It didn’t take long for them to find Rin. He was with a group nearby. As they approached, they heard them discussing the meat they had to go back and smoke. He also heard them mention something about the winter.
The conversation had nothing to do with him, so he didn’t bother to pay much attention.
"Rin, he called.
Rin turned around. The smile he had earlier fell when he saw who was calling his name.
"Enzo," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "How can I help you?"
"I found something, and I want to know if you know what it is." He showed him the rice in his hand. "Can these be eaten?"
With the right amount of curiosity, he gazed at Rin. Rin saw what was in Enzo’s hands and gasped. He smiled widely.
"Where did you get this?"
Enzo pointed in a direction. "Over there." He told the group the same story he gave Zeli and Nova. Rin took the rice and pinched it between his fingers.
"Do you know what this is?" Rin asked. His gaze never left Enzo.
Enzo shook his head. "That’s why I asked you. I heard that you know a lot of things. So I wanted to know if you know what this is."
Rin looked at the sub-beast across from him. In one week, he managed to move from a skinny, pitiful thing to having a bit of flesh. He didn’t quite believe in the ’forgetting disease’.
But as he stared at Enzo, he couldn’t find anything in his expression that would indicate he knew what he had found. He looked at Enzo for so long that he asked if there was something on his face.
Rin said, "No, I only thought you looked better than before. If you fill out some more, you could be a movie star. Maybe be on TV."
Enzo narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. He glanced at Zeli, then Nova. He opened his mouth and scratched the back of his head.
"What’s a movie star, and what’s TV? Is that something else that I forgot?"
The genuine confusion on his face made Rin less wary, but not completely.
"It’s nothing. Lead the way," Rin replied.
Enzo observed Rin discreetly. He nodded and walked ahead to lead the way. Standing ahead of everyone, he lifted his eyes to the sky and let out a breath.
He passed this test. If another came, he only needed to keep playing dumb.
It took fifteen minutes to reach the ditch where Enzo found the rice. He pointed, showing everyone the stalks.
Rin’s eyes widened; he carefully made his way down. He stood before the stalks and pulled on a few ears. When he saw the rice husks, he smiled.
"Enzo, you’ve made a great contribution. We can plant these after the winter. It’s another food that can last for the entire winter too."
Cheers erupted. Enzo nodded and looked around at the cheering sub-beasts. He felt accomplished. Pretending to be ignorant is fine, as long as they can have food.
The thought crossed his mind, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Since when did he start caring about the tribe? He shook his head; it didn’t matter.
Rin and the others made a plan. They needed to call some males to help them. Just like Enzo could pull out the stalks, the sub-beasts could too, but having the beastmen help would be much faster.
Enzo volunteered to go back with the others to gather a few males. However, he let everyone know he wouldn’t be coming back, as he had to go to Gato’s hut. Everyone agreed. They had known about Enzo visiting Gato for a while.
He helped them find a few males, then went straight to Gato’s hut.
"You’re back," he said.
Enzo nodded.
"Good. Now we can start. For the past few days you’ve been sorting herbs. Have you remembered any of them?"
Enzo nodded and replied modestly. "I remember a few."
In truth, he remembered them all. With the gift of his plant ability, he could recall the plants he had seen. He refused to say so because he thought it would sound like he was bragging.
"Good, good. Now I can start teaching you a few things. Are you willing to learn?"
Chuckling, Enzo said, "Didn’t you already decide that I would learn?"
The older sub-beast glared at Enzo. Enzo raised his hands in submission.
"Alright, I want to learn. I was only joking."
Gato made a sound and ignored Enzo’s ’struggle’. He pointed to a winnowing basket, one of the new gadgets the tribe had been making. On it were various herbs, already dried.
"Tell me what each of these plants is and what they do."
He stood up, walked over to the basket, and crouched down.
He picked up the first plant. A plant with narrow, lance-shaped leaves. "Echinacea: it reduces swelling and pain when applied to a wound."
He put it down and picked up another. "Amaranth: it brings the temperature down." He pointed at and picked up various plants. When he was finished, he concluded that all the plants in the winnowing basket were used to create a healing salve.
Gato laughed and clapped his hands, praising Enzo for his good memory. This continued for the rest of the day. He was asked to identify various plants and tell their uses. If there were any with multiple uses, Gato would tell him.
Time passed, and neither of them realized that night was fast approaching.
Only when a deep voice came from outside, and he saw Gato straighten up, did he know they had been out so late.
Enzo hadn’t expected to be so focused.
The man stepped in; he was an older beastman. He walked directly up to Gato and stood beside him. He acknowledged Enzo with a curt nod, then turned to Gato.
"Time to go home," he said.
And just like that, the session ended, and Enzo was left to walk home alone. He stepped out into the cold air and shivered slightly.
There were no artificial lights, only the stars to keep him company. He started to walk home, only to stop a few feet away from Gato’s hut. Riven was standing a distance away.
Enzo felt his heart beat faster. Riven said nothing, and neither did he.
Enzo had an inkling that he was here to wait for him, but he thought it was absurd. He hadn’t spoken to him since the day at Gato. Not that Enzo had been waiting for him, but when he saw him around the tribe, he still remembered that day.
He let out a breath as the two stood face to face. Since there was nothing between them, Enzo started walking. He ignored the tall, brooding man and continued on his way home. He pretended not to know that he was following him.
Enzo could smell his pheromones behind him. He wanted to ignore it, but he could smell it. The scent followed him all the way to his hut.
Riven stopped outside, watching Enzo enter. He waited a few minutes before he left.