Chapter 34
Thirty-Four
Callah
I spent longer with Deenah and Helah than I'd planned. By the time I was finished treating Helah's face so it wouldn't become infected, my sleeves were soaked and my dress had spatters of blood on it. Dinner was coming, so I hurried back to my room, intending to change, but there was someone waiting in front of my door.
Even this far away, I could tell it was Tobias because of his size. What surprised me was how seeing him there put a smile on my face. While I wanted to call out to him, it would be improper, so I simply stretched my legs. Thankfully, he turned to check the hall and saw me heading toward him.
"Hey!" he called.
I lifted my hand. "I'm sorry. I was unaware you would be visiting," I said.
His eyes dropped to my sleeves. "You okay?"
"I was helping someone else."
"Ah." He thrust out his lower lip and nodded. "Um, would you care to have dinner with me? The guys said I should ask. Girls like to eat with their suitors, or something."
"Um..." I looked down at my dress, then back to him. "Do you have a moment for me to change?"
He paused to glance around us, then leaned in. "And I was hoping you'd get those feathers for me."
"Promise," I said. "Excuse me, Tobias."
I slipped past him, into my room, and closed the door behind me. Then I pulled Ayla's picture from my pocket and checked to make sure it hadn't been damaged. A corner was wet, but nothing too bad. Setting that aside, I pulled out a clean smock, changed into it, and then finally fixed my hair. Once that was done, I found the feathers in my underwear drawer, put it inside the drawing, and wrapped a fold of my dress around the hand holding them.
"Tobias?" I asked as I opened the door.
He was leaning against the wall beside my door. "Hey, that was fast."
"It's just a dress," I assured him even as I glanced up and down the hall to see if anyone was close.
One of the younger girls was at the far end, waiting for her friend. On the other side, people were passing our hall on their way to the dining area. Deciding this was about as good as I could hope for, I stepped towards his side and pressed the feather and paper into his hand.
"Take these?" I whispered. "I'll explain later."
"Hide it?" he asked.
I nodded.
So he took the handful and shifted it into his pocket. "That feels like the feathers."
"And a drawing," I said, canting my head to show we could go. "Her mother gave it to her."
"Ah." He offered his arm. "So, the dining hall tends to be busier now than when we usually spend time together, but I didn't want to give the wrong impression."
I had to stifle a laugh, because that was obvious. Right now was mealtime. Usually, when he and I sat together, it was while the kitchens were cleaning up. Of course there would be more people, but I was pretty sure this was just him being a little nervous about someone listening in.
"So where will we sit, Mr. Warren?" I asked.
"Well..." He flashed me a boyish smile. "Since I'm shy and stupid, I don't do too good with girls when my friends can pick on me about it. So maybe where you normally do? But maybe I can sit beside you instead of across from you?"
"And carry my plate as well?" I suggested.
"Definitely," he said. "You might even get more if I pick your meal."
I murmured, thinking about that. "I won't complain."
"Didn't think so," he said. "So what's your favorite, Callah? Fungus or plants?"
"Fungus, actually."
"Good, because they just had a harvest," he said. "Gatherers won't go out for a few more days, so that's going to be a bit low."
Together, we made our way through the line to get our meals. Normally, I waited until the early rush had passed, but this way people would see us together. As we reached the food options, Tobias asked for fungus for me and mash for him. The girl behind the counter paused, glancing between us.
"For you, sir?" she asked.
"Yep," he said.
Her eyes flicked to me, and she smiled. "Yes, sir."
When she handed him the plates, Tobias took both, then turned us towards the main room, but I noticed someone walking in. The woman from the facilities was with her husband. Neither was someone I would've noticed before the encounter in the facilities, but women were often isolated once we were married.
"Do you know the man with the brown shirt?" I asked. "His wife has the braided bun."
"Mr. Hinton?" Tobias asked. "Yeah, why?"
"Just curious," I said. "What does he do?"
"Hinton removes waste," he explained. "They separate burnables and compostables. Those go down to the fungus farms." He chose a spot on an empty table, then set down our plates. "Why, Callah?"
"I met his wife today."
He grunted at that, then waited for me to sit before claiming the spot beside me. "Did she help with your dress?"
"Her friend did, Mrs. Porter."
"Reloading," he said. "Well, or fungus. There's one of each. The older Porter does fungus. The younger, who's about forty, I think? He does reloading."
"Bullets?" I asked.
"Mhm," he agreed. "And I know that because I met him today." He paused to shove the food around on his plate. "Callah, I won't be able to walk with you after today."
"What?" I asked, my head snapping to him. "Why?"
"Well, um... Not until I get back. We go to hunt soon, and because there are so many new hunters, I'll be in training daily. Our mealtimes might not even be the same. And in a week, we leave. I've been warned that happens early. Before the lights come on."
I nodded quickly, but inside, my guts were twisting. This was it. Time was moving too fast. He might not come back, and then what would I do? Oddly, I didn't like that idea at all. Not just because I wouldn't find out anything about Ayla, but also because I was getting comfortable with seeing Tobias nearly every day.
"If you see her, yell my name," I whispered. "Please, Tobias. Tell her you have a message from me. If she asks what, tell her I put it in the library like she asked, but now she can have it back. It was her mother's and there's no longer a need to keep it hidden here since I know she's okay - and will want it."
"Callah, I can't," he breathed.
"Yes," I insisted, "you can. She won't hurt you if you tell her that. She'll give you a chance!"
"But..." He pushed a silly smile to his face and looked up. "You're cute."
I sat up, surprised at his change in tone. "Excuse me?"
"Don't be too forward, Toby," a man said as he moved in to slap Tobias on the shoulder. "So, is this the Miss Atwood I've heard about?"
"This is her," Tobias said, reverting to his slow and dull mannerisms much too easily. "Callah, this is Malcus, my partner."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr..." I lifted a brow, hoping he'd supply his last name .
"Curtis," he replied. "And if I wasn't a married man myself, I think I'd be jealous of my friend here." He slapped Tobias on the shoulder again. "Let me know if you need some cover to steal a kiss, hm?"
I gasped. "I would never!"
And Tobias surged to his feet. "Miss Atwood is a lady!" he growled, tensing up each and every one of his many muscles. "You apologize to her right now, Malcus!"
"Sorry," Malcus said, taking a step back. "I was just trying to help, Toby."
"It's Tobias ," he corrected. "A proper, biblical name."
"Yeah. Okay, Tobias ," Malcus sneered. "Didn't mean to offend. I'll leave you to your lady then."
Tobias grunted again, and it may have been the most terrifying sound I'd ever heard. Ayla had once told me about beasts, and all I could think was they must make noises like that: the kind which sounded like a fight was about to break out.
"Sorry," Tobias said as soon as he sat down.
I'd pulled my hands into my lap. "I didn't mean to cause problems."
"I was being the man he expected," he soothed. "They expect me to be stupidly possessive of you and aggressive over defending your honor."
I nodded. "Okay."
"Callah?" he asked, leaning a bit to make me look at him. "It's okay. He's gone."
I tried to smile, but I was sure it looked as fake as it felt. "I didn't make problems for you, did I?"
"No," he soothed. "That's the man who's supposed to shoot me if I run, and he's been calling me a coward all week. But that's my point. He's the one who's going to be right beside me the whole time. I can't yell your name at Ayla. He'd shoot me."
I licked my lips and pulled in a steadying breath. "Growing up, she always got punished. It didn't matter if that was a slap in sermon, a kick from a husband, or anything else. She pushed the rules and paid for it."
"Ayla?" he asked, keeping his voice down.
I nodded nervously. "But I couldn't do it. She got back up and walked it off like the pain didn't matter. I..." Slowly, I looked up, finding those hazel eyes of his hanging on my face. "I don't want to be punished, Tobias. Not by the largest and strongest man in the compound."
"Hey, hey, hey," he breathed, leaning in even more. "I won't do that to you."
"Now," I said. "But what happens if this doesn't work? What if..." I swallowed. "What if you don't come back? What if they catch you?"
"Then you will be smart, blame me for everything, and find a way out," he whispered. "You will get to her, and you'll be safe, Callah. That's why we're doing this."
"But..."
"What?" he begged.
"The stain on my dress was caused by a rod. It's a man's right to use it, and a girl shall be married at twenty. If you don't come back? If this doesn't work? If they find that drawing on you?" I shook my head. "I will be the one bleeding from the rod."
"I would never..." he tried.
"I don't want to get married!" I hissed. "I'm not ready, okay? I'm..."
"As scared as I am," he finished for me. "Callah, I'm terrified the Wyvern will kill me. What if I don't even see her? All I can hope is they'll recognize the feathers, and somehow - I don't even know how - I'll be able to convince them to take us too."
"What if that's why you don't come back?" I asked.
He reached up and smoothed back a little wisp of hair at the top of my head. "Do you think she'd let me in without you?"
That was enough to make me huff. It wasn't quite a laugh, but he had a point. "No, but what if she's not really in charge?"
"I am going to come back for you, Callah," he swore. "You are my only friend, and I will not leave you behind. I swear on the Holy Bible, every secret I've shared with you, and the name my mother gave me that I will come back. I'm just hoping if that's with an arrow in me, you'll be kind when you remove it."
I nodded. "I swear, Tobias. I can't imagine doing this alone anymore."
"Me either," he agreed. "But it'll be four or five days before I'm back. Don't worry before then, okay?"
"And if you don't come back?" I asked.
He grabbed his spoon and began stirring his untouched meal again. "I'm going to slip something under your door while you're in sermon tomorrow, okay? If I don't come back, maybe you can make use of it. And if I do come back, maybe it'll keep you from ever looking at me the way you did a bit ago. Sound good?"
"What is it?" I asked.
He scooped up a lump of mash and pushed it into his mouth, making me wait until he swallowed. "It's called a pocket knife, and it has many tools you'll need for sewing. My father gave it to me. It's more useful than he ever was, so I'm giving it to you. If anyone asks about it, tell them it's a proposal gift."
"Tobias..." I breathed.
"I said tell them that," he assured me. "In truth, it's just a gift. From one friend to another, right?"
"But men and women aren't friends," I reminded him.
"Which is why no one else will understand." He pointed at my food. "Eat, girl. Women are more appealing when they aren't all bones."
I scoffed. "And now you sound like a real man," I grumbled.
"Which is something I never want to be," he whispered. "Friends, Callah. Just give me that? Because if I don't come back, I'd like to die knowing I had at least one in my life."
"Best friends," I breathed. "Maybe even better than Meri and Ayla."
He nodded as if he liked that. "And hopefully just as much trouble."