10: Fault Lines

     Sama leads Vik, Zuri, and Amina up the hill. Whatever happened to voting whether or not someone could stay?

     When I angrily question her about it later, she informs me she wasn't going to put it to a vote, that no way was she turning away a small child.
     Damn her for making sense.

     Not only that, but she tells me that she likes Vik for all the same reasons she liked me. He'll be good for our family (which may as well pick a tribe name with the steady rate it's growing). Again, Sama is right. Vik is also a skilled builder, but he has a background in metalworking as well. Fuck. In his eyes, we have tons of useful scrap he can do quite a lot with.

     It's not long before Zuri wins over what would've been Asa's vote. He's thrilled to have someone paying attention to him. I still suspect Vik holds a claim over her, but only time will tell.

     I, however, have a serious problem. Orion refuses to take the hint and pesters Yadira any chance he gets. He has too many stories to tell, and he quickly figures out Yadira's thirst for knowledge of the mainland. Today, I catch him telling her a story of the war.
     "Of course, I couldn't fit in the small space, but wee Rohan could. He covered us from above where he hid in the tower while the rest of us charged in ta fight hand-to-hand."
     'Wee' Rohan? Fucker.
     "Weren't you afraid you'd die?" she asks.

     He chuckles. "Of course I was! We all were, but it was either fight or die anyway. The point is, they were more afraid of us."
     "Rohan told me he was a sniper. He must've been a big reassurance for you."
     He makes a waving motion as if to say I wasn't that important. "Oh, sure. He was so adamant that he help, we couldna say no to the lad."
     Can I punch him out NOW? Instead, I get a better idea.

     "Saved your sorry arse more than once," I remind him while also caressing Yadira's lovely ass as I walk by.

     "Hello, darling," I tell her while she watches me suspiciously. She's told me numerous times I have nothing to worry about. She thinks Orion resembles a picture she saw of something called a wooly mammoth. "I was wondering if I could convince our friend here to stop story time and come help me haul bricks from one of the abandoned settlements."
     She smirks. "I'm sure he'd be happy to help you."
     The fucker doesn't miss a beat. "Of course I would be happy to, lovely Yadira." My blood burns angrily. "Having ta go help wee Rohan with a simple task isn'a new concept for me."
     I'm going to fucking kill him one day.
     I glare at him while he smiles. Oh, he thinks he's won.

    Oops. She doesn't look happy. Fuck. I'll have to explain later.

     Without a word, she stomps off.

     He chuckles. "Reeeeal smooth. Have ye decided to wee on her next?"
     Fuck him for being right. That was an ass move I just did. But I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he's right. "Fuck off."
     He outright laughs now. "Well now!" He slaps me on the shoulder. "Let's go haul some bricks. Shall we?" He trots off, still laughing.
     The bastard brings out the worst in me.

Yadira

     I can't believe he did that! How many times must I tell him I'm not interested at all in Orion? And I'm not stupid! I know he's telling the stories in a way that makes him look good, but I'm still getting the stories. I know how to filter out the bias.

     I don't feel like I was kissed. Branded more like.

     But I didn't want to argue with him right there over it. It's none of Orion's business. But boy, is Rohan going to get an earful tonight!

     I have to sit in the house until I calm down. It won't do to go out furious where everyone can see.

     Once I'm calm, I decide I need to work in the garden.

     I hear the spigot behind me. Then whistling. It's Orion. I don't have to look.

      Then I don't hear anything, yet I can feel him watching me. I'm not going to turn around and acknowledge him.

      The whistling starts again, and he walks away. I breathe a sigh and start weeding the peas.
      This is good. Gardening has always relaxed me, and these past few days, I've needed it. There's another child in the family now. That makes two. I can't help but wonder how easy it was for the other child's mother, Zuri, to get pregnant. It's not like I must have a child, but I'm starting to wonder why I haven't gotten pregnant. I'm young. Maybe I'm TOO young.

      About twenty or so minutes later, my thoughts get interrupted when I hear Orion's voice. "Ye know, I was fairly good at farming in me old home."

     "Really," I reply, doing my best to sound disinterested. I'm a little mad at him too--for pushing my husband to act like an idiot. I glance his way, and I do a double-take.

     He grins. "I was wondering who it was that was maintaining this lovely garden. I should've known."

     "You... trimmed." I feel like a simpleton. I can't help my shock at the change.

     He rubs his chin, smiling. "Most of it anyway. Canna find a good blade in this dump. Thought I might haveta gnaw my hair off." He laughs quietly.

     He keeps talking. "So, yev got all this land. Have ye thought about doing more wiv it?" His voice has a different sort of lilt to it than Rohan's. It's similar--but different. I suppose it's more of the outside world that I don't understand.

     "I'll plant more as the season goes on. When I started this, our family was much smaller."

     "I like the way ye'all refer to the tribe as a 'family.' It's much more... homey."

     "It's Sama's doing, really."

     "Family has more connected sound to it." He pauses. "Would ya like some help wi' that? I could give ya somma the knowledge I've learned throughout the years. I'd be happy to teach ye everythin' I know."
     I pause.

     I'm imagining this. Rohan has me reading too much into it. He didn't mean what I thought he might've meant. "You're welcome to add a garden of your own, but I've never had any issues all the years I've been doing this." I turn around.
     "Whoa, lovely Yadira. I wasna tryin' ta say that ya had no idea what yer doin'." His accent gets thicker when he gets excited, I think.

     "That's not what I was implyin'."
     He clears his throat. "Well, pay it no mind. But there is somethin' else I've been meanin' ta talk wiv ye about."
     "Oh?"
     "Yea. I've, er, noticed ye'all don't have any kind of shaman or priest or, hell, even a bloomin' witchdoctor 'round here."

     "No. If there's something we want to learn about religion, we have books. There was a whole library here, and Sama saved loads of them."
     "That's not what I'm sayin'. I was only curious how... if yev never left the island... did ya marry Rohan?"
      I sigh. "We said vows to each other."
      "Oh." He puts his hands on his face and slowly runs them down. "I'm sorry."
      "No problem."

     "Na. What I mean ta say is yer marriage," he swallows and says quite clearly, "it's not real."
     "Of course it is."
     "No. There're rules. And he knows that."
     "He said he believed having a religious... whatever... wasn't necessary. We said it before... before the universe." I start breathing faster.
     "He canna change the rules just because it suits him. Yadira, yer not married."
     What he says feels like it has the truth in it. My eyes begin tearing up.
     "Oh no. No no no. I'm sorry." He goes to wipe my cheeks, but I jump back away from him.

     "Don't touch me!" I hiss. "I don't want to listen to this!"
     "But it's true nonetheless."
     "Leave me alone!" I yell at him, and he jumps back. His face falls, and he walks away.

      I stand here and do pathetic hiccup-sniffs before turning and running back into the house.

      A few minutes later, I hear Rohan walk in.
     "Er, Yadira, darling, I know I was an ass earlier."
     "Oh, you don't even know the half of it!" I bury my face in my hands and cry.

-------------------------------
A/N: Ignore Rohan's stupid grin in the last pic. -.-