough men crying for their mothers often enough since then.

  She was caressing his cheek now as she used to do when he was a little boy, before he grew old and dumb enough to shun her caresses.

  ¨Resnan, my love. You're home.¨

  And he was.

  CHAPTER 4

  ODDISSEY

  Resnan grimaced as he put his weight on his right leg. Gingerly, he tried to do it again, this time with more care, conscious of his sister's critical eyes on him.

  ¨There,¨ he said, with more assurance than he was feeling. He looked up at her with a mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes, scratching his beard. ¨You see, it's nothing. I'll be ready to walk out of here in a couple of days.¨

  ¨Yeah, sure.¨ The expression on Lillith's face was suspiciously close to a smirk, he thought. ¨Luckily for you, the expedition won't be ready for at least a week, if not more.¨

  And even then, she was certain Yeshra would talk Dinain into taking the jeep, small as their reserve of bio-diesel was. Not that it didn't make perfect sense, she admitted grudgingly, taking into account what her brother had related about what was out there. It would mean a quicker getaway and the difference between life and death in case of attack.

  The last few days had been hectic. Almost as soon as he had regained consciousness Resnan had made sure Leiren was called, and had passed on a pouch he carried on a cord around his neck. He had been extremely secretive about its contents, at least to her, and the Healer had not mentioned the pouch again, but from that point on, everything had changed.

  The council meeting where her brother had recounted his adventures had marked a turning point in the settlement's activities. The priority now seemed to be preparing everything for yet another expedition to leave as soon as possible.

  There was time for grieving too, of course, once hopes were dashed for the relatives of the initial scouting party members. It was now known that only Resnan and Garand, Ren's father, had survived. The scavengers had assumed they were dead, rather than merely injured as had been the case, and had been in too much of a hurry or didn't care enough to double check. She felt bad about this cruel double blow to the families' hopes, but Lillith couldn't help but rejoice for her friend. At least his father was alive. Only Garand's military training had saved them from dying that day anyway, and even though she shook her head at her brother showing off his scars to anyone and everyone, she had to admit she did feel proud of him.

  A bit.

  He totally spoiled it with that disgusting habit of winking at all the girls who came around acting like he was God's gift to woman-kind. Bunch of ninny-hammers. And some of them were definitely old enough to know better. Lillith had caught her mother giving the stink-eye to more than one mature female who dared to show her face around a few too many times with the excuse of offering her help.

  The hero-worshiping going on in some circles of the settlement's female population, coupled with the whirlwind of excitement over the upcoming departure was no help when it came to toning down her brother's irritating attitude, anyway. He was already too full of himself as it was.

  From what she had gleaned, Ren's father was the reason behind all this rush. He had stayed behind in another settlement, the existence of which was exciting enough to have everyone talking.

  Other groups of people, living peacefully together…she had never witnessed such a buzz before.

  She didn't know what all the fuss was all about, but the Elders were holding council after council, apparently to decide who would take part in the expedition and set the departure date. And they were not wasting time. There was a problem at that other settlement and it must be something really dire to have made Garand send Resnan off on his own like that, risking his life. Her memories of him were those of a child, of course, but she couldn't imagine the serious, responsible man she remembered doing something like that without good reason. What that could be seemed to be on a strictly ¨need to know¨ basis, and nobody was giving her any information, of course.

  Leiren, predictably, was in the middle of it all and, for some reason, so was her father, which made her situation doubly frustrating. Not only was she being kept in the dark by her own family, but everybody except for those privileged enough to attend the stupid council meetings was sure she was privy to all sorts of rexciting information. She was being pestered day and night by the other settlers, and sometimes she felt like punching someone in the face, like tall pasty-faced Emily Fern with her long nose, her sniffs and her disbelieving looks when Lillith explained she knew nothing. She hadn't even had the pleasure of being able to withhold information. The only small comfort Lillith had was that Emily didn't know that. Stupid cow.

  She looked her brother over with a jaundiced eye.

  He really wasn't fit to go anywhere yet, but a fat lot of good it would do her to tell him, big shot he was now. Glad as she was that he was still alive after all, it still rankled that, dead or alive, he remained the center of everything – everything, the whole world, seemed to revolve around him, and here he was, carefree and careless as ever – simply rearing to be gone, again.

  It would kill her mother if anything happened to him now….

  Yeshra, however, was taking this whole expedition thing remarkably well, which also puzzled her. Or perhaps her mother knew something Lillith didn't, too. The thought didn't improve her temper one bit.

  ¨Use the cane, Resnan!¨ Watching the fool hobble around the living room wasn't helping, either. With a glare she handed him the sturdy stick Benton had so thoughtfully provided for him. Everyone was trying to help him out, ungrateful sod......

  Honestly, thought Resnan, what a nag. She was a pain when I left and she's grown up to be an even bigger nuisance! But he grabbed hold of the make-shift cane she was holding out to him unceremoniously without a word and made his way to the door.

  Let her stew. He needed some air.

  ¨And where do you think you're going, young man?¨ the deep voice stopped Resnan in his tracks, as a tall figure came in through the front door. It took him a minute to recognize who it was, but then he laughed in delight, ¨Ren! About time you came to see me, man!¨

  Grinning broadly, Ren gave him a bear hug. ¨They keep you well guarded,¨ he laughed, ¨today is the first day my uncle let me come over unsupervised since you woke up, Sleeping Beauty, and the times we did come Leiren wouldn't let us in.¨

  ¨I know!¨ Resnan grimaced ruefully, ¨They coddle me as if I were a baby.¨ He shot his sister an accusing look, which she chose to ignore, and continued, ¨I was hoping to see you at Council, though. I could have done with some moral support there.¨

  ¨Benton kept me to the back row, man,¨ the other boy said disgustedly, ¨and once it was clear my father was the only survivor apart from you, there wasn't much to stay for and it seemed more prudent to make our way out quietly. Sorry you got grilled like that, though. Heard it was rough.¨ Looking over at Lillith he smiled, ¨So, how does it feel to have your big brother back?¨ He shoved his friend gently and nearly toppled him over. ¨On second thoughts, I'd better stick around for a while. He doesn't seem fit enough to defend you yet!¨

  Lillith laughed at Ren's lighthearted quip, but her brother was taking a closer look at their childhood friend.

  ¨Whoa,¨ he exclaimed, trying not to lean on the staff too obviously. After that embarrassing loss of balance it would only set his sister off again. ¨What have they been feeding you, Ren? Aren't you just sixteen? You must be nearly as tall as your uncle!¨

  ¨Pretty much.¨ the boy replied, uncomfortably aware of their scrutiny. For some reason he didn't feel comfortable when his sudden growth spurt was mentioned. In his mind it was somehow connected to his sickness, and to... the nightmares. N
ot that he could see how that was possible, but he really didn't want to think about it, much less discuss it. Luckily there was no chance for his friends to probe any further. The sound of voices outside alerted them to more arrivals.

  Dinain and Benton came in carrying a pile of what looked like big, misshapen pieces of canvas between them.

  The older man took the scene in with a glance, and grunted as they put their load down in a corner of the living- room. ¨Good to see you up and about, son.¨

  ¨What's that for?¨ Lillith was eyeing the pile of material with barely concealed curiosity.

  ¨We'll need tents.¨ her father said shortly. ¨We're going to set up a sort of sweat-shop here with all the sewing machines I can get to work.¨

  Tents! It just wasn't fair! Resnan was going on another exciting adventure and she would be stuck here, again. They probably expected her to bust her ass sewing those things, too. Knowing she was giving in to pettiness didn't make her feel any better about the upcoming expedition. It was undoubtedly exciting, she thought sullenly- she just wasn't going to be part of it.

  Dinain was motioning them out. ¨Come on, kids. The whole settlement is pitching in but we need all the help we can get – there's plenty more where that came from. And the weather is turning. It looks like it might rain again. We really want to have the whole lot in before it does.¨

  Yes, exactly as she had thought. No rest for the wicked.

  Yeshra and Lorenna were on their way in, loaded with material. On her way out Lillith heard her mother scolding Resnan for walking around, crutch or no crutch. Fat lot of good that would do. Her brother would do as he pleased, as usual, and come out the other side smelling like roses.