Perhaps it had been the apprehensiveness of the moment, or the fact that she hadn't been close enough to really see, but when his eyes locked with hers...<br/><br/>They were shaded like an autumn leaf, though could anyone pick just one leaf to describe Fall? Many hues make up the season, but it wasn't just the color she noticed, just like one doesn't only notice the colors of Fall. There was more that she could see, like the warmth of a hearth on a crisp day, yet you still appreciate the chill. It makes you feel alive...and further still, how a jar of honey on the window ledge catches the late afternoon sun and absorbs it, and keeps a bit of it to share. But not always. Only when the light is just so, like in October, when the leaves of the oak trees drift about on the breeze...<br/><br/>He mentioned a Colonel who died in his arms, and his demeanour changed momentarily, like it had in front of the fire. His gaze shifted, and she could no longer see his eyes then, but wondered what she would see if she could. A darker leaf, perhaps. A colder wind. Following his gaze, she knew that they would have to get a move on before the snow really started coming down. It was then he took her hand, and their eyes met once more. His grasp was strong, and secure, yet gentle. It took her slightly aback to feel so much certainty, not only in his grasp, but in anything, as of late. She felt better for it.<br/><br/>Following him inside, she moved down the hallway past the stairs and into an adjacent room, revealing a large wheeled tin tub.<br/><br/>"Not as fancy as the ones back East, but it doesn't take much to fill it...and it gets the job done. If you could help me with the buckets, I'd be most grateful. It will take ten cold buckets of water, and ten buckets of hot. I have the large cauldron in the kitchen boiling already, so we just have to pump from the well and you'll be soaking your muscles in no time."<br/><br/>She smiled as she moved out into the hall and through the kitchen, opening a door leading onto a small back porch, then down a set of steps. There was what resembled a decently sized garden, at least when it wasn't wintertime, and a large well with a handled pump nearby.<br/><br/>Two large oak trees stood a short distance from the house, one with a fence and one without. Inside the fence sat two headstones...a large one, and a small one.<br/><br/>She moved off towards the well, grabbing three handled buckets along the way. Setting one under the pump, she looked back at him.<br/><br/>"Alright, Mr. Blackwood, first...I insist you call me Elody. Second, it will take you less time to get the water flowing than I, so time to earn your room and board..." her eyes flashed as a soft laugh followed.