Cracks in the Spires

7: The Warrens

"Dad Ben they're arguing again." Ben looked up from packing their day's food into a basket.

"Jan and Sol?"

Mik was swinging himself backwards and forwards round the door frame. He rolled his eyes "They don't even talk any more. It's Dad Per and Arn of course." He hopped across to the counter "Dad Per is being super reasonable."

Ben laughed "That bad eh? We'd better go and break it up before they start shouting. Fetch your hat it's going to be very hot out in the fields."

"I've already got it" Mik pulled it up from behind his back to demonstrate the truth of his statement then let it drop back on its cord. Ben gave him the basket containing the food then blew the lamp out and picked up two pitchers of water. He followed Mik up the steps. Per and his father were standing by Mooke.

"Despite my apparently wilful incompetence with plants I am able to retain simple instructions. There is no need to repeat yourself yet again." The tightness of Per's lips and the iron control in his voice made Ben's lips twitch.

"If someone is told to plant the tray of seedlings with red leaves and plants the tray with green leaves it doesn't inspire confidence in their ability to understand and retain information." Arn's words were clipped.

"Spires sake! That was less than a turn after we got here!"

"Month. We don't use the City calendar. How long has it taken you to not remember that piece of information?"

Per threw the sickles he was holding into Mooke with considerably more force than necessary.

Ben was about to walk over and intervene when he felt a pair of arms snake round his waist and a chin rest on his shoulder.

"Why won't the idiot just admit he can't tell red from green?" Jan's voice was full of suppressed laughter.

"It's a matter of principle."

"Of course it is, nothing whatsoever to do with being stubborn."

Ben grinned "It is about the only thing they have in common, apart from their looks."

"Maybe we'd better go and break it up before they get on to last year's disaster of the father son bonding trip."

Ben hooted with laughter. Per hearing this turned his back on Arn.

"We'd better get going. Dawn's already breaking. Have you got everything?"

"Just need the last two pitchers of water."

Jan released Ben "I'll fetch them."

Arn nodded briefly at them then turned on his heel and walked off without saying anything else. Ben stared at Arn's retreating back and stifled a sigh. Last year's trip had only completed the process started by the planting error. Per had admitted afterwards that he'd spent the whole time increasingly irritated by Arn's refusal to mark channels and by his scornful dismissal of the idea that they could become utterly lost. Per had also been secretly terrified the boat would capsize. The fact that he couldn't swim and that the canoe felt unstable and fragile hadn't helped. Arn had grown increasingly exasperated and the trip, to Per's relief, had been cut short. Nothing since had brought them closer. Their relationship could best be described as mutual incomprehension occasionally, as now, tipping over into outright annoyance with each other. Even Da and Heta had given up trying to bring them together. Ben put the baskets on the seat. Per was obviously running through a mental checklist so he waited until he had finished.

"What was he repeating endlessly this time?"

Per smiled ruefully "Just the importance of making sure the crop from each of the fields is kept separate so the yields can be measured." He sighed "I don't know Ben I just seem to rub him up the wrong way every time I open my mouth."