#there's a SLIVER of a chance I can do this if everything is goo enough the first time around | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

commander-yinello · 6 years

Note

I've been following your blog for a while now and I wanted to say that I literally fall in love with all your writing, you're so talented! May I request some Juzen? One during Zen's route where Zen is kind of into Mc but after the mountains talk Jumin realises he's in love with Zen and plans to confess to him at the party. I'll leave the rest to you, sorry it's not really detailed. If your not doing requests thank you for taking your time to read this anyway and I hope you are doing well! 😊🌸

Waaaaaah *becomes a puddle of goo* I’m so happy you like my writing, your lovely comment makes me go all skldjdsldjssdlj~ And I am always up for amazing requests like these. I’ve tried something a little different than what I usually do, I hope you enjoy

His father told him everything had to beweighed up in life, measure the net losses and gains for maximum profit. Thatwas the foundation of strong and clever business ethics. Jumin saw a lot ofgain in helping Zen, despite the fallen actor’s claims on the mountainside. TheRFA was stronger with Zen in it, and the RFA was important. It was a logicalchoice.

Then the sun slowly began to set, and Juminsaw Zen laugh, and sass him back, and smile – a smile of relief, a hope thatwas there thanks to him. And as his heartrate sped up, and his mind went slightlyblank from happiness, Jumin wondered if this time he had made a decision basedon unprofitable reasons.

***

The party started off with Zen’s flawlessspeech. No one believed Echo Girl anymore. And as the reporters ran after thelying actress for a statement, Zen let out a relieved sigh before lettingeveryone know he needed a quick break. He winked at MC before leaving the stage,and something clawed at Jumin’s heart.

There was only so much a man could keepinside before he would burst. Jumin knew what he felt was foolish. He repressedevery tiny fantasy he could to stop it from growing, to give him illusions ofthings that could never be. The pain in his chest was something he was used to.

Still, against every better judgement, Juminapproached MC. She was stunning in her black dress with an open back. No wonderZen was so enamored with her.

“I would like to speak with Zen first,” heasked.

MC tilted her head, rightly confused. Herephrased the question. “I need to speak with Zen as soon as he comes back. Itis very important. He’ll most likely head to you once he sees you.”

He hadto speak with Zen before he spoke with MC. Because he knew what Zen wasplanning to do. Because once they did, it was over. Jumin knew it and stilltried to delay the inevitable. A foolish endeavor of a foolish man who couldnot contain his emotions.

But if he didn’t take this chance, this highrisk, low profit chance, he would regret it.

Perhaps she saw his desperation. Perhapsshe could guess the motive behind it. “Sure, I’ll send him to you at once,” shereplied with a big smile. Or perhaps, she thought it was RFA business.

Jumin started to wish it truly was thelatter.

***

“What is so important that you needed tosee me right away?” Zen announced his arrival on the balcony by being direct,as always. His white jacket stood out well in the dark night.

Jumin had trouble turning towards him. JuminHan never had trouble looking at anyone. Fear and anticipation made him numb,made him finally face the now blossoming actor.

Zen was truly handsome. No, he was so muchmore than that. He was honest, outspoken, true to his own values. He cared, andin that one moment on the mountainside, he had accepted Jumin. Jumin had alwaysadmired him, and now he wanted more than admiration. That sliver of thought wasenough for Jumin to spill what was on his mind, even as he had spent the lastagonizingly long minutes trying to talk himself out of it.

He couldn’t hear himself talk. Not when hewas so focused on Zen’s expressions. Seemed there were a lot of ways to showsurprise, shock and confusion, all at once.

“I… just- whoa dude. I didn’t expect this.From you. Not from you,” Zen said, holding on the balcony. His stance wasexactly as when Jumin expressed his commercial plans at Zen’s secret place,except now there was no sunlight, there were no jokes and the void inside hisheart must have swallowed the beating organ whole.

In movies, the one confessing would notwait for a reply. Instead, they’d make another romantic move, sweeping theother off their feet, kissing them passionately so that they’d have no choicebut to see how much in love they were.

“I should go. I need to go,” Zen muttered.

Jumin was painfully reminded how his lifewas not a movie, as the balcony door slammed shut and left him alone.

If rejection was inevitable, why did itstill sting?

***

Sad teenagers in romance movies comfortedthemselves with ice-cream and drama series. Jumin comforted himself with morework. It was his own fault for letting himself get carried away. He held on tothat numb feeling on the balcony and did not allow any room for stray thought. Toavoid the RFA needlessly fussing over him, he left a message congratulating MCand Zen the morning after the party, and then put his phone on silence. He evenmuted Assistant Kang, knowing how close she was to the two. He feared byreading any follow-up messages, he would waver and drown in his own mind.

The first few nights he had passed out inbed, with documents littering his face and pillow.

After the fourth day at night, he finally daredto check his phone again. That’s when he discovered Zen had tried to call him. Atleast ten times a day. There were many other calls from the other RFA memberstoo, and pleading messages from Assistant Kang to finally answer his phone. Lastly,there was an angry message from the actor, stating he was going to C&Rfirst thing in the morning.

Jumin wondered if it was possible for aheartrate to go so fast it stood still. What did Zen want to say to him? DidZen seek revenge for his confession? Did someone overhear him, and use it tohurt the actor’s reputation? Did MC break up with Zen because of it? Too manyterrifying questions with no answer.

That night, he couldn’t sleep.

***

He didn’t need coffee. He was wide awake inhis office, staring at documents he couldn’t read. Zen would be here anytimesoon.

His phone rang and he picked up withoutthinking.

“Jumin, finally!” MC’s voice rang through, “We’vebeen trying to reach you for ages!”

“MC. I apologize for causing you so muchgrief. I assure you, it won’t happen again.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. Have youspoken to Zen?”

He stared at his closed office door. “No, hehas yet to arrive. I’ll make sure to apologize to him as well, so you both can enjoyyour well-deserved time together.”

“Togeth- Jumin, what exactly do you thinkhappened at the party?”

Jumin leaned back on his chair, rubbing hisforehead. He didn’t want a step by step play of their romantic moment. “Iassume Zen gave you a beautiful bouquet of flowers and professed his love asplanned.”

Was that a giggle? “Oh, he gave me flowersalright. But he was so lost in thought, I had to ask him what was wrong. That’swhen he told me what had happened between you two.”

“I-“

“I don’t think he meant to tell me, it justleft him and he felt guilty for that. When I asked him how he responded, hesaid that he didn’t know what to say so he left. I told him that he’s an idiot,and he had to call you right away.”

He ran his free hand through his hair. “Youdid not have to say that. He was supposed to be with you.” That was, after all,the logical order of things.

“Pfft. I don’t know you guys for very long,but it’s obvious Zen always talks about you. He gave me flowers and you werethe first thing on his mind. What do you think that means?”

Jumin wasn’t sure what to say.

“Talk to him, please? You’ve made him siton it for four days.”

“I will.” A little chime on his companyphone told him he had a visitor. “He’s here.”

“Good luck!” MC last said before the callended.

The door opened to reveal Zen, who lookedlike he had ran from his house to the company, skin flushed and hair wild. Hismouth was slightly open, panting, ready to say a million thing, but upon seeingJumin he went silent, eyes wide but unable to utter a word, as if overwhelmed.

White brows furrowed, indiscernible thoughtsrunning across his face. Jumin noted how his expression was filled withanxiety, but not dread. “I need to tell you something,” Zen finally said, smoothingout his jacket and hair in a clear attempt to gather courage, and straighteninghis back to properly stare at the CEO-in-line. An attempt to stay calm, but clearlyZen was about to explode.

And Jumin wondered if that was how Zen hadfound him on the balcony, unsettled, out of place, taking the risk that every fiberof his being told him he shouldn’t. Zen wasn’t like him, he didn’t weigh potential,he followed his passion without hesitation.

Interestinghow it both led to the same thing in the end.

Jumin got up from his chair, not breakingthe connection of their gaze. There was that feeling again, the anticipationthat weighed on him on the mountainside and on the balcony. But this time, he alsofelt hope. The same hope he saw in red eyes that very carefully tracked hisevery move.

“I’m listening.”

#juzen #zumin #juminzen #jumin x zen #mystic messenger #mysme #fanfic #drabble #I am literally unable to write an unhappy ending for them #I'm soft and weak xD #thank you anon #I enjoyed this request!

74 notes · View notes

calligraphist-artemisia · 6 years

Text

I’ll Take Her Place (Chapter 7)

Summary: AU. When Allura breaks the news that she is to wed Prince Lotor in order to continue the peaceful relationship between Altea and Daibazaal, Pidge knows that she has to do something to change that. And so, with a little help, she comes up with a new plan. A better plan

Pairings: Keith/Pidge (main) ; Shiro/Allura (minor), Hunk/Lance (minor) ; Lotor/Allura (one-sided)

Chapter 1 - Previous - Masterpost

Also on AO3 and fanfiction.net

Work’s still pretty crazy, but it should start calming down after Christmas and then I’ll have more time to work on this fic.

Chapter 7

Hunk awoke warm and comfortable in his own bed and not in the middle of a desert with a name he could barely pronounce, spending the night fighting off large reptilian monsters that wanted to kill him.

Why couldn't he ever get the nice planets like Pidge and Lance? They each got to spend a day on their own in a jungle full of colorful flora and friendly fauna and on a planet that was basically a giant ocean populated by mermaids.

He was determined not to leave his bed for any reason until at least noon. The others would just have to deal with food goo for breakfast. And maybe lunch. He hadn't decided.

Hunk snuggled deeper in his blankets with a happy sigh. He'd sleep for a few more vargas and then get up.

As he started to drift off back to sleep, his bedroom door slid open with a quiet sound and Lance stepped inside with a tray of food. It was the delicious aroma which roused Hunk from slumber. He made a questioning sound, opening his eyes to watch his boyfriend move around to his side of the bed, where he placed the tray on the end table.

“Hey, babe, I made pancakes,” Lance said, his voice full of warm affection. He leaned down to kiss Hunk's forehead, but was unprepared for his boyfriend removing one arm from under the blankets to pull Lance into bed with him.

Lance went down with a yelp of surprise, somehow avoiding kicking the nightstand or elbowing or kneeing Hunk in any unfortunate places. He huffed as he settled down on his side of the bed, brown hair mussed. “So this is what I get for bringing you breakfast in bed?”

“Sorry, I couldn't resist,” Hunk apologized with a small smile. “You look cute like this.”

Lance's cheeks darkened slightly. “You haven't even said 'good morning' to me yet.”

Moving slowly enough that Lance would have time to stop him if he wasn't in a playful mood like he seemed to be, Hunk scooted over until he could easily move his head and kiss him softly on the lips. “Good morning. Thank you for making me breakfast.”

Lance smiled as he moved in for another kiss. “I even put in that fruit you like.”

Hunk made a pleased sound. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Hunk was happy to make an amendment to his plan. Instead of sleeping until noon, he wanted to spend the morning cuddling with Lance, exchanging kisses, and eating the food his boyfriend had thoughtfully made for him.

Keithir hesitated at the door to the training deck, unsure if he would be welcome inside that morning, even though Shiro had told him numerous times that he was always welcome to join him. He knew the other paladins were back from their three day long exercise and were less likely to be as accepting of him as Shiro. And if he was being honest, he wasn't ready to see Lady Katherine yet.

“You can't avoid her forever,” he quietly reminded himself as he punched in his temporary code and went inside.

Shiro was there, sparring against one of the gladiators, his new prosthetic limb glowing with a faint violet light as he punched his fist straight through the robot's chest. By the look of surprise on his face, Keithir guessed it wasn't something he'd expected.

“It looks good,” Keithir called out to him.

Shiro turned to greet him, ordering the program to shut down as he did so. “It feels good. Better than the old one,” he said with a smile. “I almost wish I'd asked one of them to look at it sooner.”

“So you're not mad about mother taking away your arm anymore?” Keithir asked teasingly.

It was so easy to relax around Shiro, to make jokes and let a sliver of himself shine though without the worry of being judged. Around Shiro, he wasn't the younger prince of Daibazaal, he was just a regular person.

Shiro chuckled. “Not anymore. Though I think I was in the right to be annoyed. I spent three days trying to do everything with only one arm and had to send my team off without me.”

“I think you did pretty good,” Keithir said. “So, what are we doing this morning? Hand-to-hand?”

Shiro looked uneasily at his arm. “I don't know about that. I'm still learning what this thing can do. And no offense, but your hand-to-hand could use some work. You could get hurt.”

Keithir had grown fond of Shiro's obvious concern for his safety in the short period of time they had been training together, but sometimes he felt like the man was trying to tread too carefully. He wasn't going to break from a little rough treatment – he'd been training with Thace and Kolivan since he was just a cub.

“I can handle it. Galra are tougher than you think,” Keithir said confidently, as he stepped into the center of the room. “You want to find out what your limits are, right? You're not going to do that by fighting robots all morning.”

Shiro looked like he wanted to argue, but Keithir held firm, waiting for the Black Paladin to agree. After a minute, Shiro sighed.

“You're not going to change your mind, are you?”

Keithir grinned. “Not a chance.”

Shiro took up a position across from Keithir. “Computer, activate intermediate training protocols.”

There was a shimmering effect as a barrier went up around them, giving them enough space to move freely, but providing safety to anyone who happened to enter during their match. Keithir also suspected that there was a safety net in place to prevent any lethal blows from being dealt, which was Shiro's biggest concern with his arm.

And so they began.

From his build, Keithir hadn't expected Shiro to be as fast or graceful as he was. He almost wished he had agreed to gladiators, if only so he could watch the paladin fight. It was more than just his form. With every adjustment Keithir made to try and best him, Shiro adapted as well, never once breaking his stride.

He found himself dodging more and more, moving as fast as he could, trying to find some advantage, some weakness. There had to be something. A chink in the armor that he could exploit. No one was that good.

Except for Kolivan. But Kolivan had to be that good. He was the leader of the Blade of Marmora, a secretive organization dedicated to the preservation of peace for all worlds. Thinking that Shiro was near that level was crazy.

Right?

The longer they went and the more winded he got, Keithir started to think it wasn't such a crazy thought. Shiro had barely broken out in a sweat and they'd been going for some time. Not to mention that he had been running a program before Keithir showed up.

The door to the training deck slid open to reveal Princess Allura and Lady Katherine, which distracted Keithir just long enough for Shiro to land a hard punch on his right shoulder, knocking him off his feet and crashing into the floor.

He was aware of the older man cursing and the sound of footsteps racing across the room. Keithir's entire shoulder radiated with pain as he struggled to push himself up using only his left arm. He caught sight of Lady Katherine rushing to the supply room, before Shiro was at his side, blocking his view.

“Prince Keithir, are you alright?” Allura asked, her voice filled with concern.

“I'm fine,” Keithir replied, even as his arm throbbed in protest. He looked to Shiro and tried to grin, but it came out as more of a grimace. “I know I teased you about your arm earlier, but did you really have to show me what it feels like?”

Shiro stared at him for a moment, a bit shocked by the joke, but then caught on and started to laugh.

Allura continued to worry as she hovered nearby. “Are you certain you're alright? We could have a scan done, just to be sure. Maybe you should spend a few doboshes in a cryo-pod?”

“They might still be offline. Coran mentioned it before we left,” Lady Katherine reminded the princess as she approached with a lightly glowing, blue pack in her hands. She tried to pass it off to Shiro, but he frowned at her and refused to take it.

“Pidge...” Shiro said gently.

She struggled for a moment before lifting her eyes to meet Keithir's gaze. He couldn't even begin to guess at what she was thinking, her expression unreadable to him.

“Lady Katherine,” he said, breaking the tension.

“Prince Keithir,” she responded. There was a moment when he thought she had more to add, but instead she held out the glowing pack. “It's for your shoulder. It'll help.”

“Oh... thanks.” Keithir took it from her, feeling the mild chill it emanated. He wondered how it would help, but placed it on his shoulder anyway. A numbing coolness spread across his skin, penetrating into the forming bruise and bringing immediate relief.

“I should go. I have to check on something,” Lady Katherine told Shiro. “It won't take long.”

There was something important.

The reason he'd been reluctant to see her again.

It was more than just the awkwardness between them. More than how nervous he felt when he thought about telling her that he was the half-Galra servant she'd been talking to.

“Lady Katherine!” he called out to her as she began to walk away. When she stopped, he knew he had her attention. “Would you like to go on a walk through the gardens later? After dinner?”

She turned her head to look at him and nodded in acceptance. “I'd like that.”

Keithir felt relief unrelated to the dissipating pain in his shoulder. “I'll pick you up at your room at seven.”

“I'll see you then,” Lady Katherine said.

And then she was gone.

Pidge had no idea what she was doing.

She thought a little time away from the Castle, bonding with the Green Lion, and putting a little distance between her and everything else going on would help her see things a little more clearly, but she felt just as lost and confused as she did before she left.

She hadn't even fawned over Shiro's new arm! It was sure to be a beautifully crafted piece of technology, but the sight of Prince Keithir being knocked to the floor had driven every thought of examining it from her mind. And then she'd frozen up when she brought him the ice pack, like she was incapable of handling even something so simple.

Pidge groaned in frustration as she stopped in the middle of the hall.

Why had she just agreed to a walk in the gardens with him? They couldn't even handle a walk from the dining all to her room without her mucking things up and overreacting to the mention of a color!

Pidge could feel a sleepy purr from Greenie rumbling through their bond, soothing her and reminding her to calm down.

“Maybe I'll go work on Rover,” she said to herself. It would calm her down, and while she was tinkering she would be able to think without her emotions getting in the way and clouding her judgment.

She turned around and began to walk back the way she came, taking the elevator down to the hangars rather than up to the training deck, her mind already calculating all of the changes needed to make Rover work properly.

The elevator stopped sooner than she expected, jarring her from her thoughts and then further knocking her off track as Empress Honerva stepped inside with Coran and a Galra she assumed to be Ulaz.

“Ah, back from training, I see!” Coran said by way of greeting. “Good to see you're in one piece!”

There was something about his tone of voice that set off alarm bells in her head. “Are the cryo-pods still out of commission?”

Coran's mustache drooped. “I'm afraid so. We've tried to boot them back up, but now two of them are no longer working. I'd hoped shutting them down would prevent this from happening, but...” He put on a smile that was meant to be reassuring. “Nothing to worry about! We'll have this figured out in no time!”

There was a soft 'ping!' as they arrived on the bottom floor and the doors opened.

“Good luck, Coran,” Pidge said as she went to step off.

“Lady Katherine, may I have a word in private?” Empress Honerva asked, catching the doors before they could close. She patiently waited for permission before leaving the elevator.

“Sure,” Pidge agreed, her nervousness returning twofold at the prospect of being left alone with Prince Keithir's mother. “We can talk in my hangar.”

Promising to catch up to Coran and Ulaz later, Honerva followed Pidge the short distance to the Green Lions hangar. Once inside, she spent a few long ticks looking around in interest.

“You wanted to talk, your majesty?”

Honerva laughed softly. “Just Honerva, please. We're to be family in just a few months. There's no need for such formalities.”

Pidge thought she might be able to manage calling the Empress by her first name, but doing the same for Emperor Zarkon was almost unthinkable. “Then please call me Pidge. Or Katie,” she requested.

“Katie,” Honerva tested the name. “I wish to speak to you about my son.”

Pidge's heart rate picked up. “About Prince Keithir?”

Honerva shook her head, locking eyes with the young paladin, her expression serious. “I wish to speak to you about Lotor.”

#voltron #fanfiction #kidge #arranged marriage au #have some fluffy hance #i swear they'll move past this soon

33 notes · View notes

thecoroutfitters · 7 years

Link

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

It’s a mystery in many houses – where in tarnation do the odd socks go? In others, there’s people like me who have a special ability to wear and snag holes … in just one sock … at a ridiculous rate.

This leaves many sad, lonely “survivor” socks waiting for their mate to appear, or hoping the next ripped sock matches it. Then, commonly, after ages spent waiting with other sad, lonely survivors accumulating beside them, they’re sent to the landfill.

Happily, it doesn’t have to be so. Those socks have massive potential for increasing our preparedness.

They can save us money and effort now, and they can be especially useful in a protracted crisis! Unmatched socks have a place from our kitchens and baths, to our gardens and back, winter and summer.

Garden Tie-Ups

One of the best-known uses for socks in in the garden is as ties for our vining plants like tomatoes and heavier squash or melons. They can be used whole and as-is, although that can be bulky. They can be split longwise down to the toe to create longer lengths, or cut off in rings or shorter strips.

Socks can also help us by holding the fruit itself. We can split them and tie them at the center to make a 4- or 6-strand “X” that we tie up from around the bottom of fruits to suspend from a trellis, enabling us to grow vertically and save space. Doing so can also limits some of the garden munchers.

Alternatively, with thick-stemmed autumn-winter squashes and melons, ties can be suspended from near the base of the fruit to the supporting rack. (Psst … check to see if they’re ready to slip regularly.)

I also use socks to tie and cover the plastic bundle I make when I propagate by air layering, to tie young trees and shrubs to their protective posts, and when I create limb spreaders for young trees or am creating an espalier or diagonal cordon fruit tree.

While they do hold more moisture than garden twine, they’re also less abrasive. I like the fact that they have some elasticity, too. Instead of snapping, they bend like a willow in the wind, and in some cases, because of the “give”, they can absorb some of the damage we get from summer and winter storms.

Pollination Protectors

If we’re gardening with a long-term disaster or instability in mind, eventually we turn to seed saving. Many of our garden plants are promiscuous, which can present challenges. To keep seeds true for another season, we can cover up flowers before they open (to include corn) and hand pollinate. Hose and dress socks excel here, ensuring we have another harvest we can count on from our efforts.

If flowers are delicate, we can slice up yogurt cups, plastic bottles, seed tray cups; bend wire clothes hangers into spirals; or create a couple thin willow rings to form a hollowed-out frame and keep our thin socks and hose from putting too much pressure on our forming flowers and their young fruits.

(Full disclosure: Pro’s actually use paper bags for breeding corn – zero chance of pollen seeping through the weave.)

Pest Barriers

Socks and hose can also help save our fruits from predation. As with breeding stock, some fruits may benefit from a ring or frame that keeps the cloth from making direct contact.

Coddling moth on tree fruit is the most common foe defeated this way, but it can help with everything from birds and bramble berry bunches, to tomatoes and hornworms. Cloth socks can also be substituted for newspaper when protecting transplants from cutworms.

Wicking with Socks

Heard of Earthboxes, or sub-irrigated planters and beds (sometimes called self-watering)?

DIYs from buckets, storage totes, and 2L bottles regularly call for a wick. There’s no need to buy mops or pond baskets, though. A polyester sock filled with coir, wood chips, or your planting soil will work just as well and last nearly as long. Cotton and wool socks can be cut into strips to perform the same functions for smaller containers.

On a different note, farmers and gardeners have started cutting up cleaned waste wool pieces from shearing, and tilling it into gardens or sticking it near root zones, especially for particularly thirsty crops. The wool absorbs water, keeping it available to plants longer. Natural-fiber sock pieces can do the same.

Allium Chains

Never really got the hang of braiding garlic and onions into chains for storage? No big deal. Thin dress socks or hose can make it faster and easier to accomplish the same.

Once cured, just bundle them up. You can use bread ties, paper clips, or clothespins to separate bulbs in a chain instead of tying knots, or you can cut right below the knot. (Remember to save the “toe” for flower & fruit protectors.)

Goo Grabbers

Got any bottles of oil in the kitchen – or one of those oil sprayers to replace Spam? Get any dribbles down them?

No? Can you teach my entire family how to not do this?

If you do, or if you have slick stuff it’s tough to grab in the kitchen or shed, socks can help. Cut the toe off, slide it over, fold over if desired. Dribbles will catch in the sock, not pool under the sprayer or bottle, and you can gain a little extra traction on those bottles.

Their ability to prevent accidental splatter or drippage also extends to paint cans and shoes.

When you’re ready to paint, roll or twist your sock(s) into a thin rope, and tie it around the can. As with the oil, it’ll catch any drips from the rim.

When you’re painting and staining and priming, you can also slide mismatched and sole-survivor socks over your shoes (and your hands) to help limit any drips or side spray from making contact.

Washing Up

Got a carpet mess to clean up? Stick bar soap in one of those sole survivors of the laundry, dunk, scrub, repeat. Bar soap in a sock will also make it easier if you’re planning to hand-scrub your laundry at some point, with or without a board.

Tired of losing those little slivers of bar soaps, or of dealing with the mushy mess?

Stick them in a sock, and hang the sock from a hook. You could hang it to drip into the sink, but for even less waste, set it up so it drips onto a sponge or the floor-scrubby louffa squash you grew.

(Psst … that sock thing also makes it fast and easy to wash hands over a catch bucket while camping.)

When it comes to cleaning up, we can also repurpose lone socks as reusable “Swiffer” pads for dusting, sweeping, and spot mopping.

Socks also make excellent dip stick wipers (and “hot pot holders”) to tuck along the inside rim of a vehicle hood. Tuck a few in with your air compressor to save your hands (and knees) there, too, so you spend a little less time using soap, scrubbing stains, and patching holes with them.

Critter Care

Got a small dog or pup prone to getting super cold in winter? Piglets or rabbits that need a sweater? Doggy child like to dip its ears in its dinner? Or shake them after an injury?

Socks can be the answer.

With a few snips we can create hoods and sweaters for our pets, as well as some of our small livestock.

They can also be turned into chicken vests, or used to create stockings and suspenders to keep animals from reopening leg wounds or chewing “hot spots” that may develop from allergies to grasses and insect bites.

A quick knot, piece of Velcro, or old belt can work to hold them over the shoulder, or you can use some garden twine to tie off between their shoulders or to a harness.

Those stockings can also be used in winter to help dogs gain some traction on ice. There’s some limited assistance for dogs that end up with balls of packs snow between their toes, too.

The biggie for me in winter, though, was always in limiting how much deicer ended up on their feet and in the house. It only works for front paws, but since that’s what mine will sit there and lick most often, that’s a win.

Every tiny speck that turns their socks crunchy-crispy is a speck they’re not consuming, so it was worth it to me even not being a perfect “boot”. A quick coat of spray sizing or waterproofing limits that exposure further.

Hoofstock can have fitted socks used to replace light brush guards as well as help keep them from messing with an injury. Socks can also be soaked as fly repellents, or help keep a heat rub or anti-inflammatory dressing in place.

If socks aren’t big enough to slide over a hoof, we can still use them instead of ACE type flex-compression bandages. As with garden supports, we can slice them long wise from the opening to the toe and use them as a wrap.

Just make sure they fit well, won’t slide off, and that we use tape or a salvaged piece of Velcro, especially for animals we won’t be watching – constantly and closely.

Applying a medical aid does little good if Rin Tin Tin or Silver manage to swallow an ACE clip or step on a safety pin. (That goes for brand-new, purpose-specific items, too, not just repurposed items.)

Solar Boosts

Got a water bottle that boils in summer? Pull a white sock over it. Want to help water absorb solar rays, either to stay warmer in winter or cut down on boiling time for instant meals in summer? Sheath it in a black sock instead.

The black sock trick can also be used as a heat sink for winter plants, with cans, bottles or emptied jars.

Socks as Saviors

We spend enough money on preparedness. Save it where you can. There are all sorts of things that can be given new life. Unmatched socks in particular are pretty useful around a home and yards – and we barely brushed the surface of their potential.

From feminine hygiene to small pouches, mittens to coin-roll saps, homemade draft rolls and dusting gloves, even as a washable alternative to paper for windows and mirrors – it’s a pretty big list, with pretty wide applications. They don’t have to cycle from waiting to the trash.

Go ahead and stash some back for hard times, but get started seeing nothing as a waste product now, too.

The post The Lone Sock appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

#SHTF #TEOTWAWKI #MARTIALLAW #BUGOUT #PREPPERBAG #USAF #USSOCOM #ARMY #NAVY #SurvivalFirestarter #Sur

1 note · View note

theharvestersbook · 6 years

Text

01: Meredith

Meredith had no idea where she was, and she didn't really care because there was warmth, and a sense that nothing could go wrong.

She felt safe. From a distance, she could hear laughter, like a melody just out of reach. It was a gentle static that contained the lyrical sound of her mother’s voice. Meredith couldn't make out any words, just muffled laughter and music. It was lovely, and she wanted to stay there forever. But slivers of a shadow crept in, and began to divide and dim the warmth. The laughter and music fell away and Meredith found her luxurious confidence being replaced by nervous anticipation. Suddenly, there was a horrible tearing sound. Meredith heard voices screaming, as a wave cold darkness rushed over her.

Meredith sat up with a gasp, sweating in the dark. The dreams were getting stronger and more real. She couldn't even call them dreams anymore because it felt as if she was actually there, in that chamber of warmth and safety. And she could feel it all being ripped away. Meredith lay back and tried to control her breathing. They definitely weren't dreams anymore. They had become something else, but she didn't know what. She knew she would have to tell Maya about this. But, she didn't want her mama to worry. Mama worried about everything already. Meredith placed her hand on her chest and breathed slowly and deeply. She closed her eyes and tried to think happy, peaceful thoughts. She tried to find her way back to the safety of that warm chamber. Instead, she wrestled with dread and anxiety for a long time. She finally fell into a fitful sleep and dreamt real dreams about large balloons rolling around and over her. Every time one of them rolled over her, it felt heavy, like thick, gooey rubber, and she couldn't breathe. It was an awful feeling, nearly suffocating. Then the balloon would roll on past and she could breathe again. The dream went on all night. Suffocating. Breathing. Suffocating. Breathing.

The next morning, Meredith dragged herself out of bed and staggered to the bathroom mirror and pondered the stranger looking back. Crazy nap-head. Dark circles. Pale complexion. "Sheesh." She worked her worn wetsuit on over her hips and let the top half hang off her waist. It was cool again outside and the water would be sharp. She pulled on a hoodie, zipped it halfway and grabbed her ragged gear bag and cap on her way out of her bedroom. Spaz was in the kitchen, waiting to be fed. Meredith dropped her bag on the floor and bent down to scratch her cat on the head. He purred loudly. "Good morning, slacker. Do any good last night?" Spaz turned and glared at Meredith with angry green eyes. "Alright," she smiled as she stood up, "Not judging. Just asking." Meredith poured food into a dish on the floor for Spaz, and grabbed a quick bite for herself. She checked the time. Five fifty-five. Four minutes later, Meredith stepped aboard the Queen Caretta. The breeze felt cool, but that wouldn't last. The colors in the sky and the water announced the coming of the sun, and the robe of heat she would drag across the gulf. But while it lasted, Meredith loved the chill of early morning. "Mornin', Mama,” Meredith sang out, “Papa Gill." "Mornin', Mer," they replied in unison without looking up. Maya was making notes in her log. Papa Gill was checking the harvest equipment. "How'd you sleep?" Maya asked casually as she wrote her notes. "Ugh," Meredith sighed, "stupid dreams." Maya looked up from her log and narrowed her eyes at Meredith, who was stowing her gear. Then, Maya looked over at at Papa Gill, but didn't catch his eye. So, she went back to her logbook. "Mmmhmm," murmured Papa Gill without looking up. "Dreams can be stupid as stones, and just as heavy." Meredith finished stowing her gear, and then sat on the gunwale, facing Maya. She looked at her mama, wearing shorts and a white t-shirt under a zipped hoodie, with her thick, brown hair pulled back under a suncap. So clean. So strong. Her mother's eyes flashed with the color of the shallow gulf water on a clear day as she scanned the sky for weather signs. They were both of the water, Maya and Meredith, both tan and both fit. Sometimes, people mistook them for sisters, which secretly tickled them both. Meredith, because she wanted to finally be a grown woman, and Maya, because she didn't. But unlike her mama, Meredith had blonde hair and brown eyes. Meredith thought about this difference as she sat and ate her breakfast, waiting for the other harvesters to arrive. Her eyes found their way out over the flat gulf water. On the horizon, she saw the silhouette of a commerce tanker hovering over the water as it left port. Probably taking a load of artifish to one of the other Quads. An angry buzz from overhead announced the passing of a patrol drone, headed out to look for food smugglers, no doubt. Meredith took a slow bite of her breakfast and was grateful that Mama and Papa Gill knew how to hunt and harvest. GM food, like artifish, funnel-corn and vita-green made her gag, and she could not imagine how the Corporates and Creatives ate it. "PG Wales, Powering Forever", Maya muttered angrily. Papa Gill nodded and kept working. “Let it go, Hun.” Even though it was illegal, Papa Gill managed to stow a real fish or two on the boat after a day's harvest. The local corporate food inspectors looked the other way because the harvest crew of the Queen Caretta made quota, and Papa Gill shared the real fish he speared with the inspectors. The patrol drone would be searching for real smugglers, the ones who sold fresh fish illegally. Not Harvesters, who were just spearing their dinner. It made Meredith glad to be a Harvester, even if the Corporates and Creatives dressed in Superbia clothes, and got private drones and long holidays. She wasn't sure what she would do with any of that fancy stuff, anyway. She tried synthahol once, at a Harvester party, and it was just as gross as artifish. She was happy to have real food, crappy clothes, and spend every day in the ocean. The drone buzzed off into the distance, so Meredith turned her gaze back to the tanker, moving slowly across the horizon. "Mama, ‘member the Spill?" "Of course I do, Meredith", replied Maya, sounding a bit irritated. "Do you think my daddy would have helped?" Maya put down her log book and looked up at Meredith. "I do, Mer," she said a bit more softly, "I do." This made Meredith feel good about her daddy. She never had a chance to know him very well; there were only a few, blurry images of him during the First Northern Oil Conflict between SonTech and Moon Energy. Most of the images she had of her daddy were with his mates in the 32nd Cyborg Drilling Platoon. But there was one of just him without his mates or his exo-suit. It was her favorite because she could tell where she got her hair and eyes, and her smile. Her daddy’s Platoon was ambushed in the Arctic oil fields and he fell through the ice and drowned, Mama said. Pulled down to the bottom of the Arctic by the weight of his exo-suit. The PG Wales Corporation sent a posthumous award to Mama that said something about "successfully defending a hostile takeover", but Mama just threw it in the trash. "Your daddy was a good man, Mer," Maya reassured. "He would have helped us clean up after the Spill." Meredith thought back to the Great Gulf Oil Spill, when that giant drilling platform exploded and just puked all this oil into the Gulf. Some oil Harvesters were killed, and so many sea creatures, she couldn't even count. That lady from PG Wales, Sue something or other, got on GlobaVision and promised everyone how PG Wales would make everything right. Meredith heard they even interrupted the Murderball Championship to send out Sue Whatshername’s message. But nobody believed Sue. Mama said she didn't have time for "That Fool" from PG Wales, and that was the last time they looked at the Globavision. Instead, Mama just volunteered, she and Meredith and Papa Gill, to help clean up. It was almost the hardest thing Meredith ever had to do. Almost. She thought back to the cleanup. There were lots and lots of volunteers, and they did save some animals. Which was good. But it seemed like tons more animals died. They died choking on thick, black oil. It still made Meredith's stomach move to remember all the goo-covered animals she pulled from the gulf. Pelicans, gulls, skimmers, terns; so many birds, dead or dying, blinded and flopping around in the black, gooey mess. And there were fish everywhere, too. Thousands, maybe millions of fish had washed up on shore. Papa Gill said they looked like they had been battered for a fish fry in hell, which Meredith always wondered about, because she never heard of a place called hell. But, she didn't ask Papa Gill at the time, because it was a very grim day. It was the big animals that really made Meredith sad. Some were fast enough to get away from the oil. But most weren't. They got trapped between the oil and the shore. Mostly, it was manatees and turtles. Some dolphins. Mostly turtles. Lots of turtles. They said it all but wiped out the last loggerheads. Some were kinda saved. They got picked up and taken to places where they were cleaned up and put back in a less polluted ocean, far away. Some couldn't survive in the wild anymore, and were given to amusement parks or zoos, like Globa-World. Meredith knew that the animals they put back in the wild all died anyway. She looked at her Mama and Papa Gill and wondered how she would survive without them. No one ever thought about how smart animals would do without their families. Everyone was completely clueless when porpoises and dolphins beached themselves everywhere after the spill. Meredith knew what it was; they were all going crazy with grief. She looked at Maya and thought, that's why Mama works so hard at everything; to keep from going crazy. "Yo, Bitch!" called a raspy voice that yanked Meredith away from her thoughts. Meredith turned to see a big girl with brown dreadlocks walking toward the boat. She wore a dive bag on her shoulder and a mean grin on her face. Meredith smiled and waved. "Hurry up, Sam. Or we'll leave your sorry butt behind." "Yeah, leave this behind," Sam responded, as she grabbed her crotch and thrust her hips at Meredith. Then she saw Maya and Papa Gill and quickly softened. "Oh, sorry, Maya. Sorry, Papa Gill," she said guiltily. "Mornin', Sam," said Maya sweetly. "Howdy, Samson," teased Papa Gill. Sam frowned and tossed her bag under one of the benches on the boat. "Papa Gill, that doesn't even make sense," she said. She turned to Meredith and shook her head. "Old man jokes." "C'mon," laughed Meredith as she slapped Sam on the back, "Papa Gill, we're going to get the rest of the gear loaded." Papa Gill stood up and looked at the girls. He grinned again and added, "’Bout time you two did something around here." Sam bobbed her head sideways and pursed her lips as she grabbed the cart on the dock and pushed it toward the storage shed. She and Meredith were halfway across the compound when they heard a shout and looked up. Walking toward them and waving were two boys. Kaikane, dark and lean, with tribal tattoos that curled like vines from his shoulders to his wrists, and good-natured Hamish, lumbering along with his shock of white hair and perpetual grin. With them came Neha, a slight girl with her perfect, black hair, perfect skin and perfect smile. "Hurry up, slackers!" Sam yelled over her shoulder. The boys shifted into a trot. Neha smiled and waved, but did not change her pace toward the boat. "Fucking princess," muttered Sam. "Sam, be nice," scolded Meredith. "Yeah, I'll be nice when Neha starts pulling her weight around here. Just because she's rich doesn't give her an excuse." Meredith frowned at Sam as she opened the door to the gear shed. As she stepped inside, the irony of calling the huge building a "shed" struck her. It was actually a very big building. Inside was a large, saltwater pool that Papa Gill and Mama used for training Harvesters. Two doors to the side led to locker rooms with showers where trainees could change before and after training. Papa Gill had told Meredith that in olden times, it had been called a "natatorium". At the far end was Papa Gill's shop, or laboratory, if you wanted to call it that. He was always building weird contraptions and doing secret experiments in that room. No one but Maya was allowed in, and she usually left smiling and shaking her head. Whatever went on in there, Papa Gill kept it locked tight. On the near side of the saltwater pool was Maya's workshop. She had her own special setup, but hers was aimed at helping sick sea creatures. There was an operating table, several saltwater tanks for smaller creatures, and even a lift for hoisting big animals, like dolphins and manatees in and out of the pool. Meredith was amazed at how much her mama knew about sea animals, and couldn't even count how many sick animals she had nursed back to health. But everything that Meredith and Sam were looking for was neatly shelved in steel cabinets just to the right of the door as they walked in. They had just started loading the harvest gear onto the cart, when Hamish and Kaikane trotted breathlessly up. "Don't hurt your wee selves, girls", Hamish teased, "the men are here to save you." "Shut up, Hamish," Sam snapped. Hamish stopped, and looked with raised eyebrows at Kaikane and Meredith. Kaikane just shrugged and grabbed an empty charger. Hamish started to say something to Sam, but Meredith interrupted him. "Where's Neha?" Meredith asked. "Doing something for Maya," Kaikane gestured back to the boat. "Figures," Sam sneered. "What is wrong with you, today?" asked Meredith. "You've been bitchy ever since you got here." "Yeah, well," shrugged Sam, "couldn’t sleep last night. Fuckin’ dreams will not stop. But, whatever. Let's just get this stuff on the boat, okay?" Sam kept working without looking up. Clearly, she did not want to talk about it. Meredith watched Sam for a moment. Sam was having dreams, too. Were they the same, like Meredith's? Were they as real? As intense? She opened her mouth, but decided not to ask. Not here. Not in front of the guys. Instead, she started loading gear and looked at Hamish. "How's your Gran doing?" "Great! She was off in her skiff with Max before I even got up,” he yawned. “Left me lunch and a note. All it said was, 'Hamish, off to find more samples. Safe Harvest! Love, Gran.'" "More samples?" "That's what she's calling it these days. She's convinced Corporates are watching her, and doesn't want to leave any 'evidence'.” He emphasized with his fingers. “So, she leaves cryptic notes instead." "Funny," Meredith chuckled, shaking her head, "she's a funny lady." "Yeah," Hamish shrugged, "I guess." Meredith admired both Hamish and his Gran. Him, for how physically protective he was of his tiny Gran; it was sweet that he believed he could protect her with his physical presence. Her, for how she refused to be protected. Meredith turned to Kaikane. The minute she did, she felt her heart hiccup a little. Kaikane was quiet and smiled in a kind and relaxed way that made Meredith drowsy. She took a slow breath to calm her heart and said, "Hey Kai, you know Papa Gill is gonna want to know what's going on with your application." "Yeah, I kinda figured he would," Kaikane answered. He stood up and caught her staring. She looked away. "Why is he so worried about whether I go to the Academy or not?" "Cause he cares about you, Kai," Meredith said, trying to pretend to count how many regulators she had in her hands. "He knows you don't really want to go to the Academy. Everyone knows you don't want to go." "Everyone but my father," Kaikane mumbled. He looked back down to check the charges on the batteries he had grabbed. Meredith carefully looked back up at Kaikane, secretly grateful that he was not looking her way. She noticed the way his dark hair fell in thick locks across his face. "So, what are you going to do?" she heard herself ask. Kaikane looked up and answered with a surprisingly sharp tone, "Well, I guess I'm gonna go, aren't I?" Seeing that he had stung Meredith, he relented and added in a softer tone, "Sorry. But, it's not like I have much choice." "Geez, Kai," Sam said from across the room, "You don't have to get crappy about it. She's just asking a question. Hope you don't go off on PG when he asks, cause he is going to ask." "I know he's gonna ask," Kaikane said. "Can we just talk about something else?" He paused and raised a sarcastic finger at Sam. "I know, let's talk about your dad, Sam. How's rehab?" "Fuck you," Sam replied without looking up. "Don't start shit you can't finish, brah" Kaikane said. He gave Sam a slight smile and went back to loading batteries. "Fuck. You." Sam emphasized by standing up and glaring at Kaikane. "C'mon mates," Hamish interjected, "It's all bollocks. No way to start a dive. Lets just get this stuff loaded." Meredith looked at Sam and Kaikane and thought, what just happened? She looked at Hamish for an answer, but he only shook his head and kept loading gear. Just as he loaded the last piece of equipment, Neha appeared. "Hey everyone," Neha announced as she entered the shed, "how can I help?" She stood smiling flawlessly in the doorway. Sam looked up and said, "Oh, great. Perfect timing." Neha's smile faded. "What?" she asked, "did I miss something?" "Just all the work," Sam said, more than a little sarcastically. She pushed past Neha, giving her a small shoulder bump as she passed. "Sam!" Neha objected. But Sam did not look back. She just pushed the equipment cart down the dock. "Maya asked me to...," Neha started to argue, but was interrupted by Hamish. "Don't even try," he advised, "she's in a regular mood today. Better off letting her stew. Probably that time of the month." Neha and Meredith looked at each other, and punched Hamish in both of his arms. "Ow!" Hamished objected. "What was that for?" "Your lucky it wasn't somewhere else," Neha threatened while Meredith nodded in agreement. Hamish just watched stupidly as the girls turned and jogged off after Sam. "Brah," Kaikane said, sliding up behind Hamish, and placing a hand on his massive shoulder, "Don't try to understand it. Just take it like a man and move on." He looked up at his friend and offered a casual nod. "Time to dive, brah," Kaikane said. He slapped Hamish on the shoulder and headed toward the boat. Hamish frowned and rubbed his arms. "I don't like getting punched all the time," he mumbled as he closed and locked the door to the shed. The deck bounced as he trudged after the rest of the harvesters.

Maya started the silent engines of the Queen Caretta and pushed the sturdy boat down the canal and toward the open gulf. Once they were up on plane, Meredith enjoyed the cool breeze and the gentle motion of the Queen gliding across the flat gulf water toward the artifish fields. She sat and watched the brightening sky. She loved this time of day, when the blue, grayness of the water and the sky met on the horizon in a way that she could not tell where one ended and the other began. It reminded her that she really lived at the bottom of one ocean and the surface of another. Two oceans? Or one, layered ocean? The Queen Caretta swayed on the incoming tide and the only sound was the rhythmic splashing of the her wake. Meredith studied each of her friends, captured by the hypnotic morning dance of the Queen, and lost in their own thoughts about anything and everything. Sam was surely thinking about her father's struggles with his demons. She had been the only force that had kept him from completely giving in to the siren song of sniffies. But it was a struggle, and a lot of pressure on Sam. Soon, she'd have to make a choice whether to move on and live her own life, leaving him to his self-destruction, or stay and keep fighting the losing battle to save him. Either way, Sam would lose. Kaikane had different problems with his father. His family had been relocated here by PG Wales after their island home was finally covered by the oceans. Kaikane's father, having lost everything to the rising tides and to PG Wales, who turned what was left of their flooded island home into a water park for Corporates, became obsessed with the idea of wealth and influence. He was determined that his son would follow the secure path and enter the Corporate Academy. Kaikane had other ideas about what he wanted, but he struggled to find the courage to live his own life. Fatherless Hamish was worrying about his Gran, out somewhere on her skiff with only Max, gathering her "samples". Hamish's father died with Meredith's daddy, although Hamish never spoke of it. He just fretted over his Gran, who was as fiery and wild as anything you could find in the ocean or the swamps. Gran had been a Harvester forever, and looked both old and young at the same time. Hamish thought he could protect Gran, maybe because he couldn't protect his father. But gran didn't need protecting. Meredith suspected that Gran was the strongest and smartest of anyone. Meredith's eyes settled finally on Neha. Neha smiled blankly at the horizon as the wind tossed her perfect hair. She looked like a fashion model on Globavision. What did Neha worry about? Did she worry about the parents she never knew? Did her wealthy aunt have any secret problems that Neha quietly wrestled with? Even though her natural beauty and grace made her an easy target when Sam or Kaikane were venting their frustrations, Neha never reacted badly, never returned anger or spite. Neha was always steady and calm, and it made Meredith curious, and sometimes, furious. "Hey Kaikane," Papa Gill broke the early-morning trance, "Have you heard back from the Academy?" Everyone looked at Kaikane with an awakened curiosity. Kaikane took a slow breath, nodded and, without looking at anyone else, said, "I got my acceptance last night." "Your father must be very pleased," Papa Gill observed. "Congratulations," he added sincerely. Papa Gill sat beside Maya and watched Kaikane with steady, cool eyes that always sparkled with a secret smile. Kaikane looked relieved, and grateful for Papa Gill's support. "So, are you actually going to go?" Neha asked innocently. She leaned toward Kaikane with sincere interest. "I mean, just because you've been accepted doesn't mean you have to go, does it?" "Well, I don't really have a choice," Kaikane shrugged. "My father says it's my ticket off the artifish fields." He stopped and looked at Maya and Papa Gill. "I mean, no offense..." "None taken," Papa Gill assured with a smile. Up to this point, Maya had been quietly listening from the wheel of the Queen. "You have to do what's right for you, Kaikane," she called back, "There's no shame in that.” "Well, I mean, it's what my dad wants; what he says," Kaikane explained. "Not so much how I feel about it. I like it out here, on the water. It feels free." "So, why are you so worried about what your father wants?" Sam challenged. "It's your life. Worry about what you want. If you want to stay on the water and on the fields, then stay." Meredith put her hand on Sam's arm. "Sam," she said softly, "don't start." Sam pulled her arm away from Meredith and looked at Kaikane. "So, seriously, Kai. What do you want?" She stood up and took a step toward Kaikane. "What do you want?" she repeated with emphasis.

"It's not that easy, Sam", Kaikane defended. "My father served in the Corporation. He shut down the last tuna processing plant in Samoa after tuna went extinct. He was part of the artifish development program. He's been a Corp most of his life. So, it's a family thing.” He shrugged and looked out at the water, “It’s just different for me, is all."

"Different than what?" Sam suddenly snapped. "You think it's easy for me to say 'No' to my father just because he's not a Corp? You think it's easy to do what I want because I'm adopted? Because I have a shitty home life?"

Neha stood up and faced Sam. "Whoa, Sam," she held her hand up like a shield between Sam and Kaikane. "Where did that come from? Kaikane's just saying that there's an expectation, him being a Corporate legacy and all. This isn't about your situation at home. And, oh. By the way? Let's not forget that you're not the only orphan on the boat, okay? So maybe stow the attitude?" She emphasized her statement with wide eyes and crossed arms.

Meredith looked at Hamish, who just sat, watching everything play out. She expected him to say something about being an orphan, about having a difficult home life, but he just sat and watched the drama unfold.

"Shut up, you fucking princess!" Sam jabbed a finger at Neha. "Your aunt is so rich, you have no idea what anyone else here has to go through. Why are you even here? You sure don't need the money."

Meredith looked away, out at the water, and stopped listening. "I'm going to watch for the field buoys," she announced, as she stood up and walked to the bow of the boat.

Sam leaned in on Neha and pointed at Kaikane, "All I'm saying is either do what you want to do, or don't whine about it when you decide not to. It's your choice." She let out a heavy sigh and added, "God, this is so stupid." Shaking her dreadlocks, she stalked up to the bow of the boat.

Neha watched Sam as she went. Then, she turned back to everyone else, she asked, "What is her problem today?"

"Who knows?" shrugged Hamish. "She's been like that all morning. She said something about bad dreams. But last time I had an opinion about it, I got punched." Hamish smiled at Neha, who just rolled her eyes.

"Her father's back in detox," Papa Gill revealed. "It only just happened last night. So, ya'll might want to think about cutting her a little credit. Like my Paw always said, 'You go poking' a cross varmint with a stick, and yer likely to get bit.'” He looked around at everyone, then added, “I'll have a small word with her later. But in the meantime,... well, I'd let her be."

Papa Gill nodded once for emphasis, and then walked over to Maya. He rubbed her on the back and whispered something into her ear. Maya nodded in response, and Papa Gill went below.

Sam sat by Meredith's side. From the bow of the boat they watched the horizon for the buoys. The Queen sliced through the grey-green morning water as the sun began to rise behind them.

They sat in silence. Sam stared at the water and wrestled with herself. Meredith looked at her hands and thought about her daddy, drowned in icy, black water. She didn't have the problem of deciding whether or not to listen to his advice. There wasn't any.

She opened her right hand and looked at the birthmark on her palm. Four concentric rings, broken by intersecting lines. If she didn't know better, she would have thought it was a tattoo, the lines were so clean. But it wasn't a tattoo.

When she was little, she hated it, and tried to scrub it off. Mama joked that she had the cleanest hands in the harvest village. But as she grew older, Meredith came to love the strange mark. She never could decide on a meaning for it, and never could think of a clever story to explain it. So in the end, it simply belonged to her, and only her.

Like not having a father, having the birthmark defined her.

#the harvesters

0 notes