Snowblind {complete}

Wet - First Lessons

Evenings shortened as they travelled north. The sun dropped in the sky and then darkness fell with little fanfare. The hours of light grew longer.

Aching from the ride, and stinking of feathers, Lanna almost waddled towards Chowa's tent. When would her rump grow used to riding? Rubbing at her complaining buttocks, she ducked inside the tent.

Once again, Chowa read by lamplight. Lanna wiped the slight perspiration from her forehead. The tent would have been stuffy were it not for the incense Chowa burnt. The yellow resin calmed the senses and relaxed the mind, plus it drove away insects.

Lanna bowed and the chemist's near-black eyes fixed on her. Due to her new rank of assistant, Lanna no longer had to abase herself before Chowa, but she still had to show respect. At least, that was how she thought it worked.

'Good evening to you, Misra Chowa,' Lanna intoned, trying to keep her tone from becoming a drawl – difficult when she expected more lectures and monotony. 'I'm ready for instruction.'

Chowa raised a perfectly shaped black eyebrow and then inclined her head.

'Your accent is beginning to lessen,' she murmured with cool approval. 'You are not crushing your vowel sounds quite so much with your lazy Southern tongue.'

Lanna flushed. The chemist shifted slightly on her mat and fixed Lanna with her dark glare for a long moment more. Lanna felt her blush deepen under the scrutiny.

Chowa's stoic Southern slave entered the tent, a waft of evening air freshening the close atmosphere. Lanna glanced back at him and her heart squeezed. His skin was so pale it appeared to have a blueish tint and his hair was so blond it gleamed near white in the lamplight. Light blue eyes regarded her, putting her in mind of her father. More than that, his eyes reminded her of winter skies that went on forever: stark, clean and beautiful.

Lanna sighed his name by way of a greeting. 'Good evening, Frez-hem.'

Frez knelt at the table and poured tea from an ornate silver pot. Lanna guessed he was still well within breeding age, which meant he had probably left the Clanlands to escape the deepening freezes of the south.

Frez handed her a cup of tea with no word of greeting and Lanna accepted it with a silent nod, as Chowa had instructed, though her gut clenched. She hadn't forgotten that Chowa and tea couldn't be trusted.

'Tell me,' Chowa said, curious. 'Your father worked with the sea in your homeland?'

Lanna nodded, then frowned. Chowa hadn't shown interest in her background before.

'He...' She paused, struggling. 'The word... I don't know it,' Lanna admitted with a grimace.

'Clear your features,' Chowa snapped. 'We do not express our difficulties so openly. Say the word that does not translate and then describe it.'

Lanna swallowed and complied, more than a little disturbed when Chowa's tone dropped. This woman controlled her life and future. 'He would set nets on the beach at low tide, then collect what was in them at the next low tide.'

'A bayman,' Chowa sniffed. 'A menial profession, but no doubt it provided well for your family.'

'He had boats too.'

'Did you aid him?' Chowa asked over the rim of her steaming cup of tea.

'Of course,' Lanna said, trying not to frown. 'No one was idle. It wasn't tolerated.' Again, she struggled to get what was on her mind into the correct words and forms. This time she internalised the struggle and sipped her tea to give herself a moment. She found no inspiration under Chowa's impatient gaze.