Lon'thul, Em'brel, and Fea'en were standing in front of the framework of the building the woodworkers had put together by following Jack's plans. Matching action to speech, Jack walked them through building the walls with S'haar translating as usual. "Ok, first, we take the thinner saplings and split them lengthwise down the middle like so. Then we take the thicker saplings and lash them to the existing framework standing vertically, alternating them resting inside the frame and outside it, spacing them about a foot and a half apart. Once those are all standing in the frame, we take the smaller strips and weave them back and forth through the larger saplings. The next strip you put on in the same manner but reverse which side of the sapling each side weaves between. Keep doing this until you form a wall. This is called the wattle."

Fea'en looked critically at Jack's work. "That would make a decent enough wall for summer. It'll be sturdy for a while, but it's way too porous and has no insulation. And I hope you're not planning on filling in the gaps with clay or mud. That'll just wash off the first time it rains!"

Jack nodded. "It would if we used those independently, but you're getting ahead of the project. Next, we need to mix the mud, clay, and fibrous plants like so. This is called the daub." Jack started kneading a bunch of handfuls together into a paste-like combination of the three.

His arms were thoroughly covered in grime, but Jack didn't seem to mind. He took a handful of the stuff and slapped it onto the frame he'd made just a little earlier. As he spoke, he punctuated each pause with another generous handful of the muck. "As you said before, individually, the material would normally just wash off, but once this dries, it'll be a little closer to something we call brick, not quite as strong, but close enough for our purposes, and much quicker to slap up."

Scraping the mud off his arms and flinging it to the ground, Jack continued. "We can strengthen this further by painting the outside with something called whitewash after it's dried. Whitewash is just some slaked lime diluted in water. To get slaked lime, you grind down some limestone into powder, cook it to a sufficiently high temperature, then add a bit of water to stabilize the mixture. Once that hardens, it'll last a surprisingly long time, and repairs are as easy as slapping more daub onto any holes or cracks that eventually form."

Fea'en still looked at the wall Jack was putting up somewhat skeptically, albeit it was going up surprisingly quickly. "What about the roof? It'll see a lot more wear and tear than the walls."

Jack nodded as he finished cleaning his hands as best he could with a rag he'd brought. While he and Fea'en spoke, Em'brel and Lon'thul had already started filling another section of the frame with the wattle. "Eventually, I'd like to do straw roofs, but we'll have to grow enough straw to make that viable. For now, we're going to go with a two-layer roof. The first layer will be wattle and daub like the walls, but to protect that, you take a layer of sod and lay that on top. It's simply called a grass roof. if you do it properly, it'll provide plenty of insulation and protection, but it does take a lot more maintenance than a straw roof since you have to water it regularly."

Fea'en still didn't look convinced. Her arms were crossed as she inspected Jack's work. He was currently smoothing out the section he'd put up with a trowel. "Honestly, I think you're crazy, but as long as you pay my men and me, we'll do it your way. Given the supplies we currently have and how quickly you were able to put up that wall, I'm guessing it'll take us a little less than a week to get the first building up, assuming the weather holds that is." Fea'en was glaring up at the clear sky with further skepticism as she spoke.

The sky was clear, but it was down in the forties, colder than an argu'n typically was able to work in for an extended time. Fea'en hugged the coat Jack had provided a little tighter around herself as she spoke. "I'll sleep much easier once we get the first building completed. These tents you provided are better than I thought they'd be, but I doubt they'd hold up if a storm hits."

Jack stepped back from his work and followed her gaze. "So far, all I've seen is a bit of light snow, and even then only at night. How bad do winter storms get around here?"

Fea'en shrugged. "It varies from year to year. Sometimes we'll only get smaller storms. Enough to keep people shut into their houses for a few days until the snow is cleared enough that we can walk around the village again. Some years, we get enough snow to lock us into our house for a week or two. When that happens, we always lose a few people, usually the very young or very old, but it's hard to predict."

The craft master glared into the sky. "The worst is when we get a cold storm. The temperatures drop far enough that our homes aren't sufficient protection, and we have to gather in a single place to wait it out. If that happens here, we'll be in real trouble."

Jack had been hoping the whole winter would be as mild as what he'd seen so far, but he'd also suspected he wasn't that lucky. "Well, if it gets bad, there are several options available to us, but at the very least, I think we need to get a larger stock of dried meats stored up just in case. Ideally, I'd like to have at least a month's worth in storage."

At that, Lon'thul looked up from the daub he'd been mixing alongside Em'brel. "Well, if you want a lot more meat, two hunters are better than one. S'haar is one of the better hunters I've worked with, and with her help, I can probably get you stocked up in a week or two. You'd still have Em'brel around to translate."

Jack wasn't thrilled with the idea of losing S'haar for a week, let alone two. "What about the village? Could I trade more metal for additional meat?"

Lon'thul shook his head. "This time of year, our meat stores can be the difference between life and death. It doesn't matter how much metal you offer. It can't be used by people who don't survive the winter."

Jack hadn't thought it would be that easy, but he was disappointed nonetheless. "Then I guess we don't have a choice. Aside from the sled, is there anything else I can provide to help out?"

S'haar looked thoughtful for a minute. "Well, we'll need more heating packs and maybe a tent and some sleeping bags in case we get caught out by a storm. I can't think of anything else."

Jack sighed, his earlier energy suddenly drained. "Alright, I'll talk to Angela tonight, and we'll get it all put together for you."

-

Jack and S'haar were laying the cable for the solar panels through the caves. As he worked, Jack found himself dwelling on S'haar being gone for the better part of two weeks. He was surprised at how much stress the mear idea was causing him. He was also alarmed to realize how dependant upon S'haar he'd become. True, she was his translator and bodyguard, but he'd come to depend on her for so much more.

Jack had always been a bit of a shut-in. Agoraphobia was the clinical term. The idea of leaving his comfort space usually filled him with so much dread and anxiety he would often turn his fear into anger and lash out at people and things that didn't deserve it. Once he'd realized what was happening, he and Angela worked out several ideas and strategies to mitigate its influence on his life, but it was always a factor in his life.

However, on this planet, he'd wandered all over the countryside with hardly any issue. The big difference seemed to be that he had S'haar at his side throughout his explorations. He'd come to depend on her presence to chase away his irrational fears. The long-term problems were obvious, but it was also unhealthy to become too reliant on someone else just to function in the short term. In short, this wasn't just a situation Jack needed to get past. It was a situation that Jack needed to take advantage of to center and rebalance himself. Not that he was looking forward to doing it, but anything else would be a disservice to S'haar and himself.

Jack was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed S'haar looking at him for the last couple of minutes. Her voice caught him off guard as it pierced through his internal gloom. "Maybe I'm missing something, but this doesn't seem like the kind of task that requires this level of concentration. Usually, you'd be regaling me with some weird facts about the history or science behind what we are doing. Once in a while, it's even interesting enough to help pass the time a little quicker."

Having been snapped out of his internal dialog, Jack stuttered a bit as he tried to explain himself without offering up too much information. "Uhh, um, yeh sorry about that, I was um, a bit distracted... planning for upcoming events."

Hearing that, S'haar raised an eye ridge in his direction. Her tongue flicked out as if trying to get a taste of the situation. "You must have been distracted. I gave you a perfect set up for some witty banter, and you let it pass unanswered. That's not like you."

Jack gave her a rueful smile as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yeah, there has been a lot on my mind recently. Getting this outpost set up, doing right by the workers, taking care of Em'brel, repairing the ship to ensure Angela's survival, doing right by you after all you've done for me, and now preparing for a possible winter storm. I feel like I'm a bit over my head. More than a bit, really... I'm always worried I'm going to forget something, and some important things will slip through my fingers."

S'haar laid down the cable she'd been working with and stood with her arms folded and her hip cocked to the side for a moment while she thought. "Well, I wouldn't worry about me. You've 'done right by me' so far, and I'm confident that any further debts you incur will be paid in time. You've earned yourself a bit of trust and patience. Em'brel's already found a chosen path to walk for a while. All you have to do is be supportive as she does so. You're already taking all the steps you can to set up the outpost and prepare for the winter. Now you just have to let things unfold and adapt when something happens to interrupt your plans. At this point, all worrying can do is get in the way of getting work done."

Jack took the not so subtle hint and got back to work, but continued to speak as he did so. "Easy for you to say, but worrying is deeply ingrained into humans. On your world, there are only two or three things that look at you as food. On our planet, humanity was initially much lower on the food chain than that. We had to be wary at all times but also try and anticipate threats to avoid them altogether. There's always been a delicate balance between taking enough time to think through possible risks while not spending so much time thinking that we create an even greater threat through inaction."

S'haar laughed a little at that while she hefted another line of the cable into place. "Well, you stop and think enough for both of us, so I guess it's my job to give you a kick in the rear if you've been inactive for too long."

Tinking back to his earlier contemplations, Jack couldn't help but let out a small self-deprecating laugh. When he spoke, it was at half volume and directed more to himself than S'haar. "Yeh... I guess one of us needs to..."

S'haar gave Jack an odd look for a moment before speaking up. "You know I won't actually be gone for two weeks, right? Unless something unexpected happens, I'll be back home pretty much every night."

Jack looked somewhat flustered. "I uh, I mean I didn't... I wasn't..."

S'haar looked like the cat who caught the mouse for a moment before smiling and responding. "What, you didn't think I spend all day, every day, with you and not notice how you try to hide how afraid you actually are most of the time?"

Jack looked terrified at having his secrets laid bare, but S'haar continued before he could react. "However, the only thing that matters is that the last time I found myself in an impossible, terrifying, borderline suicidal situation, you had my back. What's more, you got us both out of there alive. So I can give you a pass on the small stuff."

Jack found himself struggling with the oddest combination of relief and embarrassment. "I didn't know I was that obvious..."

S'haar gave him a rare sympathetic smile. Jack had stopped being unsettled by how many teeth most of her smiles displayed a while ago. When S'haar spoke this time, her voice was less mischievous and more thoughtful. "To most, you probably aren't obvious, but we spend enough time together that it's hard to hide something like that for very long."

As the two of them laid the last of the cable out of the cave mouth, S'haar stood up and stretched before dusting herself off. Jack couldn't help but take a second to admire how her taut muscles moved while she pretended not to notice him looking. When she spoke again, her voice shifted to a more cheerful tone this time. "See, you'll be fine. Besides, this will be good for you! A little time away from me will help you get a fresh perspective on a few things."

This time Jack's laughter was a bit more genuine. "You know, I was telling myself something similar when you dragged me out of my train of thought."

S'haar winked at him. "What's that saying you used a while back? Great minds think alike?"

Jack couldn't help but finish the quote. "But fools rarely differ. So which are we, great minds or fools?"

S'haar gave him the most somber, straight-faced expression she could as she answered. "Yes."

If looks could kill, S'haar would be in grave danger. Luckily for her, Jack's look was about as lethal to her as his punch would be. When he spoke, his voice was filled with all the annoyance he could muster. "Thanks, you're no help at all."

-

As S'haar, Jack, and Em'brel sat down to eat, Jack explained the situation to E'mbrel. "So with S'haar gone for a couple of weeks, you'll be in charge of translating between the workers and myself. However, this does mean you'll be taking fewer classes from Angela for a couple of weeks. Although I'm sure she'll find a way to fit lessons in during breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Em'brel looked a little nervous at the prospect. "But, what if I make a mistake and say something wrong? What if I accidentally insult someone or worse?"

Jack tried not to laugh at Em'brel's fears. In many ways, they echoed his own. "I'll be right there, and I know your language just fine. So if you make any mistakes, I'll be able to help you to straighten out any misunderstandings."

S'haar nodded as she cut off a thick slice of something delicious smelling called 'roast beef' before speaking. "If anything, the problem you're most likely to run into is telling Jack when he's explaining too much. He can get a little passionate about some subjects, and you might have to reign him in a little." After she finished speaking, S'haar took a bite of the roast. Her eye's closed in bliss as she savored the juices that shot out with every bite.

Jack looked deeply offended at the accusation. "I'm not that bad, am I?" A little uncertainty wove its way into his voice.

Angela answered on behalf of the other participants in the conversation since they were both lost to the bliss of the meal. "you're not too bad... most of the time. You just have to watch out for subjects you get a little passionate about. Like the 'Lord of the Rings,' for instance..."

Jack's expression was the definition of indignant as he responded to the slander. "Listen, too many people think Aragorn, Gandalf, or even Frodo were the heroes of the story, but J.R.R. Tolkien himself stated Sam was the real hero... I'm doing it right now, aren't I?"

Angela looked a little too pleased with herself as she examined her digital fingernails while she responded. "Well, you know what they say. The first step is realizing you have a problem..."

Jack glared at Angela and the two argu'n, who were both doing their best to pretend they couldn't hear a word of the debate before sighing and letting the subject go. There was no way he was going to win this discussion with the jury so stacked against him. He was just about to take a bite of his own slice of the roast when Angela continued. "Besides, we all know Legolas was the true hero of the story. He's so dreamy."

Jack closed his eyes and counted to ten before responding. "Ok, I know you don't actually mean that, and you're saying that just to get a reaction out of me. That being said, you take that back, and you take it back right now! Those words are blasphemy, and I won't have it in my house!"

As Jack and Angela continued their debate S'haar and Em'brel wisely stayed out of it. Instead, they slowly whittled down the roast while the two siblings had at each other over the dinner table.