Boelik (10 page)

“
In the house?”

“
Are you ready to
move?”

Ryan shrugged, nonchalant. “Well, I don’t
have much here in the first place.”

“
Then, yes. In the morning
we’ll gather the food, money, and whatever else we think we’ll need
and head off.”

“
Where?”

“
Somewhere with trees.
Hopefully with a decent town not too close but not too far. And a
stream. I’m sick of being in the open like this.”

“
All right,” Ryan
said.

Boelik sighed in contentment. “I’m glad
you’re mellow,” he muttered to himself.

“
What?” Ryan asked,
blinking at him.

“
I’m exhausted,” Boelik
exhaled. Ryan sighed as well and they both got up and flopped back
into bed.

The two rose with the sun and began packing
things. They emptied out the potato sacks and put the deer meat
into one, some wood into another, and various tools that they
managed to find by and under the workbench in another. Finding a
pot, Boelik faced Ryan. “You didn’t tell me there was a pot in
here,” he accused, waving it in front of Ryan’s face.

“
That’s because you didn’t
ask,” Ryan argued, stuffing the rest of the deer into the potato
sack.

“
I could have made stew
instead,” Boelik grumbled, putting it in the sack. The two remained
in good humor, teasing the other about little things like the pot
or dropping something. The cat still lay in the middle of the
floor.

Once everything was packed, Boelik changed
into his new pants and sighed in relief. He shoved his old pair
into another sack as spare material. Then, checking that he and
Ryan had grabbed all of their things, he set the place on fire,
demon and all. The two headed north, the little cottage crackling
at their backs in a fiery farewell, the fire’s glow muted by the
daylight. They walked for two days with moderate breaks and shared
peaceful conversations all the while. Boelik’s hand healed in the
meantime, though his bones would take a while to reset, and he got
over his bruised ribs.

Evening of the second day was approaching on
the quiet plains when Boelik caught a familiar scent on the wind.
He and Ryan were on a break, sitting on the bank of a stream, when
Boelik stood and began to sniff like a hound on a scent. “What?”
Ryan asked.

“
Smells like a forest is
close,” Boelik said, his eyes glistening.

“
Smells?”

“
What? You don’t take in
the scent of your home? You should, you know—it’s far more
convenient when you can’t see.”

“
I can see better than I
can do anything else,” Ryan countered.

“
But what happens if you
lose that eye? If you get dirt in your eyes and can’t see? You have
to think ahead, Ryan. All of your senses are there to benefit you,”
Boelik said, looking hard at Ryan. “Use them. It will make you far
more productive.”

Ryan stayed silent for a moment. “So, are we
going?”

“
Are you ready?”

“
Ready enough.”

“
Then let’s move.” Boelik
dashed out towards the scent of trees, his steps light and his
heart pounding.

“
Hey, slow down a little!”
Ryan protested, sprinting to catch up.

“
Hurry up a little, or
you’ll be left eating my dust!” Boelik called back, a smile
creeping up on him.

***

In the forest, moonlight filtered through the
trees in the clear night. Thunder rumbled from somewhere in the far
distance, breaking the silence brought by the darkness. Boelik
breathed deeply, letting the pungent scents of the woods fill his
lungs. They were at once strange and familiar to him.

Glancing back, Boelik spotted Ryan standing
just outside the protection of the trees, staring with wide eyes up
at the overhanging branches. “Come on,” he encouraged. “The woods
won’t bite.”

“
It is a little creepy,
though,” Ryan said quietly, stepping under the high boughs. He kept
his head low, and peered over his shoulder.

“
Creepy?” Boelik asked.
“Well, I’ll admit it’s a little eerie when it’s nighttime and
things are quiet, but it’s certainly a much more hiding-friendly
place than that huge moor.”

“
There are so many trees in
the way,” Ryan mumbled, his eyes darting around to watch every
shadow.

“
I told you; use your other
senses. Hearing is your friend in the forests of the
world.”

“
But I…” Ryan began before
trailing off.

“
You what?”

“
I can’t hear much out of
this ear,” Ryan admitted as he glanced back to Boelik, pointing to
his right ear.

“
Don’t worry. If there’s
anything large enough to be a threat, it’ll make enough noise that
you’ll hear it.”

“
If you say so.”

Boelik listened to the forest himself: he
didn’t hear much life as of yet, but he did hear the burbling of
moving water. He motioned for Ryan to follow him and they moved
deeper into the forest. The trees grew around them as they walked,
the boughs stretching to touch the stars.

A large creek soon emerged, a wooden bridge
making a path across the water that ran in rapids from another
day’s rain. Boelik stepped onto the wood, testing it with his
weight to find it in good repair. Peering into the water, he noted
that the stream was fairly large: it was about twice his height
across, and seemed almost as deep as he was tall. Judging by the
bridge, he figured that there were people nearby. Glancing at the
other side, he spotted a well-worn path.

“
Stay here,” he told Ryan,
leaving the sacks he was carrying beside the bridge on the side
that Ryan waited on.

“
Where are you
going?”

“
Scouting. I’ll be back
quickly: sit, and don’t be rash.”

With that, Boelik sped along the silver path
traced by the moon, turning and twisting along the snake trail
around trees and leading him to, hopefully, a village. He had to
move slower than he wanted in order to scout, stopping every few
meters to check that he was alone and to listen to the woods around
him.

Ultimately Boelik arrived at what he
expected: the edge of the forest. And, not far beyond that stood a
peaceful little hamlet. Now relaxed, Boelik started back towards
Ryan, marking the forest around the path in his memory.
Will my memory ever overflow?
he wondered
vaguely as he added this forest to dozens of others.

When the bridge was in view once more, Boelik
called out for Ryan. “Ryan?” he called again when no answer came.
Walking over to where he’d left the boy, he found only his hat and
the potato sacks. “Ryan?” Boelik called out again, a panic rising
in his chest.

“
Bo!” he heard faintly from
downstream.

“
Ryan!” Boelik shouted. He
charged down the bank of the stream to where he heard the cry, and
found himself watching from the shore as Ryan clung to a rock in
the middle of the rushing water.

“
Ryan, just swim over
here,” Boelik said calmly, crouching and holding out his human
hand.

“
I can’t!” Ryan cried,
readjusting his grip on the rock.

“
Yes, you can,” Boelik
urged, stretching his hand out further.

“
No, I can’t! I don’t know
how to swim,” he whimpered. “Help me, please!” The stream washed
over his face and he emerged spluttering.

“
Don’t worry,” Boelik said,
standing. “Don’t panic. I’m going to help you. Trust me.” He took
off his boots and cloak and stepped into the water, but quickly
retreated as he almost lost his footing. The water was stronger
than he expected. He tried again, but, shaking his head, he pulled
out and looked up the bank.

“
Bo…?” Ryan started, his
voice small. He coughed as water came into his mouth, undesired and
unrelenting.

“
I’m just going to go
upstream some. I’ll dive in there and get you, all right? Just
don’t let go.

“
Well, I certainly won’t
try to!”

Boelik went upstream and checked the water,
judging the current. Casting a glance at Ryan, he dived in, letting
the stream pull him toward the rock while he focused on getting
lined up. He soon found the stone in his side as the breath
whooshed out of him in an oof.

“
Are you okay?” Ryan asked
as Boelik grabbed the rock, beside him.

Boelik laughed. “You’re the one nearly
drowning, and you’re asking if
I’m
all
right!?”

Ryan just gave him a panicked glare, so
Boelik reached over the rock with his left hand, straddling it. He
shouted for Ryan to grab his other hand. The boy flailed out and
took Boelik’s hand and cried, “Now what?”

“
We swim to shore,” Boelik
replied.

“
But—!”

“‘
But’ nothing! It’s not
that far; just trust me,” Boelik ordered. Ryan shut his mouth and
watched him. “Good: now, when I say ‘go’, we both push off of the
rock as hard as we can towards the shore. I’ll grab you and keep
you from going under, all right?”

Ryan nodded, and they both prepared to push
off.

“
Are you ready?” Boelik
asked, looking toward Ryan who nodded, his jaw set. “Okay…Go!” They
pushed off and rocketed towards the bank, Boelik pulling Ryan
close. He put his left hand out to grab the shore as they struck
like stones. Managing to pull them both out some, he helped Ryan
onto land first before dragging himself out.

They remained flopped on the ground for a
minute as they let the panic leave their bodies. Boelik began to be
able to see his own breath and glanced over at Ryan. The boy was
shivering from the cold water and cooling night air, breath coming
in coughing spurts. Boelik forced himself up and tossed his dry
cloak over Ryan, ignoring his groaning body.

“
Why, exactly, were you in
the stream, anyway?” he panted.

Ryan was putting the cloak around himself,
sitting up. “I fell asleep waiting for you next to the bridge.”

“
Why didn’t you at least
move inland to a tree or some other thing?” Boelik blustered.
Why exactly am I so angry?
he wondered in
the back of his head.

“
You did tell me to stay
put,” Ryan pointed out. Boelik was about to say something, but
instead flung his hands up in irritation.

“
Just—get your clothes off
and dry off,” he said, taking off his own shirt. He grabbed his
boots and waited for Ryan to undress. Naked once again.

Boelik sighed.

“
What do I do with them,
Bo?” Ryan asked, draping the sopping clothes over his arms. At
least he had Boelik’s cloak on.

“
What?” Boelik asked
tersely, his eyes locking with Ryan’s in an instant.

“
Er, sorry, Boelik?” Ryan
asked, stepping back and staring at Boelik, startled. His legs bent
to dart away.

Boelik shook his head and made himself relax.
“Sorry, it’s not you. I just…I just haven’t been called ‘Bo’ in a
long time.”

“
Oh. Sorry.” Ryan still
stared at Boelik.

Boelik shook his head again and sighed. “It’s
fine. Call me Bo if you want. It’s shorter and simpler. As for your
clothes, just hold onto them for now. We’ll put them in a sack
until we find a good spot to settle, then put them up to dry.”

“
All right,” Ryan said. He
wore a blank expression, and it was clear that he still had no clue
what was wrong with Boelik, though he did relax some.

Boelik didn’t feel like explaining at the
moment, so he just gestured for Ryan to follow him.

Back at the bridge, they stuffed wet clothes
into a less-filled potato sack. Ryan glanced at Boelik’s trousers
after he put away the other clothes, then up at him. “No, I’m
keeping these on,” Boelik said. Ryan shrugged and closed the bag,
grabbing his hat from the ground and pulling it back over his
face.

Boelik led the way over the bridge and off of
the path until he was sure no people would bother wandering so far.
He made sure the stream was audible but nowhere near visible; there
was not a bit of him that wanted a recurrence of the day’s mishap.
Then they made camp.

The two draped their clothes over a low-lying
branch and Boelik clawed out a fire-ring. He tossed in some wood,
set up some tinder, and lit it to let it go from there. As the fire
gained some power, the two fell asleep an arm’s-length apart.

Both awakened around dawn. Boelik had to
restart the fire and told Ryan to check the clothes. “Still wet,”
he reported.

“
All right,” Boelik replied
with a sigh. The two ate a breakfast of salted meat, which Boelik
cooked over the fire, and sat to talk for the day.

“
So, I can just…call you
Bo?” Ryan asked after lunch. They sat on opposite sides of the fire
now. Boelik sat cross-legged, and Ryan tried to mimic him for a bit
before settling for one leg stretched out and the other crossing it
ankle-over-ankle.

Boelik shrugged as if he didn’t care. “If you
prefer it.”

“
Bo…” Ryan muttered,
testing the name. “Why did you look so shocked?” he asked then, his
focus returning to Bo’s strange attitude.

Bo looked down at the ground below him and
imagined Olea’s face beneath. “Because I was only ever called that
by one person.” Then, somewhat softer, “And that person has been
dead a very long time.” His hands clamped onto his knees.