Dragon Clan: In The Beginning by Clary LeRoy

Author:Clary, LeRoy [Clary, LeRoy]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-07-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Seth bent and held a palm on the warm dirt floor again. Would it stay that way all winter? He missed the significance of Dawn’s last words as he examined and wondered at the function and beauty of the bowls. Someone had painted designs on them before the final firing. He said, “Hey, I wonder if any of those apples on the tree are still good to eat?”

Before Dawn could respond, Seth ran out the door and headed for the orchard at a full run. He pulled a small apple from an overgrown tree and found it hard, tart, and as good as any he’d ever tasted. Here and there, apples still hung from three or four trees. Other trees were different varieties, but all were tall, tangled, and badly in need of pruning, a few appeared to have died. The fruit on most would grow small and sparse until pruning, if Seth were any judge.

Pruning the fruit trees and cutting down the dead ones would provide more than enough wood for the winter, and it grew close to the caves. He’d helped his father prune and carry off branches to a burn pile since he was young.

Chewing the apple to the core, he glanced at the tangled weeds growing nearby. Some grew other plants from gardens generations ago. He recognized several. Beans, onions, and radishes were obvious. Cultivating them would bring more food to the table. He carried five small apples to Dawn, who accepted one as if it was gold instead of fruit. He stared at it a long time before taking the first bite.

While Seth had been looking at the orchard and garden plot, the old man had removed almost everything from the inside but a few of the larger furnishings. He sat on the ground under a shade tree, a pole balanced across his knees. A fistful of green straw lay beside him. After lining up the straw, so it all faced the same way, he placed it at the end of the pole. Then, he used a green straw to wrap around it until it formed a cone secured to the pole.

The activity interested Seth if for no other reason than that he had no idea of what Dawn was doing. When Dawn finished tying the straw, he used his knife to cut off the straws to the same length. He headed inside and began to sweep the dirt floor at the farthest part of the cave with his new broom, working his way to the front door.

Seth leaped to help remove the larger bits of wood and debris remaining inside. The front door, sat to one side, leaning against the wall. A tanned hide would do for a temporary one. He didn’t’ want any animals wandering inside, and when the weather turned colder a sturdy door would help. He sniffed the air and found it smelled better with the missing door, but still with a slight mustiness. In almost no time the three rooms were clean and the dust settling.

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