Craft (26 page)

That evening Thane made a surprise
appearance. It was not with a note strapped to Caw’s leg. Ellie
heard a sharp ‘tap, tap, tap!’ on the outside of her shack.
Surprised at the sound, she looked up from the book she was
reading. No one beyond Momma visited her in her shack. Her first
thought was that her imagination was playing tricks on her. It was
something that happened often in the solitude of her home. She had
been reading Edgar Allen Poe after all, but the sound came again.
‘Tap, tap, tap!’

“Hello?” she called.

Ellie was not going to part the vines
until she knew who was outside. Caw took off from the perch she had
crafted for him and flew through the trap door she had forged out
of the ceiling. She did not call to the bird to come back. She
trusted that he would tell her if the person was an
enemy.

“Open up!” she heard Thane call
through the panels.

Ellie’s eyes widened in shock at the
call. His voice was the last thing she had expected. “What are you
doing coming here?!” she demanded.

“You want to talk about it in there or
out here?” he whispered.

“Alright, alright,” Ellie said. “Hold
on.”

Ellie waved her hand and felt the
vines part. She adjusted her sweaty, dirty clothes awkwardly as she
waited. She had not crafted a shower – she had not thought one was
necessary. Now, she was aware of her dirt.

The door opened and Thane walked
through with Caw on his shoulder. When he opened the door, Ellie
saw that it was raining. She had had been too engrossed in her book
to notice before. Thane was soaked from the rain. He stepped inside
and shut the door quickly. Ellie moved the vines back in place, her
heart pounding with fear they would be caught.

She put her hands on her hips and
looked at him with daggers in her eyes. The water from the rain
dripped on to her floor. Thane’s hair was plastered to his
forehead. Ellie could not tell how long he had been in the rain,
but it was long enough to be dangerous. He knew better than to hang
around her house after the close call with Careen. She couldn’t
understand why he would take such a risk.

“Are you stupid?!” she asked in a low
whisper.

“I’ve heard I am,” Thane
admitted.

“I thought we were gonna give it some
time before you came 'round again,” she said.

“I wanted to be sure it was you
sending the note,” Thane said.

Thane picked up one of Ellie’s books
and looked at the spine. He set it down and looked around the room
with the eye of someone seeing a place for the first time. He had
been preoccupied by his seeming abduction last time to notice the
details of the room. His eyes were bright as he took in Ellie’s
collection of books and memories. He noticed her boots next to the
sofa. He smiled at the sight of them.

Ellie made a face at him. She could
tell he would not risk his safety for so little. He had come for
another reason, a reason that went beyond her note.

“Really?” Ellie demanded.

“Of course,” he replied. “Why would I
lie?”

“I’m simple, not stupid,” Ellie said.
“Why are you here?”

Thane sighed and bypassed her to sit
on her sofa. He sat, dripping more water on to her sofa. Ellie
waved a hand and dried him and the sofa off. Thane did not even
seem to notice the craft. An aura of agitation and irritation
surrounded him as he sat. He could not hide his emotions from
her.

“I got in a fight with my brother,
Connor. You met him…”

“Yeah, I remember,” Ellie said. “What
did you get in a fight about?”

Thane did not answer right away. He
petted Caw and focused on the books next to him. Ellie kept her
arms crossed and waited for him to tell the truth. She wanted to
understand why he would come so far over a fight. Was he reckless,
stupid or simply in need of a friend? Was it all three?

“The feud,” Thane finally
said.

“What in particular about the feud?”
Ellie asked.

Thane shifted uncomfortably. The
secret was not easy to share. “I don’t want to talk about it,”
Thane said.

“You came over at the worst time
possible, and risked Neveah seeing you, not to tell me about it?”
Ellie asked.

Thane shrugged in agreement. “Yeah,”
he said.

Ellie frowned at him, her disapproval
written across her face. Her stare was fierce. If she had a mirror
in her shack, she would have seen an expression that resembled her
momma’s stare when she was being disobeyed. It was a look that
carried with it power and determination. He would tell her the
truth. There was no other option. Thane fidgeted until he could not
take the weight of the stare anymore. He knew better than to fight
against that kind of look. He let out a long sigh and gave
in.

“Connor wants to attack your house
again, to pay you back for the fight your family won recently,”
Thane admitted. “I told him it was a bad idea.”

“It
is
a bad idea,” Ellie agreed. “He’ll
end up getting people killed.”

“I know,” Thane said. “I told him as
much. I tried to remind him what happened last time.”

“He didn’t like your commenting?” she
asked.

“No, not really,” Thane
admitted.

“Is he gonna attack my house, then?”
Ellie asked.

“I dunno, and even if he did, I don’t
know if I should tell you. I’m caught in the middle, do you see?”
Thane asked.

Thane’s face was bothered; it was as
conflicted as his words suggested. He wrestled with the idea of
betraying his family against confiding in a friend, particularly
when the information could save her life. His confliction was proof
that the feud was just as messy as Ellie had determined it to be.
It was part of her justification for trying to cut off ties with
Thane.

Despite having proof that cutting off
ties would be easier, Ellie understood his confliction. She trusted
him and she certainly did not want to see him hurt, but telling him
about an attack on the Coopers did not mean the information would
stay in his hands. He would tell his family, just as she would tell
hers. People would be hurt because of their obligation to protect
their blood relatives.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t be sure about
telling you what I hear, either,” Ellie said.

Thane continued to stroke Caw
thoughtfully and looked at a pile of books across the room. His
mind was lost in the strange place he had found himself in with his
growing friendship. He had never felt the cost of the feud so
personally. It had always been nothing more than reality. Now it
was personal; it was deadly.

Ellie looked at a pile of books on the
other side, her mind lost in the same thoughts. She fidgeted and
played with the hem of her dress thoughtfully. She realized talking
about the feud only brought worry and regret for their situation.
It was not what she enjoyed about seeing him. It was not the
happiness she wanted to find when he was around. He was a bright
spark in the dark, not the source of darkness.

“I know it’s probably difficult
considering things, but, maybe, we need not talk about the feuding
as a rule. We let them do their fighting and we stay
friendly-like,” Ellie suggested.

“I don’t know if that’s possible,”
Thane said.

“Why?” Ellie asked.

“Because part of the fight was also
about me. Connor says if I want to earn my right as a Cooper, I
have to make up for the mistake I made when I attacked your house
the first time. He says I have to help him…or else.”

“Oh…I see. Well, I suppose you gotta
do what you gotta do,” Ellie said.

Thane threw up his hands and gave her
a look that spoke volumes at her reply. He was agitated again, for
a different reason.

“You make no sense!” Thane said. “You
keep telling me it’s okay to attack you and your family, as if
you’re talking about going on a walk or baking a dinner. Why can’t
you get angry?!”

“It’s
not
okay with me, but I can’t stop
the fighting,” Ellie said. “Your lot and my lot will be fighting
until way after we’re dead and gone. Pretending otherwise is just
silly…it’s fantasy even I can’t believe in. I can imagine how your
papa is about the feud. I got Neveah my own self. A person’s got to
do what they can to avoid trouble. You gotta play your part, same
as I do.”

“It’s complicated now, though,” Thane
said.

“I know it,” Ellie agreed.

They were silent for a long while.
Ellie was thinking about Thane’s situation. She could not imagine
having to attack his family and run the risk of hurting him on
accident, not after everything they had been through together. The
possibility had never felt more real. At least she knew Neveah
would never include her in the fighting. Neveah thought too little
of Ellie for that.

Thane finally broke the silence. He
had not risked sneaking into her shack just to mope or whine about
his confliction. They had shared their moment in the woods. Their
confliction had been aired out there. There was no point dwelling
on it. He pointed at the book she had placed on the table; the one
she had been reading when he arrived.

“What are you reading?” Thane
asked.

Ellie smiled at the question. She knew
it was a distraction, but it was a welcome one. It was a silent
agreement to put aside the feud and create another neutral space in
her shack. There was no feud when they were together, only two
friends discussing whatever they wanted. She started telling Thane
about it, her excitement for the story and the writing palpable
across the small space. They talked until it was very late, too
late for anyone but the moon to be up.

Ellie curled up in a chair she had
crafted as they talked. It was Thane’s turn to show his exhaustion
first, however. He leaned back against the sofa and shut his eyes
between one of Ellie’s words and the next. His breathing was slow
and steady as he dozed off. It was calming. Ellie listened to it
for a long time before the rhythm of it soothed her in to a deep
sleep.

When she woke up the next morning,
Thane was gone. Ellie was not sure how he had parted the vines, but
the curiosity did not last long. In his place was a book she had
never seen before. It was slender and had a binding that was worn
and tattered. It was small enough to fit in a pocket. There was no
title on the outside, but the inside cover had a picture and small
lettering. The lettering suggested it was a collection of stories.
Ellie smiled when she saw the title of the first story: Cinderella.
She shut the book and put it into her pocket. Like her boots, it
was proof of an adventure. It was proof she could keep on her at
all times.

“Why are you humming?” Neveah
asked.

Ellie looked up from the floor she was
scrubbing and realized her sister was right. She had been humming.
Ellie looked around the kitchen for a quick answer. Cousin’s banjo
was in the corner of the room.

“Cousin was playing songs when he was
here earlier. One got stuck in my head,” Ellie said.

Neveah put a hand to her temple, her
face pained. “Keep it down. I got a headache,” Neveah
said.

“Sorry,” Ellie said.

Neveah started to turn away. She
thought of something and turned back. “Family’s coming over
tonight. We got things to discuss. Be outta the way when they get
here. I don’t want you distracting them.”

“Fine by me,” Ellie said.

Neveah frowned at Ellie’s tone, but
did not say anything. She turned away with a flick of her hair, her
hand moving back to her forehead. Ellie heard the squeak of the
sofa as Neveah sat down.

“Bring me a cool cloth!” Neveah yelled
after a moment.

Ellie sighed and put her scrubbing
brush down. She pulled a cloth out of the closet and wet it. She
wrung out the excessive moisture and brought it to Neveah
obediently.

“What took you so long?” Neveah asked
as Ellie handed her the cloth.

“You won’t let me craft,” Ellie
pointed out.

“Damn straight,” Neveah
said.

Ellie kept her face neutral despite
her irritation and tried to turn away from her sister. Neveah
caught her wrist, forcing Ellie to face her again. Neveah’s eyes
were enigmatic as she looked at Ellie. There was a strange
expression on her face. It was almost like concern. Concern mixed
with suspicion.

“You haven’t been crafting have you?”
Neveah asked.

“No…” Ellie lied.

“Well, something’s different,” Neveah
said.

“About me?” Ellie asked.

“You’re spending less time daydreaming
and more time hurrying to get your chores done. I’ve never seen you
so focused on work,” Neveah said. Her face hardened as an idea
occurred to her. “I think you’re practicing your crafting at
night.”

“I’ve been reading at night,” Ellie
said. “Momma brought me…”

Neveah held up her hand. She was not
interested in Ellie’s excuses or mention of their Momma. She knew
Ellie had to be practicing. A Bumbalow knew craft like a farmer
knew seed. It was impossible to stop craft just because it had been
forbidden.