Tobi (Male x Male)

Chapter 24 - The Winter

The following few days saw me and Tobi fall into a new routine.

It started that Sunday, with us cycling to the location of the sinine, the plants that Martha had told us provided the active ingredient for the Ravim, since she'd also unwittingly given me enough information with which to find the district that they were grown in. Once we were in the general vicinity, we discovered that the rows of small leafy shrubs covered a considerable area and were actually quite difficult to miss, since they appeared to be the only obviously farmed plants in the region.

It seemed the location, which was presumably only known by a handful of people, was so obscure and remote, that over the years the Andekas had become somewhat lax in their protection of it. This enabled the two of us to covertly collect several of the sinine plants, which we pulled up by the roots, along with numerous soil samples.

Having successfully brought home our spoils, Tobi helped me to replant the little shrubs in some terracotta pots, which we then placed on the windowsill in my kitchen. Although the plants seemed hardy enough to grow through the winter months, I didn't want to risk them dying due to a cold snap.

With several of the sinine florae now within easy daily reach, I began to experiment so that I could gather information about them. I wasn't looking for anything specific – just anything that might prove useful in our quest to free the Katki from the Ravim.

In the meantime, Tobi and I ensured that whenever we needed to purchase food, we bought a few additional items that had a long shelf-life. On some weekdays, when I was working in the laboratory, Tobi would cycle to Rannik with the extra supplies. Once there, he'd meet with Elizabeth, and help her take provisions to the fort.

It wasn't long before the first flakes of snow began to fall on the higher and coastal ground, and only a few days later when the rocky path that led up to the fort became impassable. I alleviated some of my concerns about the inhabitants of the ruined castle by reminding myself that they'd managed to survive every winter for the last twenty or so years and were probably well versed in making it work.

Seren's twelve-week baby scan fell in the mid-winter, but thankfully the season was relatively mild and there was not enough snow and ice inland to postpone it. Good to her word, after finding out her baby was healthy, my pregnant friend managed to obtain a water sample from the Kinnisvara, which gave me additional experiments to focus on.

Tobi took over most of the household chores to give me more time to conduct the tests. He was keen to participate in aiding the situation, and since he wasn't a scientist, he offered to contribute by taking away tasks that would otherwise take up my time. The irony that he was now doing exactly what the Andekas had primed him to do was not lost on me, although at least this way it was by choice.

Testing the water sample in the way Dr Stone had suggested revealed, as we suspected, that there was indeed a difference between the water that those living at the Kinnisvara were drinking and the water being received by civilians. Although the main difference seemed to be caused by a specific type of molecule, it wasn't one I was familiar with, and it soon became clear I'd need help interpreting the data I'd collected. Since the only person I could realistically go to was Dr Stone, I knew it would mean waiting for the coastal snow to melt, and in the meantime, I continued my work collecting data about the sinine plants.

The colder conditions also gave me and Tobi an opportunity to continue getting more familiar with each other as we snuggled up close on the cold winter nights. During daylight hours he'd become increasingly proficient at making people believe he was under the influence of the Ravim, and continued to deceive any visitors, including my parents. Tiger, of course, persistently tried to distract him, but the Katki didn't waver, even if it cost me a couple of ornaments.