by Lee Morgan
The seminar could now begin.
When an hour passed by Connor stopped and said “Ok everyone, take a break.” Almost everyone in the group collapsed under the shade trees. The beating sun sapped the strength of these people, but that wasn’t all. It looked like they were all a little out of shape, even Janet and Ray looked beat from the long walk and quick pace. While everyone rested and drank slowly from Connor’s explicit warning, he started the lecture. He left the resting group and melded into the forest.
Mark closed his eyes and looked into the sun to make sure no one could see his eyes glowing behind his eyelids. He focused his hearing just enough so that he didn’t deform his ears. At the very climax of his ability not to deform his ears Mark could finally hear the wind being disturbed from Connor running swiftly all around them, gathering things, but he didn’t disturb anything whatsoever. He was as quiet as a ghost in the forest. Mark also didn’t even hear the first stem snap or the crunch of wet leaves. Not a single person knew what was going on around them. That is the way Connor wanted it.
When Connor came back a few minutes later he had wild medicinal herbs in his hands. He sat down before the group and picked up some of the seeds from the pile. “These are Fenugreek seeds. When ground up into a powder, this can help when you get food poisoning.” He handed the seeds to the small children, Tyler and Billy. “Don’t eat them unless you’re sick.” He warned. “They are distinctive due to their yellow flowers and seed pods. Smell how they have a peculiar odor.” The kids passed around the seeds for everyone to look at after wrinkling their noses from smelling the seeds. Mark smiled at their childish antics.
Then Connor picked up a thick, spiny green leaf. “This is aloe. Most of you have probably heard of it.” He handed the leaf to the fraternal twins Troy and Terri. “It helps with sunburn, burns, and is used cosmetically. Mix it with peppermint oil and you can use it as a poultice.” The older women glanced at each other and smiled. “Be sure to cut off the thorns or you’ll hurt yourselves. Be sure that you do not ingest it. It is for outside the skin only.”
He brought out a handful of the same kind of green leaves. He handed three leaves to each person. “What I have given you is called Sage. If you ever get a cut or abrasion, look out for this.” He held up the leaf. “You don’t eat this either.” He smiled to the boy’s and they smiled shyly back. “When you clean the wound, you need to crush this up into an even paste. I will warn you it does sting a little, but it helps heal your wounds and keeps infections down.”
After that, Connor took some questions and the group continued the journey.
Along the way they came upon a ripened berry bush. Connor gave another lecture and everyone got to sample the fresh blueberries and pocket some as a small snack for later. Everyone started looking a little tired, but they were all enjoying the lectures as far as Mark could tell. There were several forks in the trail and Connor always stayed on the smaller paths because he wanted seclusion. The scent of humans grew fainter the deeper they traveled.
About halfway to the campsite, the children couldn’t walk anymore. They were starting to complain to their parents because their feet were hurting. That was until Connor startled them and put one child on each of his enormous shoulders. Their parents went into shock until the children started laughing. They pulled and played with his hair as Connor led the party to its destination. It was then that Mark knew how good Connor was with children.
Everyone safely arrived at an empty clearing, at the end of the narrow trail. It was open and had enough room to make ten separate camp sites for ten additional families to set up a shelter. The ground laid covered in wild, untamed grass that came up to Mark’s calves. He could hear a stream nearby and the surrounding area had plenty of foliage to build a proper camp. Connor sat the children gently on the ground and said to the group “This is our destination.”
Terri asked “Where is the bathroom?” While her brother Troy asked “When do we eat?”
Connor smiled and gestured for Mark to say something. They all turned to him and he said evenly “The bathroom is all around us. Use it like your ancestors did.” Their parents tried to not laugh as their kids eyes went wide. “If you want privacy I would suggest going behind that thicket.” Mark looked at Troy. “We are going to show you how to get your own food after we teach all of you how to build the most important thing you need when you’re in the wild, a proper shelter.”
Connor and Mark split the groups. He took the young couple and the parents with the small children while Mark was stuck with the husky family. Each older adult was given a machete and each family was given a coiled rope.
After each group came back to camp with all the natural supplies they needed from the surrounding forest, Connor and Mark helped each family to make a suitable shelter. They finally made three decent shelters for their hopefully new patrons. When the inspections were done, the customers took their packs and put them into their shelters.
Next they had to make a fire because it does get cold up here in these mountains. Unfortunately it rained during the night and the kindling and sticks were well saturated.
Connor wasn’t discouraged in the least. He walked around the nearby area with the children and the teens to collect firewood that littered the campsite. He placed the moist tender at the center of camp. Connor issued a challenge by asking “Does anyone know how to start a fire with wet logs?”
I do, but I would be moving too fast to start a friction fire and I would get spotted. Connor smiled as he glanced at Mark. “Connor, are you reading my mind?”
“Accidently. I needed to ask first. I’m sorry.” He handed the flint in his pocket along with a piece of steel to the young woman, Janet.
“You’re forgiven, Buddy.”
“I needed to ask you if I could establish a weak link with your mind. I won’t be able to read your thoughts clearly until you think quite loudly.” He sat down, looking at the girl striking the flint and steel, sending sparks flying everywhere except where they needed to be.
“Why?”
“Because our hearing is about the same, but your sense of smell is more sensitive. If you smell anything out of the ordinary, I need you to alert me.” While her boyfriend Ray struck out, he handed the fire starting tools to the husky family. Connor looked back at Mark for a second and he nodded giving his permission to establish the link.
Every person that tried also failed to start the fire. Connor took the tools and handed them to the young children because their parents didn’t give them a turn. Before their parents could disapprove they were stunned when they saw Connor’s piercing eyes staring them down. He looked down at the children and the parents were finally able to draw breath. He handed the youngest boy Billy the flint and handed Tyler the steel. “Let me show you how to do it properly, kids.” He ushered the children on how to the stacked kindling. He fluffed the bundle of sticks to allow more air into the mix after squeezing out some of the water droplets from the tender. “Here hold the steel this way… Good.” He looked at Billy. “Hit your brother’s steel just like this.” Connor’s big hand gently grabbed the boys hand as he held the flint. When the objects collided, hundreds of sparks shot through the sticks. The boy’s grins were ecstatic as they finally got their turn to shoot sparks. Connor stepped directly behind them while kneeling and sitting on his heels. “Give it a try on your own, boys. Don’t hit too hard Billy, just enough to make sparks. Don’t knock the steel from Tyler’s hand.”
The little boys struck the flint three times with no luck. Mark looked up at Connor as he winked. “Go on boys your doing great.” On the forth strike a small ember came to life as the sparks settled on the bundle. Connor had used his power over Fire to help the children light the moist wood.
Their little eyes went wide and Tyler turned saying “Daddy, I did it. I made a fire!” Billy said “I did too!” They dropped the flint and steel on the ground as they celebrated. Billy started chasing Tyler around the camp when he stuck his tongue at his b
rother. The whole group started laughing at their antics.
Their father Jim said sincerely “Thank you for giving them a try.” His tone dropped as he leaned closer to Connor. “Tell me, how did you do it?”
Mark jumped in. “Hey they were the ones who got it started for us.” The kids beamed with pride. Then they resumed playing in the high grass.
Nothing is more fun than seeing hyperactive children playing around.
Connor and Mark stood up. “I need a volunteer to tend to the fire while I show everyone how to find food.” Janet volunteered for that task as the rest of them followed Connor into the woods.
He showed how to dig up edible roots and pick flowers. He then showed them what kind of plants that they could and couldn’t eat. He picked up a handful of peppermint leaves and put them in his pocket as they started to head to the stream. He ordered everyone to fill up their canteens in the water. “But don’t drink it yet. The water’s stagnant.”
Mark kept being more and more impressed with Connor as he knew every plant by name. He had all but forgotten Connor’s impressive intelligence. He had forgotten Connor had an eidetic memory even before becoming an immortal. It had become more frightening after mating.
During the long walks through the forest, he showed everyone all of the different tracks in the forest and told them the corresponding animal. He calmed everyone when he pointed to fresh wolf tracks and told them that they are more terrified of humans than we are of them, but he ordered everyone to stay close to the fire when it got dark and if they had to go to use the buddy system.
When everyone returned, the fire had grown into a nice size. Janet did well in drying out the extra wood that would be used during the night. They listened to Connor as he showed everyone how to boil the water in their metal canteens. Rolling boil meant it to be safe. Then they cooled the canteens in the river again to make the water refreshingly tasty.
It grew dark out as everyone cleaned their food they collected. Everyone ate gratefully. Before everyone went to sleep, Manny looked at Mark and Connor. “Could I ask you two several questions?”
“That’s why we are all out here. You have questions and we’ll do our best to answer them.” Mark nodded in agreement as he bit into a wild apple. Earlier Mark caught the apple tree’s scent only moments before Connor did and he brought the group to the tree to find many of the fruits were surprisingly ripe.
“First off, I wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior this morning. I thought I was being conned from you kids. You really know your stuff and I’ll be the first admit it.” He sighed as he looked into the fire. “With your skills why don’t you charge more for your services?”
Connor leaned forward and hooked one arm under his leg. “Because Manny, I don’t want to overcharge my customers and have them become unsatisfied with me or my teaching methods, if I ever make a mistake. I too make mistakes. I want people to keep paying a small fee and continue to be repeating customers. I also would like it if you might tell others about me. I want people to become more into nature and the best way for them to do that is to see how diverse and special it is. It is my passion and my life.”
The man looked at his wife and she nodded. “You have surpassed my judgments. And I would like to do this again next week.”
Mark felt his jaw drop slightly. I didn’t expect that!
“Ditto.” Connor continued smiling at the man. “Thank you for that, Manny. I would be happy to do this again for you. What is your other question?”
The man smacked his leg. “Can you do something about these blasted mosquitoes? At this rate I’ll die from blood loss.”
Connor smiled as he took the wild peppermint from his pocket and threw half he collected into the fire. A minty smell sprung forth from the blaze. It was almost intoxicating.
Mark said “That will take care of the mosquitoes for a few hours at least.”
Then Brittany said “That’s peppermint. Isn’t it? It smells very nice.”
An hour later Connor stood. “Alright everyone, it’s time to sleep. Mark, I’ll take first watch. Get some rest, Bud.”
The morning Connor left Sarah began cleaning up the house. It is going much quicker now that I’m balanced with Connor. She thought to herself as she finished sweeping the hardwood floor, the newer way. Sarah began using her ability of Terra to make all the dirt and dust swirl around and fly outside where it belonged. It went quicker than ever.
Around noon Sarah met Kara over at her house. Jenny told her to take care of Kara and for her to behave. Through the bond Sarah knew Connor was further away from her than ever before. She already missed his touch and close proximity that always soothed her. Or at least it felt that way. Now Sarah understood why her parents hated ever being apart. Her bond with her mate was like an invisible rubber band that wanted to come back together. Unfortunately the more it stretched the more edgy and tense she became.
Kara got into the blue car without much coaxing. As Sarah turned onto the road she asked “That truck I saw on my way home last night, who’s was it?”
Sarah turned to look at her. “Father, made it for your brother.”
“Really?” The feral grin crept on her face again. “Can I drive it?”
“It’s Connor’s truck. Ask him yourself, when he comes back Sunday.” A sad look flashed within Kara’s eyes as she became suddenly fascinated with her lap. “Kara, what’s wrong, Sweetie?” For some reason Sarah used an endearment on someone other than her mate. Sarah was finally getting slightly more accustomed to the words.
“On Sunday… I have decided to go through with it. All day Thursday I sat with Mark on all that could go wrong. If I don’t make it I made a few recordings to leave behind for mom and my grandparents. It will look like I ran off with Mark and started my new life. I never knew how heart wrenching it was to put on a good face when inside I feared that those tapes actually being used. It wasn’t any easier for Mark either, but we made it look as if we moved overseas.
“Nevertheless I’m still going to try and become a Changer. He wants to do it Monday, but waiting any longer than I have to just makes me feel more frightened. Better to get it done and over with…” Her voice was barely audible, like she didn’t believe it herself.
Sarah pulled the car off to the side of the road after hearing this confession. When the car completely stopped and put it in park Sarah turned to look at her. Her voice was calm as she asked “What’s bothering you so much?”
Kara’s brutal honesty remained present, even in her state fear. “I’m so afraid I will die.”
Sarah rubbed her back gently as she restrained her strength. If Sarah wanted to she could pick up this car as if it were no more than a pillow. Sarah spoke as softly as she could to say “Kara, I don’t want to ever hear that from you ever again.”
Her head snapped up and her attitude kicked in. “Excuse me?”
Sarah had to smile tightly. “That’s more like it, little sister. That’s the fire that will make you pull through and survive the ordeal. Don’t do anything except fight. Think of all the people you love and love you. Remember your brother, David, Rhoda, Jenny and especially Mark. He’s the real reason why you’re doing this, right?”
“Of course he is. I want to be with him forever and this will be the only way we can. Recently, he is all I can ever think about. I want to be with him more than what we’ve been because holding back isn’t who I am. He knows it, but is even more afraid I’ll die than I am. We want each other in every way, but he knows that to do so will put me in a pain that I’ve never experienced apparently. What’s worst is that I love him, but he is so afraid our love will end tragically.” Her chocolate brown eyes stayed focused on Sarah’s through the entire confession.
Sarah tapped her temple. “Kara, are you forgetting that I can read another’s thoughts. You don’t need to explain your feelings aloud because I know that Mark is always on your mind. You’re on his too.”
She smiled and then asked “Can Changers read minds
too?” Sarah shook her head. “Can I ask then what it is like when you and Brother share thoughts?”
Sarah turned back in her seat and began driving again as she said “Before Connor and I became mated, I was unable to read his mind. It has never happened to me before.” Sarah knew Kara was staring at her as she continued driving. “Very rarely is someone’s will and mind so strong that it requires a mated-ones mental force to enter their mind. Connor was one of those rare few. I don’t know how or why certain people have that ability, but when we became mates Connor gave me that ability. The ability to block others out. It is a great gift he gave me because now my parents cannot read me without my permission.” A smile crept onto Sarah’s lips again. “You don’t realize how great it is keeping Mother out of my head so that I can have privacy. For three hundred years my life opened to her and nothing could be done.
“The first time he entered my mind, I didn’t know it was him. It was an odd sensation, like someone scratching your brain. It was the first time I’ve ever felt another’s mental touch. When he projected his thought into my mind, I was both scared and exhilarated. When I delved into his mind, I was overwhelmed at how powerful just his mind was and how much knowledge he held at his young age. I’ve read the minds of smart elderly people and Connor’s mind would easily overwhelm theirs. It would be like the size of the sun compared to Pluto. His mind is that vast and intense. He is that radiant source of life.”
“Wow…” Sarah glanced to see Kara looking at the Sun. “How can you stand the intensity of it?”
“For some reason Connor has changed me as much as I did to him. I gave him the gift of being a Balancer and he brought not only himself, but me as well to a whole new level that neither my parent’s or Mark has even ever seen. When I am linked with his mind, I can tell who is the actual center of his universe…”