Vir burst out laughing, which only made them redder.
“You think you’ll get away with this!”
“Sure do!” Maiya said, sticking her tongue out.
“Why do you even hang out with that chal, anyway?” Camas shouted after the wagon as it left them behind. “Your time’s better spent with us!”
Ah right, he’s got a crush on Maiya these days. How predictable, Vir thought, flashing his friend a glance. How lucky.
He wondered whether he’d fit in with their group, even if they didn’t hate his guts. They might have been an immature and somewhat droll bunch, but at least they had a circle of friends. He… Well, he had Maiya.
Maiya shook her head, ignoring them. “Sorry about that. You’d think they’d get bored with bullying you, but I suppose chals never learn.”
Vir chuckled. “They’re all bark and no bite. They think I’ll reap their souls or something. And me being prana scorned means they can say whatever they want and get away with it. But, well, it’s nice not having to deal with them for once. Thanks, Maiya.”
Maiya shook her head, but he knew she was secretly happy.
Vir tied the Ash’va up at the modest stable next to his house while Maiya fed them some grass. When the two approached his home, they found a hooded stranger loitering around the front door. The man was very well dressed, and clearly not from around here.
That’s two strange faces in one day…
“Expecting company?” Maiya asked.
“Not at all.” Vir was immediately on guard.
“Oh? Good day to you! Good day,” the stranger said in a terse voice.
Maiya sidled up to Vir and whispered, “Is this the Child of Ash you ran into earlier?”
Vir shook his head. “Can I ask what you’re doing here?”
“Ah, nothing, nothing. I’ll be on my way,” the stranger said, leaving in a hurry.
“Wonder what that was all about,” Maiya said. “Maybe someone here for your father?”
“Doubt it. I’ve never seen that man before. Have you?”
Encountering two unfamiliar faces in one day was an incredibly rare occurrence in Brij. Visitors were few and far between.
“Never,” Maiya replied.
“So many strange goings on,” Vir muttered. “I don’t like this one bit.”
Vir fished for the key in his pocket and inserted it into the door. The door had a magical lock, but Rudvik had installed a separate mechanical one to make things more convenient for Vir. Once inside, he washed his hands with water from a bucket. Here again, Magic Tap was the norm in most homes, but Rudvik had prepared water beforehand for his use.
“Oh, come on! It’s exciting, isn’t it?” Maiya said, walking in behind him. “Nothing fun ever happens around here.”
“I dunno, I rather like it when things are simple,” he said, longingly eyeing the brown rice and lentil soup on the table. Rudvik must have made it for him before he’d left for the woods, but it didn’t seem like Maiya wanted to wait.
“It’s cake time!” she said, fidgeting. “Rabbit Hill’s the perfect spot, don’t you think? Been a while since we went there, too.”
“Yeah, it’s been, what? Three whole days?” Vir said.
Maiya rolled her eyes and held up the picnic basket she’d been carrying this entire time. “I’ll race you!”
Vir rolled his eyes back at her. “You know you’ll win… have I ever won a race against you?”
His friend stuck out her tongue, but Vir held her back before she could take off.
“Let’s uh… let’s use the hole, instead.”
“Huh? Why?” Maiya asked, wrinkling her nose at his suggestion. The home’s foundation had rotted right through at the corner of their bedroom. Worse than that, oversized prana gophers had burrowed a tunnel. A rather wide tunnel.
Rudvik had taken care of the infestation, but hadn’t yet plugged the tunnel, leaving a gaping hole in their room. While he’d never fit through it, Vir and Maiya barely did. It led thirty paces away, so they sometimes used it as a secret entrance.
“In case that guy’s watching…” Vir whispered.
“Hmm. Dad’s gonna be angry about my dirty clothes, but fine. You still won’t beat me that way, y’know?” she said, crawling into the tunnel with her basket. Vir followed right behind her. While she struggled through the tight confines, he swum through it with ease. Neel followed right behind them.
He was hot on her heels until they exited, at which point Maiya broke into a sprint.
Vir panicked, but breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t see the stranger from earlier anywhere in sight.
Neel looked at his master, then at Maiya, then back to Vir, settling on bounding after her.
Vir wasn’t in the habit of fighting unwinnable battles, so he didn’t even bother to match their pace. His constitution simply wasn’t good enough to exert himself for long, and he’d pushed himself this morning getting to the temple. He’d already begun feeling lightheaded from those earlier exertions.
Ten minutes later, Vir arrived at their ‘spot’—a small knoll with a large tree just outside the village. A picnic cloth had been spread out on the green grass, with rocks placed at each end.
Maiya was busy getting the plates out of her basket, while Neel watched with rapt attention.
“You did all this for me?” Vir asked.
Maiya looked at him with an expression that said, who else?
“It really isn’t much, Vir,” she said with a sad smile. “I truly wish these things were normal for you. It’s normal for most kids, you know?”
Vir took off his sandals and sat down on the picnic cloth. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ‘normal’ in the way that you mean, but I really appreciate this, Maiya. Thank you.”
Maiya shook her head, all smiles.
He began salivating as soon as Maiya unboxed the cake. It was covered in the same white frosting the baker used on his confections. He’d always wanted to know what those tasted like… and now he would.
“I had no idea you were this good at baking,” Vir said, eyeing the work of art.
“Well, I’ve been practicing,” Maiya said, cutting off a small piece and spearing it with a fork. “Say ahhhh,” she said, bringing the piece dangerously close to Vir’s mouth.
“Oh gods, no way! I’d die of embarrassment,” he said. To Maiya’s chagrin, he carefully took the fork from her and stuck it in his mouth.
Shock rippled through his body as he relished the explosion of sweetness.
“Um, is—is it good?” his friend asked, squirming anxiously. “I couldn’t exactly taste it…”
“It’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever had. This is incredible!”
“That’s nice of you to say, but I’m still a beginner at this stuff,” Maiya said, her face reddening. She looked away, twiddling her thumbs.
Vir helped himself to several more mouthfuls, swearing to himself that each bite he took would be his last, but the temptation was simply overwhelming. Maiya helped herself to a few bites, though was content to look on as Vir devoured her cake. He didn’t know how she managed such self-control.
Vir finally contained himself, saving half the cake for later.
“What’s up? You’re awfully quiet.”
“Just been thinking, is all,” she said, gazing off into the distance.
“Let me guess. You’re thinking of Daha again? The capital?”
Maiya looked him in the eye. “I mean, come on, Vir. This village is so boring! Can you imagine growing up just to be like your parents? Having kids who do exactly the same thing you do? Isn’t that depressing? Isn’t that scary?”
“Being the head priest doesn’t seem that bad though…” Vir began, but Maiya’s stare made him reconsider. To be honest, he’d love to have Apramor’s job. It was probably the best job in the entire village. Apramor had respect and authority and the entire village loved him. But that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.