Toff frightened a deer a short while later. The deer had been foraging for acorns in the stand of oaks he now slogged through on his journey to find food and shelter. The misty rain had gotten heavier, Toff had gotten hungrier and he felt as if the world had already forgotten that he'd ever existed. Mist and fog were now rising from the ground and Toff worried that it would get so thick he wouldn't be able to see after a while. "Must be going through a low spot," Toff mumbled and the sound of his voice in the muted quiet almost made him jump. He only wore a thin jacket, which was well on its way to getting completely soaked.
* * *
"It took you long enough," Mother Fern snapped when Nissa walked in with Toff's two canvas bags filled with clay and the shovel tucked under an arm.
"My apologies, Mother Fern." Nissa had gotten the name by Looking, in addition to other information on her trek back from digging clay. Nissa would have to be extremely careful—she'd been thinking about Toff and determined that the farther he was away from these people, the better off he was. She was buying time for him to find a safe place. At least that's what she hoped was happening.
"Dump the clay and start working on the roots and gravel," Mother Fern grumbled, leaving her potter's wheel to examine what Nissa had brought. Nissa was frightened that Mother Fern might discover her disguise, but Mother Fern didn't notice a thing except the clay Nissa dumped on the table. "Where are the roots?" Mother Fern demanded.
"I uh, pulled them all out," Nissa felt a flush creeping across her cheeks.
"It's about time," Mother Fern snapped. "Leave that there to dry and go pound what you brought in two days ago. It's dry enough, now." Nissa hurried to do as she was bid.
* * *
"Son, did you happen to see Gren, Clover or Laral today?" Corent was seated across the table from Nissa, eating a vegetable stew. Nissa had almost balked at the food—there wasn't any meat in it.
"At school," Nissa told the small lie. Toff would have seen them there and she was taking Toff's place.
"They had to be treated by Mother Rose when they got home today," Corent went on. "They said they fell, but had too many bruises for a mere fall. I was just wondering if you'd seen anything."
"No. I don't think I've ever seen Gren fall."
"Don't worry about it—Rose just wanted information, that's all."
Nissa didn't realize she was holding herself stiffly, waiting for discovery to come. Redbird, Toff's adoptive mother didn't seem to notice anything, either. Nissa had no idea how that could happen—her mother would have sniffed out the disguise in less than a blink. She forced herself to relax.
Toff's closet was tiny and Nissa only found work clothes inside it later—mostly hand-woven items in natural colors. Nissa found three dyed shirts with pants in coordinating colors—certainly nothing compared to what she normally wore—even to work. Sighing, she pulled pajamas from the small chest beside Toff's narrow bed and went off to get a bath before going to sleep.
* * *
Toff's teeth were chattering and he was shivering, his arms held tightly against his thin body. He kept walking—he knew that if he stopped now, his body temperature might drop too low and he could die. He'd been walking forever, in his estimation, and hadn't come across anything—no people, villages or even signs of life. Daylight was still with him, however, so he knew he hadn't wandered across to the darker side of the planet. He didn't realize that not only was he headed in the wrong direction now, he might have to walk for days to reach that portion of Le-Ath Veronis.
Hunger was also gnawing at him—supper would have been long ago and he missed it with an intensity that surprised him. He hadn't gone without a meal before—Corent and Redbird always made sure he was fed. Fear also kept him going—he knew that eventually he'd have to stop and rest, and in the falling temperatures, it could be fatal. Many times over the past few hours, he chastised himself for running away.
He should have stayed. Nissa would have gone to find someone who could bring him back inside the boundary. Now, he wasn't sure which way the boundary might lie. Toff was in alien territory and completely lost. The leaves he slogged through were so completely soaked with rain that they no longer crunched beneath his feet and he hadn't seen a nut tree anywhere since leaving the boundary line. He knew the deer ate the acorns he'd passed through earlier, but he'd never thought of them as a food source. He might have to rethink that if he found another oak grove.
Toff was nearing exhaustion later, his mind wandering. He realized at times that he was muttering to himself and considered more and more often finding a large tree to huddle beneath and sleep for a while. His steps were slowing, the cold and dampness were taking over and he was ready to succumb to the temptation when he heard something. Thinking at first he was imagining things, he trudged on for a few more weary steps.
"How in the name of the skies did you get in here?" The voice was right in front of him as a hand reached out and grabbed his arm.
* * *
Toff huddled inside the blanket he'd been given after the woman ordered him to remove his wet clothing. She'd taken him to a small house that was so warm inside compared to what he'd been walking through, it felt like the sun on the hottest of days. He'd been given soup with small chunks of meat in it and Toff was blowing on the hot broth before sipping it carefully so as not to burn his mouth.
The woman sat at the tiny table inside her kitchen, watching him eat. She looked older to him, with the beginnings of gray in her auburn hair. Her eyes fascinated him, however—they were nearly gold and he'd never seen anything like them before. The house was cluttered and not very clean—what he could see of it, anyway, but the woman appeared to live there by herself.
"Where am I?" Toff ventured to ask, happy that his still-chattering teeth didn't cause him to stutter on the words.
"You are here, inside my little island of solitude," the woman replied. Her tone made Toff blink—she wasn't happy to be on that island, he could tell.
"How big is it?" he asked, sipping more soup.
"About half a day's walk, one end to the other, in every direction."
"Are there any others here?"
That question caused the woman to hmmph and clear her throat. "There's nobody until you get to the Green Fae boundary on the south, the Elemaiya village to the east and the comesuli farms west of us. The comesuli bring me food once a week, but I've had to learn to cook. How's the soup?"
"Good. I like it." Toff nodded and took another bite. It might have been a bit too salty, but he wasn't about to complain.