The Firmament Saga: Book I: The Rains of Sorrow

Chapter 7: Clams and Memories For Dinner

Chapter 7: Clams and Memories For Dinner (Eri)

Stormday, Week 75, Month Septimus, Year of God 488

Ultimately, Eri had decided to harvest clams yesterday. She had wanted to take her mind off of things. She had only harvested a single basket, however. She had been shaking due to the horrific comment the men had made. She had told her mother, who had laughed. "The Theocracy needs us. They treat us like dung, but we make their food. They won't kill us anytime soon, even if their god demands it." That had done little to dissuade Eri's sinking feeling. Her fear had subsided since then, but a faint hint of dread nonetheless permeated her emotions.

She pulled the meat out of another clam, tossing it in the salting pot. She then put the shell in a bucket by her feet. She looked at her pile of fresh clams. She had a lot left to shell. Only a few other people were in the room with her, the rest having gone to church. Despite each of them being native Mossflower Holdians, she wasn't familiar with any of them. Sighing, she picked up another clam and began to scrape its underside.

"Need a hand?" a deep yet quiet voice said. Eri jolted with a start, and turned to see the haunted, bearded man from yesterday. He looked significantly cleaner than he had yesterday, and his moustache was stained with soup. He smiled, but his eyes still looked distant.

"Y, yes," said Eri. "I'm Eri, by the way."

His eyes lightened a bit. "My name's Kane."

"Nice to meet you, Kane," Eri responded. A Rain Caste name? Or a shortened version of Kanius or Kantoricos? "We have to shell all these clams before the village gets back from church."

Without a word, Kane took up a spot next to Eri and began to shell the clams. The hours passed and the pile dwindled. As they worked, Eri explained to Kane about Mossflower Hold. She talked about its people, history and customs. When she asked Kane to share about his backstory, he didn't respond. Eri didn't blame him - he looked like he had been through a lot.

Slowly, more workers began to trickle in. Quickly, they began to pitch in with the shelling, each person taking a pile of clams and separating the meat from the shell. Half an hour later, the work was completely done. They began to disperse, going about their days.

"Man, I'm tired," Eri groaned to no one in particular. "Gonna go to the common room and drink some mossbeer." Making good on that statement, she walked down the hall to the taproom.

A few minutes later, Eri found herself perched on a stool against the wall. A mug of foamy green beer was resting in her hand. Mossbeer had a bitter taste and didn't get one drunk quickly, but it was still a decent drink. She took a sip of her drink and reclined against the wall. Standing around wasn't as hard as gathering clams, but relaxing helped anyway. Her hands were aching and twitching from the repetitive motion of clam shelling.

As she sipped her drink, she saw Kane enter the room. He got a mug of beer and began to move towards Eri.

"Hello there," he said as he sat down next to her. He was looking at Eri with an intent gaze, almost as if he had feelings for her.

"Let's get one thing strait," Eri said in a serious voice. "I'm not attracted to men. If you are attracted to me, I do not return the feelings. I view you only as a friend."

Kane's facial expression didn't change. "Good, because I'm not attracted to you. I also view you as just a friend."

"Good," Eri responded. "So do you like men? Women? Both?"

Kane's eyes turned down. "That was a personal question."

Eri blushed. "Sorry," she said. "I'm not very good at conversation. Either I'm too quiet or too loud, both physically and metaphorically."