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The Reasonable Thing To Do
Jinyel didn’t know much about hard walls and thatched roofs. He didn’t know about cultivated gardens or ‘neighbors,’ and he didn’t know why everyone went calmly about their daily lives as the land grew colder with each passing trial. But he knew one thing for certain:
People needed to eat. And the Hollow Prince’s cottage did not have enough food for winter.
The Prince himself was as calm as ever. Perhaps he was accustomed to others gathering food for him. That seemed the sort of thing a Prince would expect. There was Gloom, the tunawa cook, but Gloom didn’t seem to be the foraging sort, either. He never brought ingredients into the kitchen, though he made excellent work of whatever ended up inside it. Then there was the woman trying to sort out the overgrown mess that was the Prince’s garden, but that garden was full of poisons and remedies instead of food. Jinyel hadn’t spied a single vegetable yet in all the trials he’d been here, which baffled him, because he’d certainly eaten vegetables since he’d been here.
And so the hunter was forced to conclude that no one in the house had any idea how to stockpile food for winter, and that all of them would starve to death if something wasn’t done about it. Quickly.
Ironically, the one member of the pack who seemed to have their head on straight was the one who didn’t come in the house at all. Toutouye, the Hollow Prince called him.
All the baskets?
All the baskets. Toutouye raised a curious eyebrow to Jinyel’s bandages. How many can you carry?
They stood at the edge of the cottage grounds, out of sight from the windows and shielded by an overgrown hedge. Between them were piled all the baskets that hadn’t been otherwise occupied in Hollow Prince’s kitchen, perhaps thirty of them. Several had been occupied in other parts of the house, holding laundry or silverware or other things which weren’t nearly as important as food, so Jinyel had emptied them all out and brought them here.
Big two, he told Toutouye. And those three small ones. You?
The boy chose four medium-sized baskets, and attached a handful of smaller ones to his belt.
Back and forth we go. Once our baskets are full, we bring them here and change for empty ones. Jinyel gave a determined nod in the direction of the cottage. We will make them survive winter if we must. Forage first. Hunt second, if we have the time. We can set snares as we go.
You can hunt with your back?
Well enough. The Prince ought to have a crossbow somewhere, yes?
If not, I know other places with crossbows. Or we could fight deer with our hands.
The boy’s signs seemed to be serious, so Jinyel gave an equally serious nod.
If we must hunt with our hands, I will aid you.
Toutouye grinned. I like you. Let’s find the honey locust.
They set out in the early morning. There were several honey locust trees just outside Egilrun, all of their branches bent with unharvested pods. Squirrels and birds left them alone, on account of how bitter the shells were, but the beans had a subtle sweet flavor when cooked.
Toutouye darted from tree to tree to gather pods, while Jinyel sat on the ground and shelled them. The younger boy bubbled over with energy that the older simply could not match, but the boy could not sit still to save his life, much less to extract beans. Monya, also young and full of energy, chased gladly after Toutouye, after leaves in the wind, after squirrels that wandered too close to Jinyel’s treasure. She was especially delighted when Toutouye chased her back, which happened too often for Jinyel to dissuade them. Oh well. If their wrestling grew too rough, he could heal either one of them.
One of the large baskets filled steadily with shelled beans, while a smaller one filled with hazelnuts. Toutouye knew what he liked, and as the person running around, he was allowed to gather whatever he pleased. When Jinyel’s hands ran out of work and Toutouye was too excited by Monya to gather more, Jinyel searched for less hearty forage ― wild mustard and thyme, and that peculiar Scalvorian lace leaf plant which tasted of peppermint. With a physical house to live in, Jinyel had somewhere to store every kind of seasoning he wanted. Had he ever lived in a settled place before? If there had been anything like that in the Eternal Empire, he didn’t remember it.
Apples next! Toutouye sign-shouted when the bean basket was full. Apples apples apples, and then plums!
Fruits were a bit more of a concern, since they didn’t stay fresh in baskets. But the Hollow Prince did have plenty of jars around the house, many of which weren’t set to the precious task of holding food. If they didn’t have food, they were fair game to be emptied out.
Jars, Jinyel asked. Where to get more, if we run out?
All the neighbors have them, Toutouye replied. We can just take theirs.
That was… surprisingly rational for a civilized place. Our neighbors? We can just take things from our neighbors?
Well, we can’t let them see us. But what will they do? Just keep the jars inside the house and they won’t know where they went.
Jinyel nodded appreciatively. We will do that tomorrow, then, or maybe the day after. The fruit must be processed quickly.
Applesauce! Plum sauce!
Yes. A great deal of it.
To the fruit they went, which was swollen with mid-Vhalar ripeness. It was an easy thing to fill their baskets, but not so easy to bring those baskets back. Fruit was heavier than beans.
Come on, come on. Toutouye nearly vibrated from impatience, and eventually just took off running to carry their baskets back to the rendezvous point. It turned into an unexpected blessing when he came back with empty baskets, and traded them for Jinyel’s. Here, you’re hurt, give the filled baskets to me. Now, back to the apples and plums.
The boy really did love his fruit.
Fruits and hazelnuts, beans and seasonings, it was all an excellent start. The boy didn’t seem especially fond of mushrooms, but those could come later ― for now, this was enough to feed the Prince and his household for a tentrial. Perhaps twelve trials, at a stretch. It would take several sunrises to wash, process, and preserve it all, but Vhalar was long and bountiful. If they worked hard and went back to foraging as soon as they were done, there was no way the household would starve.
It was high noon by the time their baskets were full, though this didn’t calm Toutouye in the slightest. If anything, it only made him more gleeful, and Jinyel only saw bits and pieces of the boy as he ran from one place to another. Eventually, Jinyel didn’t need to haul the baskets at all; Toutouye snatched the full ones from him and rushed back to replace them with empty ones before Jinyel had to ask. Jinyel lost count of how many they had or hadn’t finished, but appreciated the efficiency. It was a relief to be in the wilderness again, comfortable in the knowledge that he had enough to eat and a safe place to sleep.
Until, eventually, all of the baskets were gone. Toutouye stopped bringing empty ones, and arrived with something entirely different.
Finished? Jinyel asked. Sun is starting to descend. This has been a good start, once we get through everything tomorrow―
Toutouye put a crossbow into his hands. Jinyel blinked, but the boy was gone before he could ask about it. The last basket was spirited away, and Jinyel was left to contemplate what might happen next.
Did Toutouye wish for a hunt? It seemed a bit late in the day for that, and they had already set up traps and snares which could be checked in the morning. Jinyel knew how to hunt by night, and he had his night glow gem if they were to make a serious effort out of it, but sign language was a visual language. Though he might be able to see Toutouye’s signs with the gem, Toutouye wouldn’t be able to see his signs in return.
The boy came back in due time, and somehow his grin had gotten even wider. Hunt time.
Maybe. Do you have arrows?
Twenty five of them. The boy produced a quiver and fastened it helpfully to Jinyel’s belt. Is it true you killed a boulder snake by shooting it?
Those weren’t the exact words Jinyel would have used to describe it, but Yes.
Oh, deer.
Oh, dear?
Toutouye bounced on his feet. We’re about to have a lot of fun, you and I.
It is afternoon. It is very late to start a hunt.
I started the hunt days ago. I know where it is.
Where what is?
Oh, deer.
This felt like a joke which Jinyel didn’t understand. You know where deer are?
One deer. By itself. I know where it is. Three miles outside the city, beside a pond.
Three miles seemed like a long walk, especially now that noon was already past, but Toutouye seemed a capable boy. He also knew the terrain and hunting grounds much better than Jinyel, and seemed convinced that this was a task they could actually accomplish.
We will only have a few hours before dark, once we reach that place.
I know. This deer doesn’t run away. It will stand its ground. As long as we can find it, you can shoot it.
Odd. You’re sure?
I’m sure.
Scalvoris truly did have an endless supply of bizarre things. Then I suppose it can’t hurt to try. Show me the way.
People needed to eat. And the Hollow Prince’s cottage did not have enough food for winter.
The Prince himself was as calm as ever. Perhaps he was accustomed to others gathering food for him. That seemed the sort of thing a Prince would expect. There was Gloom, the tunawa cook, but Gloom didn’t seem to be the foraging sort, either. He never brought ingredients into the kitchen, though he made excellent work of whatever ended up inside it. Then there was the woman trying to sort out the overgrown mess that was the Prince’s garden, but that garden was full of poisons and remedies instead of food. Jinyel hadn’t spied a single vegetable yet in all the trials he’d been here, which baffled him, because he’d certainly eaten vegetables since he’d been here.
And so the hunter was forced to conclude that no one in the house had any idea how to stockpile food for winter, and that all of them would starve to death if something wasn’t done about it. Quickly.
Ironically, the one member of the pack who seemed to have their head on straight was the one who didn’t come in the house at all. Toutouye, the Hollow Prince called him.
All the baskets?
All the baskets. Toutouye raised a curious eyebrow to Jinyel’s bandages. How many can you carry?
They stood at the edge of the cottage grounds, out of sight from the windows and shielded by an overgrown hedge. Between them were piled all the baskets that hadn’t been otherwise occupied in Hollow Prince’s kitchen, perhaps thirty of them. Several had been occupied in other parts of the house, holding laundry or silverware or other things which weren’t nearly as important as food, so Jinyel had emptied them all out and brought them here.
Big two, he told Toutouye. And those three small ones. You?
The boy chose four medium-sized baskets, and attached a handful of smaller ones to his belt.
Back and forth we go. Once our baskets are full, we bring them here and change for empty ones. Jinyel gave a determined nod in the direction of the cottage. We will make them survive winter if we must. Forage first. Hunt second, if we have the time. We can set snares as we go.
You can hunt with your back?
Well enough. The Prince ought to have a crossbow somewhere, yes?
If not, I know other places with crossbows. Or we could fight deer with our hands.
The boy’s signs seemed to be serious, so Jinyel gave an equally serious nod.
If we must hunt with our hands, I will aid you.
Toutouye grinned. I like you. Let’s find the honey locust.
They set out in the early morning. There were several honey locust trees just outside Egilrun, all of their branches bent with unharvested pods. Squirrels and birds left them alone, on account of how bitter the shells were, but the beans had a subtle sweet flavor when cooked.
Toutouye darted from tree to tree to gather pods, while Jinyel sat on the ground and shelled them. The younger boy bubbled over with energy that the older simply could not match, but the boy could not sit still to save his life, much less to extract beans. Monya, also young and full of energy, chased gladly after Toutouye, after leaves in the wind, after squirrels that wandered too close to Jinyel’s treasure. She was especially delighted when Toutouye chased her back, which happened too often for Jinyel to dissuade them. Oh well. If their wrestling grew too rough, he could heal either one of them.
One of the large baskets filled steadily with shelled beans, while a smaller one filled with hazelnuts. Toutouye knew what he liked, and as the person running around, he was allowed to gather whatever he pleased. When Jinyel’s hands ran out of work and Toutouye was too excited by Monya to gather more, Jinyel searched for less hearty forage ― wild mustard and thyme, and that peculiar Scalvorian lace leaf plant which tasted of peppermint. With a physical house to live in, Jinyel had somewhere to store every kind of seasoning he wanted. Had he ever lived in a settled place before? If there had been anything like that in the Eternal Empire, he didn’t remember it.
Apples next! Toutouye sign-shouted when the bean basket was full. Apples apples apples, and then plums!
Fruits were a bit more of a concern, since they didn’t stay fresh in baskets. But the Hollow Prince did have plenty of jars around the house, many of which weren’t set to the precious task of holding food. If they didn’t have food, they were fair game to be emptied out.
Jars, Jinyel asked. Where to get more, if we run out?
All the neighbors have them, Toutouye replied. We can just take theirs.
That was… surprisingly rational for a civilized place. Our neighbors? We can just take things from our neighbors?
Well, we can’t let them see us. But what will they do? Just keep the jars inside the house and they won’t know where they went.
Jinyel nodded appreciatively. We will do that tomorrow, then, or maybe the day after. The fruit must be processed quickly.
Applesauce! Plum sauce!
Yes. A great deal of it.
To the fruit they went, which was swollen with mid-Vhalar ripeness. It was an easy thing to fill their baskets, but not so easy to bring those baskets back. Fruit was heavier than beans.
Come on, come on. Toutouye nearly vibrated from impatience, and eventually just took off running to carry their baskets back to the rendezvous point. It turned into an unexpected blessing when he came back with empty baskets, and traded them for Jinyel’s. Here, you’re hurt, give the filled baskets to me. Now, back to the apples and plums.
The boy really did love his fruit.
Fruits and hazelnuts, beans and seasonings, it was all an excellent start. The boy didn’t seem especially fond of mushrooms, but those could come later ― for now, this was enough to feed the Prince and his household for a tentrial. Perhaps twelve trials, at a stretch. It would take several sunrises to wash, process, and preserve it all, but Vhalar was long and bountiful. If they worked hard and went back to foraging as soon as they were done, there was no way the household would starve.
It was high noon by the time their baskets were full, though this didn’t calm Toutouye in the slightest. If anything, it only made him more gleeful, and Jinyel only saw bits and pieces of the boy as he ran from one place to another. Eventually, Jinyel didn’t need to haul the baskets at all; Toutouye snatched the full ones from him and rushed back to replace them with empty ones before Jinyel had to ask. Jinyel lost count of how many they had or hadn’t finished, but appreciated the efficiency. It was a relief to be in the wilderness again, comfortable in the knowledge that he had enough to eat and a safe place to sleep.
Until, eventually, all of the baskets were gone. Toutouye stopped bringing empty ones, and arrived with something entirely different.
Finished? Jinyel asked. Sun is starting to descend. This has been a good start, once we get through everything tomorrow―
Toutouye put a crossbow into his hands. Jinyel blinked, but the boy was gone before he could ask about it. The last basket was spirited away, and Jinyel was left to contemplate what might happen next.
Did Toutouye wish for a hunt? It seemed a bit late in the day for that, and they had already set up traps and snares which could be checked in the morning. Jinyel knew how to hunt by night, and he had his night glow gem if they were to make a serious effort out of it, but sign language was a visual language. Though he might be able to see Toutouye’s signs with the gem, Toutouye wouldn’t be able to see his signs in return.
The boy came back in due time, and somehow his grin had gotten even wider. Hunt time.
Maybe. Do you have arrows?
Twenty five of them. The boy produced a quiver and fastened it helpfully to Jinyel’s belt. Is it true you killed a boulder snake by shooting it?
Those weren’t the exact words Jinyel would have used to describe it, but Yes.
Oh, deer.
Oh, dear?
Toutouye bounced on his feet. We’re about to have a lot of fun, you and I.
It is afternoon. It is very late to start a hunt.
I started the hunt days ago. I know where it is.
Where what is?
Oh, deer.
This felt like a joke which Jinyel didn’t understand. You know where deer are?
One deer. By itself. I know where it is. Three miles outside the city, beside a pond.
Three miles seemed like a long walk, especially now that noon was already past, but Toutouye seemed a capable boy. He also knew the terrain and hunting grounds much better than Jinyel, and seemed convinced that this was a task they could actually accomplish.
We will only have a few hours before dark, once we reach that place.
I know. This deer doesn’t run away. It will stand its ground. As long as we can find it, you can shoot it.
Odd. You’re sure?
I’m sure.
Scalvoris truly did have an endless supply of bizarre things. Then I suppose it can’t hurt to try. Show me the way.
