The boat lurched as the man pushed against the riverbank with his long pole.

I waved lightly to the family as they waved back. They floated away for a moment, and then got caught by the river’s current. The boatman helped the boat along by also pushing off the bottom of the river with his long pole.

“That was nice of them,” Sillti said softly as we watched them float away.

“Most people become very charitable during such tribulations,” I said.

“Humans especially,” Oplar agreed.

Sillti shifted a little as I turned to look up the hill nearby. On top of it was a road, one that would lead us to the village that was a little north of here.

We had actually reached it earlier in the day, but had approached from the other side of this river. The bridge to the village had been destroyed, somehow, and we had no way to cross without swimming. Although I would not have minded it, Oplar was adamant that we didn’t do such a thing. We were carrying stuff that we couldn’t risk for no good reason in the waters.

Yet a few hours later, as we traveled south along the riverbank away from the fires in the distance, which boat and the family upon it had offered to help us across. It had been a kind gesture from a family that had been recently uprooted and lost everything.

Their boat had been rather small, and packed full. It had been so overburdened that it had taken two trips for us to be taken across the large river, thanks to how heavy the stuff we were carrying was. And how there had been three of us.

It had taken the good portion of half an hour to get it done, from introductions to waving goodbye. Although the fires in the distance weren’t traveling fast enough to have put the family in danger…

Yes. It had been a kind gesture. They hadn’t even accepted any of the coins I had offered as thanks. They had refused firmly, likely thinking that we like them had lost everything… and needed the money to survive.

“Are we going back north? Isn’t the fire approaching there?” Sillti asked as we ascended the hill to the road.

“Yes. We promised Vim we would wait there for him,” I said.

“Aye. Plus the river will help deter the fire. It can cross it, but not easily, especially since most of that side is plains lands,” Oplar said as we reached the road.

Glancing up and down the road, I frowned at the lack of people upon it. We had noticed quite a few people traveling on this road when we had been walking on the other side of the river originally. Pretty much all of them had been heading southward, like us, likely in escape of the incoming fires… but…

The road was now empty. I wonder why. It was midday, so it wasn’t like it was that late.

Maybe most of the people around here had already evacuated south or west? I wasn’t sure how far the fires went, but based off the smog in the air it had to be quite a distance. Not only was there a deep haze all around, the very air was hot. It made me sweat, even though I knew it should be a little chilly right now.

A tiny splash drew my attention back to the river. It hadn’t come from the boat or the family upon it, they were now farther away, but I couldn’t make out the source. Maybe a fish or something had made it.

“I didn’t realize there were other Society locations so close. Are there more around here?” Sillti asked as we three began to head for the nearby village. It wasn’t visible from here, and not just because of the smoke in the air. Although the other side of the river were mostly flat plains, this side had rolling hills that were rather large. We’d not have been able to see it from here even if the air had been clean and clear.

“There are a few, but none near enough to worry over the fire. Like your home, it’s far enough away and through those rocky mountains. I bet it’ll be fine,” Oplar said.

I glanced at Sillti who perked up a little at the mention of her home, and I realized something interesting.

She hadn’t even considered her home might be in danger of the fires.

Was that simple innocence, or…?

“Though fires that large can sometimes last a long time. My mother wrote about a firestorm. One that had lasted for months, supposedly. I’m not sure where it had been, but it’s hard to imagine how big and strong such a fire could have been,” Oplar said.

A firestorm...

“I’ve been told about how the churches of the humans had burnt many of us. It’s hard to imagine such a death,” Sillti wondered.

“Oh they did far worse than just burn us. But they do the same to themselves too. I hear in the south they’re slaughtering and burning anyone who even looks remotely sick, is that true Renn?” Oplar asked.

“Huh? Oh…” I nodded. “There were places doing that, yes.”

“Sick…?” Sillti asked.

“Oh. There’s a plague going around. Keep an eye on who you go near, don’t eat anything given to you without care and definitely don’t go sleeping with anyone for awhile. Human men can be nasty,” Oplar warned her.

Sillti stopped walking, which made me stop too as to stare at her shocked expression.

Uh-oh. Had no one told her that there was a disease going around…? I mean… it had somewhat slipped my mind too, since the last few places we’d visited hadn’t been affected by it, but…

“Do… do you two actually do that?” Sillti then asked.

Oplar stopped walking too. She turned to glance at Sillti, and then glanced at me. I could tell that like me, she hadn’t understood Sillti’s question.

“Do what…?” I asked.

“Just… sleep with random men? Is that a thing? Really? And with humans too?” Sillti asked.

Oplar responded first, by laughing her butt off, and I couldn’t help but grin at her too. So that was what had shocked her so badly, not the plague or danger but what Oplar had said earlier… likely as a joke, if not even without such intention at all.

“She’s shocked!” Oplar said between laughs.

I smiled at Sillti who went red in the face. “Some of our people do, I think… but no. Most of us don’t. I think a majority of the Society are too scared to get as close to humans as that in the first place, let alone have such desires,” I said.

She seemed to calm down a little as she nodded at me. Oplar on the other hand continued to laugh. “And you! Answering her so seriously!” she pointed at me as she spoke.

I frowned at my friend who really did have an odd sense of humor. “What…? There are, Oplar. Look at Kaley,” I said.

Oplar slowly stopped laughing as she realized what I meant, and then crosser her arms and nodded. “Oh. Yeah. I guess there are, huh.”

“Kaley?” Sillti asked as we three returned to walking.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“A member that lives on the western coast. She’s… what some would call frisky,” I said.

“Frisky,” Oplar snickered at me.

“Most members are either religious, or some form of it. They belong to one-on-one relationships, kind of like how your village handles it,” I said.

“It’s called being monogamous. It’s not just a religious thing, either… but I suppose it is one of the core tenants being pushed by most of them nowadays,” Oplar added.

Oh? A new word. Interesting.

“Are there any of our kind with multiple partners, Oplar?” I asked. I’d not known or noticed any.

“Hm…? A couple. Not far south from Tor is a village of bunnies. There’s only one man there, and I know for a fact at least five women share him maybe more. There used to be a weird village a long time ago to the east, that didn’t even have the idea of marriage or relationships. I’m told only Vim was willing to go there, that even those like Landi found it weird. They didn’t even wear clothes,” Oplar said.

Sillti made an odd noise as I giggled. “To have bothered even Landi is quite telling,” I said.

“Aye, right!” Oplar agreed, laughing.

Smiling at the information, I tucked it away as to tease Vim and ask about it later. How interesting.

Though… it was sad to hear her speak of it in a past-tense kind of way. The meaning was obvious, but… well…

I really wish it wasn’t so common.

“There’s a few other places and people that are odd… but most nowadays are normal folks. Or well, normal to us. Some of the far eastern pagans have the concept of polygamy, a few of the older members don’t see anything bad with sleeping around with whoever they want and such, but yeah… most are normal,” Oplar continued to explain for both me and Sillti.

I kind of wanted to ask who those members were, but decided against it. In all honesty it was kind of a personal matter, and didn’t bother me, so I shouldn’t pry.

“Is it… difficult to find a partner?” Sillti asked carefully after a moment of silence.

I did my best to not glance at her, since I knew her question had been one she’d been waiting to ask for a long time.

“For some. I’ve been looking for almost forty years,” Oplar said honestly.

Forty…? Such a long time… yet for some reason I had thought it had been longer.

“And you have Vim,” Sillti said softly.

“I just found him, in that sense… I had been searching for at least a century I suppose, before that,” I said. It wasn’t the total truth, honestly… I hadn’t actually been on the hunt for a partner in that sense, but now that I thought about it… it was true.

I just hadn’t realized it, I think. I had been searching for someone like Vim. Though if I hadn’t found Vim, I would have been more than happy to just have friends too.

“Vim did say it would be difficult,” Sillti mumbled.

“Hm…? For you? Not likely, Sillti. You’re not a predator. Plus you’re beautiful, and dainty. You’re as pretty as Renn, but without all the sharp nails and teeth,” Oplar said.

“Huh?” I perked up at her comment and wondered what that meant.

“Is it easier for us then…?” Sillti asked, completely ignoring what she had said.

“It is. But that’s more so because there aren’t many predators in the first place. As far as I’m aware there are less than a dozen male predators of age in the Society that aren’t married or anything. So for us it’s more a problem of a lack of inventory than anything else,” Oplar said.

Lack of inventory… what a way to say it. That felt like something Brandy would have said.

“Hum… is that why you chose Vim, Renn? Not much else to pick from?” Sillti asked me.

Although kind of happy to have this conversation, I still felt weird as I glanced at the gentle-smiling woman. She really did seem to have no ill-intent behind her questions, but it still felt… a little strange. She was supposedly mid thirties, yet sometimes I felt as if I was talking to someone much younger. Though maybe I shouldn’t think that way. It might also be due to the fact that so many I’ve been hanging out with recently have been not just older, but even older than me… so I just needed to once again get used to those who were young and full of questions.

“I’ll be honest I’d have chosen Vim no matter who or what he was. Even if he had been human, I’d likely have picked him,” I said.

“Geh… Renn, I love to listen to you flirt but hearing stuff like that just makes me sick,” Oplar complained.

“What…? Why?” I asked, offended.

“He’s not handsome enough for that. If you take all his special quirks away, make him human or something, then he’s just… well…” she shrugged at me, not wanting to say more.

I huffed. “Next time we see someone you consider sexy please point them out, so I can see what you find appealing. Maybe I’d be able to understand you better, then,” I said.

Oplar laughed and nodded. “Will do!”

“Oh…! I want to do that too,” Sillti joined in.

“Aye! While we wait for Vim let’s prowl!” Oplar declared.

Prowl…! “You just warned us against doing such a thing!” I shouted.

Oplar laughed. “This and that are different! I kind of want to see what she’d find attractive too, now that she’s out of her pen!” Oplar said.

Pen…? “What do you mean by that?” I asked carefully.

Sillti stayed silent as Oplar glanced at me, and then turned her head to look over her other shoulder at Sillti. “Well… I mean… not to be rude, Sillti, but your husband had been very unattractive. He had a nice facial structure, but ruined it with his mess of a beard he couldn’t grow, and the rest of him…?” Oplar shrugged as she spoke.

I panicked a tad, to hear her speak so of a man just recently passed, her husband no less. But upon looking over at Sillti, I found her smiling warmly. “He had been ugly, yes.”

“Most men in your village are, to be honest. They’re all either tall and skinny, or rotund like Thrain,” Oplar said.

Right… she was right. They had even all kind of looked the same too, with similar hair colors and stuff.

“How about you Renn? Did you find Rollo attractive?” Sillti asked me.

“You’re asking her…? Have you seen what she sleeps with every night?” Oplar teased me with a snicker.

“To be honest I had been interested too, Sillti. You’re… actually very pretty. So I had been surprised to see him. I had expected someone… well…” I hesitated, and felt horrible for saying it… even if I hadn’t outright said it aloud.

“Hm… it makes me hopeful. It means there must be plenty of good men in the Society to pick from. I look forward to it,” Sillti said happily.

Oplar snickered and chuckled, and I worriedly looked away.

Was there…? I mean… yes. There were a few men who were good looking, like Gerald, but…

Well…

Most I’d found ugly, myself.

But… well…

Maybe that was just my own personal preferences. After all it was mighty clear that most saw Vim as average at best. Which was surprising, since so many more people seemed interested in him than I had first thought.

Ollie had been a taller woman, with a stern gaze… but she hadn’t been ugly at all. I had enjoyed spending time with her, even if she spent most of that time badmouthing Vim. She hadn’t been too rude about it, but she had been a little bitter to have been so readily ignored it seemed. I had allowed, and understood it, so hadn’t allowed myself to get bothered by it. Hopefully next time I visit the Summit she and I could talk more about other things.

Although… a little odd to think… I found myself rather interested in those who also found Vim attractive. It was like finding someone with the same interests and hobbies. We both really liked the same thing, so… we should be friends.

At least that was how I was trying to handle it. I still wasn’t entirely sure how to face Merit once I saw her again. I felt horrible now that I knew about her affection towards Vim… and just how long it had lasted.

Hundreds of years was a daunting thought. To go that long without any kind of recompense… and in Merit’s case, it had even been that long before Vim even actually realized her feelings existed.

Granted one could argue it was Merit’s fault, for not just telling the man, but… well…

I knew Vim well enough to know that Merit had likely tried many times, in her own ways, to make him realize her feelings. Vim however wasn’t just oblivious… he was indifferent. He was so indifferent to Merit that he had simply not noticed at all.

It was actually a little concerning. It meant Vim had not seen Merit as important enough to really pay attention to. Or maybe it was the opposite…? Maybe he had seen her like a child, or something, thanks to her size?

I really should talk to him about it.

Sillti coughed as a light wind blew some hot air passed us. The haze grew more intense, growing thicker, thanks to the wind. You’d think a heavier wind would clean the air out, but not in this case. It likely meant the fires were so massive that there was no clean air anywhere to swoosh around us.

Shifting a bag, I hoped wherever we ended up tonight had a bath. I really, really, needed one. Between the heat and the gunk in the air I felt nasty.

Oplar had called this village Hornslo. On the other side of the river it hadn’t looked that big… but it was still a village. It was likely home to a few thousand people, at best. But the river it rested upon was a large one. Big and deep enough to allow good fishing and trade. It hopefully meant there would be a nice inn or something to stay at while we were there.

“By the way did you two know Ollie had liked Vim?” I asked.

Oplar and Sillti both laughed.