Binder Lori was still muttering colorfully as the Coldhold slid into the dock outside of the dungeon. From the way there were few people coming from the baths or using the showers outside, dinner was in progress, or would soon be. Shana wondered if she should still take a bath before—

She glanced towards Binder Lori, and decided to take a bath. The Great Binder probably wouldn't appreciate smelling her sweat.

The ship docked, Auntie Riz jumping onto land to tie them in place, and the aunties stepped off, followed by an annoyed Binder Lori, who took a moment to kneel at the edge of the dock and splash her face with water. Shana followed after them, turning to head towards her house to collect her bucket and a change of clothes.

"Cottsy, could you stay with the ship for a bit?" she heard Lord Rian saying behind her. "I'll come back with some men to get the fruits inside. Just take a break and keep the bugs from getting at them, all right?"

"Right, Lord Rian. Be quick, all right?"

She returned to a house that seemed almost barren compared to how it had been for the past two seasons. The piles of bedrolls and packs were gone, and all that remained were Koyan and Kayas' as well as her own. Her own bedroll was still laid out on the bed—she hadn't had time to put away her own effects, as she'd been concentrating on getting the children organized—with the breeze-making bound tool atop it. That would probably need to be returned to Binder Lori, as there were no more children who needed to be kept comfortable living in her house.

Shana collected a change of clothes, her towel, her soap, and the rock she used for scrubbing, carrying them in her bath bucket as she headed to the nearby baths. It was empty at this time, and she had her pick of the shelves to place her things. Stripping off her sweaty clothes, she loosely folded them up to carry with her, tucking her soap among them.

The first splash of cool water was absolutely refreshing, as were the next three, and she enjoyed the feeling of her skin cooling and most of her sweat getting washed away. Taking her soap, she rubbed it between her wet hands to lather it up a little before she started applying the suds to herself. The routine of it all was… not calming. Her insides were still filled with turmoil. Steadying, that was it. The simple activity that didn't require much thought, only repetitive motions as she passed her soapy hands over her limbs, followed by using her scrubbing rock to dislodge dead skin and the sludge left behind by her sweat.

As she scrubbed, Shana heard voices from outside. The echoes and multiple voices made the words hard to discern, but the tone was light-hearted, friendly and lightly teasing.

"—to ringing bells and clappers now, Riz?" she eventually heard a muffled voice say.

"I'm starting to see the appeal," most-likely Auntie Riz said. "Also, I'm going to kill Mevt when I next see her."

"Ah, you finally figured out how she colored you. Better late than never, I guess."

"You all knew?"

"What, you think you're the only one she colored? Why do you think she never made sergeant? "

"Forget Mevt! Who's better at ringing, Lord Rian or—oh, colors!"

"What's the ma—oh, colors."

Shana finally looked towards the entrance of the baths. "Aunties," she greeted, even as she continued to try and reach between her shoulder blades with her scrubbing rock. While she could touch that far back, there was a spot she couldn't properly scrub with the rock no matter what angle she tried to bend her arms to get at it from. "Could one of you assist me? I can't reach my back"

Auntie Riz quickly volunteered, which put an end to the conversation, and finally scrubbed that spot that Shana kept missing. After scrubbing with her rock, Shana lathered herself one more time before pouring water over her head, shoulders and back to finally wash it all off. She would have to wash her hair soon. It was getting too hot and too oily.

Now that she was finished with herself, she set about washing her clothes. Laying her dress on the floor, she poured water on it, then started folding and pounding in on the stone. While it wasn't as effective without soap, it was sufficient to get most of the smell of sweat off, and helped cut down on how much laundry she had to do. Her loin cloth followed, and that received some soap, as well as a thorough wringing to get as much water out as she could. That would be enough for her to wear it after her bath.

With everything finished, she folded the wet dress, took her rock, soap and loin cloth, and left the bathing area to dress. After leaving her bath bucket in her house so that her soap and rock would dry, Shana hung her wet dress on the drying line she and her neighbors shared for drying their clothes like this, and headed down to the dungeon to eat.

At the docks, she could see Lord Rian and some men still in the process of unloading all the fruits from the Coldhold. They were moving quickly and efficiently, carrying reed baskets and sacks of various fruit. Lord Rian was among them, carrying a basket himself. He would probably be delayed to dinner, as he would still need to have a bath to make himself presentable. She let the men carrying fruits enter the dungeon first before trailing in after them.

The dining area was already full, and many people were in the middle of eating as others stood in line to collect their food. Binder Lori, her hair still damp, was already well into her meal, as were Mikon, Umu, Wizard Taeclas and Rybelle. There were two spare bowls of stew and bread, for which Shana was glad. No doubt they were for her and Lord Rian, meaning she didn’t need to line up. She slid into place on the shortened bench that had been set at the table for her and Yoshka’s benefit after Binder Lori had gotten her chair. The table behind Binder Lori was occupied by other people now, and Koyan and Kayas seemed to be eating with their family

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“Ah, Shana…lorre, there you are!” Wizard Taeclas said after glancing at Binder Lori. She’d taken of her head cloth, so the Great Binder must have already said her name at least once recently. “Good evening!”

“Good evening, Wizard Taeclas, Mistress Rybelle” she replied. "I apologize for my absence today. Tomorrow I should be able to resume my usual duties in assisting you with imbuing the crops."

"That's all right, Shanalorre," Wizard Taeclas said. "It was nice to have a little break to see to the vegetables."

Shana nodded, turning to the other women on the other side of the table. “Good evening, Mistress Mikon, Mistress Umu. Auntie Riz will be with us soon, I believe. Lord Rian will be more delayed.”

“We know, Lady Binder,” Mikon said, her food noticeably untouched. “Nothing to do but wait, I guess.” Next to her, Umu was poking at her bowl, visibly debating whether to start eating.

The stew was as hearty as always—actual hearts excluded—and there seemed to be more mushrooms than usual. She supposed that meant there had been a harvest today while they’d been out. She and Wizard Taeclas had yet to utilize Deadspeaking on the demesne’s mushrooms, as it was not considered an efficient use of their efforts, so the mushrooms were growing at their natural rate.

Shana ate her dinner quickly, listening as Lord Rian and Binder Lori spoke about what else was needed to be done for River's Fork's dragon shelter. There was talk of doors and more excavation, and Binder Lori did in fact mention the need to seal the mine against water. Those matters were none of her affair, as she couldn't really assist with anything there beyond imbuing the wood with life should Wizard Taeclas assist in fusing any wood together.

Without Yoshka to tend to…—she shook her head—Shana was able to eat without interruptions. When she finished, she looked to the side out of habit, but there was no one there.

…

She shook her head again and picked up her bowl, plate, cup and utensils to take them to where they would be washed. After that, she headed into the cold pantry where the meat and fruits for the following day were placed to warm enough to be handled, between which were jars of water to draw in the cold. Shana tested the jars until she felt one that was fairly cold in her hands, taking it to bring back to her room. The door of the pantry was already shutting behind her before she realized that there would only be her, Koyan and Kayas at the house tonight. She had collected the jar out of habit, as Yoshka and some of the children who were… who had been in her care had not yet tired of the novelty of drinking cold water.

…

"Shana?"

Shaking her head at the mention of her name, Shana turning towards the familiar voice. "Good evening, Karina," she greeted.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going back to live in River's Fork!" her friend said.

…

Why did people keep thinking that? The misconception was surprisingly widespread. "No, I'm staying here," she answered. "Are you here to get cold water?"

Karina nodded. "It's for when Malli and Siithia wake up thirsty in the middle of the night. If you're here, does that mean Yoshka and the others are going to be back?"

Shana shook her head. "No, they have returned permanently, since River's Fork is now producing enough food to be able to feed them without issue.. Here, take this." She handed over the jar she was carrying. "I took it before I realized I didn't need it. I'll just get a warmer one. Without the children, there's really no call for cold water in my house."

"Oh, thank you. So, you're all alone at your house again?"

Shana shook her head. "Koyan and Kayas are still living with me. It's the least I can do after all their assistance, and I have the room." She turned and opened the pantry again, taking one of the jars nearest the door. Those were always the warmest ones—

She heard rapid footsteps behind her, and when she turned around with a jar in hand, it was to see Karina rushing away. Shana blinked in confusion. "Good night then, I suppose?"

The Dungeon Binder hefted the jar of water in her hands and headed back towards her house.

Everything was dark when she opened the door, insufficient light passing through the paper screens from outside, requiring Shana to draw her glowing rock from her belt pouch and place it on the table to illuminate the room. They would probably have to keep those closed full time from now on. With no more children residing in the house, Binder Lori would no doubt allow the binding that kept bugs out of the building lapse, as well as remove the breeze-making bound tool. There would be no more need for them.

Placing the jar of water on the table next to the rock—they should probably see about getting at least one cup, since there were only three of them in the house now—Shana got started laying out her bedroll on the bed. She had just finished covering it with her blanket—it was far too warm even for the thin sheet, and her comforter had been set aside so that the down stuffing wouldn't become squashed down—when there was a knock on the door.

She looked towards the entrance expectantly, waiting for Koyan and Kayas to step in, but the door remained closed. Instead, the knock sounded again. Huh?

Placing her pillow on the bed, she went to the door and opened in.

Karina stood there, holding a small pillow, a bath bucket and a filled pack. "Can I sleep here?" her friend asked.

"I… don't see why not…" Shana said, slightly confused, but stepping aside to let the girl enter. "We have plenty of room now. Make yourself at home." Karina stepped inside, placing her pillow on the bed and her pack bucket along the wall before turning back towards Shana. To Shana's surprise, she suddenly found herself being hugged. "Karina? Why—?"

"Yoshka's gone back, right?" Karina said. "I didn’t want you to be lonely because Yoshka's away."

Shana's heart clenched slightly, but she maintained her composure. "I am not alone. Koyan and Kayas are here with me."

"And now me!"

"… and now you, yes."

Karina smiled at her, but it was a strangely sad expression. "I'll talk to inay and itay, and ask them if I can sleep here for a while until you feel better."

"…shouldn't you ask me if you can sleep here first?"

"I did ask. You said 'yes'."

Ah. She had, hadn't she? Well, actually she'd sai—

…

…

…

…

…

Shana blinked and found her face pressed against Karina's shoulder. Tears were flowing down her face, and her shoulders were heaving as Karina stroked her hair.

"It's all right," Karina said softly. "Everything is going to be all right. I'm here, and tomorrow night everyone else is going to be here too. You're not going to be alone."

…

Shana closed her eyes again and let herself cry.