Once he entered he saw Kaoran who sat on his usual seat and his patient who was leaving.
"Oh Stone, good timing. I just ended treating Zephyr so you can go escort her to the field," said Kaoran as he signaled to the girl next to him.
"Hello Stone." Her voice sounded pleasant as she greeted him with a smile.
It was a girl of the same age as Stone with quite fair and unblemished skin. She had blonde hair in a bob cut which was the usual hairstyle in the tribe and green eyes which seemed deeper with each look seemed to want to drag Stone into them.
But in Stone was quickly awakened from this as in his mind the most obvious trait she had was her right leg. Or rather the absence of her right leg. Despite getting to know her for three months already, he always thought about that day when he sawed through her leg and she was writhing in agony. He still had nightmares because of that.
So Stone did not want to have unnecessary contact with her and wanted to avoid her but she was persistent and met with him often. In the end, Kaoran assigned them to the same farming field back then making Stone feel a headache as he knew that the old man with a stupid face was thinking some stupid things.
Stone nodded to her and turned to Kaoran.
"Sure. But before that I have something for you." Stone threw him the bundle of seeds of feathers he got.
"I don't know if it is useful so appraise it please." then he sat and ignored Zephyr who was pouting her mouth at him.
Kaoran just shook his head seeing this as he chuckled. "Youth..."
Stone just rolled his eyes and kept silent.
The first thing Kaoran took in his hand was one of the feathers as he placed it close before his eyes. Those feathers were over 30 centimeters long and seemed to shine in bright blue light. This surprised Stone but then realized why this happened. In the tent, there was a lack of light making the gentle light more noticeable.
Kaoran looked it over from every angle but didn't find anything interesting. So this time he used his treasured spiritual eyes and looked again.
"Hoh.. Looks like it contains some kind of energy inside of itself. It is not a spiritual one at least. Furthermore, it is hard to say if this is because of the species to which it belongs or the environment where those feathers were. But I have definitively never seen these feathers. I guess that this is from one of the feathered creatures that showed up in the north and that was why those, whom you looted it from, even bothered taking it." Kaoran looked impressed as he appraised those beautiful things.
"I could try to make an amulet out of it. It will take some time though." Then he put those feathers aside and took the pouch with seeds. He poured the content out and looked at them. Not long after he concluded what those were.
"Snowstorm Flowers. Those are very rare. No wonder they would bother to take them. They grow only in very cold environments and even then it is very hard for them to bloom. It is said that the scent those flowers give out will clear your mind. You can try to grow them but it needs to be outside of the Totem's boundary since they need cold. But I would not expect too much if it were me since even I find it hard to cultivate. But if you are willing we can split them and I will try to cultivate the first batch. If I succeed I will give you three and help you grow yours. What do you think ?"
Stone without thinking that much gave a nod. "Sounds good. Well then, I will go." Then he turned around and wanted to leave.
"Hey... Don't ignore me, please~" A Voice sounded behind him as the girl slowly stood up with her crutches. In the end, Stone waited albeit reluctantly for her to catch up to him.
"Phew~ I don't understand why are you like this. You already took part of me. That's a fate, you know ?" She said with a smile as she limped along with the help of her crutches.
"You mean that part I threw away into the bonfire ?" Asked Stone without hesitation.
"So mean... Whatever. It is not like there is no other opportunity to speak with you. We are going to the same place after all." Mer said with a giggle.
Stone rolled his eyes. This girl seemed to have too much energy to spare. It's good that she was just going to a place where she would spend it.
But in the end, he sighed to himself. It is not like he disliked anything. But he doesn't know why she will kinda outlandish to him. Like she didn't belong here. She was different. That day he had to amputate her leg she seemed like any normal teenager who was about to lose her leg but the next moment he met her she seemed as if the absence of a leg didn't bother her in the least. It could be that she just got used to it but those who did still were different from her merry behaviour.
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As he thought about it they passed most of the fields in silence. But then once in a while, she would break that silence and talk to Stone. He would usually only listen and only rarely answer.
On the way they took a detour and went to take a bucket of the wolf's dung the Bakur Tribe started to accumulate during those three months.
A few minutes later they finally got to their place. It was 20 meters long and 10 meters wide making it big enough to cultivate several types of herbs rich in nutritions they needed to grow. Of course, fields with normal crops would be much bigger but each individual herb needs its own care making it harder to take care of them all.
Of course, the profits were also much more considerable. Not to mention that even hardy grains won't grow in this place those herbs can grow in a few weeks into the height over over meter and if you don't take out or damage the roots they will continue to grow.
So when they came to it they were satisfied seeing their hard work rewarded in those few months of hard work. But the work didn't end and this was just beginning. They went to the little shack next to the field.
"Hehe, our field is só bountiful, don't you think? It is at least better than most of the fields they made." Zephyr seemed to be smug as she said this with her nose upwards.
"Yes," Stone nodded at it. It was truth after all. He knew about farming a lot a knew something that even Kaoran didn't know which made him proud a little in his heart.
It was only big enough to store the basic tools both of them needed like hoes and sickles.
They took empty buckets and went beyond the field. Soon they came back with buckets filled with snow. They then warmed it until it turned into water.
Normally herbs are in a dormant state during the winter and gain moisture from the melted snow during the spring since this land never rains. But since they want to grow them this winter they need to water those herbs manually.
Thus they from herb to herb watering them with the water from melted snow. Each type of herb have its own growing needs so they need to use different amount of water for each delaying their work.
In the end, when they finally emptied their buckets and watered those herbs, they stored them back in the shack and took the buckets of dung to fertilize those herbs.
Fortunately, there are no pests to speak of so they do not need to worry about that. They immediately got to work entirely in silence. Even Zephyr who is chatty didn't speak during their work in the field making Stone appreciate it little.
'She is considerate at least and doesn't hinder our work.' He thought as he threw the dung around. He looked at her working a few meters away. Despite her obvious disability, she was still nifty and dexterous enough to work efficiently.
Soon they were done. After that, they took the basic weed control and were done for the day. So they went a little further away where the remains of the campfire from last time were visible and made a fire with flint and a few dry stalks of grass.
Soon the smell of meat and herbs spread out as they sat around it and held long branches with meat pierced at the tip. The meat was rare in those days but that was only for the weak in the tribe. So Stone didn't lack even a little bit of meat during those times.
On the other hand, he didn't understand where someone like Zephyr got her piece. She was a disabled farmer so she either had to get it from someone or exchange it for something. But this thought disappeared from his mind as he started to munch his first meal since the morning.
He was weary after the ambush but still had to work at the farm. 'Life is hard.' He thought.
Even though it didn't seem to take that much time they still took over an hour to do this. Farming was an investment that is important for the long haul but takes a lot of time and sweat before they can reap their fruits of labor.
But Stone was aware. This wasn't really work in his eyes. The real farmers, those poor peasants who work for their lords are the real farmers. From dawn to dusk they work relentlessly so the family has at least something to eat, can survive the winter, and pay the excessive taxes of nobles. Of course, they didn't need to fight like Stone and just needed to focus on the field. That was if there were no bandits, wild animals, or corrupted soldiers and officials. Their lives were in the hands of the strong. They didn't live. They were just surviving. Day by day.
The farmers like that were for example his parents. People who took care of him and loved him despite his differences. Yet he doesn't even remember their faces anymore...
"What are you thinking about ?" The sudden question startled him from his thoughts.
He turned and saw the girl with greasy fingers and mouth looking at him with a smile.
"Nothing. Just some memories from the past." Answered Stone curtly. He didn't like to talk about himself let alone about his past.
"Hmm.. Stone you said your family was that of farmers before, right ?" said Zephyr as she swallowed another piece of meat.
"Why ask if I already told you," Stone answered her question with his question.
"Well... You are sometimes absentminded when we go to the field. You seem to reminiscing a lot." Meanwhile telling this the girl licked the fat from her fingers enjoying the taste.
"So.. ?" Stone's appetite seemed to dull a little as he talked with the girl. He frowned at her and waited for her another word.
"Stone, those who are lost in the past won't see what they miss in the present. No matter how good or bad, the past is past and it is best to let it be. Instead of that why won't you look at the future? If you are always like this people will think that your name is connected with your stone heart, hah ha hah." Zephyr laughed loudly at her filthy appearance.
"So tell me. Instead of brooding in the past, what do you see in the future? Don't tell me you want to stay in the tribe for the rest of your life." Asked Zephyr with interest.
"Future, huh? Never thought about it." Lied Stone. When he was younger he always thought about traveling the world and seeing everything life can offer. But in the end, those aspirations died down. The next thing he ever thought about when it came to the future was the desire to destroy the Hearas clan and kill those monsters that destroyed his village. Basically revenge.
"Stone, did you know that you can't lie that well, haha? Tell me, tell me!" Zephyr who saw through his lie at first sigh persisted.
Stone sighed. Damn her.
"I don't really know. There are so many things to learn in the tribe. And leaving after that feels wrong. Many expect me to be another Grand Shaman since I learn under him. But I definitely don't want that. So instead of thinking about it I just go with the flow until the right time comes." Shrugged Stone with a helpless expression.