Chapter Ten
The first freeze brought a quiet to the forest as the smallest, most vulnerable creatures retreated to their nests and burrows to bed down before the real cold came.
Larger creatures continued to hunt and feast, either unbothered by the cold or determined to get all the food they possibly could before they went deep into their caves or burrowed into the ground to wait out winter.
Hunting would be sparser, but that shouldn't be a problem, given how hard everyone in the forest had worked to prepare. Dipak lifted his bow, aimed, and let fly an arrow that took out a rabbit in one clean shot. A second one tried to run for cover and he got it as well.
Dressing them quickly, he stowed them in his satchel and headed for the large pond that Euclid had shown him recently, much better for fishing this time of year than the streams and his own little pond.
It was large enough most would probably call it a lake, but if there was an actual lake somewhere in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, it would dwarf this pond significantly.
He was still making his way there, though, when a familiar figure stepped out from behind a tree. "Hello, dragon."
"Hello, hunter," Euclid replied, stepping in close to kiss him quick and sharp. "How's the hunting?"
"Two fat rabbits, exactly as requested. Who needs them?"
"Pitambar, furs and all. Mostly the furs, to finish off a hooded cowl, but also the meat."
How very convenient for Dipak. "Where does he live? I want to deliver the rabbits myself."
Euclid tilted his head. "You do?"
"Yes, I do. Gives me a chance to have a little chat with him."
"As you wish. I can take you there."
"Take me close. I want him to think I made the journey on my own, that I was out pretty far hunting."
Euclid took his hand and off they went, into the 'invisible' that was as disconcerting as ever.
At least it no longer made him dizzy and vaguely ill.
They reappeared in a glade he'd never seen before that showed signs of being heavily favored by rabbits and other small critters, and a couple of serpents that occasionally trimmed down the rabbit population.
By now, though, the serpents would be deep asleep, burrowed amongst sunrocks they'd charged throughout the warm months.
"If I can ever do this on my own, it will improve my hunting by leaps and bounds," Dipak said.
"As to that, I have a gift for you later, when you're done for the day. It took me a few days to make it, but I finally finished it this morning."
"Gift?" Dipak scoffed and grinned, slow and hot. "I insist on trade, dragon."
Euclid smiled and stepped in close, and this time the kiss was deep and thorough, leaving Dipak more than a little breathless when they finally parted. "Trade we shall then. My home or yours?"
"Mine. There's some work I need to do tonight after we've traded.
" Dipak winked, kissed him again, and headed off in the direction of the chimney smoke he could smell, coming almost immediately to a crude path formed by repetitive use.
There was a well that did not have a cover, which was sloppy and stupid, and then the cabin itself.
Stone with a thatched roof that looked like it had been recently redone just in time for winter.
The door to the cabin was painted a bright red, with a cheerful wreath made of evergreens and widow berries hanging on the front.
A Kashara tradition, which tracked with what Pitambar had told him.
"Ho there!" he called out, lingering in the yard instead of approaching the house.
A moment later the door opened and Pitambar stepped outside, looking as though he'd been in the middle of some project and hadn't expected to leave the house at all. "Hello… didn't expect to see you all the way up here. Don't you live further south?"
"Mmm, by the pond with the waterfall, but I've gone further afield than usual with my hunting today. Euclid said you needed two rabbits."
"Yes, now that the fur is turning white, I'm hoping to finally finish a hooded cowl someone requested."
"Do you need me to skin and butcher them?"
"If you please," Pitambar said, nose wrinkling. "I can do it, but I'm not very good, and I want as much of the fur left intact as possible."
"Of course. Give me a bit of time, and it'll be done. If you're willing, a cup of tea wouldn't go astray."
Pitambar nodded and vanished into the house again, and Dipak set to work butchering the rabbits, carefully skinning them, cleaning and prepping the furs as far as he was able. Finishing the tea Pitambar had brought him at some point in all the work, he carried everything to the door and knocked.
"Here you are," he said with a smile.
"What would you like in trade? Normally Euclid does all of this. I've never known anyone to trade directly except at the gatherings. He's always seemed so stubborn about doing it all himself."
"It's his way of doing things, but he's allowing me to help because we're lovers as of this past solstice, and that's what lovers do. Help each other, I mean," Dipak said.
Pitambar froze, the smile fading from his face before he recovered it poorly. "Oh. I see. Uh, I'm happy for you both. He always seemed so alone. You haven't said what you'd like in trade."
Dipak smiled again, but this time with a slight edge to it. "Nothing. Consider these rabbits a gift from a friend. Understand?"
"Y-yes," Pitambar said, dropping his gaze as he took the rabbits and furs.
"I understand. Dipak, wasn't it? I appreciate your generosity.
" He closed the door, and Dipak headed off satisfied, pulling his bow from his back as he made his way south again, taking in all he could of this stretch of forest that was new to him.
How long would it take him to learn the full of it? Even growing up, he'd never mastered more than the large area around his house, never traveling more than a full day out in any direction. Any further simply wasn't safe. To learn the whole of the Forbidden Forest…what a marvel that would be.
Especially when he'd be learning not just the forest, but all of Euclid's mysterious shortcuts.
He brought down a duck to cook for supper and carried it with him on his way, traveling until he reached the familiar solstice grounds.
Two hours from Pitambar's house to the grounds, which also matched what he'd said.
Well, he'd said a few hours, but Pitambar did not move as quickly and easily through the forest as Dipak.
Taking a seat, he pulled out his water flask and drank deeply, then set to work properly butchering the duck.
He'd just finished with all the damned feathers, tucking away the nicer ones for other purposes, when Euclid appeared in front of him.
"Was wondering when I'd see you again." Especially as there was no way he'd make it back to his house before dark, not this late in the year.
Sun was already setting, and the temperature was dropping rapidly.
He wouldn't be surprised at all if they got an early snowfall before the week was out.
Euclid sat down next to him on the large fallen tree trunk he'd chosen, not so very far from where they'd danced a little over a week ago. "I love roasted duck, especially when the skin gets all crisp and melty."
"Well, lucky for you, I am rather good at roasting duck.
They were plentiful and easy to bring down most of the year, and we always killed several stragglers as the cold came and left them hanging frozen right outside the back door.
My mom would bring one inside when we first woke up and leave it by the fire to thaw throughout the day, and we'd have it for dinner.
" He gave a soft huff. "Wonder what they would think of me, having climbed so far up only to fall right back where I started.
Not that I'm complaining. Despite all that led me here, I'm rather enjoying being back in this life with a wealth of experience behind me. "
"Strange roads lead to home," Euclid replied.
"It's a dragon saying, because we cannot find our territory without going new places.
I would not have found this forest if I'd not left my mother's nest and ventured into the unknown, and I would not have appreciated what I found without the roads I traveled. "
Dipak leaned against him, resting his head briefly on Euclid's shoulder, a small comfort he'd not enjoyed in far too long.
Not since he left the military, where soldiers were often openly affectionate with each other, always tactile, because who knew which of them would be left come morning?
"Wise words, dragon. I spoke with Pitambar.
He should not be a problem anymore, now he knows you're taken. "
"I see," Euclid said with a chuckle. "Did you tell him nicely?"
"Yes, I did. I do think he'll back off. He doesn't strike me as the sort to…lash out. Only sulk heavily and dramatically. But if he does give you problems, let me know."
"I will." Euclid kissed his temple. "Here's your gift.
" He nudged Dipak to sit up, then tipped what proved to be a necklace into his hands.
In pride of place, set in silver, was an oval moonstone that seemed to glow with blue light from deep within.
Like someone had captured the heart of a flame and encased it.
On either side of the moonstone, strung on a black leather cord, were four beads alternating between clear moonstone and onyx.
That the colors were so vivid made it all the more precious.
"This is beautiful," Dipak said. "Why does it glow like that?"
"My essence that you would share were we to bond. Call this…a trial. Now I can teach you how to take shortcuts on your own, and you can also access some of my power and sense where I am. I'll teach you all of that as well. If you decide you don't like it… Well, we'll know."
Dipak handed the necklace back with a smile. "Put it on me?"