On Thin Ice (Prequel to Guild)

Chapter Thirty-Six: Apart

      Quietly he trudged, minding his steps as he scanned the perimeter of their camp, watching for shapes on a still-dark horizon. He barely breathed, barely dared. Not with Ryuu's flowers so near.

Dexterous as he was, Dai could not keep his nostrils shut for long.

"Weeping moss, Ryuu. There's some near the river. We could go now, and I could go with you..."

"I want to give majka a happy plant," said Ryuu, still grinning madly at the blooms squeezed in his hand. How he could manage, Dai Kimsura did not know. Especially in spite of his watering eyes.

"It's not 'weeping' because it's sad. Flowers don't have feelings."

"Rin's learning flower language. She says it's still bad luck if it's in the name."

"Luck's not real."

"I know." Stopped for an instant, little shoes sank into mud and dew and grass. Ryuu looked down but his smile didn't waver. "Maj thinks it does though. It would make her feel gooder if-" A sigh. Not from discouragement, Dai realized, but because he couldn't free himself from the mire. "BETTER... if we cared."

"Hey. Don't rope me into this. I got her something else." Dai backtracked. He took his son's arm in his fist, and before he could form the command to 'brace', he pulled.

"Huh?"

Out. The ground screamed, gasping as its wound closed, lips closing around a rather expensive boot. It accepted it as its meal instead of the boy, though.

Ryuu rubbed his arm. "Ow," he said, wincing first at the pain, and then at the three green stems with brown mud bubbling all around them. He pouted, lower lip starting to quiver as they sank into the abyss. Ryuu's posture went with them. "Oh no."

Dai put a hand on his shoulder, patted it until Ryuu looked back and Dai could hide the relief that flooded him with the return of fresh air. Dew and fire, smoke and springtime. He'd known with corpses that smelled better than-

"Well," sniffed Ryuu, flickers of mirth appearing in his brown eyes again. "It's a good thing I picked extras!"

Instinct demanded Dai cover his nose. Eyes that refused to water wanted to close, to look away. But the shogun toyed with the bead at his wrist, and forced a smile. Kept it there as Ryuu skipped off towards the camp, prattling on and on about how majka would love them, insisting that Dai hurry up so he could see Yuina's face when he presented them to her.

So Dai hurried. Hurried so he could warn his wife before she woke up with the rankest-smelling flowers in Ogonsekai under her nose.

"I'll race you there," he challenged, and this time, Dai didn't even try to go easy on him.

...

               Her first thought was that her son had gotten into the berries again. But really, whatever had crawled into her tent smelled worse than that. Much, much worse. Whatever it was smelled so putrid that Yuina scrunched up her nose, turned into her pillow, and started muttering ancient spells her baba had taught her to repel mischievous spirits.

"Um... what?"

Up. Awake. Yuina jolted upright, hoping to the spirits that she'd spoken those curses in their native Shirub. But the confused laughter from her son told her she likely had not. Sighing, she lifted her chin, invited Ryuu inside. Narrowed her eyes at the streaks of green peeking out from behind his back.

"Wait."

The boy stopped, averted his eyes but not his grin.

"What have you got there?"