31 – Foreign Dragons

It was starting to look like an actual farm now. The acres were lush with life and greenery, my wheat and my potatoes growing more impressive by the day. Even the fruit trees had become more formidable, the roots firmly enmeshed in the soil. Apples, golden hued, were already taking shape on some of the branches, but it would be some time before they were actually worth picking.

I already had a few barrels set up for it, and a heavy iron press for crushing the apple. All I’d need was a demijohn for fermenting the apples.

Making scrumpy had been a seasonal hobby for boys in my old village, something we only got to drinking in our teenage years. It was a simple process once you had a little bit of equipment to work with, a matter of pulping the apples and then securing them to ferment for a few weeks or months. Though, with the right alchemical supplies, you could speed that part of the process up.

But there was no way I’d get a worthwhile demijohn in Tiode… and since the farm was in fine shape, it was perhaps as good a time as any to start on a trip to Low Moon. Though I would need to have someone else watch the farm in my absence.

“And so… that’s why I’m entrusting it to you two,” I said, intently watching Haita and Mikan.

“Well… you know me Aniki, I’m always happy to lend a hand. But… I dunno much about farming.”

Mikan raised a hand, offering me a sheepish little smile. “And I’d be pretty busy looking after the store. I mean, I can come by in the evening but that’s about all.”

“It’s fine, really,” I replied, raising one hand to wave off their concerns. “I’m only going to be gone for a day or so. All you need to do is water the crops, keep an eye out for bugs and weeds. Of which you likely won’t find any, because I watch my crops like a hawk. Still, it’s for peace of mind.”

“I… guess I can understand that,” Mikan said. She paused, glancing over to Smoke. She still seemed a little startled every time she looked at him, now that he was a grown beast. I suppose I could not blame her, if hellcats were regarded as so naturally dangerous. “And he won’t be staying here?”

“I go with Father,” the feline replied, looking her dead in the eye. “Make sure he safe. Refuse… to stay behind.”

I sighed. The cat talked about me like I was a child…

“Also, uh… it would take more than a couple of days for a person to get to Low Moon and back,” Mikan said, giving me a slightly puzzled look.

“A normal person, aye. Smoke and I can cover ground a lot faster.” I didn’t need to stop to sleep, for another thing, but I figured even if Smoke had qi it would be best to let him rest at night. Even so, we’d still be able to travel for longer than a normal human traveller would dare to.

Haita made his way over to me, stealing a few fitful glances at Mikan while she inspected the expanse of my acres. “Er, Aniki,” he said, speaking low out of utter terror of her overhearing him. “Me and Mikan working together… I um… It’s kind of… I mean…”

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I stared silently at the boy, my face grim and silent. But inwardly I wanted to chuckle. For as big and blustery as he tried to act, the thought of his crush had him terrified. I sighed and reached over, gripping him by the shoulder.

“I’ll give you one piece of advice. If you like that girl, have the courage to say as much to her. Maybe she’ll accept, maybe she won’t. But you’re going to be regretting it if you don’t say nothing, or if you wait on her to say anything on her end.”

Haita hesitated, setting his jaw in a tight grimace. “It’s… I… The thought of doing that though…”

“What? Scared? Gods’ blood, you were willing to try and attack me in a dark alley, but this is too taxing for you?” I asked, lifting an incredulous brow.