Page 49 of A Soul to Touch

“Was just wondering where you were. I need help with something.”

He didn’t answer straight away. She thought she saw his orbs flash white momentarily, but that might have been a trick of her eyes because of the fluffy powder falling around him.

“I think I heard a Demon nearby,”he said.“It is hard to hear and smell through the storm. I will remain outside until I know for certain it is safe.”

Mayumi opened her mouth to argue, then promptly shut her lips. Without responding, she went inside to put on her thicker jacket.

Then she came back out and entered the storm.

“What are you doing?”he asked as he followed a large distance away. Surprisingly, his orbs remained their normal yellow as if he wasn’t worried.“I said there may be a Demon.”

She shrugged, watching her footing as her legs sunk almost all the way to her lower thighs. There was no reason not to believe that there might be a Demon, but she didn’t particularly care.

“I’m not going to be able to sit still inside. The worst of the blizzard has faded, but we’ll probably have a continuous snowstorm that will linger. They’re boring.” She made her way to the shed and opened it to retrieve a hammer and more nails. “The attic needs fixing, and I might as well do it today.”

She also took a few planks of timber that had been stored for this very reason. She’d obtained them during one of her trips to Colt’s Outpost, but just hadn’t done anything with them yet.

She went back the way she came in order to have an easier time sloshing through the snow. All the while, Faunus followed.

“You’re welcome to come inside when you know it’s safe,” Mayumi offered when she’d climbed the porch.

She did the best she could to wipe the snow from her clothing before removing her boots and going inside.

Faunus never did.

What remained of the day was spent coated in dust and sneezing as she cleaned the attic. Then she set to work nailing down timber or pulling away boards that were too damaged. She replaced what she could before inspecting the roof from the inside.

There was an area that was caving in. She was sure the weight on top of her home was worsening it, but there was nothing she could do to repair it until the snow stopped.

She’d need Faunus’ help with that. She may even need to create a new support beam, which would require one of the longer and thicker branches from the trees she’d asked to be brought here.

It was late in the evening when she was done.

She cleaned her home to keep herself occupied – except for the overfilled storage room. She had no desire to go digging through the past to figure out what needed to be thrown away or not.

She also cooked a large soup that would last her a few days, wishing she’d hunted before the storm came so she could have meat. Winter made for a good ice box.

By the time it was deep into the night, she found herself overtired, overworked, and still very much alone.

Demon, my ass,she grumbled with a pout, bashing at the fireplace with her poker.He just didn’t want to spend time with me today.

She’d been hoping since he picked up backgammon so easily that she could teach him chess. It was a popular strategy game often played back at Hawthorne Keep since no one knew what shogi was.Uncultured swine.

If he’d picked up chess well, she’d planned to make him learn how to play it. Her father was the last person she’d played with, and it was one of the few fond memories she had with him.

Come play with me, kitty cat.She stabbed the burning log in annoyance.

Then her eyes fell on the empty space next to the fireplace. She’d forgotten to get more firewood to burn, but that meant she would have needed to go outside and cut it up herself while battling the storm. The trees were probably partially buried now too, and it was late into the night. It would be impossible to do now as she wouldn’t be able to see.

Faunus hadn’t been around for her to ask him to do it. Or maybe he had been, but she’d refused to call out to him.

She wasn’t going to act like a sniffling child demanding attention. She could play by herself – she had been doing so for months, even longer when she’d been young.

I hope this storm goes away soon,she thought as she rolled out her bedding and lay down.

She fell asleep easily since she was exhausted, but she ended up waking in the middle of the night shivering. The last of the fire had died down enough that it was no longer warming the house.

Mayumi wrapped herself as best as she could to endure it. Pointless, really. Her blankets eventually made her feel even colder. She fought against the chill but found it futile.

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