The Non-Human Society Chapter 58 - Fifty Seven – Renn – Thunderous Stew

"She's asleep," I said to Vim as I entered the kitchen.

He was standing in front of a large pot which was hanging over hot coals.

"Hm," Vim nodded as he slowly stirred the stew.

Stepping up to the pot, I glanced in and saw the contents. at, vegetables, and the broth was a dark brown.

"Here," Vim then offered the large spoon he was using to stir.

I accepted the responsibility of stirring as Vim stepped away to the nearby oven. This kitchen was actually one of the biggest rooms in the whole building, and from what I could tell there was nothing above it. The second floor was only half the house.

With just his bare hands Vim reached into the large hole in the stone wall and pulled out an iron cast sheet. The steaming bread on top of it slled wonderful, and made wonder how Rapti could sleep through such slls.

While I stirred I watched Vim put the hot sheet onto a nearby counter. He quickly went to removing the bread from the iron, putting it on another counter which still had flour sprinkled on it.

"Didn't know you could cook," I said.

"Who doesn't?" he asked as he went to preparing the bread for our al.

"Well..." I quickly thought of a few people, myself included.

He glanced at , and I looked away from him.

It wasn't like I couldn't cook anything at all... I just...

Sneaking a peak at his handiwork, I watched as he used a knife to quickly and easily cut the large piece of bread into many smaller ones. It took him only a few monts to reduce a large bulbous chunk of bread into dozens of small hand sized...

"Bowls?" I asked, wondering why he had cut them that way.

"They are, kind of, aren't they?" Vim said plainly. He sounded bored.

Once he was done he went back to the wall next to , where he had pulled the bread out from. He shut a black tal plate over the hole, closing the oven off. After that he shut a similar plate beneath it, at the bottom of the wall near the floor. It was there that a small fire roared, full of charcoal and wood.

The coals sitting beneath the pot I stirred had actually co from that hole. He had simply scrapped them out, after it had been lit long enough.

Vim studied the pot I stirred for a mont, and I wondered if I wasn't stirring correctly... but he said nothing as he nodded and stepped away.

A long rumble made my ears and tail move as I looked behind . To a small window, covered by a thick curtain.

It was the middle of the day, yet not a single amount of light could be seen... and not just because the curtain was too strong. The storm had arrived. The rain and wind hadn't hit us just yet, but the dark clouds surely had.

Not only was it dark... it was getting cold. I was now a little thankful to be standing in front of a bunch of hot coals, and a smouldering pot.

"She just went to sleep... won't it get cold?" I asked him, realizing that the food would probably get cold very quickly once we stopped cooking it. Thanks to the storm.

"That pot will sumr all night, she'll be fine," he said.

"What about the bread?" I asked. My mouth was watering from the sll alone of it, and I felt bad for Rapti... the bread would beco hard and cold by the ti she woke.

"You put the stew into the bread Renn. It'll warm and soften it up, you'll see," Vim said.

"Oh... Oh?" I glanced at the strew I was making and realized what he planned on doing with the bread. It wasn't a side, but a part of the al itself.

"Don't drool into the stew," he warned.

I stepped a tiny bit back to make sure I didn't. "I'm not that bad," I said quickly, gulping a little.

"Sure," he sarcastically agreed.

A little embarrassed, I decided to look around the kitchen. It was... clean, but there was sothing about it.

It felt a little empty honestly.

The Sleepy Artist had a lot in its kitchen. Stuff hanging from walls. Shelves and racks. Pots stacked in a corner.

Even the little lodge cabin Nory and I had lived in had a small kitchen. And it had been rather ssy too... but that might have just been because of the size. It was just a small corner in the room.

Here though...

A few pans on a shelf. So tools and utensils on a rack, hanging off large nails. There were only a few knives.

The fanciest part was the oven area. Where I stood. There were two internal ovens, and room between them for things like this pot. It was big enough one could even spit roast a large animal if they wanted to.

There were two countertops, made of flat stone... a large table in the center, but it only had two chairs...

"Does she live alone?" I asked.

"Of course she does," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Why can't she?" Vim asked as he went to cleaning the counter he had made a ss. There were remnants of the food he had chopped and prepared for the stew, and the flour from the bread.

"Well... Everywhere else I've been, no one's been alone," I said.

The Sleepy Artist. Lomi's ho had dozens of families. The Owl's Nest was a large family, even if most hadn't been there... Twin Hills...

"You've been to three. Hardly many," he said.

"Well... that's true," I admitted.

After a mont I heard Vim sigh. I turned to glance at him and found him pointing one of the thick knives at . The one he had used to cut the bread. "She prefers to live alone. She's a devout believer in her faith, in case you haven't noticed," Vim said.

I had noticed...

Her bedroom, which I had just left her in...

It was empty.

A bed. A small dresser, barely big enough to hold more than a few sets of clothes...

Nothing else. Not even a rug.

"So no husband," I whispered.

"Feh," Vim scoffed as if he found that funny.

Glaring at him, I had to stop stirring for a mont since I had done so too roughly. A small bit of the stew's broth had splattered out.

Wait...

"Most of our kind. The Society... what do they think of the church?" I asked him.

"Oh I don't know. Only half of our mbers have lost soone to them, in one form of another, so I have no idea," Vim said.

Sighing I nodded. Yes. I deserved that sarcastic tone.

"So no one likes her," I whispered.

"Well... no. I didn't an it that way Renn. Didn't you just hear that people visited her?" Vim asked.

"Oh. Yes. I did," I nodded. I had wanted to hear more of them. Twins? Did they an that literally? So siblings born at the sa ti? And they owned a boat? I'd love et them.

Vim brushed his hands together as he walked back to the pot. Looked like he was done cleaning up after himself.

"Is this place special to her? Like how Twin Hills was special to Trixalla?" I asked.

"No, she just likes it here for whatever reason. Settled down years ago," Vim said as he watched stir.

Feeling a little conscious thanks to his gaze, I did my best to not accidentally spill more. Maybe he was upset because of it.

"She was Crane's friend?" I asked, hoping to keep both him and myself distracted.

"Verily. Which is why I had to tell her so quickly. It would have been rude not to," Vim said.

I nodded, since I understood that. As she broke down and cried, Vim had roughly explained what had happened. And what he thought was the result.

He thought they were dead, but there was a chance they'd appear soday. He couldn't confirm their survival, and as such chose to expect the worst.

Sohow that made it... sad. It ant he always expected the worse outco.

"She'll wake up in a better mood," Vim said, and then stepped away. To grab sothing off a nearby shelf.

"I hope so," I whispered. She had... really cried. So much, and so purely, that I had cried myself.

Glancing at Vim as he grabbed so kind of glass bottle off the shelf, I rembered the look on his face when I had wrapped Rapti up in a hug as she sobbed.

When I had glanced at him... I had expected a confused look, or an incredulous one. One that made feel awkward or ashad.

Instead I had found a warm smile.

A roll of thunder drew from my thoughts.

I gulped away the smile the mory had given as Vim returned to the pot, as to pour so of the little glass bottle's contents into it.

Watching the black flakes fall, I frowned at the sll of them. "So kind of spice?" I asked.

He stopped quickly, only putting a little in. "Pepper."

"Pepper..." I hadn't heard of it. It slled strongly though.

"It's good," he said, confident.

"I hope so..." My nose didn't seem to like it... but maybe it'd not be as bad once it soaked in the stew itself for awhile.

Vim put the glass bottle back and I picked up the stirring... to hopefully get the stuff to mix in as fast as possible.

"Still want to help Renn? You'll end up breaking hearts as you've seen," Vim then said with his back to .

My stirring stopped, and I opened my mouth to say sothing. But my mind whirled, quickly understanding exactly what he had said.

This was a common thing.

To bring and give bad news. The kind of news that made people break.

Looking away from him, I was glad that I had taken a small step back away from the pot earlier. My eyes were watering, and I didn't want to cry into the stew.

"I didn't mind crying with her," I whispered.

"I saw."

"It's not always bad though, Vim... I saw Lughes and the rest when you entered with Lomi. I saw Lomi and her new family. I saw Lilly and Windle, they seed happy," I argued.

"Happy? Those two?" he asked.

"They were," I nodded, confident. I'd not let him tease about them.

"I suppose they are," he sighed.

Didn't he realize it? Although Lilly chastised him and gave him grief... she had genuinely loved that man. Cherished him beyond asure.

She had abandoned her own desire to fight and wage war, to stay with him. That had to an sothing.

For a long mont neither of us talked... Vim sat down at the kitchen table with a small huff, and I didn't like the awkward silence that followed.

Was I supposed to have not agreed with him? Or had he only said that earlier comnt without much aning, and I had taken it too seriously?

Or had I failed sohow? Had he wanted a different answer...?

Blinking watery eyes, I was glad they seed to stop being blurry quickly. Maybe I had cried myself out already from earlier.

"Rapti seems nice," I said softly.

"She is. Until you preach heresy," Vim said.

Heresy?

Glancing at him, he nodded. "As I said. Devout."

Ah... he ant that literally then.

"Hm..." Did that an Lilly and Rapti weren't on good terms? Lilly had ntioned her hate for the church quite a few tis when I had traveled with her.

"Ah... I'll be back," Vim then suddenly stood from his seat. He did so, so suddenly, I startled.

"Huh?" I watched him leave as he gestured for to keep doing what I was doing.

Listening to him leave, I heard him head farther down the hall. To the right, past the stairs.

I hadn't gone to that side of the house yet, but I assud it was where the bathroom was. I hadn't seen it yet after all.

There were two rooms upstairs, and a small loft. Which had a small table and chair. Then downstairs, a large living room... this kitchen, and the two rooms in the front which held a lot of books.

Straining my ears, I realized I heard snoring. It was light, but...

Smiling softly at Rapti's snoring, I realized I was probably going to struggle to sleep if the only other place to sleep was in the room opposite of hers. At that distance I'd hear that snoring so distinctively well, it'd make it difficult to fall asleep.

"Yet it's cute," I admitted.

The Sleepy Artist had been rather quiet, honestly. Sotis I heard Amber rummaging around at night, since she had seed to struggle to sleep on occasion... but other than that...

"Hm..." I felt my chest tighten at the thought of Amber.

Then I heard a match. Sothing sparked, and I heard a fla elsewhere. And not from the nearby ovens, or the fireplace in the living room.

I frowned as I listened to the sounds, and then heard what was obviously wood being stacked on top of each other.

Was Vim starting a fire sowhere?

After a mont I heard Vim again. He sighed at sothing and then ca back into the kitchen.

"Go take a bath," he said.

"Huh?" I went still as he approached, to take over in the stirring.

He gestured to the door. "Down the hall. The small room at the end on the right. Take a bath," he said.

"Oh... I feel okay?" Was he worried I felt weird because we had gotten a little wet? I an sure it wasn't the greatest feeling but...

"You stink. Don't go sleeping in Rapti's clothes and bed like that, it's rude," he said and grabbed the handle from .

"Stink!" I stepped back and quickly tried to sll myself.

Did I? No... I slled myself, yes, but it wasn't that bad. If anything I could sll the clothes I wore now more than anything. They slled old.

Vim gave a look as he stood there, holding the large spoon without stirring.

"Do I really...?" I asked, a little worried. If I did... then that ant all this ti I hadn't realized it. Since I obviously couldn't sll anything bad. This ant all this ti I probably had stunk and...

"Not really. But we'll be on the road for a week or so before our next opportunity, so go while you can," Vim then said as he looked away from . He went to stirring as if he hadn't just...

Unsure of what to say, or do, I felt my ears twitch, and then felt my tail brush up against the nearby kitchen table. I was frazzled.

Shifting a little, I blinked and wondered if I really did stink though... What if he had just simply seen my expression, and felt bad... and then told I didn't, but I really did and...

"Jeez Renn. You don't. You have a scent but all of us do. It's not bad either, so just go bathe real quick and stop looking like I just broke your heart," Vim said with a nod of the head.

"You didn't break it... you just shook it," I admitted.

He sighed and nodded, as if accepting defeat.

Stepping up to him, I took a small yet deep breath right behind his back.

I slled the stew. The flour. The bread... wood, most likely from the fire he had just started for the bath.

Yet I couldn't sll him.

He glanced at , but didn't say anything or try to stop . Instead he looked away and returned his focus on the stew.

For a few monts I focused on him, and tried to find his scent.

Even with my eyes closed, and nearly up against him... I couldn't sll anything.

"You don't sll at all," I said.

"So I've heard," he said.

"No... I an... I can't even sll your clothes. You've been wearing these since I've t you, why don't they stink at least?" I asked. They didn't look... too bad, but they did definitely show their wear. They weren't grimy, but were far from unused. It was part of the reason he looked so average. He looked like any other fisherman or farr you'd pass on the road.

"I know you want to stink because of what I said, but co on," Vim said.

Stepping around him, I tried to take a deep breath again, thinking maybe another angle would work... but instead all I got was a deep sll of the brewing stew.

It slled delicious.

"And now you're drooling," Vim said with a strange tone.

Licking my lips I looked up at him and smiled at his odd frown. He must find ridiculous.

"Most n stink. Or at least sll of what they wear or their breath..." I said. Most slled of whatever they had just drank, especially when it was liquor.

"I'll take your word for that. I don't make a habit of slling other n," he said.

Laughing at him, I nodded and stepped away. Slowly heading to the hallway, I paused for a mont and glanced down the hallway. It was a little dark... the storm had arrived, even though it hadn't really started raining yet.

No...

Tilting my head upward, I listened intently and found that there was indeed raindrops. Little drops landed on the tal roof creating a chorus of sound. They were slowly growing in number.

"The storms here," I said.

"The storms been here for an hour," Vim corrected .

I shrugged, since I had never really found clouds alone to be a storm themselves. After all, one didn't think dark clouds alone when they thought of a storm.

They thought of rain. Wind. Lightning and thunder!

"Don't eat without ," I said to him.

"Get going. I'll start thinking you're really just a normal cat if you keep acting as if you're afraid of a simple bath," he teased.

Smiling at him I nodded. That was a common assumption.

Heading down the hall, I hesitated a mont... then stepped backwards. To peek into the kitchen.

Vim stood before the stew, and was stirring gently. He had a... small yet gentle smile on his face.

Turning away and heading down the hall for real this ti, I blinked the mory of that smile away. To tuck it deep inside .

Sohow it had seed precious.

Finding the bath was easy.

Ignoring Rapti's loud snores mixed into the thunderous rumbles of the storm wasn't.