Page 15 of Bound By Blood
The taste took her back home almost at once, again summoning tears. It wasn't quite the same as her mother's. Nothing ever could be. She cradled the bowl a little closer and then took another bite. It had been far too long since she had made this.
Ryul finished his second bowl and tentatively requested thirds. As she brought it back, he studied her. "Do you need to talk about something?"
"Why?" She placed the bowl on the peel and offered it through the open window once more.
"Just—you seem sad."
"It's just the onions and the garlic. They make my eyes water."
"Oh." He didn't sound convinced. With the spoon in one hand and the bowl situated on his palm, he stared down at the broth. "Well, that's good then."
He then resumed eating, his pace increasing. She had barely finished her first bowl when he requested a fourth. Then a fifth. He must have been hollow because that was the only way she could figure he was able to put so much away.
By the time the moon had started to slide behind the trees, he had finished off the last of the soup in the pot. "I really didn't know what to expect when we made this bargain—"
"Trade," she corrected.
"Trade." He set the bowl back on the windowsill. "Anyway, it was delicious."
"Did it work then?"
He hesitated. The brashness that had emerged momentarily faded from his expression. Then he smiled and shrugged. "Maybe it takes a little longer for the effects to be felt. It was truly delicious though. And it was good to be able to eat with someone again."
"Come back tomorrow night, and I'll fix a different type. We'll figure out how to make your magic strong again."
"I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded, then strode away, his pace stronger.
SMALL FAVORS
Erryn only managed to catch a couple hours of sleep before dawn's light streamed through the window. Buttons nudged up under her arm, eager to get outside. She spent a little longer out in the fresh air and rapidly warming sunshine. Buttons didn't want to run too far, but he enjoyed chasing the stick and following along with her as she went about her business.
It was an ordinary day. She tended to her chores in the morning and prepared the soup. Buttons explored the cottage with even more vigor, chewing on any wooden leg he could find. A little before the couriers and customers were set to come, she put him in her bedroom once more with a big bowl of water and some sticks to chew on.
"Be a good boy and keep quiet like yesterday," she said, scratching behind his ears.
He panted, then laid down again, watching her with wide, dark-red eyes.
Yesterday, he had been so well-behaved. Hopefully today, he would be the same.
She closed the door firmly behind her, grateful that the bedroom was in the back of the little cottage so that those who came to pick up the soup would not see him unless they were creeping around and peeping through the curtains.
The usual cycle started just minutes after she opened the front door, Margo Terr appearing with her green gloves and her purple wooden container and a soft rap on the open door. A small cannister of chicken vegetable soup and a little chitchat later, and off she went. Two more regulars replaced her—Varnol for two large containers of vegetable soup and Coleman for two smaller cannisters of dark bone broth.
Light conversation followed and flowed, usually about the weather and the time of year, casual topics that had no particular depth to them and which she scarcely paid attention to.
A couple strangers passed through as well, ragged and worn from walking. They each ordered a bowl of soup and asked if they could eat it by the creek. Of course, she agreed.
The woman with the tattered blue hat thanked her. "It'll be good to have a moment. It's hard in the wilds. Places like this are a godsend."
"It isn't so bad," said her companion. "Usually the predators are far worse. Barely seen a tenth of the biters or monsters since we got past the south band of the Barrens Wild."
Erryn smiled in response. "Glad to hear it. If you need anything, just let me know."
By late afternoon, most business had concluded. She kept the door open though just in case. It was a little too early, and the heat was getting to her. She'd practically finished off two pitchers of water on her own, and the sweat made her pale-blue dress stick to her body as if it had been plastered on.
Whenever possible, she'd taken little peeks in at Buttons, relieved to find him calm and comfortable, resting with his head on his paws just beneath the bed as if this temperature was the most normal thing in the world. She refilled his water bowl, gave him another kiss on the head, and returned to the kitchen.
What kind of soup should she make for tonight?
