80. Kaya
Kaya
Robert and I stood outside the packhouse. Both of us were ready to go look for some wolfsbane. Robert signed to me. "How do you know how to make ink?" "Everyone knows how to make ink in the north. We make ink and dyes and a bunch of stuff from plants. Do you even know why we have wolfsbane on this side of the world?" "No, I just figured it has always been here." He signed, and I responded, "No, actually, hunters introduced it to different places." I knew the plant was not indigenous to most of the world, but when hunters were prevalent, they distributed the plant.
Wolfsbane was a unique plant. In the north, it would still bloom even in the winter. But it did not grow like wildflowers. It was spread out and grew like a weed that would bloom sporadically. Robert and I walked for over an hour until I saw small purple flowers peaking out of the snow. I grabbed my knife and cut off as many of the flowers as I could. I signed to Robert. "We need more than just one plant." He nodded, and we kept trekking.
We stopped a few more times, cutting more plants. When we returned to the packhouse, I looked at Robert and signed. "Take the plant to your room. Put them on a towel and in a place that is dry and gets a lot of sun. They need to dry out. In a few days, they should be ready, and we will make ink." "You sure you don't want to tell Cade." "No, we are not telling him until I have tested it. You are not to tell anyone about this; do I make myself clear?" He nodded, and I gave him the bag, both of us going to our rooms. Our clothes were wet from trekking through the snow and needed to get dry.
We hurried to get ready for dinner. Upon arriving, I saw we were already late, and I took my seat next to Cade. He mind-linked me. "Why were you late for dinner? You are never late." "Just some stuff to take care of." I was not about to tell him what Robert and I had done. He would demand I not do it, and I was determined. We ate, and I tried to push away the thought that I was lying to him. In a few days, I would not worry so much.
Cade and I retired for the night after dinner. We went to our room, and I flopped down on the bed. "Want to tell me what you are keeping from me." He mind linked me. I avoided his eyes. "Where were you this afternoon? I knew you blew off teaching?" "I just was out in the woods." I signed I didn't lie; I just omitted why I was in the woods. "And what were you doing, hunting?" I could not outright lie to him. "No."
He gently put his hand on my chin and turned my face to his, looking me in the eye. "Kaya, I know you are hiding something from me. I can feel it. Please just tell me what it is." He mind linked me. "You will be mad. It is better if you don't know." He was silent. "Is it going to harm you?" I took a deep breath. "Maybe, but I don't think so." He didn't respond for a long time. "Tell me, Kaya, I promise I won't get mad."
I mind-linked him. "I commanded Robert to tell you that he would test out the theory of making tattoo ink from wolfsbane on himself, but I plan on trying it on myself." He stared at me, then mind-linked. "You had Robert lie to me?" I nodded. I could tell he was mad by his face, but he was trying not to react as he said he would not get angry. "You were going to go behind my back and tattoo yourself." I nodded. "Just a small one on my wrist. It would not be too bad if there was a bad reaction."
"I don't even know what to say, Kaya. This was wrong on many levels." "I know, Cade; I just couldn't subject Robert or anyone else in our pack to test it out." "Fine, I will test it then." I just sat there looking at him. "Cade, you are the leader of this pack what if it hurts you in some way?" "Kaya, you were going to do it yourself. Why would I not do it." I understood where he was coming from. "Why don't we both do it. I got enough of the plants for a few small tattoos." "Fine. When are we going to try it?" "In a few days. Robert is drying the plants in his room." He nodded. He was still mad, though, and that was apparent.
"Do you want to talk about how you are still mad at me?" I mind-linked him. He took a deep breath. "You told a pack member to lie to me. You took advantage of your bond with Robert against me, which is not okay. I don't think I need to tell you how wrong that is. I get why you did it. You were protecting someone in the pack, but you had them openly lie to me. You commanded them to do it."
"I know, and I felt bad about it. What would you have done?" "I would have asked to speak in private, and we would have had an argument. I would not have gone behind your back and told someone to lie to you." I knew I was in the wrong. Cade continued to mind-link me. "Look, Kaya, it says something that you couldn't even keep the lie to yourself for more than a few hours. I mean, this happened at lunch, and it is the same day, and you told me everything. You must apologize to Robert for asking him to lie for you." "I will."
"Good." I mind-linked him. "Are we okay?" He pulled me into him and kissed me, and our minds linked. "Yes, we are okay. I have to admit it is kind of funny you couldn't lie for very long. I take it you never have been able to keep a lie." I smiled. He was right. When I was a kid and would get into mischief, I would lie to my parents, but in a few hours, my face would show I was guilty, and I would come clean. I stood up. "Where are you going?" He signed. "I am going to apologize to Robert." I mind-linked. "You could do that tomorrow." "No, I have found that apologizing should be done immediately when you know you are in the wrong." "Okay, well, hurry back. It is always nice to make up." "Was this a fight?" "I wouldn't say this was a fight but a disagreement, so yes, I think makeup sex is in order." I smiled and exited our room.
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