by SJ Fleming
“Why would you help me? Am I not a product of the Polluted Ones, as you call them?”
“You are, yeah,” Willow nodded slightly. “But to me, that doesn’t seem to matter much. You weren’t the one personally killing Gaia, you had no part to play in the death of the world. I don’t exactly believe in judging people based on things they had no control over. I don’t judge the river for flowing where it should not, as it does not control its flow.”
Suzy was silent for a moment. Willow was grateful, at least a little bit, that Suzy had no idea she had simply stolen a quote from the Treesinger’s Theogram. It made her sound a lot wiser than she really was.
When Suzy finally replied, it was a quiet whisper, almost too low to be heard over the fire.
“Ok.”
Willow got up and packed the remains of her meal away.
“I’m sorry to leave you Suzy, but I’ll be back soon. Promise. I’ll be down here for two days, and I’ll use this as my...what did you call it...port in the storm.”
“I’ll keep it clean for you,” Suzy said, pushing another bit of wood into the fire.
Willow had no idea what Suzy had meant by a port in the storm, and chalked it up to it being some expression of the Polluted Ones, perhaps something cleverer than it initially sounded to her. Of course, she did appreciate having the cave to go back to. It was certainly better than finding some place to bunk while she slept out in the open.
She heard a sort of wet shuffling sound, like something nearby and very large was moving through the leaves and roots. Willow reached into her pack and drew the jezail. She hadn’t needed to use it yet, but had kept it loaded just in case. This seemed like the kind of situation she would need it in. The shuffling sound stopped for a moment. Whatever was making the noise had noticed her.
A lanky, thin
stumbled out of the undergrowth, pushing aside leafless branches and spongy fungi. Suspended on a dozen pointed legs, it scanned Willow over, standing level with her. Bright eyes shimmered with the gentle, reflected light of the lumifruit. Its stubby trunk moved up and down, sniffing and feeling Willow’s arm.
She didn’t pull the trigger. It didn’t seem dangerous, it just seemed... Curious. Confused, maybe. It might have never seen a Gaian before, and it clearly didn’t see her as a threat. Otherwise, she’d have been gored already. The creature walked away peacefully, finding a small patch of schluckgrubs to eat. Willow stayed a moment and watched it dig through the mud and refuse. It speared the fat worms on its frontmost legs, eating them while hungrily digging for more with the two other foremost pairs.
Willow became lost in her thoughts as she wandered around the Undergrowth. She found the stuff she was looking for; big, white mushrooms about the size of her fist, and as she gathered them up and sliced them into wedges, she kept thinking. Asking herself the same questions, trying to figure out what was happening and how she felt about Suzy.
Part of her wanted to listen to the Woundmender. Oak was old, wise, and been around as long as her Stamen had been. But that might have very well just been reason enough to not listen to him, given he had so much bias towards how things ‘ought to be.’ Old people tended to that way of thinking, at least in Willow’s experience.
The other part of her wanted to listen to, well, herself. Her curiosity about Suzy and where she had come from was piqued with every new scrap of information, every new ability, every little
Suzy did. But...three hundred years. Three hundred years was a long time, and the fact they could even understand each other, even with Suzy speaking in such formal and archaic ways, was in and of itself was incredible. Prying any further into her life would be...it was the sort of thing Willow imagined she wouldn’t have taken too kindly to.
Sometimes the dead had to lay alone, and not be brought up again, for the sake of the living.
Maybe, she figured, the best she could do was just be kind. She didn’t know what about Suzy interested her so much, it was just this...feeling. Of liking to be around her, of this vague notion that Suzy was a good person. She had to trust her gut on it, even if she didn’t know why her gut was telling her this.
She resolved to simply make sure Suzy was comfortable. Or at least, as close to it as possible. Maybe help her acclimatize to this new world, if that was even possible. It was the least she could do. She was the one who woke Suzy up, after all. That meant she bore the weight of helping her find peace in this new, strange situation.
With the pile of sliced mushrooms packed away, she stood up and wandered back to the...port. Camp. Whatever. When she got there, Suzy was running around, clearing and cleaning up everything she saw. The leaves and sticks had been scraped away down to bare dirt and stone. The fire had been adjusted, added to, ringed with stones. Willow noticed Suzy’s hands were black and ashy now. She hoped Suzy hadn’t hurt herself.
Whatever hurting one’s self entailed for an Iron One.
“Hello, Willow!” Suzy waved her over. “I have been very hard at work preparing this as a usable shelter! Come and sit, I have found something comfortable!”
Suzy seemed particularly proud at that last point. Willow smiled and walked on over. There was a low stool. Really, it was more a solid block of wood that Suzy had found some cloth to drape over. But, Willow figured, if it made Suzy happy, it wasn’t bad to have around. At the very least, it was dry.
“Thank you, Suzy,” Willow sat down. “I’m glad you’re keeping busy.”
“My subroutines are to thank for that! I cannot abide not working.” Willow didn’t ask what a subroutine was. “What were you doing out in the Undergrowth?”
“Gathering mushrooms, my friend Rose is pregnant and has been having cravings for smoked truffle.”
“Oh, how wonderful of you to get a gift for your friend!” Suzy clasped her hands. “But...there is no place to smoke the mushrooms.”
Willow nodded. “Which is why I came back, so I could do exactly that. It shouldn’t be too hard, just setting up a…” she gestures vaguely at the fire. “Y’know? Kael taught me to do that.”
“Who?”
“Kael, he was my mentor. Went back to pay his debt a few years ago, but we keep in touch,” Willow said. She had the little totem Kael gave her before he had to go, so the two of them could keep speaking even after he was buried within Yggdrasil. The two of them talked a lot, even so many years after he had passed. It was nice to talk to him, comforting to hear his wisdom again.
“Ah, that must be nice,” Suzy said, though her tone betrayed her confusion.
Willow beamed. “Yes, it is! We talk about a lot of things, I ask him for advice, he’s pretty good at giving it. Now, would you mind helping me, Suzy? It’s a lot of work to make a smoker, and I think you’re a bit better at navigating this Undergrowth than I am.”
“Ah...well. How do you...intend to make a smoker? I do not see anywhere near enough metal to make one…” Suzy mumbled. “Ah...maybe....hmm.”
“I just need some long, straight sticks, Suzy.” Willow said. “I just need you to get the big ones, I’ll find everything else,” she continued, looking around for some root that had sprouted suckers. They were common in the Undergrowth, even if they only lived for a few weeks.
Soon, a sizable pile of long, pliable, suckers had formed near the fire, and Suzy had come back with her share. Willow got to work, tying the longer branches into a tripod and setting them over the fire. She cut slits with her knife on each one, in three different levels, and set the suckers in the cuts. Soon, she had a full, tiered smoker, with wooden grates and all. A three-in-one dryer, roaster, and smoker, depending on what she felt like doing with it.
After the mushrooms had been laid out to dry, she sat down on the stool. Suzy walked on over and stood just off to one side of her. It reminded Willow of how children would attend to adults every new year’s, standing beside them and prodding them occasionally. That wouldn’t do, not at all.
“Do you want to sit down?” Willow asked. “I don’t mind standing or
anything.”
“Oh! No, no, do not be ridiculous! You don’t need to give up your seat for me. My joints lock, it is not tiring to stand up, I promise.”
Willow nodded. “Alright, then, if you insist.” Of course Suzy’s response was to just deflect and insist. It seemed a little strange, to say the least. Every single offer and gift so far, Suzy had rejected. Maybe she was just accumulating favours from Willow. Or maybe she was just
selfless. It seemed...odd.
She thought for a few moments about getting a drink, staring at the culvert Suzy had made. It didn’t look too sanitary, but she was sure its source was fine, just runoff from above, after all. Willow made her way over there, and followed the water. Suzy followed close behind, the two of them exchanging mutual glances of confusion.
“Ohmygod what are you doing?!”
Suzy shouted. Willow looked over at her, wiping the water from her mouth.
“Having a drink. This is the cleanest water around,” she gestured to the runoff from above. “It’s just from Yggdrasil, after all.”
“But...it is probably full of...parasites and stuff! At least boil it first!” Suzy crossed her arms. Willow shrugged.
“If you have anything to boil it in, let me know. I mean, I’m gonna be fine doing this.” Willow heard Suzy huff and stomp away, her metal feet making a distinct clanking sound as she walked away. Willow sighed. She knew this place, where the water ran off from. She had drank from the same stream a dozen or so times. But apparently, when it ran down the side, it was no longer pure?
Suzy came back over just as Willow turned back to go back to the fire. With a rather indignant huff, she shoved a strange metal container into Willow’s hands. She examined it, noticing the strange detailing on it. It had grooves, over a dozen of them, down the middle of the container. It was perfectly cylindrical. It didn’t look handmade. It looked...old. Really old, but still in good condition.
“What’s this?”
“Tin can. Use it to boil the water before you end up with dysentery.”
Willow filled the container up with water before going back to the fire. She stuck it just on the outskirts, nestled between a few coals. At the very least, she could make tea when this was all said and done. She checked her pack for the leaves, and found them nestled in a small bag towards the bottom.
The aromatics of brewing tea, the faint earthiness of her favourite type, was comforting for Willow. She moved the now boiling container away from the fire with a pair of sticks. Careful, cautious, purposeful movements were needed, lest she spill the entire thing. She could feel Suzy’s eyes on her the entire time. From the periphery, she saw Suzy struggling to not lunge forwards to help.
“So, Suzy,” Willow reclined, using the stool as a backrest. “You...mentioned a while ago that you don’t...eat.”
“No, I do not.”
“Then...how do you...keep going? Like, you don’t get hungry? You don’t...need anything to survive?”
"I do not consume food, yet I do get hungry. I am programmed with a series of pseudo-biological responses to stimuli, particularly regarding software, hardware, energy levels, and damage to my chassis. As a result, I will grow hungry as I drain my batteries, and that as of now is not a pressing issue. I am in low-performance mode, and thus shall be satiated for several days more."
Willow only understood half of what Suzy said, but the general gist of 'I eat something other than food' was carried along through the linguistic barrier. She wanted to question a little further, ask what Suzy would do when she finally needed to eat, if that was even the proper term to use.
Before Willow could ask anything, Suzy asked a question of her own.
“What is your home like?”
“What?”
“This...Yggdrasil...tree...it was grown atop a city. I do not know which city. I have seen the remains of houses in my exploration. I... have been thinking about them. I wish to know what your home is like.”
Willow stammered for a few moments, unsure of what Suzy wanted to hear. There wasn’t much to talk about. It was like any other Stamen. But Suzy had no context for what a Stamen was. How did she even explain it?
“Well...everyone has their own hollow, place to rest their head. We all kind of...work together, we help where we can. It’s pretty big, about a hundred and forty people.”
“A hundred and forty is ‘big’?” Suzy cocked her head. “My family had thrice that many people living in our building, not the entire suburb.”
“Suburb?”
“I... I see. I suppose we are both without context for each other’s lives. Perhaps...perhaps you could show me your ‘hollow’ some day. I would like to see it.”
Willow faltered, and covered her face almost instinctively. It burned hot, with feelings that she couldn’t figure out. Or maybe, feelings she wouldn’t let herself examine.
“I-I think there might...be some time until that happens. I have to clear it with the others in my Stamen.”
“I understand. I do not wish to be imposing upon you.”
There was a hollow clunk. A single drop of water ran down Suzy’s head. And then a raindrop fell on Willow’s head. She stood up, and looked to the sky. More raindrops. A storm was coming. She mumbled a few choice expletives and scrambled upright. Her first action was to gather up the mushrooms. No point in having them sit out in the rain, after all. Unfortunately, they were nowhere near done. That was ok, she’d just find something else.
The two went into the cave, hunkering down where the rain wouldn’t reach them. Suzy led Willow down a side corridor, that opened up into a much larger room. Right by the corridor entrance there was a large pile of shredded plant matter, presumably whatever had previously obscured it from her view. Suzy sure could work a lot, she thought to herself. After all, it would have taken her at least a month to actually do all the work she had done down here. Of course, Suzy had the advantage of not needing food and water. Plus, Willow wasn’t sure how much metal could tire compared to muscle.
Willow kind of recognized the words written on the signage, though a mix of time’s passing and linguistic drift had rendered most of the text meaningless. From what little she could fully understand, this used to be some sort of granary.
Rusted shelves held empty cans and broken jars. The bitter smell of...something...permeated the air. The walls were rough, and roots peeked through the mortar, breaking it apart. But it was dry. And dry was good enough for her.
Suzy’s eyes were glowing, providing just a little bit of light in the room. She looked around, scanning the room for a few minutes before spying something.
“Ah, wonderful!” She declared, leaving Willow in the dark as she rummaged through the shelves. A moment later, she unfolded a great silver sheet. It crackled heavily, like a bag of loose stones being shaken around, and when she was done, it was several times her height, and almost impossibly thin.
“A blanket!” Suzy said, laying it down on the ground. It didn’t look like much of a blanket to Willow, honestly. It looked more like a big, wrinkled sheet of metal. She reluctantly picked it up, and pulled it up around herself. Within minutes, she was feeling warm, much warmer than she’d been in a long time.
She sat down, wrapping as much of the blanket around her as she could.
“I noticed you were not wearing much, and so I thought you would appreciate something warmer,” Suzy noted cheerfully before sitting across from Willow. “Only a skirt, no shoes or shirt or anything of the kind. Is there a reason for your lack of clothing?”
Willow shrugged. “Everyone I know wears much the same. Why?”
“Oh, I was simply curious. Feel free to keep that blanket, I am sure it will be useful to you!” Suzy said. Willow smiled gently. Now she was convinced there was some sort of debt to be owed. Even if Suzy did not think so, there was no way Willow would be persuaded otherwise. She had to give something back.
Willow yawned as her tiredness overcame her. Without much else to do now that the rain was coming
down hard, she let herself relax, and that meant letting herself sleep. A few words of little consequence were exchanged with Suzy, and Willow drifted off, feeling safe, secure, and warm.
CHAPTER THREE
Willow woke up feeling warm and fuzzy. She almost didn’t want to get out of her blanket. When she looked around the room, she noticed light peeking through a door she hadn’t noticed before. It was ajar, a gentle breeze blowing into the room. The reek of centuries of dust and rot leaked from whatever was on the other side.
Suzy was nowhere to be seen.
Willow called out to her. For a brief moment, Willow was sure something awful had happened, that Suzy had gotten herself into some terrible situation. Just as she started to panic, Suzy popped her head out from the door.
“Oh, hello Willow! I am glad to see you are awake. I spent last night investigating this region further, and I found some very interesting things! Go out and look at your smoker, for instance!” She beamed. Whatever she had done obviously excited her, and Willow felt a sort of second-hand excitement. A warm feeling in her chest, even as the warmth of the blanket leeched off into the air.
The adhoc drying rack was covered in slats of metal, each one supported by a nail jutting out from the sticks. It wasn’t a perfect fit by any means, but...it worked. The slats were still wet from the rain, and the ground was soaked, but the embers of a fire glowed at the bottom of the construction still. Willow tried to figure out how to take down one of the slats. They were hot, uncomfortable to the touch. She started searching for sticks, something she could use to pry a slat away.
Suzy came over and yanked one right off, putting it off to the side. Inside the drying rack, Willow’s mushrooms were shrivelled and wrinkly. Exactly as they should be. She looked over at Suzy, who was grinning as wide as she could.
“You...what…?” Willow furrowed her brow.
“Do you not like it?” Suzy’s voice dropped. “I know it is rather sudden, but you wanted the mushrooms to be ready before you had to leave. At least, that is what I thought…”