To Everything There Is A Season

~A Report~

            Kota looked worried as he watched Sang walk over to her workshop. He was sure something was wrong. He and Nathan had discussed what could be wrong with their host. Her face, arms, and legs were incredibly thin, yet they'd noticed that her stomach seemed distended. It was only noticeable when she was carrying something against her front.

"Sean, are you sure Sang is okay?" Nathan asked. "She's so thin. She out works us everyday and eats a fraction of what we do."

Sean grinned and patted Nathan's back, "Trust me, she's healthier than any of you were as teens. I know what the seven of you ate on a regular basis growing up. She's eating all-natural foods with minimal sugar and no artificial anything. Chances are if you'd been eating her diet as a kid the issues you had with your weight would have been somewhat reduced. I know there was more to them than just what you were eating. The why you were eating was more important to understand."

Nathan just nodded his head. He knew what Sean was talking about. After his mom left, he'd tried to find comfort in food. For a while he out ate Luke on the sweets front. Counselling and a dietitian helped get his eating under control. Intense physical training gave him a new outlet for his emotions. Getting away from his father was the last piece of the puzzle for getting his eating and exercising into a healthier balance.

Kota still looked skeptical, "I understand that she eats better food than we did but that doesn't explain why she's as thin as she is. Just looking at her, she seems to have all the classic signs of severe malnutrition. Thin limbs, little appetite and you can see that her stomach is distended when her clothes pull against her body. How are we not supposed to be worried?"

Sean had to duck his head. Nathan and Kota were nothing if not dogged in their pursuit of knowledge. They were going to be shocked when the truth came out. Hopefully they would also feel relieved that their concerns were misplaced. Though once they knew chances were incredibly good, they would find a whole new list of concerns. He would need to talk to Sang and warn her that Kota and Nathan were concerned about her health and maybe she should tell them sooner rather than later.

Catching each of the concerned men's eyes Owen attempted to reassure them, "Sean did a full check up on her yesterday. She is completely healthy. Her fainting and subsequent exhaustion were a completely normal stress reaction. She's been on her own since April. Suddenly she has nine people willing to share her workload. Her body just needed to rest after being in survival mode for months. As for her diet, I have a suspicion from some of her reactions that food wasn't something she got a lot of growing up, and that the last few months have been some of the best for her eating wise as there was no one to tell her not to eat."

Owen lit the fire to heat the large tub of water that would be used to clean and loosen the hairs on the carcasses. Sean started to fill the water tank so that the water could start heating as soon as possible.

Kota was quite as he sharpened the knives he would be using. His mind churned with the new information he'd just gotten. He trusted his older brothers to be honest with him. He also knew that they would tell him anything he needed to know. Yet, he still had worries. He was starting to feel something beyond protective of their little hostess. Something about her pulled at something in him. He recognized the look in her eye. It was the same that he and his brothers had growing up. Abuse left marks long after it ended, if they were correct in their assumptions then the abuse Sang endured had carried on into her marriage. She didn't know her abuser was gone for good, so she was still reluctant to let anyone in. Being able to tell her that her nightmare was over was an event they all looked forward to.

The men got down to work. This portion of the day was not for the faint of heart. Fortunately, Nathan and Kota had both had plenty of experience killing animals. Something neither of them figured they would ever need after their father's stopped trying to make 'real men' out of them.

Nathan quickly dispatched the first pig. Then he and Kota moved the carcass into position to finish draining the blood. "We need to keep the blood. Sang has plans for it."

Sean shuddered. The idea of eating blood grossed him out. Owen noticed his reaction and snickered, "You've eaten blood sausage before. What did you think you were eating when you were having a full English breakfast at the conference in London? Black pudding is a type of blood sausage."

Sean turned green. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were enjoying it. I wasn't going to ruin your meal. Besides I thought you knew." Owen shrugged, a slight smirk gracing his lips. Kota and Nathan both laughed.

The men got down to work shaving the first pig. It was going to be a long smelly morning full of hard work. The afternoon would be better, but for now it was time to get dirty.

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Sorry updates have been so slow. This story is taking a lot more research than I initially thought it would. I tried to gloss over this part as much as possible. I have six open tabs on my computer all about slaughtering pigs, interesting but not the sort of thing you write in detail. Next chapter is all about preserving meat. Many farming videos and how to preserve without refrigeration websites  have been abused in the researching of the chapter.