I had dug a hole in the ground using a stick, dumping all the acorns inside in order to free up my cloak once again for more acorn gathering. Hours went by, and I had to go progressively further and further away from the shelter and into lower grounds, where the acorns might have been washed away towards to gather more of the nuts. Acorns wouldn't be a reliable method of survival, but this is the best I got. The only other thing I could do at this time would be to find other nuts, or berries and fruits, but the latter wouldn't last me through the winter.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that without Ard I wouldn't be able to survive winter, not reliably at least. The faery was providing to me too much, and the winter forest would provide me too little, I can't afford getting on Ard's bad side. Perhaps I could figure out some survival strategies from her. Learning how to hunt comes out as the most useful to me right now. Now that I'm thinking about what'd be useful, I could probably find a source of water if I walk around these hills for long enough. Even now, with the sloping lands, I can't find anything.

Eventually I made it back with another full cloak of acorns. I've gathered enough acorns for roughly a week's worth of food, and the sun had passed into afternoon. Ard is still not around. Perhaps it was stupid of me to go collect acorns rather than go find a source of water, I wouldn't have a way of preparing them if I didn't have enough water around. Turns out finding sources of water is much more difficult than I would've thought. If it comes to the worse of it I'll dig a well.

I spent more or less the rest of the day walking through the lowest parts of these hills. Finally, after hours of walking and searching I found a source of water, a small basin not all that dissimilar to the one Brenna had called her own. slightly red tinted rocks covered most of the land, a stream of water pouring heavily into it. I could see that the basin did overflow and continue to go down hill, but for now this would work well enough for my needs.

The only thing I could use to carry this water with was my waterskine, which wasn't that useful for the things I needed right now. No pots, no pottery at all to begin with. Neither did I have a fire, and neither did I know where clay was. Would I really have make all of this myself? I'm not potter, I've never even tried to form pottery before. I don't know the precise details of how to go about making the stuff, but I do know what it looks like and the rough outline of how to form it into pottery. For now I had water, although I don't know the safety of said water. I'll have to drink it to find out.

I didn't have a way to transport any of this right now in any . Even if I did, it'd take me too long to go back and forth between this basin and my shelter, and given that my shelter took much less than a day's worth of work to make I could easily move. I wouldn't want to live right next to it, but someplace where I wouldn't need to dedicate too much time between getting water and traveling back to my shelter would be ideal.

This is starting to become annoying. The only thing I could be relatively certain of was that leaf that I ate this morning wasn't poisonous in small quantities, and that this water stream does exist. My own waterskin is more or less empty, so I might as well gather some water from the stream. Stagnant water isn't safe to drink from, is what I know, so the actual stream itself would be less likely to harm me than the stagnant water of the pool. If the water proves to be unsafe I'll dump it out, but if it's fine I'd prefer to have stored some up now rather than come back later to do so.

Taking my hand and cupping it below the stream, I took several gulps and then headed back to my shelter. As my acorns were all there, and I didn't want to relocate when I didn't immediately need to, I'll stay there for a while until I could gather enough material to build a proper shelter. I would need a lot of poles and I only had a copper knife, I'd need to make some very primitive tools before I could chop down any trees. I didn't have much experience with knapping either, this will be a long and painful winter I can feel.

Soon it will become night once again. I'll spend the rest of the day looking for any fruits or vegetables that might still be around. That was the plan, at least, until Ard came back, walking along side the hill, with a basket full of what sounded like wood. I heard her before I could see her, and I hid behind a tree until I could be certain of where that sound was coming from. If it were a man, I would prefer him to move along without noticing me. When the sound got gradually closer to my shelter, I had begun to prepare for my escape.

"Fathach, stop hiding behind that tree and greet me. I've brought for you things that you'd hopefully appreciate. I am a gracious master, after all. When you are preparing to live on your own it would be wrong of me not to help," a voice that sounded like the faery's called out. I peeked out from behind the tree and noticed that Ard was in fact once again with me. Where had she been this entire time? I didn't give much attention to her absence considering my own needs of survival.

I walked out from behind the tree and respectfully nodded to her. Although I didn't understand why she referred to herself as a master, I'll be happy to take whatever she can give. I'm starting to legitimately feel like a mooch, Ard being called gracious would be an understatement at this point. Why was Ard being so kind to me?

Her face was as still as it always had been, her hood still up and her green hair still oddly shaped. The bangs sort of covered her face, but towards the tips would curl inward almost as if it were stiff. Along her neck several threads of hair would also curl itself around her skin, whether or not this was just how her hair was shaped or something she purposely styled herself I couldn't know. She placed the basket down and started to take out several pieces of pottery.

A cup, elaborately made and carved from what looks to be ash wood, twirls and loops decorated much of the surface. She placed that on the ground delicately, alongside a bowl decorated in a very similar fashion. A spoon, plain and utilitarian, alongside a ladle. Finally she took out a pot, again made of wood rather than clay. The pot was rather large for her, but for me would look more like a medium sized one that wouldn't be used for carrying water, normally. But, if she were giving it to me I would be a bastard to not accept it.

She laid them side by side neatly, and then finally placed the basket next to the pot in order to complete the set, and sat behind the display. She looked at me with her expressionless face, something moving her hood as she did so. That provoked curiosity within me, but for now I'll focus on the pots. I could feel both from her tone of voice and her posture that she is rather proud of this display. I came over and sat directly opposite of her, not too close but not too far. She nodded at me sitting.

"These will be yours. I expect you to take care of them, not because I'll want them back, but because I won't give you anymore if you break them. I hope the fathach I've picked up isn't such a discourteous slob as to ruin things gifted to him," she said, with a slight air of expectation rather than condescension, "the first is a cup. I know your people use these, as do they the bowl, ladle, and spoon. The last one, a wooden pot. You can boil things within it, and I think you'll find it very useful for your acorns."

I turned my head. How could you boil water within a wooden pot? Do need to drench it in water first, or was this wood special in some way? It looks like normal ash, just like everything else. Ard seemed to answer the question floating within my head.

"I know you humans are primitive in the ways of magic, among other things, and you might be wondering how wood can be fire resistant enough to not catch fire, or how it could even transfer enough heat from the fire into whatever liquid that is inside. Magic, fathach. Perhaps your kind had never realized, but everything is alive, and carries within it magic. Flesh can be strengthened by use, muscles can increase by training, agility and endurance can be raised through running and practice. Why not the same with other materials?"

Is she going to teach me magic now? And I'm not following. I do know the body will adapt to hard work eventually, so I suppose she's right. But wood, especially wood that has already been carved, meaning it's already dead, can't adapt in the same way. Our village does sometimes intentionally deform trees while they're still alive in order to get specific shapes for fences and such, but those are again living wood. And none of what we can do can help the wood become resistant to fires.

"So, what actually happens when your muscles adapt and your bones strengthen from exercise? It's reinforced with magic, as all living things have spirit and work magic even though not consciously. If we do the same with wood we would get a similar result, as within even dead trees there still exists life. If it had no life it wouldn't exist, after all. So my people had imbued this wooden pot with fire magic, and within it we had inscribed runes, and that helps it resist against fire. We did not make it so that it was harder than most woods, simply more fire resistant, so it might break if you mistreat it, fathach. Bask in our glory, and graciously accept my gift."

The movement within her hood had started to become too obvious for me not to notice. Despite not showing it on her face I could feel the glow of pride on her every movement, in her voice most especially. I nodded and watched as her hood became slightly more violent. The movement isn't explosive, rather gentle, but still noticeable. I don't know whether or not I should mention it or ignore it. But after a bit of a mutual staring contest, she noticed that I wasn't looking at her eyes. Instead, to her side.

"What is wrong? Do you not like the gifts?" I shook my head, and as much as I didn't want to intrude on this faery's life I wanted to know what was going on behind her hood. I motioned a sweeping hand going through my hair, as if I was pulling off a hood from on top my head. She grabbed the picture almost instantly.

"Oh," she said as she moved her hood off of her head. Her full hair could be seen, as green as I thought it would be. Almost as if it were actually colored in the deep green of leaves, but more important than her hair color were her ears. Long, white, tapering, sharp. The tips extended beyond where a human's own might stop, about four inches it extended beyond. On her frame, that was a very long ear. It gently moved around, turning inward or outward, or down or up. She tilted her head at my staring.

"Is there something wrong with my ears? I know your kind doesn't have as bountiful of ears as we lách do, but is it such a surprise to see them?" The ears began to move once again with the same vigor as they did under the hood. Two new pieces of information, these faeries had long ears, and they called themselves lách. Meaning nice, pleasant, anything soft and good. Whatever tribe Ard belonged to was both a very prideful one and one that valued cuteness highly.

I nodded, slowly and deliberately, and made extended my hand out towards the pot. Ard picked it up and placed it closer to me, then let go and once again put up her hood. Were her ears cold? I would think they'd get cold easily. Her face still emotionless, she watched as I inspected the wooden pot. The exterior didn't have the same spirals, nor any particularly elaborate patterns. It was plain ash wood. A line circled around the pot, but outside of that it was a smooth, simple wooden pot. Inside I could see barely anything, there were some patterns etched within the bottom of the wood, but outside of that it was simple.

I placed it back on the ground and inspected the rest of the gifts. There was nothing special about the rest of the wood, outside of how delicately and expertly they were carved. Each piece looked to have been made up of a single piece of wood, I could appreciate everything about each piece. These were worth more than I could possibly pay back, not in the condition I was currently in, they looked to have been better suited for a king than it did for someone like me. I don't think the chief would've kept something like this for long, better to trade it for weapons or metal than keep it.

I looked at Ard once again. This was too generous, but I needed it to survive. I had no way to say thank you to her, neither did I know how to make myself useful to her. The best I could was to learn how to live by myself. I did the only thing I could do and placed a hand on my heart and nodded, hoping whatever vague intention of sincere gratitude would be transmitted to her. She nodded in response, her hood still moving as she did so, and looked away. Seeming to lose interest, she walked around and inspected any changes that might've taken place.

Looking at the hole I've dug in the ground filled with acorns, she picked one up and tapped it with her fingernail. I guess she was satisfied with that, moving on and beginning to once again speak to me.

"Do you know the location of the nearest water source yet?" I nodded. I wouldn't be able to boil the water for the lack of anything to burn, and while starting a fire wasn't impossible it would be extremely difficult. I started to gather debris to use as fuel, which I would need a lot of, and piling them some distance away from any tree. I had cleared away enough leaves, lest they catch on fire, and I didn't want to start a forest fire. That would be incredibly stupid of me to do.

Not that the forest was dry enough to do that. I hope, at least. The daylight would soon be leaving me, hopefully I could start a fire before then. Sleeping in a warm place rather than in the freezing cold would be welcome. Very welcome.

Grabbing a branch of debris, wet in the exterior but most likely dry within, I tried my best to cut it open using my copper knife. My knife wasn't long, it was just enough to be called a knife. More like a piece of copper tied to a handle, it worked for most of the things I needed it to work with. Cutting wood wasn't its specialty. Perhaps I should invest some time into finding chert or flint. This knife wouldn't do.

Grabbing the pot I headed out towards the water basin, leaving Ard behind, who was now inspecting the wood I had gathered for whatever reason. Careful not to damage the pot, I held it close to my chest. Once I arrived, I dipped it inside and grabbed as much clean water as I could. Only on the surface did I do so, as the water near the bottom was dirty. I then set it aside and started to look for any knappable rocks. There are some amount of rocks around here, not like the riverbank of my village but a sizeable amount. I didn't need a perfect stone, just one I could reliably use for a while.

It would become night soon once again. I'll grab rocks and start whacking them against each other, hopefully I'll get something with enough of an edge to use with. Once I found one that sort of looked like it'd hold an edge for a while, although it was very grainy, I headed back towards the camp.

Regardless of whether or not Ard was being truthful or accurate with her statements about this pot, having a way to carry water was valuable. If it didn't work, well then I'd lose something that'd carry a lot of water. I'll try it regardless, Ard's impromptu lesson on magic was interesting. If what she said was actually true, there'd be a lot of interesting applications for that kind of magic.

Once I was near the camp, I noticed a light emanating from the center. Picking up my pace I saw Ard sitting near a fire. She must've started it, and it was pretty sizeable at that. Not over sized, but enough to last for the night most likely. I'd have to wake up several times every night to make sure it doesn't die out.

"My final gift that isn't food, make sure it doesn't die out." Ard said, poking the fire with a stick while saying so. The sun could no longer be seen in the multi colored vibrancy of the sky, it was breaking into night and having Ard start a fire for me was much, much more than welcome. I owed this little faery too much.