Wyvern’s Gold (The Ruins Of Men Book 1)

Chapter 65

Sixty-Five

Kanik

Z asen said he'd handle the dose for Ayla's venom. He wanted to make sure her immunity wasn't limited to a single strain. And while we'd been upstairs talking, Ayla had retreated back to her room. None of us were sure if she'd gone back to sleep or was hiding, but we'd deal with it.

So, with that, Rymar and I headed out. Levana's was a tiny little shop at the edge of the market district. It wasn't a pharmacy, and it didn't exactly have household goods, but everyone knew it. The place sold all the things a person needed and never thought about. Toilet paper, writing paper, pens, bow strings, and so on. The little things that were always needed at the wrong time, and life stopped without them. And in the back of the store was an entire corner for women's products.

Rymar pulled two bottles of pills from the shelves. I looked through the options of panties, finding some that were made with a special liner for periods. They could be washed and reused, and might be a little less embarrassing for Ayla. The store sold collections of them, likely made from an apprentice seamstress still trying to start out. I found a set with five different colors, in a style that wouldn't be too revealing for a very sheltered woman. That the bundle was wrapped up in a little pastel-green bow made it even better.

Passing those to Rymar, I headed for the period products. Pads would be safe since Zasen had already shown her those. Tampons would be a little intimidating, so I got a smaller package, just in case she was willing to try them. Next, I moved to things my sisters had used when we were growing up. One was a rubber water bottle, which could be filled with hot water to ease her aches. I also found a cleaner to remove blood from cloth.

When civilization had collapsed, we'd lost the ability to do some things, but that didn't mean we'd forgotten. Instead, people had been forced to create new and more sustainable ways of making the old things they'd taken for granted. Electricity was gone, but rubber plants were still grown. I was sure there were other examples, but I was a science teacher, not the history kind.

Rymar, however, had made his way to the other side of the store for packages of sweets. When I carried my haul over to him, he had four different types of candy in his hands and looked like he was trying to choose between them.

"Get them all," I suggested. "I'm going to bet she hasn't had much in her life."

"Yeah, kinda what I was thinking," he admitted. "I also know Zasen said not to treat her differently."

"So we don't," I said, guiding him towards the front so we could pay. "We can stash some away and pull it out on a rainy day or something. Or hell, we can eat it ourselves - and share with her."

"Oh, now that's a good idea," Rymar said.

The clerk totaled everything up and Rymar dropped a wad of cash on the counter. He smirked at me, looking much too proud of himself. Little did he know how much that said. Then, once we had our things in a cheap cotton bag, we headed outside, only to see the market right before us.

"I think we should stop at the Sugar Shoppe," he said, looking out at the brightly-colored canopies. "See what they have, since it's so early."

I ducked my head and smiled. "Sounds like a plan," I agreed.

He snagged the bag from my hand and hung it on his shoulder, then we began wandering that way. "I want to see if they have chocolate," he explained. "It's supposed to be good for cramps."

"You like her," I teased.

Rymar's feet slowed. "Kanik..." And he turned to face me.

"You can't give us shit this morning for liking her, then turn around and go all-out for her and think you won't get the same back," I told him. "So admit it or deny it, but don't try to do your political-talk crap."

Rymar just sighed, his feet shuffling through the dry path that led to the best candy maker in Lorsa. "I do like her," he finally said. "I think she's a nice girl. I think she could be a wonderful friend. Yes, she's cute, but so are a million girls, Kanik."

"Mhm," I muttered, pushing him for just a bit more.

Once again, he sighed. "And having any of us get distracted by our attraction to her is a bad idea."

That made me stop in my tracks. "What? So now you think she's going to turn on us or something?"

"No," he said, dragging out the word. "I think she's overwhelmed. I think she's terrified of men. I think putting our dicks above her fear is a shitty thing to do. I think that girl needs a few people on her side who aren't trying to get in her pants, okay?"

"And you think that's what I'm doing?" I asked.

He rocked his head from side to side. "Not intentionally..."

"No." I groaned. "Ry, I like her because I've gotten to know her. I like her because she's smart, driven, and this completely amazing person who somehow survived things I can't imagine. I like that girl for who she is, not because I want to fuck her."

"Least there's that," he said.

"But yes, I want to impress her," I went on. "I want her to think that maybe men can be appealing. That still doesn't mean I want to fuck her. What I want is for her to relax. I want her to laugh with me like she did when she played in the rain. I want her to understand how to have a normal relationship, and you know what? That means slow. Very slow."

"And now I'm rooting for you," he teased.

Which made me chuckle. "Give Zasen a little credit. He's a brute at times, but he's not wrong. I think he's willing to be the bad guy if it gives her the chance to learn. Sure, he's trusting his reputation to get him out of too much shit with her, but it's working."

"And when she smiles back?" Rymar asked. "What are the pair of you going to do then?"

"What will you do?" I countered.

"Be. Her. Friend." He overly enunciated every word. "See, before Ayla can become anyone's girlfriend, lover, wife - or anything else - she needs to become Ayla."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"And that's not going to be easy for her," he went on. "Just look at this shit! She's supposed to hide away? Hell, she saw two men kissing and was shocked because it was loving . Not men. Not in public. What surprised her was they looked as if they wanted to kiss! She is having to rip apart everything the Moles have taught her, but you know what? She's doing it. Over and over and over again, she is doing it."

"And she wants to come out a warrior," I finished for him.

But that made his head twitch. "Huh?"

"Ayla," I clarified. "What she wants is to be a warrior. She wants to be able to defend herself and protect others. She wants to be like Zasen, Ry. That girl was raised on stories of hellfire and brimstone. She only knows of a vengeful god, so she's working hard to become something close."

"Shit..." Rymar breathed. "No, I think you're right. I also think she's doing it because her friends can't. She talks about them still, you know. Meri and Callah. She once told me she wants to save them."

"And Zasen told her he wanted to help, but here's the problem." So I told him about the repercussions of us stopping the Moles the next time they showed up.

Because if they didn't have food, it sounded like the women - mainly the girls - would go hungry first. If the men failed at their hunting, they would definitely lash out at their wives to make themselves feel stronger, better, or more manly. Whatever crap they'd tell themselves.

And Ayla's friends would be right in the middle of it.

"Shit," Rymar muttered when I was done. "And we can't get in there. We can't get those girls out. So what are we going to do?!"

"I don't know," I told him. "I just know this is a big deal for Ayla. From the sounds of it, those two girls are the only 'family' she's ever had. I can't help but think her friendship with them is what gave her the spine to push back. To get herself kicked out."

"Okay," Rymar said. "So, sounds like we need to stop thinking about defeating all Moles and start thinking about the women as something different. Not Moles, I mean."

"And how's that going to help?" I asked.

He turned down a side aisle, still leading me towards the candy seller. "I don't know, but if nothing else, it will change opinions about Ayla."

Which was where we had to start. As much as I hated it, I couldn't stop her friends from dying. She also might never know. From the sounds of it, what happened inside the compound stayed there, and no women ever came out - except Ayla.

But Reekay, the tailless man who owned the Sweet Shoppe, noticed us heading towards him. "Morning, Deputy Mayor. Kanik. What can I get for you two today?"

"Chocolate," Rymar said. "I have a woman in serious need of it."

"You?" The man laughed. "I guess this one is special, hm?"

"Our little refugee," I told him. "So, yeah. We happen to think so."

His hands paused. "The Mole girl?"

"The same," Rymar said. "She's just starting to realize we won't abuse her like the Moles did."

"Heard she killed some," Reekay said as he began to make up a box of sweets.

"A few," I agreed. "She didn't understand why they were here. When she found out, it sounds like she was pissed."

He added a few more pieces. "Well, for those of us on the south side, you make sure she knows we appreciate it." He folded up the little box and set it to the side. "My wife said she was protecting Saveah's boy?"

"She was," Rymar agreed. "And she helped sew up the injured afterwards. Sounds like she's almost as good at it as Zasen."

"So a healer too!" He nodded. "How does she like the food up here?"

"She loves it," I said. "She also refused to eat meat unless she was beaten. Before she got out, I mean."

"Vegetables, fungus, tubers, and meat," Rymar said. "That's all they eat. No types of food, no candy, nothing."

So Reekay began filling another box. "Well, women love my pastries. These are filled with fruit and cheese, so you see if she likes them." Then he reached for something else. "I've got a sampler bag over here too. Has some sour candy in it, some hard candy, and a few other things."

"I'll take it all," Rymar assured him as he dug out his money.

But Reekay just set the boxes before us and reached for a small paper bag so we could carry it all. "No, sir. You do not understand. No charge today. See, not all of us think she's a bad thing. And there's been rumors Drozel is preparing for the day they attack! Maybe I'm taking that wrong..."

"You're not," I assured him. "Ayla found out when they'll be here. She might be off by a day, but she thinks she knows, because she knows their hunting pattern. She just never knew what they were hunting. So now she wants to help us stop them for good."

"So you give her that candy," Reekay told us. "Then you find out which ones she likes, and we'll make more. If we can guess even close to when they're coming, it will save so many lives! After losing my boy, my cousin, and her entire family..."

"I can't guarantee she'll be right, though," Rymar admitted.

Reekay just waved that off. "She's trying. My wife said she heard your girl was hurt bad down there. Said the Moles are abusive to their women. Well, the way I see it, if she's willing to help us to get revenge, then I'm willing to give her some candy to make sure she keeps doing it."

"Thank you," I said, lifting the bag.

"And I'm not the only one who thinks that," Reekay added. "A few of us have been talking, and she's not so orin anymore."

"Like who?" Rymar asked.

Reekay listed off some other shop owners. Rymar nodded, taking note of them. "Perfect, because today we're buying our guest a few things of her own, and now I know whose stalls to visit first," he said. "Thank you, Reekay, and we'll make sure Ayla knows you gave these to her."

"Thank you, sir!" Reekay said, grinning at Rymar like he was a celebrity. "And tell the Wyvern to keep that lady safe."

"Oh, he will," I promised. "He says what's in her mind is a treasure. Might be the only hope we have to finally end this."

"And fuck up the Moles while we're at it," Rymar said as he turned for the next shop. "And maybe even to make her a Dragon."