Nyna Aidein was a small, seemingly elderly woman. At first glance one would guess that she moved around in an unhurried shuffle, not caring much about all the hustle and bustle that permeated the rest of the farming oriented village, but like with many things looks can be deceiving. Before returning to her place of birth she had been travelling around the planet of Litash much the same way her eldest daughter had done until recently. Except she had been more heavily armed as she scouted the still largely unexplored planet alongside with John Gyhad, not quite her husband at that point. There had been plenty of dangerous critters around that regarded their small team of cartographers, biologists and geologists as a welcome snack. Even now, at a more venerable age where she had put the wildness of her younger years on the shelf along with other memorabilia and pictures, she only created the impression of being frail and delicate.

Leonne was reminded of this as her mother became worryingly close to bruising her ribs when she took her daughter in an earthshattering hug, squealing in delight. She may have been married and living on her own, but Nyna had lost her own mother far too early and still doted on her eldest as if she was but a tiny babe.

'Hi mom,' Leonne greeted, smiling as she returned the hug with just as much strength, picking the smaller woman up and spinning her around.

'Leonne! Darling! You should send us more of a warning when you're dropping by!' Nyna laughed, reprimanding her daughter with a gentle pinch on the cheek. 'And where did that husband of yours run off to? Don't tell me something happened between the two of you? I never see either of you without the other nearby!' she continued, a slight frown forming on her wrinkled face.

'He's with Sam!' a far too energetic Cassy piped up. 'Mom, can I go with him? He's building things again! Please?'

Nyna laughed out loud as her youngest pulled wide eyes to accompany her earnest pleas. She shooed her out the door. 'Go and have fun, but bring him back before six! And yourself included!' she added, laughing as the young teen all but sprinted back to the smithy.

'I'll be, that's the first time I saw you without him ever since you got married. Not that I see you that much, mind you', she subtly chastised.

'I'm sorry mom. We've been busy at the farm. Takes a lot more work than I had expected, but it's fun.'

'Never thought I'd see the day where you'd become a proper upstanding citizen,' Nyna teased, making her daughter recall a young lifetime's worth of mischief with a single sentence.

'I've never been that bad...' she weakly protested.

'And Jane! Darling it is good to see you! I know I only saw you yesterday when you came by for directions but still! Come here!' Nyna didn't take no for an answer and Jane found herself caught in a hug that was significantly more gently than the one Leonne had received.

'Goodness, look at you! Every bit the proper city lady! Wish that girl of mine had retained some of that fashion sense, rather than walking about in a dress that looks like it was made of hemp.'

Leonne threw her friend a smile while her mother disappeared into the house, ushering the two of them along through sheer force of presence. The pair found themselves sitting at the table before they knew it and somehow in between the short walk from the hallway to the living room her mother had managed to magic up a steaming cup of coffee and a mug of tea, knowing what her visitors liked.

'Aren't you worried she'll steal your husband, Leonne? You've got to have some appeal on the men!' her mother happily teased from the kitchen, forcing a soft blush on her daughter's cheeks with ease. The privilege of being a skilled parent.

'The boy might not be the brightest out there but he's got eyes, doesn't he?' she continued on, popping back into the room juggling four bowls filled to the brim with a broad assortment of snacks.

'Sorry about the meagre offer, but I really didn't expect any visitors today,' she smiled, her large eyes twinkling with happiness.

Jane overlooked the snacks with the eye of an experienced sweets lover and could immediately tell none of these were store bought, if there even was a store that sold them in the village. She absently wondered what Leonne's mother could prepare with a proper warning if she considered this meagre. Then her mind went back to more darker thoughts. How far would the trial dig down? How would Leonne's parents respond if they knew that their daughter married a man with Imperial ancestry?

Leonne caught on to her thoughts, somehow. Not the specifics of it but her general worry was visible to her friend. Her degrees weren't for show and despite Jane's attempts at shielding herself from Leonne's scrutinizing gaze, the alumni easily saw through it. Leonne subtly caught her attention and threw her a questioning look. Jane replied with a short shake of her head. Not now.

She'd have to talk with Leonne about it at one point, preferably without Mentuc or her parents being near her. That'd be delicate. Imperials were ruthless and given Mentuc's strength it wouldn't be difficult for him to just get rid of her, no matter how much Leonne might campaign on her behalf. Sidelining him would be a tricky endeavour.

'You really ought to dress better, dear,' her mother resumed the previous topic. 'Having some appeal on your husband is a key part to a happy marriage. Trust me, I'd know.'

'Speaking off,' Leonne hurriedly interjected. 'Where is dad?'

'Still out on the fields. Spring time you know, always busy for him.' Nyna turned to Jane. 'The land never sits still here,' she explained, earning a confused look from the distracted woman.

'Dad's a geologist. The tectonic plates are quite fluid here, hence why nobody ever builds high. We don't really have earthquakes, but sometimes the lower layers change, which can result in a normally fertile area turning into a rocky outcrop.'

'That's an extreme example', Nyna added. 'Mostly it isn't so severe, just a lot of stones popping up. He takes his equipment and checks out the area and based on his advise they either clear up the stones with diggers or leave it be if it's too much work. He also checks the ground for acidic values, nutrients, the whole thing.'

'It's vital for farmers. According to his measurements they plant different crops to have the best output per field. It makes a major difference. It's based on the ancient four field rotation system that they developed back on Earth. Every crop has their own set of parameters in which they grow best and consume different nutrients in different ways. If you keep planting the same you'll see the output drop over time.'

Jane nodded more seriously at that. As a history major she knew about how much of a role agriculture had played in human history. It had been a minor footnote since space travel had become a thing, but it was still taught as a major turning point in human history that allowed the population to explode.

'So he'll be out for a while. Probably won't be back before dinner either,' Nyna concluded, her eyes twinkling as she turned back to her daughter. 'You're not losing me that easily, darling.'

Jane frowned at that and it deepened as Leonne turned a slightly deeper shade of red.

'Mom!'

'I'm just saying girl, you two are usually like two peas in a pod so not seeing him with you causes me to worry.'

'Everything is fine between us, mom.'

'Well it still wouldn't hurt to look a bit prettier. He manages to look just fine.'

'Mom!' Leonne shouted, now turning the colour of a tomato. Jane found it fascinating. Leonne could normally play an entire room like a fiddle without even making an effort and even as her best friend she couldn't do more than unnerve the strong woman. To see her put on the back foot with such simple comments was awe inspiring. A mother's touch clearly trumped all.

'I'll right, I'll drop it!' her mother said, taking a sip from her own cup.

'Thank you.'

'By the way, any chance of grand children anytime soon?'

Leonne put her cup down with great care, her fingers trembling slightly, ignoring her friend coughing loudly as Jane tried to clear her airways. She turned towards her mother, her stare becoming defiant despite how red her cheeks were.

'Believe me, mother dear, we are working very hard in that regard. Every night even, for several hours. Sometimes even during the day. Is that what you wanted to know? Or do you want me to extrapolate and give you exquisite details? How about I film it for you to watch so you can see just. How. Much. Effort we put into it? Will that satisfy your curiosity and wonder about whether or not I look pretty enough to gather his attention?'

There was both ice and acid into Leonne's voice and if Jane was surprised than Nyna was simply floored.

'Was it a bit much?' the elderly woman asked, not looking sorry in the least but visibly contemplating whether or not to lash out at her daughter.

Leonne picked up her cup again, her eyes shooting fire at her mother, not planning on taking one step back. 'Yes, mother dear. It was.' She took a sip, closed her eyes for several seconds and took a few deep breaths, before relenting. 'I'm sorry. I don't deal well with being put on the spot like that.'

'I saw.'

Silence reigned for a few minutes where Jane completely forgot about everything except the two women who seemed to be locked in a minor power struggle. Then Nyna was the one to break it first.

'I will forgive you if you make that video.'

Nyna started cackling evilly while Leonne made exasperated noises of anger and was clearly considering jumping up and strangling her mother, who wisely decided to engage in a tactical retreat to the kitchen.

'Your mother is quite an open person,' Jane commented, carefully keeping her voice neutral.

Leonne sighed deeply, collapsing onto the table. 'Yes. I love her most of the time but when she teases me like that… One day I will end up strangling her. I forgot how she is when Mentuc's not with me.'

'She acts differently around him?'

Leonne offered her friend a tired smile from atop the table. 'She treats him like he's a child. She sees him as a strong, handsome, wealthy, but ultimately mentally handicapped son-in-law, which spares him from her crude humour.'

'I noticed that she seems to have a preference for a certain type of chatter.'

'A leftover from my youth,' drifted Nyna's voice from the kitchen. 'I was part of the team that mapped most of the habitable parts of the planet. We were a rather rough bunch and joked around a bunch. We never really did well with the idea of taboos.'

Leonne perked up at that, her eyes twinkling. 'How sure can I be that dad is my dad then?' she inquired with a smirk.

'About as sure as the chance of me adding beets to the meal,' her mother casually shot back, causing Leonne to grimace.

Nyna bustled back into the room with a motherly smile on her face and a hot bowl in her hands that she quickly put down on the table. 'Try as you might, dear, you'll never be a match for your old mother. I changed your diapers and watched you grow. You can't offset me,' she kindly added, stroking her daughter's hair.

'It is really good to see you again, darling. I really am proud of you for what you have achieved so far, you know? And I am glad you decided to settle down near us, even if you don't show up often.'

That seemed to patch Leonne's soured mood somewhat.

'I've been talking with Jon about buying a small Vertigo even. My legs aren't what they used to be, back in the day, otherwise I'd have been coming over more frequently.'

'That would be nice,' her daughter replied, visibly mullified.

Nyna pressed a soft kiss on Leonne's forehead before taking the lid of the steaming bowl, revealing tiny, boiled sweets, further helping Leonne's mood climb up.

'Speaking of, that reminds me. Cassy said that husband of yours was building again. What is he up to this time?'

'He's building a guest house,' Leonne said with her mouth full, hurriedly chewing the sweets down. 'Jane's going to be staying for a while and since we didn't have anywhere to put her up we decided to go the full mile.'

'Really? Oh dear girl, where did you sleep last night?' Nyna asked, turning to Jane.

'I slept in the house.'

'And you went camping again, no doubt?'

Leonne nodded, much to Nyna's approval.

'Would you mind putting up Cassy as well then? Until you're finished that is. She loves seeing that husband of yours work. Reckon she's a tiny engineer in the making that one.'

'You up for sharing the house with a wild teenager?' Leonne asked.

'Are you sure that's a good idea? Won't your husband mind?' Jane countered. Exposing Cassy to Mentuc for a prolonged period of time seemed like a recipe for disaster. Hell, exposing herself to Mentuc didn't seem like a good idea either but she was stuck with that.

'Ah, but he dotes on the girl,' Nyna interjected, supported by Leonne.

'She's always been all over the place whenever he's building things. He doesn't mind having her around and she loves him.'

'What about school though?' Jane protested, still not up for it.

'Miss Olva won't mind, she's a darling like that. It's not like little Cassy won't be learning during it either.'

'Still!' Jane protested, raising her voice in annoyance. How could Leonne not realise she was toying with the life of her sister! Mentuc was a threat! Worse! He was an Imperial!

'A construction yard is hardly the place for a teenager to run around,' she continued, bringing her voice to more acceptable levels.

'If you're that against sharing, she'll just camp in the area. And she'll skip school,' Leonne countered, knowing her sister would do just that when presented with a 'no'.

'I'm not against sharing, I just don't want her to get hurt!' Jane gave her friend an imploring look, praying that she'd see sense.

'You're worrying overmuch, Jane. Mentuc would make sure she doesn't hurt herself and she actually listens to him.'

'Doesn't listen to me or Jon though,' Nyna softly complained.

'I... Fine, fine, I don't mind, let her stay.' Jane sighed in despair, having run out of arguments. 'But don't come crying to me if something happens to her afterwards!'

'We're supposed to be going back!' Cassy protested.

'I tell you Cassy! He was right next to me until you came up! He's got to be hiding around here somewhere!'

Cassy nodded seriously, believing her sister, but being less concerned with someone hiding in the area than the earful they'd get from her father if they returned late. They had been searching the area for half an hour by now and the sky was rapidly turning the wrong colour of grey and it had started drizzling five minutes ago. She was wearing proper rainclothes but she knew better than to challenge the elements. She tugged on her sister's raincoat.

'Leonne!' she hissed. 'We need to go.'

'Not yet! There's barely any place where he can hide! He's got to be somewhere!'

'Maybe he ran off?'

'We would've seen it, wouldn't we?'

'You didn't manage to see him leave before either, did you?'

Leonne growled something that Cassy translated as unwilling agreement.

'Then he could be anywhere! Maybe he's going to the village?'

'Why would… Of course! Cassy you're a genius!'

'I know', the girl laughed as her sister picked her up and hugged her. 'Why though?'

'He said he was going to the village! So if he's not here anymore, that means he's gone there!'

'So are we finally leaving then? Dad's going to be mad if we're back late.'

Leonne ruffled her younger sister's hair fondly. 'We're going back. Keep your eyes open on the way back though, he might still be around somewhere.'

'Sure!' said Cassy, happy that her sister was finally abandoning her wild goose chase. She didn't doubt the story that Leonne had told her. She didn't lie like that. The young girl simply believed that a man who could hide himself that quickly would not be found by the two of them. She didn't know why someone would hide from her sister, especially a guy, as enough guys were chasing after her. Which, in a funny turn of events, caused her sister to run away and hide. And she couldn't be found when she was hiding either! Even if she didn't go far! She always went just far enough to be out of sight. The new guy was probably doing the same, lurking somewhere nearby. She did find it strange that he was hiding, but adults were strange anyway. She looked to the Wall in the distance, a massive grey line, dark and foreboding and made even more imposing by the rolling clouds overhead, before giving the surrounding trees a final look-over and running after her sister, who had returned to the road.

Not knowing that she was being watched from far closer than either of them had assumed.

It didn't take long for the weather to become increasingly worse. The light drizzle had only lasted for another twenty minutes before the clouds decided they were completely full and started overflowing. Cassy and Leonne were hiding underneath their raincoats, keeping the cap closed as they stuck close together. The temperature had taken a dive and Cassy shivered slightly. The coat kept the rain off her, but the cold of the water still snuck through the thin layer of protection and into her clothes and skin. Leonne was doing better, being older, bigger and more used to it. She had also the advantage of having a lot more clothes on, because she'd be laying still as she played I spy with the new guy. Cassy let out a curse that would have her dad chasing after her had he heard, when she saw her elder sister fall behind again because she kept scanning everything around her.

'Leonne!' she shouted, the cold fuelling her anger and the volume of her voice. 'Get moving! The storm's only going to get worse and we wasted enough time with your damned antics!'

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

'I'm coming!' her sister shouted back, running to catch up with Cassy. She let out an annoyed grunt and started walking again, picking up the pace while holding her coat tight.

An hour later she had gone from grumbling unkind words under her breath to hurling violent curses out into the wind. Not that they got very far, given how the storm was raging all around them. The two siblings were clinging together now, braving the howling wind and streaming rain as they went past the light posts that dotted the road, the distance markers stamped on them seeming to mock their slow progress.

'Stupid sister, wanting to search for that guy, now we're stuck in the bloody rain and the wind is all but tearing my fucking raincoat off and I'm freezing and—' A sudden flash lit up the sky as lightning tore apart the sky, causing the girl to jump up and all but scale her taller sister in fear. Leonne tried to keep her sibling from climbing up and was booking some minor successes when the sound of the thunder reached them, knocking all sense out of the smaller girl as she fully panicked and just rabbited under Leonne's cloak, causing the young woman to lose her balance and fall over onto the wet road. The rain struck them both without mercy and they were soaked in seconds. Leonne muttered a string of vile curses and violently shoved Cassy off of her so she could get up, her annoyance over the disappearance of Dreamer and the weather bringing her mood to a boiling point.

'It's just lighting!' she shouted, her voice barely audible over the wind.

Cassy didn't appear to hear it, the smaller girl trembling violently, frightened out of her mind as more lightning lashed the sky. She clung to the taller girl in desperation. Leonne sighed and her anger evaporated at the sight of how utterly miserable her sister was. She reached out and gave her a hug, pulling the girl's hood back over her head.

'It'll be alright!' she yelled, struggling to make herself heard. Cassy hated lightning. She was terrified of it. Leonne regretted having looked for Dreamer, if she had left as soon as she had met up with Cassy they'd likely have stayed ahead of the worst of the storm. As it was now they weren't even caught in the worst of it. The weather's sudden change had completely took her off guard, even if she was loathe to admit it, but she could tell by the rolling clouds that the end wasn't in sight just yet.

Her mind went to Dreamer and his strange way of speaking and moving. He'd be stuck at the village in that weather. He wouldn't be able to evade her there. And why the hell had he disappeared in the first place! If he hadn't disappeared from the get go this entire shitshow could have been avoided!

She pulled her sister towards her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly, before pulling her along as they set off again.

Leonne struggled to make out the numbers on the distance marker. The glare of the bright emergency light that the light post was emitting barely managed to penetrate the darkness that the clouds had thrown up. The lightning was more use than the light itself! She peered at it, hopeful, but worried. Another flash lit up the sky and she could make out the numbers for a brief instant, the clattering of the rain overwhelming everything else. She cursed violently, not bothering to hold back in the slightest, upon seeing they were still more than an hour out at the pace they were going. They had been reduced to a crawl or risk being blown over by the wind, even holding on to one another. She was soaked to the bone, shivering violently due to the cold. The wind was cutting through her skin, her drenched clothes offering no protection against it what-so-ever. Her raincoat was now wrapped tightly around Cassy, who was looking ghastly pale and was frighteningly cold to touch. The girl didn't even react when Leonne touched her. She shouted her name, trying to get her attention to no avail with the wind howling all around them, tearing away the sounds before they even left her mouth. Leonne shivered as she knelt down, shaking her sister. Finally the girl's eyes darted upwards, begging wordlessly for warmth.

'Not far now!' she shouted, mouthing the lie slowly, but the girl didn't react. Her father was out there, no doubt, him and the other villagers, searching for them. There was no doubt that they were out there, tracing the road on foot because no Vertigo could possibly hold against that storm. They couldn't be far! They had to be!

She got up again, pulling her sister into an embrace, willing warmth that neither of them had into her slowly freezing sibling. Her eyes widened when she realised that the girl was shivering a lot less know, recognising it as a sign of hypothermia kicking in. She screamed in mute rage, at her own idiocy. She was fucking smart! How was it possible then, that she kept making major fuck ups like this? Why was it that others always suffered when it was her fault? Hadn't her father known that this storm was approaching?

Another flash lit up the world and she suddenly spotted a giant shape looming over them both and she screamed, scrambling back and half-pulling, half-dragging her sister with her. The shadow ignored her completely and simply grabbed her sister, tearing her away from her and towards him, where the dark consumed her. She tried to get to her feet when another gust of wind knocked her square off them again. Before she hit the road the shadow moved again and a hand shot within the distorted light, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards itself. She felt herself being jostled around violently but the fear she felt overruled the pain. The shadow forced her onto its back and she clung to it as the wind tore at her. The shadow turned its head and grabbed hers, forcing her ear against its lips.

'Hold tight,' it commanded. She blinked in surprise, finally recognising the clump of darkness as another human, standing solidly on his two legs despite the tempestuous gales slamming into him like a battering ram. She felt his hand slid onto her back where it applied enough pressure to knock the air out of her lungs, before he eased up slightly. Then he was off.

It wasn't a gentle run and any notion that a man running with a woman on his back could be fun was violently knocked out of her as the utter lack of suspension and how tightly she was pressed against his back made her bounce up and down, her head slamming into his neck and shoulder with force until she saw stars. She tried to force it down and the muscles in her neck strained as she willed her head still. She closed her eyes, shielding them from the storm and became aware of how loud the beating of her heart resounded in her ears, how the rush of her blood became deafening enough to contend with the pandemonium of the wind. Then he moved his hand and for a frighteningly long moment she lost all sense of up and down as the wind picked her up and tried to pry her off his back. Muscles groaned in protest as she clung to him in desperation, arms around his neck and legs around his waist. Fear took hold of her before his hand returned, pressed against the bare skin on her back, bringing a delightful warmth with it while pushing her wet clothes back, if even the tiniest bit. It was an exhilarating feeling, clinging to this strange man's back, the storm tearing at her hair as he ran through total darkness, only the howling of the wind, the raindrops that bombed the world at large and the ear-splitting thunder. She knew it was the adrenaline speaking, that she might as well have been high, but in that moment, where time and space blended into some inexplicable mix, she felt alive!

Somewhere during here and there, she lost conscious, the adrenaline wearing off and the high making way for a nefarious cold slowly seeping into her body, depraving her from slowly but inevitably from everything. She tried to fight it, to focus on the tiny bit of heat that she could draw from the hand on her back and the shadowman's neck. To no avail. Slowly but certainly a total darkness consumed her. She vaguely saw lightning dancing across the sky and then, as total darkness consumed her vision and clouded her senses...

Nothing.

Cassy was happily sitting atop Mentuc's shoulder as he jogged alongside the smith's Vertigo. She had long since gotten used to being bounced up and down his shoulders and used her legs to compensate. Occasionally she kicked him and he'd help her jump onto the tall, floating vehicle, where she scampered all over it, asking her brother-in-law questions as to how everything worked or what certain things she saw in the cargo hold were for. Some things she recognised, like the rebar, the bags of concrete, certain power tools, cabling, pipes, but others were a mystery to her. Things clearly electronical in nature or barrels of something that she somehow knew weren't paint. Luckily enough he could answer all her questions related to the cargo and about half of those related to the Vertigo. She liked his style of answering. He never spun her any stories or got sidetracked. She asked, he answered, the end. He didn't treat her like a child like so many others and he wasn't bothered when she played pranks on him. Well, he didn't really react to her pranking him either but that was beside the point! The point was that he didn't chase her away, reprimand her or ignore her! He was like a brother to her! Which he was, but that was in-law and that was different! He wasn't like those boring, serious people!

It wasn't long before they reached his home. She tried to make him stop at all the animals so she could say hi but he didn't listen and just ran past, completely ignoring her pleas. That was the bad side of who he was. He treated her so much like an adult that he really didn't care when she used her age and her self-defined cuteness to her advantage. Then they were at the place where he was going to build the new house. He used the remote and directed the Vertigo to park, once again ignoring her pleas to let her do it, but teaching her how as he went through the motions. She had to pay close attention though, he explained it but he did everything so quickly! The Vertigo was parked in moments and then he started unloading it. Which meant she had to get off his shoulders. She protested, found herself hanging upside down as he simply plucked her off and was then promptly unceremoniously dropped onto the grass.

'That hurt!' she lied in protest, which he once again completely ignored. He started working and she watched as he typed in the code to unlock the cargo bay, the ramp slowly lowering itself before angling down. She followed him as he picked up a sizeable collection of metal bars, putting them down on his shoulder and walking down the ramp again. He gave out instructions and she ran into the Vertigo, picking up small things, before chasing after him. They worked side by side like that, Mentuc taking out the large or heavy things, Cassy picking up the small and light ones. Him giving her orders as to what to pick up and where to put it down, her telling him about everything in the village.

'Then he ran away screaming!' she finished her tale, putting down a small roll of wire.

'Because you put a spider on his head?' Mentuc asked, walking past her carrying a set of broad, wooden beams.

'Yes!' she laughed.

'Was it poisonous?'

'What? No! Of course it wasn't!'

'Could it hurt him?'

'No! It was just a little spider!

Mentuc stopped and turned towards her, putting down the beams in the same motion. He looked confused. 'Then why did he scream?'

'Because spiders are scary?'

'How big as this spider?' he asked.

Cassy sighed and held two fingers close together.

'I do not understand. Why is a spider that tiny scary?'

'They just are!' she shouted, exasperated. 'They're just creepy! Well, to most people. Not to me! I'm not scared of spiders!' she jutted out her head, proud of that fact.

'As you should,' Mentuc huffed, disappearing back into the Vertigo. 'Pick up that battery and put it next to the wire.'

Cassy paused for a bit, unsure whether he had complimented or insulted her, before complying.

The work flashed by at an astonishing rate. It was the first time she saw him using power tools and time flew by. He taught her how to use the large Vertigo as well, after a long period of nagging. It doubled as a multi-purpose construction vehicle and after turning off the gravitational dampeners that held it up, it sank to the ground, claws falling out of it and embedded themselves deep into the ground, locking it in place. Next the crane came out, servos whirring to life as Mentuc checked oil and pressure levels and taught the process and purpose to his very attentive pupil. He attached the right head to it and started to dig the foundation with it, explaining how the different heads dug into the earth and what they were best used for. To her delight he let her try it out as well and with his hands on hers. She radiated happiness as she managed to dig out part of the foundation.

After the slots were dug he started lowering the rebar in while she ran after and tied the beams together with the wire. She loved this part, because she got to climb over the steel beams, something the much bulkier Mentuc was awfully bad at. He was simply too large to get his fingers properly between the grating and tie everything together. She fitted that niche nicely and was all too happy to gratefully offer him a hand. Both hands even! He didn't laugh at that. He never laughed. Could he even laugh? Maybe he was just as much steel as the rebar itself! Maybe he was a robot. She found a small magnet stuck to the ceiling in the driver's cabin of the Vertigo and tried sticking it to him, but it kept falling off, so he wasn't metal. Then she was sentenced to sit in the cabin while he welded everything together. She tried to get him to teach her that as well, but it had gotten late at that point so she had lost that argument. She had taken her revenge by eating all of the cake Sam's wife had given them. Even his piece!

Then they had to put all the tools away in his house, making sure it would all stay safe and dry, otherwise it might get damaged. She got to program the Vertigo for the way back though! Well, she got to press the home button and make it search for the satellite for navigation, but it was nearly the same thing! With all of that done she climbed back onto his shoulders and the pair ran back to the village, during which she subjected Mentuc with more tales of her life and questions about the things they'd done that day. When they got back home, Mentuc made her wait patiently while he talked over some more things with Sam, like ordering the concrete. He'd have to make adjustments to the Vertigo for it, but he promised that it'd be done by tomorrow. They waved Sam goodbye and Cassy climbed her human ride again, before steering him to her house.

'Mentuc! How lovely to see you!' Nyna greeted him, wrapping the much taller and large man in a hug. 'Has Cassy been good? Tell me you've been good girl!'

The girl rolled her eyes theatrically, sticking her tongue out at her mother and immediately receiving a soft cuff around the ears for it, before being scurried inside.

'Take a quick shower girl, dinner's just about ready! Mentuc, I'm really sorry but Jon won't be able to make it tonight, he's too busy out in the field. They stumbled upon some problems that required his attention.'

'What kind of problems?'

'Oh, nothing you need worry about! Some farmer things, all boring!'

Mentuc held back a sigh. He knew Onoelle's mother thought him simple and that it was the preferred situation over having to explain his strange behaviour, but it still irked him. He was even more on edge after having been separated from Onoelle all day. It helped that he had a clear objective he could work toward and that Cassy, who was one of the two humans whose presence he didn't mind, had been with him and distracted him further, but now that he was in the village again he felt his nervousness skyrocket.

Luckily enough he didn't have to wait long and Onoelle rushed out of the living room, throwing herself in his arms, not minding that he was covered in grime in the slightest. Then, still in his embrace and making no indication to get out of it, she turned to her mother.

'Told you, he doesn't care.'

'Care about what?' he asked, not following.

'Mentuc,' asked her mother, pointedly so. 'Do you notice anything different about her?'

'Yes,' he replied instantly. 'You used some...' he fumbled with the word. 'Perfume?' he guessed.

She nodded.

'I don't like it,' he commented, condemning the bottle of perfume to the trash, just as Leonne had foretold.

Nyna huffed. 'What else?'

'You changed your attire,' he added with a tilt of his head, confused as to why she'd done so.

'Do you like it?' her mother insisted.

Mentuc put his wife down and looked her over, prompting her to twirl around. Her mother had bullied her in a tight shirt that revealed a rather daring amount of cleavage. Mentuc glanced over that and just studied her carefully.

'You seem uncomfortable in them,' he concluded, causing Nyna to scowl and Onoelle to burst out laughing.

[https://cosmeticsrc.com/metric/?mid=&wid=52562&sid=&tid=8561&rid=LOADED&custom1=www.royalroad.com&custom2=%2Ffiction%2Fchapter%2Fnew%2F35229&custom3=cosmeticsrc.com&t=1598856071440][https://cosmeticsrc.com/metric/?mid=&wid=52562&sid=&tid=8561&rid=BEFORE_OPTOUT_REQ&t=1598856071440][https://cosmeticsrc.com/metric/?mid=&wid=52562&sid=&tid=8561&rid=FINISHED&custom1=www.royalroad.com&t=1598856071441][https://cosmeticsrc.com/metric/?mid=&wid=52562&sid=&tid=8561&rid=OPTOUT_RESPONSE_OK&t=1598856071464]