Nix's eyes snapped open as a dark form stepped into her canvas partitioned space in the barn. It was full dark and she did not allow her body to twitch, but her hand wrapped around the hilt of a knife under her pillow as she waited, tensing.
"Phoenix, stand down." the General called in his low hoarse whisper. Nix sighed out a particularly colorful string of swear words, and saw the General's brows raise in surprise as her vision adjusted to the low light. "Follow me, sailor mouth. Leave the knife." The old man turned perfectly on heel, his posture still so upright that it made Nix stand a bit straighter as she slipped out of her wagon bed and into his wake. Over the swept dirt floor, the pair moved without light or noise, heading straight for the roped and draped off area reserved for the territory council. Dim lights shone behind the canvas walls, and the low drone of muttering voices told Nix that she was one of few that had gotten any sleep so far.
Nix slipped in behind the general, blinking at the sudden light and batting at a moth that bounced off of her hair. After a moment she took a visual survey, eyes sweeping left to right, making it two thirds of the way around the group and then swinging back to lock on one face, colored with purple and greening bruises and marked with the scabs of healing cuts. Everything stopped, and she could not keep herself from a sharp inhalation of breath.
The battered young woman stood, and began moving around the table as she smiled, winced, smiled again and twined herself around the still frozen Nix. Finally, Nix exhaled one word and it was like a prayer of thanks, a question and a declaration all in one breath. "Nessa."
Nix wrapped herself around the other woman, running fingers gently over her face and many hurts with her expression changing from anger, to fear, to surprise, to devotion, to love and then to ferocious. Nessa raised a tender hand and rested it on Nix's cheek and quietly shushed her before she could speak.
"It's ok my love. I'm ok. Daniel and Jason stopped by to do a lot of violence. We helped... enthusiastically. Mama and everyone else... who is left... went to the General's place...but I couldn't go and not..." she trailed off, running out of words but having found her tears. She dropped her face gently onto Nix's shoulder and wept silently, the only hint of her tears were the occasional hitch of Nessa's shoulders and the tears soaking Nix's shirt.
Nix could find no words and just held her Nessa, and swept her eyes over the rest of the council, stopping on Daniel. "I had to bring her to you. Otherwise she was going to steal my truck or take one of the horses and I thought it best she arrive unseen." The tall man raked his hand over the stubble of his head, for once unable to make any jokes. "It's not good. Only a few dead, but there are a lot of injuries... mostly dislocations, some bone breaks, beatings, a few concussions but also some of the kinds... that we hoped we would not find. I'm gonna take Doc and both of the midwives back to the compound to look after everyone tonight and see if we can't give some kind of... help. I'm... uh... gonna go now."
Nix shut her eyes, very, very tightly for a moment, took a few breaths and spoke in her voice of rage, which was exceedingly quite and exceptionally articulate. "Dan... I owe you and Jason... everything Can I ask you just one more favor?"
"Yeah Nix, what do you need?"
"Would you kindly bring back a number of grenades or the makings of pipe bombs, some boxes of nails or a good quantity of small metal pieces and a sack of rock salt? I could also use a few lengths of sturdy fabric, good twine or cord, and do let Doc know I will require a few pints of human blood if anyone cares to donate... if not, I will and so can my cow. I'll make it work." With each word Nix spoke, the eyebrows of the assembled council members climbed higher on their foreheads.
The blonde blacksmith was the only one who looked unperturbed and simply nodded as Nix made her request. "Arts and crafts." she said, a sly smile creeping onto her face. "Why, I do love arts and crafts. Reckon I could give you a hand with that little project."
A wood turner from up the valley just bounced his gaze back and forth between the two women, Daniel, and then a few other women who had begun to slowly nod along. "What in the hell are you going to make with that stuff?"
In a soft whisper, a quilt maker named Peggy answered, "Poppets, I think we can just call them poppets."
Shaking his head and turning to exit, Daniel muttered "Well, that's charming... I'm out and I will see you tomorrow." More quietly he continued, "Never piss off the women who survive the apocalypse. You are all terrifying" as he slipped out into the darkness. Off to the side, the General held his unlit pipe between his teeth but slowly nodded to his son's most sage advice.
In the ensuing and uncomfortable quiet, the General softly suggested that since the "newcomers" were being entertained and closely watched at the fire pit outside, Nix should take Nessa and get some rest.
Nix fussed at Nessa but was overruled. Her darling had already gotten catharsis, fresh clothes and a shower back home after she had killed two of the intruders with a recently liberated pistol and then re-deaded a corpse with a hay rake. She had been fed, seen by the Doc, medicated, and offered all manner of comforts but what Nessa most wanted was sleep, some cat time and Nix.
It was a request she was happy to deliver upon. Nix nodded and led Nessa through the darkened barn, into her almost-tent, lifted her to the wagon bed and curled around her love as both were swarmed with cats.
