Ruby frowned as she looked between Xia and the barrels. “Why are you taking them back?”
“Uh, well, that’s what Nyx wanted me to do?” Xia was caught off guard by the question and sounded a bit more dumbfounded than she would have preferred.
“You can filter the water, can you not?”
“Well, yes.”
“So why are we not taking the barrels to the winter storage building?”
“I… I’m not sure. Nyx seemed to think we should boil it just in case, to lower the risk of illness.”
“Interesting.” Her tone combined with the purse of lips led Xia to believe there was something she wasn’t saying.
“What’s interesting?”
“Oh, nothing.” Ruby swatted the air in dismissal and bent to pick up four full pails of water.
“You can speak freely, Ruby.”
One pink strand fell from the white linen cap as she nodded contemplatively. After a moment, she put the buckets back down and crossed her arms. “It just seems a bit disrespectful. Like she doesn't think you’re good enough to do what you so clearly can.”
“She doesn’t really know me though, Ruby. She just wants to keep her people safe.”
“Maybe. I’ve seen her do that to a lot of people here, though. She makes some really bold assumptions and is quick to condemn.”
“I’m sure it’s hard to trust outsiders. I haven’t done much to prove I’m not a hindrance. She will come around.”
“I hope so for your sake. I remember when I first settled here and she was away, but no one would tell me where she went or why, which was super weird. Anyway, not the point. The point is, I came from a modern place. Electricity, running water, food you could glutton yourself on for days.”
Xia nodded, all too familiar with the benefits of the more lavish side of life. She was curious as to how Ruby ended up in a primitive town, but didn’t want to ask. Ruby could flip the question and Xia wasn’t prepared to trust someone with that information.
“When Nyx came back,” Ruby continued. “I asked to speak to her about some ways we could improve, but she refused to see me.”
“Why would she do that?”
“I’m not sure. Everyone says she’s secretive. Comes and goes as she pleases but they don’t question it because she brings back money or supplies. Keeps them fed, you know? And you don’t bite the hand that feeds.”
“Is she from here?”
“I’ve never asked. I would hope so since she takes the most accommodating and well-kept house in the town. It could very well house several families, but instead she lives there alone.”
“Several people sleep in the great room by the fire,” Xia countered. There had to have been ten or more people tucked away in the great room when she woke that first night to find Brooks.
“Yeah,” Ruby scoffed. “Only if you offer her something in return.”
The statement stunned Xia, her stomach lurching. Nyx hadn’t seemed the type of daemon to require a trade for a warm place to sleep, but what did she actually know about the girl?
Xia offered a valid solution to make village life easier. A central well accessible to everyone with a consistent source of freshwater, but Nyx wasn’t even willing to let her finish explaining. Had she judged Nyx the wrong way? Instead of a strong daemon willing to fight and claw to save her town, could she be looking at a bitter woman holding helpless people under her thumb?
“What did you want to talk to her about? What improvements?”
“Running water. We live in a valley between two big hills. With a little bit of planning and hard work, we could easily create a sort of watershed pond that we control with a dam. I was foraging for the few fruits and herbs that grow here this past summer and came across a familiar patch of red soil that was cracked along the top. It was a bit brittle, but so dense. I took a closer look and realized it was the same soil my mother used towet and mold. I was so excited that I dropped my pail and ran straight back to town to find her.”
“What’s so special about the red soil?”
“It’s clay!” Ruby exclaimed. “You can mine it and use it to line the bottom of a hole. It’s nearly impossible for the water to soak away into the ground.”
Xia’s face lit up as she realized the intention behind her suggestion. She grabbed her companion by the arms and shook her gently. “Yes! Ruby, you’re brilliant! We could structure a small drain off the river that tunnels down to a large hole lined with clay. We build two dams– one at the very start of the drain entrance so the water doesn’t erode a large path through the town, and another one that crosses the length of the pond. We use the dam to control the water flow. Over time we could build off of it and get running water to each house!”
