So much had changed for May - was she even the same person? The same person that had spent that fight wringing her hands - wanting to fight as well? Of course not, her hands were full, now - and in a way she was fighting, finally not just learning a woman's power, a woman's weapons, but wielding them -

Because there is a portion of your life you spend learning - you go to school, perhaps to college, and May had expected to have years left to learn - and yet?

No. There were not years. She had realized it so suddenly, she no longer had time to learn - not just to learn. Because things were moving so quickly, now -

Yes, that was it - you couldn't learn fast enough. You had to do - to act. Acting - that was a Skill, not just for celebrities but for anybody that needed to be confident. In a role perhaps they weren't quite ready for - were still learning.

Of course May had seen that Skill and it was expensive. So was singing - but reading the guide she didn't know how much it would improve her ability, she was already a good singer - perhaps a good actor, too?

She could afford Embroidery, however, from the new store, the 'Skill Store'

It had surprised May that Hickory had chosen to build it - the fish hatchery made sense - that had not been a surprise, and watching Weston's puckered face, as though he was explaining it while chewing a lemon? That he kept upgrading the hatchery instead of pursuing anything else, it had given her additional satisfaction-

She didn't like that they were friends - close - that Hickory had acted strangely around her, was obviously avoiding her, that as she tried to get him alone -

But the Skill Store was a marvel - shelves of books each with a Skill written on the binding, a price. You could flip through them and read and study how to do something, what sort of information it contained - and it was interesting, concise, dryly written.

You could also walk out of the building with the book, and if you didn't have enough of the marbles in your bank it vanished. If you did, it still vanished, the ^ withdrawn, and you knew the information it contained -

You had a Skill - Embroidery.

Now it wasn't quite the same as learning it from scratch, the beginning, you didn't have that muscle control - as May had discovered, trying to thread a needle, delicately putting the thread into her mouth and pulling it back out while twisting - feeding it through the eye of her instrument.

A rounded tip needle worked well for her purpose here - she wanted to use the existing weave of the fabric to contain the pattern - it was more stable this way and the stitches stayed symmetrical. She'd come back with a sharp needle and finer thread to embellish details...

Yes - for just 100^ or perhaps 100^ was a lot - it was nearly all of the marbles she'd gotten so far, first from Weston and also from what the congregation that had been donating, dropping them in the offering plate with heavy thuds that clanged like bells - it was a satisfying sound that all heard, many wanted to drop a marble - to show that they were a Believer -

It had been enough for her to purchase a Skill, and that was something you couldn't do for any amount of cash -

And you had to have drank. That was the other requirement - not so for the offering pool, the bank, the new crafting shop, or the market...which wasn't a problem since most people had drank now, at least in Red Hills -

Most people were Believers - the name had come from somewhere? Perhaps online, before that had failed as well -

Embroidery. This Skill - this effort - it was part of a larger tapestry, a larger work - part acting, part learning, part doing. That she hoped to combine to bring her community together, to achieve her goals - important goals.

It was the best for them really -

Safety, certainly safety was there. But she'd be lying if she didn't acknowledge the satisfaction. There was absolutely something satisfying about Embroidery, taking all those loose threads and bringing them together in concert to accomplish something grand. Something telling -

Of course she could do this without the Skill, this 'Women's Work' and without needle and thread because it was the peoples thoughts and attentions she was truly weaving - but as May knew, time was short. She had to do many things at once -

Which is why she'd gathered friends, carefully chosen, and she was recruiting more - no, they weren't soldiers. That wasn't women's work -

"My, Julie Lynn that is coming along nicely, have you decided which one you'll reward it to?" May asked her friend who looked young, especially with her hair pulled back in a tail which served to make her eyes even larger -

Julie Lynn smiled, holding up the handkerchief, which held an embroidered circle of prairie grass leaving the middle free for some other design - very tight work...but it was the hesitation of Amy's needle May truly noticed - she'd been watching for it -

"This one is for Weston, I'm still deciding on what to make for the others - I was going to put a steer in the middle, he's been so proud of those cows."

May laughed softly, and Amy joined with some relief -

"You know he named them? Every single one." May nodded, "Can you believe it?"

"And he talks to them!" Amy laughed, "That's what Hunter says, though I can never tell if he's joking."

"He is a character." May nodded, "I'm surprised you got him to talk about something other than those marbles or the market, how many booths does he have now?"

Amy did roll her eyes, but also held up her work - "That's why I'm making him this, Chase said in the last fight they had, in one of those boils - I can't believe they go inside!" She shivered, "His pockets were so full of marbles his pants ripped right open!"

It was a pouch for marbles - May realized - and how bold, a floral design as well! She wondered if Amy understood what she was presenting him, where she wanted his balls? - but of course she did. May had chosen the best -

"Oh, heavens!" Julie Lynn was absolutely beaming - "I still can't get over Chase using a bat - did you know he did that? He's certainly fearless."

May smiled as well - they'd chosen, but she was surprised. Feared even - that both girls would fight over Gage - he was certainly the strong silent type, almost vulgarly attractive in that rough hewn aspect, certainly not her type though she couldn't help but imagine - but perhaps with the violence ongoing, it was too intimidating for the girls...

She'd find somebody for him, too. It wouldn't be hard -

May looked down at her own work - a belt, made from a durable dark denim that would be folded over once complete. It was intertwined branches, leaves - hickories. And May couldn't wait to give it to him -

Weston's shirt pocket already contained some of her work - and she was, in a way - in his pocket - and she did like it there...being his. It had a lot of benefits -

That May also was making this belt for Hickory? Something for him to consider when he fumbled with the clasp?

For him to think of her each evening before he removed the trappings of the day, to lay her effort down before he climbed into bed, pulled back the soft covers and placed his head on the soft pillows of his dreams -

May pulled herself from her thoughts - it was time for dinner, and they were the young ladies that would be serving it, putting it on, and reminding people - She didn't have to tell Julie Lynn or Amy what to do, the other girls she'd invited to help were less adept, clumsier, they did their best -

Just not quite 'sewing circle' material. They lacked the delicate touch, perhaps they'd learn in time - May spoke clearly, as she made small talk with the wives, she was sure to be overheard -

"Terrifying." May said, shaking her head, "Not that there was any need, not with father right there, all these brave men - and then I found out Weston had been out there fighting with his friends as well, I couldn't have been safer."

"It's why we haven't been attacked again, you know on the native land they're being attacked every day?" May listened to Amy tell one family, "Our heroes kill the monsters before they even have a chance, they hunt them down in their homes."

"They really are quite brave." Julie explained in a separate corner, "We've done our best to thank them, we were hoping they'd come to dinner, but - they're out fighting. Out protecting us."

They were prideful, is what May thought. They weren't asking for help, and they were going to get themselves killed - May didn't have soldiers, not yet, but what she did have was cheerleaders.

Cheerleaders that were carefully nudging the capable men to tasks that would benefit them all, threading ideas - May could fight - she knew that, she'd heard the stories of what Weston and Hickory had done, and she thought she felt something within herself as well -

Some of that power -

That she was only one person? That she didn't think either Hickory or Weston would appreciate her saving them - well...they didn't have to know. But she would make sure they didn't fight alone, she would flatter, fawn, and if it came to it guilt - the men in her community into doing their fair share -

Then she would reward them, make them out to be heroes -

She would make sure the people of the town knew who was protecting them, make sure they envied them, saw them as their saviors, the role models they were - because nothing could make a man fight like jealousy. She'd learned that - hadn't she?

"Have you seen the new building, May?" Mrs. Waynecock asked casually - widowed Mrs. Waynecock, and May forced her smile to stay on, though it froze at the woman's overly casual tone - "I believe I saw those young men there, perhaps you should take them a plate, they looked hungry."

It was what she said next, quietly - as the mature woman grabbed one of the smoked sausages and took a long, slow bite - "Probably not for long."

May laughed, thanking her and didn't rush to finish serving - maintaining her composure, Mrs. Waynecock had always been a bit of a loon - or so she'd thought, to be honest, and yet she wasn't shy about showing pictures of her younger days - a different sort of 'Lady.'

Not 'subtle' or so May had thought - and yet, and yet -

May felt a tingling just as bad as she had when she'd seen those flying monkeys, like something important was being attacked - that perhaps she had more enemies then she had imagined, something worse then those evil flapping creatures that her men needed saving from, and perhaps she would get to battle after all -

"Ladies, I've heard they're hungry and we just can't have that..."