The sun was drifting along the horizon, staining the sky in a myriad of crimson and orange shades. The air was cooling in the sun"s wake, but the heat that had formed to great extent within the greenhouse of windows had yet to disperse. Within the green house, which was alight by the glowing of several solar garden lights, Nathan hovered over the tender plants in one of the large patches. Potatoes meant for winter and spring consumption were growing here. However, now that there were new people to feed, he wondered if there would be enough.Although he had grown plentiful vegetables for the main house before, at that time, the servants meals were supplemented with plentiful packages of meat, grain, milk and eggs. His contribution was welcome, as the taste of his garden vegetables was delicious, but wasn"t totally necessary. And now, the plants in his garden were to become the main source of peoples food. He was happy, of course, that this was so, he wanted his plants" worth to be appreciated, but...
Regarding the people themselves, he didn"t have too much opinion. Well, the thin girl with the sandy brown-coloured hair was loud and her voice reached decibels that hurt his ears, so he didn"t like her and one of the men had snapped the leafy limb of a plant in his rush to eat a plump, ripe tomato, so he disliked him as well. The girl had apologised though and the man had been reprimanded, but it took him a while to calm the ivies upon the wall and bush vines as they wanted to remove them from his sight. A small smile appeared upon Nathan"s lips. True enough, his plants understood him most.
As did Ren Zexian.
Lucy had discovered three sheep within the bushes and Nathan had had to coax the vines to let them go. The animals, which happened to be smaller in stature than Aslan, were clearly exhausted and terrified, their sweaty bodies shaking and foaming at the mouth. Aslan had appeared in a foggy gust of air with his bowl in his mouth and Nathan had filled it with his water. The sheep had gulped mouthfuls down once they had calmed and sought more only shortly afterwards. Lucy had giggled, clapping her hands and wanted to pet the "white, fat puppies", but Aslan had tugged her by the waistband of her shorts pulling her away from them.
It was then that the shrieking squeal of the thin woman had pierced through the air. "Look, baby! It"s our sheep! We can eat lamb tonight!"
Nathan, whose hands had been half filled with more water, had automatically reached for his ears, the clear liquid falling to the ground and splashing the animals as well as his boots. Ren Zexian had immediately reached for him, his long, warm fingers reaching for the hands clasped at his head, but worrying over Nathan"s dislike of being touched. So Nathan had leaned into him instead, pressing his forehead against the man"s firm shoulder and finding solace in his presence. Still with hands pressed against his ears, the noises had became m.u.f.fled, but he had caught a word or two.
"...sensitive to loud noises..."
"Landlord..."
"Oops... really sorry!"
As things quietened a little, he had slowly withdrawn his hands and turned to look at the new people, but continued to press close against Ren Zexian"s body. The steady beat of his heart was soothing.
"Aw, but baby, can"t at least kill one of the three?" These were the words of the thin woman, she had been pointing at the sheep which were huddled together. Ren Zexian told him later that these creatures had some ability over the wind, making them faster than normal and likely they could hurt people with the wind should they choose. But at the time they had stumbled into his garden, the energy inside them that they needed to produce the wind was spent, making them helpless and at the mercy of others.
The new people had been chasing them, they were hungry, wanted to kill them in order to eat. This, Nathan also did not have opinion on. He knew that the meat that he had eaten in the past came from animals. He missed the taste of turkey and duck. So he was aware that if people wanted to eat lamb, then they needed to kill the sheep in order to do so. But things had changed, there was fruits and vegetables in his garden as well as stored pasta, rice and things in the kitchen. It would be easier to fill hungry bellies with these things first.
But the thin woman had wanted meat.
Apparently, she was carrying a baby in her belly, well Nathan had to take others" words for that as the woman"s stomach was very flat. The child must be in an embryonic state, he a.s.sumed. She had claimed that the nutrients in lamb were necessary for her child. However, there had been those who stood against her.
The first was Lucy. She was only three, but she could sense the killing intent of the thin woman and had begun to cry, fearing for the lives of her "white, fat puppies!" Patrick had also been against, not because he didn"t like to eat meat, but frankly, having to kill the sheep in order to obtain it did not sit well with him. "It"s not the same as picking up pre-packaged meat at the supermarket! Have any of us here actually killed, skinned and gutted a live animal before?" His face had turned an interesting shade of green. Even if he"d been a plant, Nathan would have claimed him unwell from the colour.
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The large man with the frightening face had wanted to get the meat for the woman, the baby in her belly was his and he wanted the best for her and the baby. This, Nathan could understand. His own parents had always claimed with words and actions that they wanted the best for him, even when he couldn"t quite comprehend wanting the best for someone else. Well, he a.s.sumed it was like wanting the best topsoil for the planting beds or wanting the best location to plant his sunflowers. He had glanced up at Ren Zexian and thought; actually, he also wanted to give Ren Zexian the tastiest and best fruits of the harvest, so perhaps he did understand a little bit more now.
Tyler had then argued to save the lives of the sheep, his arguments were that the animals were far more valuable alive than dead. A person could eat meat once by slaughtering an animal, but if the sheep were kept alive, they could have wool in the future, plus should the animal"s breed, there would be milk, which was beneficial for the baby and an increased number to the tiny herd. And eventually there would come a day to eat meat; sure it would be old mutton rather than young, tender lamb, but at that time, who would complain?
Tyler had been a lawyer before the end, no one could refute his arguments and so the matter was settled. The sheep were placed in the garage with long gra.s.ses that the men had gathered, as they had no hay, but the man in the wheelchair had said he could create them a place in the front garden so they had a small area to roam once they have settled. Things might change should they try to escape, but they were left with vegetable sc.r.a.ps and water, so they might not.
Ren Zexian entered the greenhouse while Nathan was mulling over things and instantly, most of his thoughts were swept away. He rose to his feet, dusting off the dirt on his trousers, he felt like he didn"t want Ren Zexian"s clothes stained, and approached the man.
"What are you thinking about?" Ren Zexian asked him with a gentle smile.
"I have cantaloupe melon ready for harvest," Nathan said, his quiet voice sounding almost shy. "Would you like to eat one with me?"
The corners of the man"s lips seemed to rise a little as Nathan watched them. "Sure," Ren Zexian agreed.