Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen - Cold Hands and Warm Hearts

Dexter pulled on a thick, padded coat, before reaching into the box filled with random gloves, scarves and hats, seeking accessories that would fit him reasonably well. There were many styles and colours, a random selection and several had additional stitching due to tears or being a bit worn out when originally found. Which meant although he could avoid, by just looking, the pink gloves with the tiny fake crystals and sequins, didn't necessarily mean he could avoid wearing a pair with an eyesore acid yellow 'caterpillar' running down one finger. It was the apocalypse, an era to put down one's pride, but seriously, couldn't Patrick have used black thread instead...?!

Autumn picked out a navy scarf and wrapped it around his neck. "I've packed some tomato and vegetable curry, so make sure to check that they have sufficient rice on hand," she instructed him.

"Yes, dear," his voice came through the wool slightly muffled.  The sound of giggling girls followed a series of light running steps overhead.

"If they need anymore grits or potatoes, make a note of it," she continued after hearing his agreement.

"I know," he tugged down the scarf before placing a kiss upon her brow.

"Don't rush," she reminded him as he picked up the cool box with the three extra meal containers inside. "The ground is slippery. Oh, but don't take too long; it's too cold to linger outside."

"Don't worry," he replied. His eyes were smiling warmly from the shadow of his cap as he waved his hand and opened the door. The temperature wasn't overly warm inside the large house, just heated by a stove, fireplace and the natural heat of bodies, but it was still several degrees better than outside. Dexter immediately felt the change despite the numerous layers covering his body.

He trudged outside in heavy boots, glancing upward at a cool blue sky with distant clouds. Snow was piled up either side of him, but the path itself was quite dry. Further along he saw Tyler and young Kairo, the former carefully instructing the latter on how to slowly melt and evaporate the layer of snow on the path. Just relying on turning the snow to water was not enough after all, for that would simply lead to ice and compound his wife's fears.

Tyler had already levelled, but Dexter wasn't yet sure what that would mean in terms on his abilities. He had noticed, though, that he wasn't as bothered by the weather as the rest of them and was dressed lightly in comparison. Just a jumper and a raincoat while he shuffled around like a ball with tiny limbs.

Ren Zexian had mentioned that young Kairo was learning a different method of cultivation, some 'Droplet of Spring water falling into a Mirrored Lake,' thing. He didn't get it why it had such a long title, but he was told that while Tyler's cultivation leaned toward the making an manipulation of the element in its frozen form, Kairo's was more versatile and also be considered less combative. Not to say that it wouldn't be useful in situations when the boy might later have to fight, just that there was a great many more things he should be able to do. The techniques of purifying water, for example, would come much more easily to Kairo as would a whole plethora of other water based techniques.

What Dexter was not aware of was that there was a trade off. In fact it could be said that for every cultivation method that there would be some sort of disadvantage. Tyler would thrive more in cooler weather, this becoming more noticeable over time, while he would suffer in heat. This would not become more balanced until he completed the body tempering phase, at which time he'd be at ease in most conditions. Kairo's cultivation method was slower in terms of initial results, plus it required a temperament that was calm, patient and enduring. However, Kairo was young and his inner sea abundant even if his meridians were not as naturally strong as Tyler's, thus Ren Zexian felt the method was far the most suitable to the child.

Dexter reached a part of the path that had snow spilling from the mounds beside it, which crunched beneath his feet as he walked. The low rising sun in the Heavens shed its light on the frost covered limbs of nearby trees, the meagre warmth causing the ice to crack. Light turned to shadow as he entered the unfinished tunnel they had attempted to form to reduce the amount of snow they would have to clear this year. The sudden change in the weather had caught them off guard and it had become more important to completely harvest the produce remaining in the gardens rather than deal with these architectural extras. With the thick blanket of white that had been sure to come, it would have been a struggle to dig out the food, if it had survived.

The metal gate squealed sharply, Dexter put it on his list of things to urgently deal with. Sure enough, the sound caught the attention of some flying things. They couldn't be considered birds any longer; no feathers, but they weren't living things. They'd evolved to have thin membranes of sorts stretching from their otherwise naked wing bone to the remnant hollow carcass of their bodies. In some of these, a light dimly glowed within their necks. This was their formed cores and what allowed the former birds to still retain vestiges of flight. Fortunately, they were still susceptible to lightning. One of the small group turned into a charred corpse within a few seconds, another had its membranes pierced through, but before it could hit the tarmac, its 'allies' all fell upon it, tearing it to shreds before squabbling over its core. The core was caught in the beak of the more successful one, it took flight leading the rest in chase.

Dexter picked up the corpses (as best he could) with a plastic bag, then tossed them into the rough area of the mutated grass patch. They barely had time to sink into the accumulated snow before the whole mound stirred and swallowed the undead birds without trace.

The second 'tunnel' was better formed and inside were nook archways where they planned to expand, turning the area beyond them into runs and shelter for livestock in the future. Probably chickens. The land was flatter and less landscaped here meaning that it was better to mass grow crops such as corn and wheat, so it wasn't a good idea to take up too much room with animals.

The third property soon came into sight, sunlight glinted off of its windows blinding Dexter momentarily and he looked away to notice two silhouettes walking upon the wall. He identified them as being those two soldiers gone awol. He sighed. It turned out that base life no longer seemed to suit the pair and they bribed the squad who had friendly relations with the community to drive them back out here just after the first frost, then pleaded to be able to stay. Really it was awkward. Neither Dexter nor Jonah, who was treated like the second leader of this place most times, wanted to deal with any hassle for taking in the two men without their superiors notice. However, Ren Zexian had no such qualms, welcoming them back and promising to continue to aid them in their learnings as and when he had time. They didn't feel as if they could turn the two men back after that, so the pair had moved into a room on the third floor and furthest east. Still, they took up some of the slack on the walls for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon most days, which helped.

The front door to the third property was unlocked. There was no point locking something that a thief would have to survive and surmount the obstacles getting to before having the chance to enter. Dexter let himself in, knocking the snow off of his boots before stepping on the mat.

"Hey!" He called out to let them know he'd entered.  Two bright eyes peered from around the corner, before being hidden by a mane of hair as Nathan acknowledged his presence, his eyes did not rise to meet him anymore.

"Xian is with the hens," he mentioned before scuttling off out of sight.  Dexter pulled down his scarf from his face, but he didn't remove any of his outerwear, it wasn't much warmer here than outside.  He placed the containers from the cool box in the small cupboard, knowing that in these temperatures, they would keep well enough for a couple of days.  At least until he could return with more food.  The basket was filled with eggs, he transferred them all into the cool box before checking out the containers with the grits and rice, which seemed sufficient to his eye.  He would ask Ren when he saw him.

Putting the cool box to one side, he headed in the direction of the hen's room.  He heard them before he saw them.  Rather than just shut the door and hope the birds didn't get free, they used an additional metal barrier, like a kiddie pen to stop toddlers wandering when parents were busy.  Shutting the wooden door behind him, he didn't open the gate, just greeted Ren Zexian from where he stood.

He wasn't wearing his usual robes here, but a different set that Dexter had only seen him wear occasionally.  These were made up of loose trousers which had been tucked into boots and a shorter version of his robes, still tied up by a belt at his waist.  His few jade ornaments had been put away and his long hair wrapped up into a bun.  Though he was holding a rake, he still did not managed to pull off the look of some ancient farmer, instead he resembled a noble playing at farming.  Dexter didn't laugh, however, Ren Zexian was currently clearing up chicken shit.

"I came to see if everything is going alright," Dexter said to him, as the other man paused in his work.  "Do you guys need anything?"

"Our situation is quite good," Ren Zexian smiled, amicably.  "Nathan is content here, I believe this arrangement is suitable for him."

Last year, there had been less of them, but Nathan had had his difficulties living under one roof with everyone.  Although it couldn't have been said to have been bad, it hadn't been great.  Nathan had hid in their room whenever Ren Zexian hadn't been around to coax him out and he had often looked wistful those times he'd potted around with the small chilli plants and herbs and other things in the green house, eager to pluck seedling weeds and water and harvest, yet mostly not needing too.  And that was when they could get to the green house outside.

"That's good," Dexter was inwardly amused that Ren Zexian didn't talk much about his own feelings on living in the third house.  But then they did say that home was where the heart was.  They chatted a bit more, with Dexter advising him that he'd bring them more supplies in three or four days, depending on the weather.  Then Dexter left the contented couple to it, while returning to where his own heart waited for him.