Kaza and Eseth had been on the island for about three moons, and, along with shaping their tree and gradually moving into it, they visited Redwing about once or twice a week. Lately, he had taken to visiting them and helping them with moving into the tree.

All three of them explored the island, mainly to build up Kaza and Eseth's winter stores. Redwing showed them how to tan and cure furs and hides(at least, he showed Eseth. Kaza didn't want to learn) and helped then hunt meat and gather plants and herbs for the coming winter. He and Eseth had hung two hammocks in the tree for her and Kaza while Kaza shaped a storing place for their meat(smoked and salted), herbs, and furs.

"Wow...this is hard work..." smirked Kaza as she finished shaping the store house for their meat. Redfeather rolled his eyes at her. "Sitting on the floor doing some magicky thing isn't hard work. It's just useful." Kaza grinned at him. "It's better and more energy-draining than curing hides. And less smelly." she retorted, referring to the thick furs he was in the process of curing.

The storehouse was right outside the tree, positioned so it could be accessed from the inside or the outside. Redwing said "well, these are almost done. They'll probably be done by tomorrow afternoon."

Eseth, who had just come from the inside of the tree bearing three plates of food, said "Good thing, too. The winter will come soon. It is the Red Leaf moon, after all." Kaza and Redwing murmured in agreement, and each took one of the plates that Eseth offered them. Kaza gnawed hungrily on the meat portion of her meal, and Redwing rolled his eyes at her again. "For such a skilled Hydromancer, you eat horribly." he told her.

Kaza shrugged. "Hey, I told you that playing with magic makes you hungry." she replied.

Soon after Redfeather had finished eating, he said "I should probably get going." nodding towards the furs, he said "Just let those sit till tomorrow afternoon. Not much has to be done with them now, but you should probably leave them be for a bit." he spread his rust-red wings and leaped into the air.

"Bye, Redfeather!" called Eseth as Kaza waved. They each sank into sitting a sitting position on the ground. "What a day." sighed Kaza. "Yeah." agreed Eseth staring at the furs, "We'd better get some sleep now. It's almost dark." Eseth and Kaza hastened to the sleeping alcove that they shared. Kaza had shaped it inside the tree. It was something of a loft, shaped right above a lantern-holder that held a glass ball. There were steps shaped into the wood of the tree that led up to it, and Kaza and Eseth shared it.

After they had both gotten into bed, Eseth snapped. The glass balls that had been softly glowing throughout the tree were extinguished, except for one that Eseth held in her hand. Kaza merely turned away from Eseth on her pallet. She was used to this by now. Eseth reached onto the shelf behind her and pulled out a scorched, oddly curved-looking piece of wood. She was experimenting with Pyromancy and seeing if she could carve the piece of wood with fire alone.

Eseth lit a single finger, then spread the fire until it encompassed her whole finger, effectively dimming the light and, instead of a single flame on the tip of her finger, it glowed and sparked with enough heat to scorch wood, but not to set things on fire.

She spent about half an hour on carving it in a vague portrait of Kaza, then turned out the light.

Outside the hollow tree, everything got colder.

***

The next day, a thin layer of frost lay on the ground. Kaza grimaced, and Eseth sighed heavily. "I hope the furs weren't damaged..." said Eseth, walking over to the furs in question, which Redwing had hung on two tree branches that Kaza had shaped at his request.

Eseth felt them. Apart from being slightly stiff from the frost, they appeared undamaged. Kaza tiredly helped Eseth make breakfast on the ramshackle stove that they and Redwing had put together from scrap metal.

Redwing arrived right when they were finishing breakfast. Kaza snickered when she saw him. He was entirely smothered in furs, hides, and cloth. Eseth raised her eyebrows. "It's not that cold, you know," she pointed out. Redwing only shrugged, and set to work on the almost-finished furs.

The day passed without event. Kaza enhanced both the inside and the outside of the tree, making the sleeping loft and storage spaces slightly deeper so as to allow for more room. Eseth hunted for more meat, and the occasional herb, and spent the rest of the day preparing what she had gotten for storage.

That night, right after Eseth had turned off the light and prepared to take her carving out, Kaza said "Eseth?"

Eseth started, almost dropping her lamp. Kaza almost never talked after lights-out. She placed her lamp in her lap so as to make sure not to drop it. "Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Eseth raised an eyebrow. "Sure...as long as it doesn't have to do with emotional problems. Or relationship problems."

Kaza smiled slightly. "You're out of luck then."

Eseth groaned. "Who on this entire island is there to have relationship problems with?"

"Well, it's not so much of a problem as, um..."

"Spit it out, Kaza."

"Do you think that Redwing likes me?" said Kaza, very quickly, blushing bright red.

"Kaza, why is it so hard to talk about that sort of thing?" asked Eseth, raising her eyebrows. "You're certainly old enough to have talked about it plenty of times."

Kaza shrugged helplessly. "None of the boys in the village ever interested me. I never...um..."

Eseth rolled her eyes. "Ye gods, you're eighteen and you're still a virgin. And you've never gone out with anyone. But to answer your first question, I actually have no idea. He's probably as shy about it as your are. More, even. He did bash you in the head."

"Oh." said Kaza. "Well, thanks, I guess. And I told you, no one's ever interested me. I never really gave it any thought. Before now, I mean. 'Night."

Eseth blinked. That was Kaza for you. She was impossible to talk to at night. Instead of carving, Eseth merely turned out the light.

***
"We have a problem..." Kaza said, looking out the open door. "What is it?" asked Eseth. Kaza only pointed outside.

There was about an inch of snow on the ground. And it wasn't melting. "I guess winter comes more quickly than we thought," said Kaza. Eseth replied "Let's get to work. You might want to seal the windows. And the door."

"You want to use the door I made at the top of the hollow? You know, to get out and stuff?"

Eseth shrugged again. She had told Kaza to seal the windows and door shut because she figured it would keep out the cold. "If you want. I plan on staying here today, and attempting to do something with those new furs that Redwing gave us."

Kaza nodded agreeably. "It's just an inch of snow, you realize. You could still go hunting and things. You probably should, actually. I'll take care of the hides, and the other ones he gave us, as matter of fact."

Eseth sighed. She hated cold, even as little cold as this.

***

"Ooh...this is horrible." moaned Eseth the second she stepped out the door and onto the freshly snow-covered ground.
Though actually it was very warm for late autumn, thinking about how cold it could get made her feel colder than she actually was.

"Eseth!" called a voice from overhead. She looked up, a gloved hand shielding her eyes from the early morning sun. "Oh, hi, Redwing. Kaza's inside." He landed heavily next to her, and inspected the tree. "Um...how do I get in, exactly?" he asked. Eseth pointed to the stairs shaped into the side of the tree, and said "Just go up those stairs. There's a door on top that you can pull out and put back in. It makes the tree warmer."

Eseth hitched her bow and arrows higher on her shoulders, and added, "You should probably bring a bucket of water in, if you're going inside." she pointed to a crude wooden bucket hanging on a tree branch, then waved to Redwing, and trotted off into the forest.

Redwing grabbed the bucket, filled it with water from the nearby stream, and clambered up the steps to the hatch in the tree. He set the bucket down next to him, narrowly avoiding splashing the contents on himself, and pulled the door off. Placing the bucket on the stairs on the inside of the tree, he climbed down, and pulled the door closed.

Kaza glanced up, a pin in her mouth. "Hey there, Redwing." she said, her voice muffled somewhat by the pin. "Hi Kaza." replied Redwing, cheeks still bright red from the slight cold outside,"So what's that you're doing?" Kaza rolled her pale blue eyes, "I'm sewing."

"Well how am I to know? I haven't seen anyone sew since...well, since before my mother...died.." his voice, which had started cheerfully enough, grew softer.

"Oh." said Kaza. "So, you haven't seen anyone sew? Then how did you make your clothes and things."

Redwing grinned ruefully. "Oh, that's not real sewing. I can't actually sew, though I can stich things together. It usually looks horrible though."

Kaza smiled at him. "You can take off some of those clothes. It's not that cold in here, you know. It's not even that cold outside."

Redwing shrugged off his hat and coat, and sat on one of the few chairs in the room that wasn't directly shaped from the tree.

"Oh, by the way," he said, reaching into a bag he had just sat down next to him. "I brought a few more glass things. And some books." Eseth could blow glass, though she usually only made glass lanterns with the products. Her Pyromancy ensured that she wouldn't get burned while handling the hot glass.

Kaza smiled at Redwing. "Thanks. Just put the books over there." she pointed to the bookshelf.

They sat in somewhat awkward silence for a while, shyly avoiding each other's eyes until Eseth came through the roof.
"Hey there!" she said, clambering down the steps.

"Hi!" replied Redwing. Kaza merely waggled her fingers at Eseth, apperantly deep in concentration. "Didn't you catch anything?" he asked, as Eseth had nothing in her hands.

"Oh yeah, I did, actually. Caught a whole deer. Don't know why it happened at this time of year, but I just need a knife or something." when Redwing looked questioningly at her, she said "To cut it up, so I can get it in here. Would you care to help? You know more about skinning and gutting a large animal than I do. And four hands are better than two."

"Of course I'll help!" said Redwing cheerfully.

"Then don't stand there gawking! Come out and help!" replied Eseth, just as cheerfully.

Kaza smirked and said "I'd watch out if I were you."

Redwing turned to her. "Why?"

"It's always a bad sign when she's cheerful."

***
Later, when Eseth and Redwing had finished with the deer and were packing bark-wrapped pieces of it into the storage(Kaza had opened the it on the outside, by their request), Eseth said "Can I ask you a question?"

"Alright." said Redwing dubiously.

"How was marriage handled, where you came from?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, was anyone allowed to marry off their station? Were weddings big events, or small, or did it depend on the type of angel?"

Redwing sat down, and stripped off his blood-stained gloves. He got a bucket of water from the stream, and said "Would you mind heating this up?"

Eseth obliged, and they washed their things in the hot water as Redwing explained.

"You weren't allowed to marry off your station. Having a lover or intending to elope with someone above or below you was illegal. Not that it happened much. Once, I heard that a Swan fell in love with a Hawk, and the Hawk was killed, while the Swan was made to watch. The Swan was said to have grown a heart of stone afterwards."

Eseth shuddered. "That's horrible."

Redwing nodded. "A friend of mine, Cinder Mimdah, fell in love with a Raven. He only ever told me about it, though. He eventually married Loveblood Nerrah, and had a child. That was the last I heard of them before the Rebellion. The marriage, though," he said, a smile touching his face. "The marriage was amazing. Everyone in the district came, I think, and I'd never seen Cinder smile so."

Eseth smiled. "That's nice. Not bad, nothing terrible." then she grinned. "What sort of name is Loveblood, anyway?"

Redwing shrugged, picking up the bucket of washwater and dumping it under a nearby tree, far from the stream. "Marriages are celebrations. I don't know how they were treated by the Ravens or the Swans, but they were huge and happy with us."

"Are there any arranged marriages?" asked Eseth curiously, drying her soaking coat and gloves at a touch, then doing the same with Redwing's.

"Yes, actually. But mostly among the Swans, I think." picking up his newly dry coat and putting on his gloves, he said. "I should probably go. It's getting dark."

Eseth nodded. "See you tomorrow!" and climbed back into the tree. Kaza had finished sewing the furs, and she was now hanging the finished product on a hook. She had made them into cloaks, sewing the inside with some of the hide that Eseth had cured, and, for lack of a clasp or buttons, she tied the openeing shut with a leather strap.

Eseth asked "Which one's mine?"

"Whichever you want. How'd it go?"

"Oh, it was fine. Redwing told me about angel marriages, and we have a lot more meat than we did yesterday."

Kaza rolled her eyes at her friend. "You asked him about marriages on behalf of me, didn't you?"

Eseth nodded gleefully.

"Fine." Kaza sighed. "Tell me."

end