To The Root

The forest was thick, the trees grew too close together and the underbrush grew to obscure any path that may have been made by the movement of people between each Outsider community. It took Ure’s knife some hacking and slashing to make the path wide enough for both him and Esther to walk through, but his niave enthusiasm kept him interested in the task. Esther instead chose to watch his swinging arm and lithe body as he moved, his muscles rippling like animals underwater.

“Ure,” She reached out to touch his shoulder, “I think I need some rest. We’ve been going for a long time and I’m tired.”

Ure turned to look at her over his shoulder, his eyes skimming over her face briefly before he nodded, “Of course. We can have a break in a bit, when we get to the next clearing.”

Esther shook her head, “No, sorry, I need a break soon. I’m not used to doing this.”

She was already breathing heavily. Her throat was dry and sore, her limbs were still aching with the leftover of last night’s fatigue. She was exhausted, bone tired. It had been three days through the woods from where she met Ure, and more than a week from her own village. Her body was beaten, battered and incredibly bruised, not to mention the bites that she had received from her toes to her midcalf from the insects that claimed the underbrush of the woods. Her clothes had not been enough to help protect her against the force of nature that stood between her and her end goal, the vast expanse of the city.

Ure raised an eyebrow, not too sure what to make of the girl. “You’re not used to walking?”

Esther laughed, “No, I… Well, I guess not? Not like you are.”

“Okay.” Ure nodded, even though it was obvious that he didn’t understand what she meant, “We can stop. And sit. And eat, if you want to eat food too. I… yeah, we can do that. The sun is directly above us, so it’s midday.”

The girl shook her head, hiding her laughter behind her hand, “We just need to rest for a bit, I’m a bit sore and tired. That’s all.”

Ure nodded and pushed through the path he had been cutting to, leading Esther to a small patch where the tree roots grew high enough for her to be able to perch on them as she opened her small pack of salted meats and cheese. He watched her slip a small knife from her belt and shave a slither of meat from the bulk before nibbling on it gently, letting the savoury flavour wash over her senses.

The boy sat on the floor in front of her and reached into his own pack, pulling one of the roots he had collected from the woods from it. He’d washed it and left it wrapped in a giant leaf, meaning it was still moist and soft as he bit into it. The moisture flooded his mouth and, as he swallowed, his thirst was quenched.

“Do you want some?” Esther asked, shifting on the root she sat on to make herself more comfortable. In her hand was a slither of cheese and meat lain atop each other, “Have you ever had salted meat and cheese before?”

Ure shook his head as he reached his hand out and grabbed the food from Esther, before sniffing at it delicately. A gentle lick of the meat caused him to to shudder, the saltiness of the meal was something he was unused to, but he still ate a bite before flinging the shavings into the underbrush. Esther watched him, amused by his lack of manners and general misunderstanding of most human interactions.

“Didn’t like it?”

“No, it tastes bad. Try the root, much better.” He offered his half-bitten root to her, “It’s sweet and wet.”

Gingerly, Esther reached out and took the root from her companion’s palm. It crunched under her teeth and an explosion of sweet water filled her mouth. Ure wasn’t wrong, it was much better than her meat and cheese concoction, it managed to revitalise her almost entirely.

“Oh, wow.” She passed the root back, “That’s really good.”

“Told you.” Ure smiled, looking up at her from under his hair, “It’s much better.”