“Bulk supply of brewing sugar downstairs. I don't see why it wouldn't work,” Forest answered, kept where it was cooler. “Yeast there too. Never could figure out how to make bread with it, even with the oven. Would be nice though, wouldn't it? Fresh bread and a sweet jam.” Lex led him to sit down, to get off his feet for a few minutes. He tried to hide his fatigue but some things were just not possible.<br/><br/>“Always a little worn out,” Forest said softly, groaning when deft fingers pressed into sore and overworked muscles. Mason was watching but Forest had closed his eyes, tilting his chin back, seeming unconcerned by what Lex was doing. There was purple bruising along the front of his throat, disappearing down beneath the collar of his shirt, evidence of the sickness. Mason's eyes widened a moment and he set his jaw. Wallis watched to see if he was going to have another episode. No telling how the patient young farmer would handle that.<br/><br/>“Ahh,” Forest started, “Funny the things we take for granted.” Like human contact. It had been so long for Forest he forgot how much he craved a friendly sort of touch, even if only platonic. He leaned into Lex's hand on the back of his neck.<br/><br/>“That feels..”<br/><br/>Mason dropped a book off the mantle, snapping Forest's eyes open. He seemed to realize how he probably looked, so starved for attention he'd melted into a puddle at the first bit of real contact he'd had. It wasn't healthy.<br/><br/>“There's still more to do,” Forest remembered, not allowing himself to relax fully until it was finished.<br/><br/>“Let me help you, Forest,” Mason offered. He knew exactly what Lex was doing. Hell, Lex knew exactly what he was doing. Forest nodded, picking his weapon up that he'd left beside the door to head out to the barn. He was never without it when he went outside it seemed. Together he and Mason fed the horses and then the sheep, cleaning up after them and making sure they had plenty of clean water to get them through until the morning. This required topping troughs off with a few buckets from the well.<br/><br/>Wallis and Lex helped to reheat the stew from the day before so that when they returned they had a hot meal. While the two were gone Wallis gave Lex a long look and warned him to be careful; he was playing with fire after all.<br/><br/>Forest was grateful for the small courtesies and they all sat down on the porch to eat together. It tasted better than it had the day before and Forest tried to slow down, getting re-accustomed with company. He still hardly tasted the food but it was a chance for a bit of social time, and for the farmer to let them know what to expect in the coming days.<br/><br/>“The real hard work will begin when we start clearing the fields before winter. Thankfully we have a bit of time before that to get you all prepared for it. Hand scything is no easy task. Lots of other things to do. Repairs on the fence, tendin' the garden, the animals. Here soon we'll be on calving watch. We'll have milk for a while again once that happens. Sheeps milk is fattier than cows. Makes better cheese too.” They'd get used to it and they'd be eating decent.<br/><br/>“A lot more of us. We can't go butchering the sheep every time we're out of meat and fat, so yeah, huntin' will need to be worked into our regular routine. I didn't have so much time for it before. Didn't like to be away from the farm either, but with all of us, it should be easier. We can split up and try to scavenge some supplies too. I haven't had a chance to leave for a while. Some things we can't replenish.” Forest sighed, happy for once. “It'll be nice to really start livin' again. For you and me both. We start early. Try to get some sleep.”<br/><br/>That night Mason waited to see what Lex would do. If he'd come crawling back to him in the night, to rectify the situation. Sex was a good bandied in these situations and if Mason had to go to him he was going to regret it.