The sun douses me with its heat, and I wipe the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. Even though I was lucky enough to be shaded from the growing fruit trees I was currently under, this hot weather was something I was not use to.

It was nearing midday, and I had woken early to work on the farms with a few of the other women. We were hoping to avoid the peek time of day when the heat was unbearable. Yet with so much to do we had remained out here until now, with me feeling like the back of my neck would be as red as the skins of the apples I was picking.

Before I allowed myself a break a few children had appeared at my side. They were asking about some of the paenti , the name of the painted stones I found my self hiding for the children of the workers who played on the farm. Paenti translated to 'inked stones'.

I had given them some vague clues and together they had raced off. Right now however they were bustling back. I had thought they were heading for me, wanting more clues, yet they ran right by. My hand stopped short reaching for a dangling apple, and I find myself curious of where they were going.

They had turned down a narrow strip of unused land that made a walkway behind the stalks of corn. I wandered down there, adjusting the heavy woven basket on my arm half filled with apples. Looking down the narrow pathway nearing the end stood Zachan. He was originally talking to a group of woman but was bombarded by the oncoming children.

He first looked perplexed, but sank down to a crouch to hear what they had to say. After a few moments he smiles, one that has me biting my lip to fight my own. He speaks low and raises a hand to indicate them to the left and the children follow his direction, screaming excitedly. The women near by yell for them to slow down.

From the brief moment I watched the children, looking back, Zachan had moved his attention to me. I forced a smile, knowing my already heated face had turned a few shades darker from sudden embarrassment. I had been caught staring, instead of simply walking up to greet him. I didn't know why I did just that, but something inside me had changed from the other day. Seeing the star chart that Zachan had made, I was let in to a private section of his life... one I found myself admiring.

I quickly walked away, heading back to my role of apple picking. Back in the scattering of trees I had found an apple hanging from a branch that I didn't want to admit was too high. As I was helplessly reaching for it, trying to keep balance with the heavy basket on my arm, another hand beats me to it.

With a crack the apple is off the branch and finding its way to my basket. Turning around I already knew it was Zachan, and I brushed back the frizz of my hair's loose braid behind my ears.

"Thank you..."

Zachan looked slightly different today. And it wasn't his clothes, as he wore daily a short-sleeved shirt and loose pants with the slip of pattern fabric between his legs. No, his hair was not in its usual style of a high top not. Half was in a ponytail at his cranium, the other half was down, reaching his collarbone.

He nods with a closed lip smile in recognition. " The children wanted help finding the paenti, they found your clues hard to understand..."

"If I told them were I hid them, that would defeat the purpose..." I say moving on to the next tree, luckily smaller in height then the last. Zachan walks along with me.

"Yes, but I think they were confused because you told them look near the ' thin hairs' compared to what I am guessing you meant 'strawberries'."

I stop walking, more embarrassment consuming me. I cover my face with my hand and let out a small groan. Who knew that hianu ron for strawberries was so similar to 'thin hairs' in their language.

I hear the deep laugh of Zachan beside me. I let my hand fall back to my side and we continue on. " I must work on my pronunciation..."

He chuckles in agreement. I make a stop at the next tree. I eye him before I continue apple picking. " Is something wrong Zachan?" it has my husband looking at me with concern." I mean, I don't normally see you here at the farm."

Zachan's face relaxes." I had come to tell Gooma his wife is having their child right now, hopefully by he now has made it to the baths."

"The baths?"

"Yes... woman of this haven have used the baths to give birth for many moons." Zachan explains, and it made sense now why I had never heard or seen a woman in labour at the haven. They had all traveled to the baths, yet I still was confused about one thing.

"Is Gooma aloud to be there?"

My husband's eyes narrow on me, an air of confusion surrounding him. " Yes. The tradition stands that the husband must be there."

My eyebrows rise in surprise; it seemed so obscure in my view to have your husband present at the birth of your child. " In Fellshore, you could say it is tradition for men to have nothing to do with the birth, they normally go out hunting to pass the time ... "

"That is strange." He frowns, his eyes down cast in thought to the ground. I eyed him again, my mind conjuring thoughts that even surprised myself.

I had envisioned a life where I had children. I didn't know if that as because it was expected of me, or that I wanted to raise them. Having to be the main carer for my sisters at such a young age I felt it had turned me off the idea of having children. As well as the fact that childbirth was sometimes as good as a death sentence... as it had been for my mother. But looking at Zachan now it had me thinking, would we ever be in the same position as Gooma and his wife are now?

I clear my throat, mainly to also clear my mind of wondering thoughts." I suppose it is..." my attention goes back to the fruit that is waiting to be plucked from the tree. A minute of silence follows between us, only filled with the sound of leaves rustling when branches snapped back when I picked apples off them.

A light stroke of the finger on the back of my neck has me flinching in fright. Thinking it is a fly I got o swat it away, only to slap Zachan's hand instead.

"What?" I say, a little harsher then I was intending.

Zachan's head aches slightly to the side, as if still wanting to examine my neck. " Your skin is very red..."

I reach back myself to touch the area. I hiss a little from the heat of it, and the slight sting.

"Does it hurt?" he asks.

I sigh." A little bit." Women here didn't have hats to protect them from the sun. They mainly used scarfs to wrap around their neck or bodies, something I should have remembered. But compared to me the women here did not seem to get sunburn. Or maybe it was because their dark skin was able to conceal it.

"You should wear you hair out, to protect the back of your neck." Zachan gestures to his new hairstyle. It now made sense for the change.

I bite my lip, before giving a nervous smile." It has been a long time since I wore my hair out." I admit. I see Zachan in the corner of my eye with his head tilted in question. " It's tradition in my land for woman to start wearing their hair up or braided when they come of age to marry."

"Your land has many strange traditions."

I can't help the small laugh that escapes me." I felt the same way when I came here."

Turning to him again he seems to be fighting a smirk, and with that suppressed smirk he nods his head. " I will see you tonight Aleenia." With that he turns and walks back the way he came.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It was nighttime, and I had had an equally busy afternoon to morning. After hearing from Zachan there was to be a new baby arriving in the haven, it was custom to give a gift to the new parents. Normally I would make jewelry and a paenti, but being on the farm today I was inspired. After apple picking I was allowed to go collect the newly grown strawberries.

Half of the ones I picked sat in a bowl beside me on the low table of the dining room of our tent. The others was bubbling away in my bedroom above the fire pit, turning into what I hope was jam. I didn't learn to cook a lot when living in Fellshore, but I always will remember the time Mrs. Ample, the house-cook taught me how to make strawberry jam. It was a nostalgic memory that blossomed again when plucking the ripe berries of the small bushes at the farm.

I was planning on filling a small clay pot of jam as the gift, as I felt it would be unique because they did not make jam here. But also some of the woman here gossip about my repetitive gifts, so hopefully this will surprise them.

To accompany this pot of jam I was currently drawing a pattern on a new stone. Half way through Zachan appears, a bundle of cloth clutched in one hand. He joins me at the table saying a small greeting and placing the cloth on the surface. I realized then that something was actually wrapped up in the cloth, and he begins to unfold it.

He reveals a few long thick triangular pointed leaves. The narrow sides have small spikes running up it, the unusual green plant has me furrowing my eyebrows.

"What is that?" I stop what I am doing in interest.

Zachan looks up in recognition for a moment before returning to the leaves." It is called aloe vera, it grows further down south of the land where it is hotter, more... humid." He picks up one of the leaves, and tears it vertically to reveal an inside of a clear jelly substance. " It helps to relieve the pain of burns, and also sunburn."

My hand subconsciously goes to the back of my neck, lightly touching the agitated skin. It stings slightly, and I fear further into the night it will get worse.

Zachan then pours a new cup of water and uses his fingers to scrape out the clear gooey inside into the cup. When both sides our emptied into it, he uses one of the now hollow leaves as a sort of spoon, stirring together the new concoction. Tipping out the rest of the leaves, he dunks the cloth in the cup before standing.

I sit up straighter as he picks up the cup and approaches me. My head goes forward as he kneels behind me. I become slightly nervous. I hear the tinkering of water draining back into the cup, and then feel the instantly shocking sensation of something cold being placed on the back of my neck. It made me hiss in surprise and slight pain.

"Better?" I hear Zachan ask behind me. I give my self a few moments before nodding, my inflamed back of neck feeling soothed.

Satisfied he stands and sits back where he was minutes before. My finger reachs up to the fabric, playing with the damp corner. A small smile plays at the end of my lips. When looking up Zachan catches it, just before he averts his eyes.

I continue on with my paenti, working on the detailed outer boarder. After a few minutes Zachan speaks up again. "What is that smell?"

My eyes dart of to his face. I sniff the air and my senses are greeted with the sweet scent of sugary hot fruits. " Jam." I say.

"Jam?" Zahcna says the word, puzzlement overtaking his features. " What is jam?"

"It is made with water, and any fruit really, but in this case strawberries, and sugar. Its really quite sweet, its nice with bread." I explain, my eyes drifting back down to my work as I talk." I am making it for Gooma and his wife as a gift, I thought they might like to try it."

Silence follows and I realize why as Zachan had vanished. I assumed he had gone to our bedroom to take a look at the jam that was currently boiling away. At that thought my eyes widen.

"Zachan don't touch it, its really-"

A pained curse comes from our bedroom.

"Hot..." the word dies on my lips.

I sigh nervously and stand up from the table, the soaked fabric on my back staying in place. Cautiously I walk into our bedroom to see Zachan sitting on the edge of our bed. His hand is in the other with his pointer finger sticking out of the one I am guessing was dunked in the hot jam.

I leave for a moment before returning with the cup of water and aloe vera. Zachan watches me warily as I stand in front of him, carefully taking his injured hand and guiding to the cup so his pointer finger is submerged in the left over mixture from before. He sucks in a sharp breath through his nose but releases it slowly. His eyes wander back to mine.

"Apparently it is good for burns." I tease and Zachans face breaks out into a wide grin, one that made my stomach flip. It felt as foreign as it did when I first stepped onto this land.

I bite the inside of my cheek before talking again." I should have explained that you eat it after it cooks and cools down."

"Yes..." He sighs, looking more agitated and embarrassed now. " You might want to explain to Gooma and his wife what it is, because it looks like boiled pigs blood."

I huff out a surprised laugh." If it looks like boiled pigs blood why did you want to try it?"

His jaw tightens with a slight tick." It smelled good."

I purse my lips to fight the laugh.

"And also..." Zachan continues on." Make sure you pronounce 'strawberries' correctly this time when explaining, I do not think they will like the idea of eating something made of 'thin hairs'."

With my free hand I slap his shoulder playfully at the comment. He laughs in amusement, and it was also in that moment I realize I was not holding the cup anymore, but Zachan's hand.

My eyes focus completely on my hand grasping his. I think Zachan notices this to as he pulls away. My hand is left with no where to go for a few moments before I place it back to my side.

"Thank you Aleenia." Zachan says as an indirect dismissal, still not meeting my eye. I nod, and walk out of the room, back to what I was doing before hand. I felt the unspoken words weigh me down for the rest of the evening at night.

Hello everyone, another update! Sorry for the wait, but long chapter J I hope you like this chapter, its fun exploring Zachan and Aleenia's relationship. Also fun fact when I was righting this, particularly the end bit about strawberry jam I heard a commotion in the kitchen. I went to see what had happened and my dad had accidently knocked the strawberry jam off the fridge shelve and it splattered all over the floor. True story, and really kind of spooky. Coincidence?

But anyways, I also wanted to say a huge thank you because we have made it to 25K reads. YAY!! And also in the 200 hundreds for Werewolf hot list!!! Lets see if we can go higher!

So please Vote and Comment, I absolutely love hearing from you guys. You love and opinions really help, and are so much fun to read!

Next Update will hopefully be soon. I plan on doing at least two updates before Christmas. And feel free to nag me if I fall behind by leaving a comment or positing on my profile page.

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