Dogs Days Are Over [ASIANS]

[mylex]

Veata Chea stood trembling on the small road, her shaky hands pressed tightly at her side. Beneath the rich blue of her sarong her bare feet shuffled a few hesitant steps forward then back in nervous dance. In her dark eyes a mixture of wariness and unwanted longing took root like a weed. Her stiff posture spoke volumes how she wanted to be anywhere but here and yet the forlorn taste of a word she hadn’t known for years beckoned her forward. The snappy breeze that whipped the uneven locks of her hair against her cheeks bore scents that she had once thought were forgotten in the recesses of her mind. It was amazing to realize how little her body didn’t remember.

It was the low whimper of a dog that did it for her. In that small keening she forced herself to take the first steps into a village she had thought she would never return to. Old memories triggered by t he most mundane elements of the village came rushing into the Khmer’s mind but she found no surprise in that time had done nothing to dull the edge of pain. The way her nose twitched in reaction to the scent of cooking rice brought her back to unimaginable messes made in the kitchen. Warm laughter brought about warmer hugs. When three small children nearly careened into her legs Veata wasn’t the twenty-year-old stranger in her old home but a seven-year-old playing with the Thai boy she was certain she’d marry someday.

All the thoughts and memories running in at once made her unsteady. Unmasked pain and desperate longing erupted in her heart and slipped into her bloodstream which each beat as she struggled to keep the really unwanted memories away. Veata could deal with the nostalgia of any childhood memory thrown at her, good or bad; she couldn’t deal with the memory of when she was forsaken the right to be a child. A thousand years could pass but as long as the female could help it she would never return to the day the bandits came to her home. The village in itself seemed to have forgotten the event so why shouldn’t she?

Beneath the curtain of her hair that had hidden her heart-shaped face when she had hung her head Veata thought she found something familiar. Slowly, ever so slowly, she straightened and allowed her feet to carry her down a path that didn’t quite exist the way it used to. Within her line of vision was one of the larger homes in the village but in her mind’s eyes she wasn’t seeing how it looked but instead how it used to look, how it still should have looked. Gods, what was she even doing back here? What could she possibly find in the ruins of this place that only she could see?

Before she could consider anything Veata found herself knocking on the door that once belonged to a face she used to know. “Hello? Is anybody here?”

[firecracker]

Carefully arranging the strips of pork on his plate, Jia Long glanced impatiently at the rice. It wasn’t quite done yet, as he’d been delayed in starting it by the hungry mewls of the neighborhood kitten outside his back door. He couldn’t complete a crane shaped dinner when the main body of the crane wasn’t cooked yet! Sighing to himself, Jia Long fiddled with the plate again. Rice took so long to cook when he was hungry.

Another mournful miaow drew his eyes to the window just above his sink. The little orange kitten was staring in at him with wide, sad eyes. He frowned a little at it, then glanced down at the unfinished crane. He still had some pork left and it might be cold tonight…

Sighing again, he stood and opened the window. “Mou, alright. You’ve convinced me.” The kitten jumped into the empty sink and mewed up at him sweetly. The blank expression on his face lightened a little and he pulled a piece of pork out of his wok with a pair of chopsticks.

The sound of quiet tapping made him glance toward the hall. Another glance at the rice showed him it was almost done. “Hmmm, enough time to check the door I think.” He nodded to himself and moved to the front door. “Shì shuí?” (Who is it?)

He didn’t expect his past to be staring him in the face. He was so shocked that the smell of burning didn’t even register in his brain. “Ve-Veata…?”

[mylex]

Jia Long. The name slipped onto her tongue at the sight of the young boy before she could register anything else. Jia Long who had been one of the few village children younger than her hadn’t left this place; Jia Long with the face that neither smiled nor frowned lived still in the same home he had lived in years ago; Jia Long who Veata had remembered as a tiny boy with the cutest cheeks had changed. Logically it made sense considering five years had passed between them yet there was something disturbing in looking at the face of this young man and knowing that she had missed the years that he had grown into this.

In his brown eyes she caught her own speechless shock but could do nothing about it as she openly stared at him. Before Veata had left she’d been taller than him but Jia Long had shot up since then. He had taken on that awkward look about him all boys his age had but the Khmer could already find the traces of the man he would be. His face wasn’t as gentle as it used to be: his cheekbones were more prominent and facial features more sharpened. During the time she’d been gone his skin retained its paleness but his hand were large, calloused, and his shoulders, while still narrow, had broadened some. Veata noted how his hair was still cut short with the dark bangs nearly falling in front of his chocolate brown eyes. He wasn’t handsome quite yet but he soon would be.

“Jia…Long…” Cautiously she moved past just seeing how he had grown physically to how he may have changed on the inside. Veata had never considered herself particularly close to the male when she was little. They had played together often enough and at one point she had called him friend but it had felt very casual on her part. In fact, there hadn’t been very many days that they had spent alone with one another compared to the days they had all played in a group. Jia Long had been important to her as a child but not overly so. Or was that what she had told herself to make leaving easier?

The scent of burnt rice snapped the female’s grateful mind away from an area she was not ready to treat. Awkwardly she shifted from foot-to-foot briefly before clearing her throat. “Jia Long it is good to see you again but…” Dark eyes flickered right past his shoulder knowingly. “…but perhaps you should attend to your rice and then maybe we ca speak? Later would work as well; I did not mean to interrupt you when you were busy.”

[firecracker]

“My…rice?” He almost frowned in confusion before the burning smell registered and his eyes widened. Without a care to the draft, or even being polite, Jia Long quickly turned away and dashed back into the kitchen. “My rice! La shí!” (shit)

Hurriedly picking up the pan and turning off the heat, Jia Long sat it down on the kitchen rag he’d laid out for just this purpose. Though he hadn’t counted on the rice starting to burn. He carefully picked through the rice with a pair of chopsticks and sighed in relief when he saw that it was only the bottom layer that had burnt.

Moving to the kitchen’s doorway, he half-smiled down the hall at Veata. “Thank you for warning me about my rice. I only managed to burn a little bit of it, so you’re welcome to stay for dinner.” He motioned behind himself into the kitchen. “I made pork strips with rice, long beans, and lotus root.”

[mylex]

Veata felt a bit of humor spark inside of herself as Jia Long scrambled back to his rice. For a moment her years of absence vanished and she was a young girl again tending to a child five summers younger than her. At times she had been reluctant to and at others amused by his daily antics. As the youngest child of her family she was intrigued by how much energy went into chasing after and caring for little ones. She was used to being the one waited on; never the one doing the waiting. With this Chinese boy though the other had depended on her to watch him the moments they couldn’t. It had been…different.

Just like that the differences of the past and the present settled back down as she stood unsurely in his doorway. When they were younger she would have had no qualms about running in after him but now the female wasn’t so sure. If there had been anything to see in the past five minutes it would have been that she and Jia Long were practically strangers. Gone was the tentative connection they may have had in previous years. What Veata was sure of was that strangers did not just enter the homes of other strangers. Had coming back really been all that good of an idea?

By the time the teenager had come back she still hadn’t decided if she should go or stay. Catching sight of his face made the decision; it was easier to leave without explanations but impossible to go with the gaze that made her wonder ‘what if…’ Forcing her shoulders to relax Veata smiled good-naturedly and nodded her head pleasantly. “I’d like that, Jia Long.” Without realizing it she was staring at him again, trying to imprint everything about this boy into her mind just in case somebody took him away from her. “We have a lot to talk about.”

It hadn’t been until the Khmer had said that did she realize what she wanted: she wanted Jia Long to tell her about everything that had changed, about what he did now, about his new neighbors, about his new life, about the other children they had grown up with, about what had happened to the Thai boy she had once made as important to her life as her father. When Veata had left all of this behind years ago she hadn’t thought about eh things she would never know and look at what had happened: she couldn’t look at Jia Long without feeling a tinge of regret.

Before she could help herself she stepped inside, cradling his pale cheek in her hand as she kissed the other with an affection she had almost forgotten. As a child she had been spoiled but that did not mean she hadn’t loved and to some extent she had loved Jia Long. It hadn’t been with nearly as much affection as it had been with Yong Soo or even Yao and she hadn’t always been open about it but she had loved each of them. They were her friends and a bit like family, just the tiniest bit. “I’ve missed you, Little One,” Veata whispered then, with a sheepish smile, stepped back to be led to the kitchen.

[firecracker]

Jia Long blushed a pale pink and glanced away from Veata. It had been a very long time since anyone, let alone someone from his childhood had come close enough to touch him. Sure there was the casual brushing of arms or legs when he went to the over crowded market; and okay, the government check up every three months put him in greater contact with a person…

But that was all different from someone he’d grown up with. Someone he’d trusted as a child to look after him when his Yao dagua couldn’t. She stepped away and he fought down the brief stab of disappointment. He didn’t like it, but he missed feeling loved by someone. The government officials had a strange look in their eyes when he went in for checkups, but it wasn’t love. They almost seemed…hungry? Desperate maybe.

Veata’s eyes were just soft. She had an almost wistful look about her, but it was all permeated with a calm kind of love that Jia Long couldn’t help but soak up. “I missed you too, da jie jie.” (big sister) He took a step back himself and motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen.

“Please, have a seat. I wasn’t expecting a guest so give me just a moment to make you a plate.” He made sure she was settled at the table before quickly putting the long bean stems on three lotus root flowers. Some rice formed the body of a crane bent toward the water, which he created out of lines of soy sauce.

He glanced up when a thought hit him. “Ah, do you like pork? I don’t really remember if you ate it or not when we were younger…” Not that he remembered much of anything about her. Just that she’d been there and was the only one to come back and check on him since the attack. They hadn’t really been close, he’d followed Yao around and she’d hung out around his big brother.

[mylex]

She wasn’t aware of what eh wanted, of the lack of real love in recent years, so she couldn’t give it to him. She didn’t know to give Jia Long love. In her view his red cheeks had reflected embarrassment of the shameful variety. In Asia, or at least the portion of Khmer customs that contributed to Asian culture, displays of affection were highly inappropriate where they could be seen and in front of his house anybody from the village could have seen her kiss. It was even worse when her actions could be seen more as intimate courtship rather than a sibling-like love. Really it was a wonder Jia Long didn’t shut the door in her face.

Just as the female opened her mouth to apologize he stated quite honestly just what she needed to hear. Last year when Veata had returned to Asia for a few weeks she had run into Phuong. The incident had left Veata rattled and unsure; the Vietnamese woman had unknowingly brought too much of the past back too quickly and revealed that what Veata had mistakenly saw as abandonment was anything but. It had been enough to scare the Khmer off from the village for months. She had lost what little faith she had in her ability to deal with returning.

With Jia Long it was different. Veata didn’t know if any of the others came back to the village but the fact that he had just stated that he missed her specifically as well felt good. Missed translated to some type of wanting and being wanted felt special. Nobody had really wanted her in a long time. And to an extent she supposed that she had missed Jia Long specifically out of their group. It had been fun to cause mischief with him; he was a good, creative boy and sometimes she had found herself missing the surprisingly blank face when European children had demanded her attention. She just hadn’t been able to put a face and name to that specific wanting consciously until she had found the source of it again.

In the kitchen all of the uncertainty, tension, and awkwardness melted away from Veata. It was impossible to feel anything bad in a place made for happy memories. How many afternoons had she spent in a kitchen just like this either begging snacks off of Yao or hiding in the cabinets from persistent Phuong? Even the scent of slightly burnt rice was welcoming; at least it was familiar.

“This looks delicious, Jia Long,” Veata complimented as he set the dish down in front of her and then with a cattish smile she teased, “It’s a good thing Yao taught you how to cook or else you might be suffering from stomach pains or fending for yourself in the wild with no one to feed you. Goodness knows how easily that could have happened if we had let somebody like Yong Soo teach you.” Her light-hearted tone filled the room as dark eyes followed his movements. When he turned to offer her pork she smiled quite sweetly. “That would be ni-“

“Meow!”

Veata let out a small cry of surprise as something warm rubbed against her legs. Dark eyes flew down below the table as another mewl rang out and then the kitten was scrambling onto her lap. Immediately all her surprise melted away to be replaced by an embarrassingly girly warm fuzziness. Arms pulled the kitten into a cuddle and she pressed her cheek against his warm fur in a rare moment of fluffiness as she cooed, “Aaawww! You’re so adorable~! Wherever did you find him, Jia Long? I want one too!”

…Cambodians always had been more affectionately with animals rather than other humans…

[firecracker]

Blinking down at the cat, Jia Long let a hint of a smile twitch at the corners of his lips. “I call him Cat, but he’s a neighborhood stray. I think he likes my house because I give him meat whenever he comes by.” The smile became real as he watched the cute feline being cuddled.

Carefully laying the strips of meat down on Veata’s plate to complete the crane, though two went to making a vague fish shape under the ‘water’ of soy sauce. The kitten mewed again and he blinked down at the wide yellow eyes staring up at him. “I don’t have anymore pork to give you, Cat.”

He settled on his side of the table once he’d put a pot of yuangyang (coffee &milk-tea combo) on the table with some cups. He ate a little, then glanced up at Veata and the kitten. It really was a cute sight and he felt a little itch in the back of his mind whenever he noticed it. Almost like he was forgetting something important.

[mylex]

"Cat?" Wrapping her fingers firmly around the kitten's middle, Veata scooped him up and turned Cat so that their twitching noses nearly brushed. Bright-eyed she smiled wide enough to almost show her teeth as his tiny, rough tongue lapped at her nose. "Cat is a good, simple name but you deserve something much cuter, don't you?" Alongside her quiet giggle came a pleased mewl. "Shall I make Delun my nickname for you?"

Hunger finally won the female's attention and with one last snuggle she let Cat go just as Jia Long finished her dish. Taking in the plate with appraising eyes she picked up a small piece of pork with a few beansprouts and placed it in her mouth. The flavors of her homes, tastes she hadn't known during her years in Europe, brought on another savoring wave of nostalgia. Jia Long was unknowingly drawing back a Veata of this homeland with comforting familiarities that was often suppressed during her travels among strangers. It was rare to find relaxation with anotehr so easily these days.

Smiling privately at her own thoughts Veata continued to eat in silence, her expression one of the few indicators of her pleasure. Affection and delight soon lit up in her eyes though as Cat began to prowl between herself and Jia Long but this was more for the human than the creature. "This tastes exquisite." Feeling ever so playful thanks to her good, relaxed mood she teased, "Why if this is the sort of treatment you offer naturally to women and with such wonderful culinary skills and that handsome face it would be a miracle for you to be without a wife or lover even at your age."

Chuckling softly under her breath she took a piece of pork from her own plate and offered it to the dejected Cat who snatched it up quickly with a deep purr. Scooping him up to cradle him in her arms she tickled him under his furry chin and crooned, "There, you greedy, little beggar. Now stop pestering poor Jia Long. Have you no shame, Naughty Cat?" Unable to resist the temptation Veata pressed her cheek against his fur. From her father it would seem that she had inherited the open-affection for animals shamelessly that didn't always transfer nearly as well to humans.

Amidst her soft whispers and affectionate gestures the Khmer felt ht shift in Jia Long's mind. Within moments her head had snapped up and concern unknowingly took the pace of contentment. Without thinking her fingers flitted across the table to rest on the back of his hand. "Jia Long? Is everything alright?" Standing from her seat and sending Cat back onto his own she moved next to his seat and rested the back of her hand on his forehead to test for a fever. "You look....look confused and ill. Is it the heat? Do you need something?"

[firecracker]

Jia Long blushed a little, shying away from the hand on his forehead. “I-I’m fine. I’m glad you like the food.” He very carefully ignored the comment about a wife or lover. He’d tried, he honestly had, but none of them would stay around after having to endure Jia Long’s moods and nightmares.

He didn’t even have any close friends because he’d never tried to socialize without his older brother before the attack and it had only gotten worse after. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything for desert…” He self consciously fidgeted with his chopsticks, staring down at his mostly eaten plate. “I wasn’t expecting guests.” Jia Long shrugged a little and tried to press his headache back.

There were precious few times he had a visitor that was welcome. He didn’t want to ruin it with a headache that decided to pounce out of nowhere.

[mylex]

Worry and guilt fell upon her shoulders like a heavy cloak, dissipating the hunger in her stomach. She couldn’t catch the pain of his ailment and wrap it away as she should. She couldn’t shield him from even the simplest of pain for a simple, short five minutes. Indebted to him were six long years but she couldn’t give him even five minutes. Blood relatives or not it had been her duty to care for him instead of running away. They both had been taught that they were different from others and special to one another in their lessons but Veata had run away anyways with barely a thought for him.

The guilt of leaving Jia Long behind, guilt of not even sparing a few seconds to think of him and the other for six years, made her possessive and protective in this moment as if that could make up for her selfishness. If this were any of the others Veata wouldn’t have felt this guilt. The others had been old enough to take care of themselves. For her part there was no obligation to care or worry after them but Jia Long was several years younger than her. She had been given the role of older, non-blood sister. AS an adult now she could feel and understand the same and guilt of leaving him.

“I’m sorry.”

Her words came out as a silent whisper, barely existent as she cradled his cheek and placed her lips in a soft, butterfly kiss on his forehead. Within her the instinctive urge to leave this place and him behind before something happened to tie her here pressed at her skin. Being back in the village aroused in her mind fear and revulsion complemented by longing and a need to belong. She wanted to leave, she would leave, but not yet. First she would give Jia Long this day; an alleviation of some guilt and the very least she owed. After this though Veata wouldn’t come back.

“I’ll get you a wet cloth and tea.” Dark eyes held his gaze, telling him to stay. She didn’t feel the need to tell him that she didn’t believe him. It was obvious enough that something was wrong. Veata just didn’t know what and that drove her insane. Coupled with the fact that he was seemingly living alone she was left reeling with far too private questions. Jia Long was only fifteen summers. Why was he living on his own? “I’ll be back.”

Without missing a step she stood and left, coming back a few minutes later with a clean cloth she found and a bowl of cold water. “Here,” she whispered softly as she moved Cat and his plate aside to sit on the edge of the table. Water droplets slid down the naked skin of her wrist and she gently held his chin with one hand. “I couldn’t find the tea leaves. I’m sorry.” Fingers gently swiped the wet cloth against his warm skin.

“Oh, JIa Long.” Jia Long, Jia Long, Jia Long; she couldn’t keep the taste of his name from her tongue. “Jia Long, what happened to you after I left?” Veata pulled the cloth back, dipping it into the water without looking away from him. Instead of picking the cloth back up though she cradled his face with both hands and leaned forward to rest her forehead against his. “Why are you all alone in this house, Jia Long? You shouldn’t be alone.”

‘I don’t want you to be alone.’[/color][/size]

[firecracker]

Tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, Jia Long did his best to hold them back. There was nothing to be gained from crying, not even an alleviation of the pain. He’d learned long ago that all tears did was dirty his clothes and make his face sting. When she apologized all he could do was shake his head, wincing when that made the dull throb spike sharply.

“It isn’t your fault Veata, you don’t-” he cut himself off as she kissed his forehead and took a shaky breath. He wouldn’t cry, not now, not after he’d gone years without it. Listening to her move around his house, Jia Long felt a pang of nostalgia.

He remembered the days when they were younger, not worried about anything but lessons and whatever fight they’d gotten into with friends. This woman had moved around his home then as well, fetching things for Yao or just playing games with them when she could.

Jia Long watched her move things around and submitted to the soft treatment with a sigh. “Its alright Veata, I don’t mind being alone so much now.” He let a slight smile show, just for her, as he stared up into her eyes that were so close to his.

The hope he’d had right after the attack, the way it had dwindled and turned bitter, he didn’t want to tell her about that. He didn’t want her to know how he’d cried himself to sleep for months on end, wishing for just one of his companions to look for him. He didn’t want her to feel guilty about it when she was the only one that bothered to return, to check for someone who may have returned to the village.

[mylex]

As hypocritical of her as it was Veata felt the urge to tell him being fine with alone wasn’t healthy. Funny considering she always balked at the idea of rejoining Yong Soo and the others. Actually, the concept of staying with any one person or group for any extended period of time made the female uneasy. It wasn’t exactly the same type of aline in the sense of isolation but Veata did prefer her alone most days. Jia Long’s alone wasn’t completely like that either but it seemed to be a lot closer than her own. When looked at like that it wasn’t fully hypocritical of Veata to chastise him, right?

“That’s no good,” she murmured with uncertain eyes. Her voice was thin and wavered due to her lack of confidence. So much of her life had been spent being taken care of by everybody as a child and then watching after just herself as a teenager that Veata barely had any idea of how to take care of another at his age. Oh, she was loyal and protective but the people she had met these last several years had needed her care minimally because they knew how to take care of themselves. Jia Long was only fifteen; his needs were different.

For once in her life she wished she was more like Phuong who knew exactly how to care for those more helpless than herself. Caressing his cheek with her thumb Veata whispered, “You are only fifteen summers. No one your age should be alone. They should be in a warm home surrounded by the voice of loved ones. You should have somebody who only needs to look into your eyes for you to know you are cherished.” The words, words never said in memory, tasted strange on her tongue. “Besides, even if you are fine with it that doesn’t mean it should happen anyways.”

Soft fur pressed past the threads of her skirt and scratched her skin. A small weight dropped into her lap and pitiful mewling demanded her attention. Between the two of them Cat pounced back and forth continuously from their laps. All at once Veata felt irritated and relieved by his antics. He was a distracter from a serious, somber feeling that she didn’t know how to interact with but he also made her feel foolish over her lacking ability to properly care after Jia Long even just a bit.

With a sigh she caught Cat with one hand mid-pounce, shifting him around so that he was eye-level with his human friend. “For the record, this little rascal is a friend of sorts but you still need more than him.” And then on an impulse Veata found herself commenting, “If you came with me though then it wouldn’t be quite as bad.” Immediately she wanted to smack herself. There was no way she could bring Jia Long along with her. The first few months could possibly work out fine but after that was anybody’s guess. Besides, Veata got into enough trouble on her own as it was. She had next to no idea on how to deal with being a caretaker but…

But Phuong and Yong Soo knew how. If Veata could get Jia Long to them then everything would be okay. He wouldn’t be alone and fending for himself. He’d have dependable people to care for him and in a sense, Veata would have protected him in some way. She’d take care of him like she should have several years ago. Jia Long would get his family and maybe she could being to move past her ties to the village. They’d both get what they needed.

Veata ran the cool cloth over his forehead one more time. He still seemed a little ill…her own questions could wait till later. “Do you want to lay down for a little while? You still don’t look good.”

[firecracker]

Beginning to feel uncomfortable under her gaze, and maybe a little melancholy, Jia Long turned his head into the small touch. “I had that Veata. My house was full of life, my time spent among the laughter of friends and family.” He smirked a little, an echo of the mischievous boy he’d been showing through. “Or their angry yells.” He’d liked to play pranks after all, and he’d never bothered to hide who the culprit was.

“And then the attack came and my home had holes poked through it, my friends and family falling silent.” He watched Cat jump into his lap, then seem to think for a moment and jump into Veata’s. “While they were here I was cherished, as you say. While they are gone I will cherish my memories of them.” He smiled a little as Cat jumped back into his lap, the headache pressing at his eyes and making him begin to feel ill.

When Veata scooped up the cat he almost wanted to protest. The beast was proving to be a good distraction from his headache and the conversation. He remained silent though, the throb throb throb of his head making it difficult to focus his eyes now.

She…she wanted him to come with her? To leave the village, to leave Meimei? Probably Cat as well, because he had no idea how he would keep the feline from wandering off or getting hurt. “Go with you? Where…” He took Cat from her and closed his eyes as she ran the cloth over his forehead again. The cool water helped.

“Do you want to stay? Just for tonight!” He hugged Cat to his chest, the mention of laying down reminding him that she might leave. Might slip away if he didn’t give her an answer before she went to sleep for the day. “I want…I would like to think about your idea, so if you don’t have a place to stay the night you can always use my house.”

There were plenty of rooms after all. His adoptive parents hadn’t been seen, he had no idea if they’d survived the attack, and Yao had never returned to the house. There was also the small guest room, which he kept cleaner than his own or Yao’s rooms. It was a silly hope that someone would use it, but he always felt better after having change the musty sheets or wiping down the furniture.

He wouldn’t let her use Yao’s room, no one was allowed to use it. He’d kept it the same as when his older brother had lived there. His adoptive parents room, which he’d converted into a sort of work room for his fireworks, was also out of the question. If she wanted his room he’d let her use it, taking the guest room for himself. Then of course there was the guest room, which was meant for this sort of thing.

“We have market tomorrow, so if you do want to leave again you can restock in the morning and maybe…maybe I’ll know if I will go with you then. Now its…it is very sudden.” Never mind that he hadn’t left his house to go to the market himself in nearly a year. One of the men who worked with child services usually dropped groceries off twice a week and Jia Long lived off that until the next delivery.

[mylex]

Veata fought to keep her instinctive panic from surfacing in her eyes and away from the young boy's attention. If Jia Long left to come with her at the end of this trip it would be best that she take this time to readjust to the concept of a traveling companion. She didn't want him to feel unwanted or awkward with her for a single moment. That was a start, right? Already she cared enough to want to not upset him or hurt him. Or was that just leftover affection for the Chinese male that hadn't resurfaced till her guilt had reared its ugly head? Either way, at least she was capable of feeling concern for him.

"Most likely..." Her words were weighed with careful thoughtfulness as she wiped away a smudge on his cheekbone. "To find Yong Soo and Phuong. They're traveling to find the other village children. I ran into Phuong just last November so they're probably still in Southeast Asia. Lucky for us..." Despite her words she was grimacing with an irritated glint in her dark eyes. "Somebody like that crazy Korean is very easy to track. He has a tendency to draw attention even to this day." One reason Veata refused to return to the Korean: his ridiculous antics attracted too many eyes. The Khmer wasn't comfortable with knowing that anybody could find her so easily if she traveled with her childhood caretaker.

Dark eyes glanced outside. She hadn't actually thought far enough ahead to encompass sleeping holds. Most likely she had planned to just outside under or in a tree. Toughing it out was something Veata had become accustomed to but a soft bed did sound nice. The female couldn't even remember the last time she had slept indoors free of worries. Maybe one night with Jia Long wouldn't hurt too much. Besides, Veata wanted to be close-by in case he broke into a fever so that she could take care of him. Didn't seem like much of anybody came by to take care of him.

Glancing down at his pale cheeks she gave him a reassuring stroke upon the cheek. "Don't think about it for now," Veata whispered, "You still look sick. Just clear your mind and breathing for now." With swift movements she gathered everything up, dropping Cat onto his lap as she put everything back in its place. "I'd like to stay here for tonight though. Thank you." She didn't mention her need to make sure he wasn't going to fall ill. "Why don't you get ready while I clean up?" She turned on her heels with one hand on her hips and a threatening finger wag. "And don't even try helping out. You cooked so I'll clean. Besides, you're sick so you take that little rascal with you and get ready for bed."


Veata's firm scowl dropped into an affection smile as she repeated, "Now, go on. You can show me the village and market tomorrow." It was excellent timing that market day was tomorrow really. She was beginning to run low on supplies and if Jia Long was coming they'd need items for him too. this all provided an excellent chance to splurge and spoil him with treats and gifts like she'd done on rare occasions as a child. Only question was what should she get him?

Maybe a leash for Cat and poppers? He always did like his fireworks as a boy.