Chapter Seventeen - First Fruits

The summer sun had graced the garden with its presence and the plants absorbing its rays basked in its light. The heat was quite potent for June, however and the men that knew only the usual fickle summers of their past were glistening with sweat. Ren Zexian was the exception to that rule, he seemed completely unfazed by the unusually hot weather.

Nathan, who was picking the ripe gooseberries, listened to the men moan and complain as they moved from the shelter of the house to try find solace in the shade. The one with the round face known as Patrick, tried to sit beneath the looming boughs of the black fruit tree, but was chased away as the tree mischievously dropped it's hard shelled apples down upon the man's head.

Ren Zexian's friends had been in the main house for a week now. Nathan wasn't too concerned about this, seeing as the last caretakers had become moving corpses and were no longer able to take care of the house. They tried not to be too noisy around him when Ren Zexian explained that he did not like loud noises, the previous caretakers had not been so considerate. But then, they had not been aware as Nathan had never told them. One of these new people had even brought him food and apologised for his earlier behaviour, though Nathan wasn't sure what he was sorry about, he accepted it anyway. His nanny had told him that it was polite to do this.

Nathan glanced over the remaining berries, these were not yet ripe enough to eat raw yet. An old chef used to gather the green ones and make a pie, always bringing Nathan a big slice, but Nathan could not cook it and didn't like the sourness of raw, unripe gooseberries, so he would leave them be for now. Some of the strawberries had transformed into their final beautiful, scarlet red forms ready to pick and enjoy. He liked strawberries the most, they were his favourite fruit. In the end, a fair few did not join the gooseberries in the basket, instead ending up in his stomach.

Ren Zexian kneeled down beside the youth just as he was biting into one of the lush strawberries, a look of rapture upon his face and red juice dripping down his chin. "Nathan," he said softly, his eyes filled with amusement, even as his calm smile revealed none of this. "My friends are going to look around the village tomorrow. They wish to see if they can make it safer for us and to see if they can find supplies. Is there anything that you need?" Nathan glanced at him, before swiftly looking away, absently munching upon the fruit between his lips as he considered the question.

His small tongue poked out between the stained lips licking away the remains of the juice as he replied; "I need some more wood for my stove. And it would be nice to have some cereal... or eggs. Did all of the animals get sick and die like the people?" He suddenly asked.

"I am not sure," Ren Zexian replied honestly.

"I heard a dog barking last night," Nathan continued. "I thought I might be dreaming at first, but it was definitely a dog." Ren Zexian frowned, wondering why he had not been able to hear it, but he was distracted by a red berry being thrust into his vision. "Would you like one? They are very delicious."

Ren Zexian smiled gently and took the offered fruit, biting it lightly and feeling surprised by the burst of sweetness upon his tongue. It was indeed very delicious.

*****

Nathan watched the backs of the men as they made their way to the front of the property border, his eyes fixed on the swaying length of black hair traipsing down Ren Zexian's back. His fingers itched slightly, so he simply rubbed them together until the ivy vine began to wrap about his wrist, demanding his attention. "I'll water you this evening," he whispered a promise. It was too sunny to do so now, his waters would just evaporate or the droplets could burn the plants leaves if cast too soon.

There was still much else to do in the garden as well; weeding to be done, new seedlings to be planted. Maybe he should have asked for a greenhouse; through his and Ren Zexian's conversations, he understood that he would need to produce his own foods throughout winter from now on. He would write a list for the next time Ren Zexian asked him if he required things.

The vines released their grip and he took the basket filled with berries towards his cottage, but paused to pick up a black apple, wondering if it was edible. "Can this be eaten?" He asked the tree softly. The tree creaked as one of it's lower boughs bent downwards and a thinner branch flicked the apple from his hand. "So it cannot be eaten," he translated. "Is it bad to eat your fruit?" The branches shook as if in denial. "Then it is not ripe?" The tree remained still, so Nathan assumed that this was the case. A small smile appeared upon his face and he thanked the tree before returning to the cottage.

There, he used his waters to wash the berries, then split them into two bowls, one for himself and the other for the friends of Ren Zexian. They had given him some food, which was a welcome change from his plain meals of vegetables, so he would give them some berries in return. There was plenty more due to ripen and he was used to sharing with the main house.

He washed his hands and face with a small amount of soap, before making his way with the bowl of gooseberries and strawberries to the main house. However, he came to a sudden stop, just as he went through the gate of his cottage garden. Before him was a large black dog, with visible fangs and bright eyes. It did not appear to be a Zombie, but seemed dangerous nonetheless. It growled at him, low and fiercely, but made no move to attack him. Nathan wasn't sure what to do and shuffled from side to side for a moment, before noticing the beast was hovering over a smaller form, something with a tangle of blond fur or hair?

The little creature coughed, dryly, the motion allowing Nathan to see a little of it's tender pink flesh. Its breath was also raspy and sounded laboured. Did it need a drink? The youth cupped his hands together and filled them with his waters, causing the dog to lick its lips and nose and cautiously move forward. Nathan held out his hands towards the animal, which lapped at his water just once before turning its attention to the little person beneath it, climbing off of it and revealing that it protected a small child. The dog nuzzled the child with its nose and whimpered as the child coughed again.

The water dripped through his fingers, but Nathan kneeled into the puddle he was creating and brought his cupped hands to the child's dry lips as best he could. It took several tries before he could get the child to drink, but Nathan was well accustomed to patience. Once the little one had enough, the dog growled at Nathan until he produced water for the hound. And after the animal had drank its fill, it curled around the child protectively and lay down.

Seeing this, Nathan picked up his bowl of berries and took it to the house.