Joy showed on his face as he pointed out the different vines and told jokes as he picked berries himself.
Ashley was on her tippy toes as she struggled to reach a cluster of berries at the top of a vine when Axon reached up and plucked the cluster for her.
“Here you go.” He dropped them into her basket and shuddered when his hand brushed his.
“Sorry,” Ashley apologized as she pulled her hand away.
“It’s not your fault,” Axon gave her a weak smile that did nothing to wipe the sadness from her face. There was something about his shifter form that made it seem almost painful for him to touch her. They clearly had an attraction to each other, but I wondered if they’d find a way to be together without it causing Axon discomfort. He didn’t seem to react to anyone else that way, just Ashely, and the poor thingwas starting to take it personal.
As the sun started to come down from its peak in the sky and our baskets grew heavy, we made our way to where Orsu dried out berries to preserve in jars. He removed a tightly knitted cover from a large flat stone with a woven mat on top.
“We’ll put half the berries here to dry out in the sun and the other half I’ll use to make a strong drink I call vilt.”
“A strong drink?” I asked.
“Does this drink make people act differently than they normally would? Maybe a bit silly even?” Ashley interjected.
“It does,” Orsu looked surprised. “Have you had such a drink before?”
Ashley and I looked at each other and smiled. “Oh yes, we have lots of those kinds of drinks on Earth.”
“Oh,” Orsu looked disappointed, as if he had hoped he was offering us something new. “I only just discovered how to make this a few seasons ago when I accidentally left a batch of fruit juice in the storage cavern for too long.”
“Your people didn’t make vilt before?” Ashley asked.
He shook his head. “No; in fact, the other dekes warned anyone who made juice to never let it sit in storage for too long. It has been a strict rule for many generations.”
“They must have figured out it made alcohol and forbidden it,” Anusha surmised.
“Party poopers,” Ashley frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with having a little wine. You don’t have to go crazy with it.”
“Every culture is different, I guess,” I added.
After we placed our berries on the woven mat to dry we went back into the mountain for lunch. Orsu showed me how to make his favorite sauce that he liked to cover the cooked meat with. Vegetables and spices were simmered in a pan-like bowl until they liquefied into a delicious sauce.
“This is so good. Is this another one of your recipes?”
Orsu nodded his head and pride showed on his face.
“I built it off of one of my grandmother’s recipes.”
“I bet she’d be proud of what you’ve done,” I smiled back at him.
We sat down at a table and chatted with Taylor and Anusha. Half way through the meal Orsu leaned over and whispered, “I can show you how I make vilt if you’re interested.”
“Are you whispering because you don’t want to be joined by a large group of humans and hunters this time?” I teased.
“Perhaps,” he smiled and I laughed at his confession.
“I’d love to,” I whispered back.
Chapter 12
Julie
As soon as lunch was over Orsu took me back outside the mountain and led me to what looked like a wide barrel sitting on a strong wooden base.
“What’s this?” I turned to Orsu who was carrying two large baskets with the leftover berries we hadn’t dried out earlier.
