[February 2] [Haven (Original)] Edge

[rosehiptea.livejournal.com]

These are two original characters I haven't written about in quite a while. It should be understood on its own though.

Title: Edge
Day/Theme: February 2 / three seeds
Series: Haven (original)
Character/Pairing: Wake/Dust
Rating: G
Word Count: 425

Cross-posted to rosehiptea



Wake takes Dust out to gather plants for medicine every day, surprised at how well she learns when she comes from a desert with fewer plants and very different ones. She has a song, about what grows in the forest, and when he tells her a new one she weaves it into her music.

When he teaches her, she looks at his face so intently that sometimes he has to look away. What is she sacrificing to do that, to look at him? Even those who are not of his people want men to look handsome or at least normal, don't they? But Dust doesn't seem to mind, and he is only so capable of pushing her away. He doesn't hold her hand anymore but the memory of it doesn't leave, and he knows she thinks of it too when she sits with him.

Today she wants to know what he carries in the pouch at his hip. He tilts his head, thinking, then opens it to show her.

"They're edgeblossom seeds. I picked them up when we were camped near a lake... years ago."

"What are edgeblossoms good for?" she asks.

"They fight infection," he answers. "But they have to be watched carefully to see if they have enough moisture when it doesn't rain, and to see that they're not overwatered either, or they won't grow."

"But... why would you plant them then? You never stay in the same place long enough."

Wake nods. "I know. I keep them just in case."

"Just in case what?" she persists.

He shakes his head, not really wanting to answer.

"You've thought of leaving. Leaving the caravan," she says.

How has she come to understand him so well? "Everyone thinks of it sometimes. Even the leaders. Even my mother, probably. But none of us really know what kind of life it is."

"It's a life like any other. And you could have a wife. It's only here that they forbid marriage to someone like you."

"You say it like it's cruel. Among any people it would hard for me to find a woman."

Dust opens her mouth, as if she wants to say something, then hesitates. He thinks he knows what she was about to say, but there is no pursuing it.

His hand is still holding three of the seeds, and she curves her hand around his to close it.

"You could have edgeblossoms," she says.

Wake needs to close his eyes as she gets up and walks away, singing a song about flowers and healing.