Kindness

Everyone ate early. They had bread, eggs, and meat, which Jayla said they got from trading eggs and handicrafts in Yesau. I politely refused most of the food, not feeling hungry yet, but was convinced into eating some of the bread—which was flatbread, spiced, and quite good—and spreading some eggs on top, which was apparently how they ate eggs, cooking them down into a bread topping or folding them up within the bread.

It was hot, even though it was evening by now, and I was sweating in my jeans. Jayla offered me a change of clothes, and I accepted. The Asan had different standards of modesty, but I was okay with that. If anything, changing where Casselian could see might help him be less suspicious. I didn’t have any weapons or anything I was hiding. Even my cell phone, I hadn’t brought to the convenience store. In terms of evidence of the modern world, there was only the style and construction of my clothes, and the fiver I had in my back pocket.

I slipped into the loose linen—it was linen, I was pretty sure—and tied up the drawstrings of the pants.

“Do you want this?” Jayla asked, passing me a soft leather bag with clasps.

“You’re too generous,” I said, taking it.

Casselian sighed. “Every resource you give away is one we no longer have. Jayla, you know that.”

“After this—if all her information is reliable and stuff—you should let her stay with us. And then, if she has good clothes and a bag and all that, she’ll be adding to the group better.”

“...Alright. You, Naomi, make sure you realize the value of what she’s given you. It takes months to make a bag of that quality, as well as to get flax fibers and weave that fabric.”

Yeah, it would, wouldn’t it? I wasn’t in my modern world anymore, where the value of every item could be reduced to a cheap monetary value.

“I’m very grateful,” I said truthfully, then “Do you want my jeans?”

“What’re ‘jeans’?” Jayla asked.

“My pants. They’re pants made of reinforced denim fabric and usually dyed blue. They’re the most popular thing to wear where I come from because they’re supposed to be sturdy and stylish.” I held them out. “They’re too hot for this weather, but they really are sturdy and nice. Can they repay you, at least a little?”

$13 jeans (since I’d bought them at Goodwill). Not exactly priceless, but it wasn’t like Jayla knew they were made in a factory.

“You should keep them. I didn’t give you the clothes and stuff just because I wanted yours.”

“Agreed. But if we get through this next night in good shape, may I take a look at them? I’d like to see how they’re made.”

Casselian said that casually, like he hadn’t thought it through. Jayla’s eyes widened, and I pressed a hand to my heart, which had been beating double-time, in relief.

“Naomi, did you hear that? He’s totally going to let you stay.”

“I heard.” I bowed slightly. “Thank you very much.”

“O-Of course,” Casselian said, eyes focused on a design of the tent behind my head. “Now…. now, get out of here! It’s almost dusk.”

Right. Get out of there.

I left through the front entrance this time.

The view was pretty much the same. Joshua trees to one side, the conquered town of Yesau to the other. In the other directions, I couldn’t see much, just more lonely desert, shrubs, and trees. A few tall cacti stood in resistance against the sky; a hot breeze blew against my face and blew bits of sand into my ankles.

I wanted to stay nearby. To see what the Asan would do, what the Ry’ke would do, and to maybe help, if I could: so I started walking towards one of the groves of trees.

I picked one only about five minutes walk away, close enough to get back in two minutes or so if I ran, and at a slight elevation, so I had a good view of what was going on. Nestling under a tree, with the trunk to my back and a shrub in front of me, I watched the camp as most of the people there left, directed by Casselian.

Two of the three children were running around Jayla’s feet, and she held the third one in her arms. Casselian took her off to the side to talk to her briefly, then gave her a long spear. He gave rifles to two other adults, another spear to a third, and then beckoned and started walking back to the tent. Nine other fit adults followed him.

They’re keeping a third of their population at the tent! …To stage a surprise attack, presumably. It wasn’t a bad idea, but it was way too dangerous. I didn’t want them to die like they had before.

I’d have to help out.

As the original author, I was well-equipped for sabotage. I knew the vulnerabilities of Ry’keth’s machines (for the most part), and of its people. If I could find where the military was staying before this advance, I could damage their attack before it began.

They’ll probably be staying in Yesau, I realized with some unhappiness. I’d stick out like a sore thumb there. But it was a fact; I didn’t see Captain Sy'anh expending his unit’s energy and resources on camping out, when there was a perfectly friendly town nearby. Maybe they’d circle around to hit the Asan encampment from an unexpected place sometime closer to morning, but for now, they’d probably be having dinner and relaxing in the Ry’ke’s section of town.

Walking at a wide angle, avoiding the tent and where I guessed the other Asan had gone, I started the trek towards the enemy city.