After a couple of hours of messing around and helping Shelby with school, we decided to head to the town square to meet up with Nate for lunch. As soon as we saw Nate, he came running up to us, hooking his arms around Connor and I's necks he pulled us in close for a hug, "How is my favorite set of twins doing today?"
Connor laughed, "Fabulous, how is my favorite brother from another mother?"
"Aww, stop in Connor you're making me blush." Letting go of Connor, Nate turned his face towards me." Now, how about you shorty?"
I shot back without even thinking, "Horrible now that I saw you."
I instantly regretted saying that because Nate brought me closer and then he started rubbing my head with his hand, messing up my hair. He spoke laughing, "What do you mean by that, don't you love me?"
I struggled to escape his grip, "Before this no and because of this never in your wildest dreams."
"What do you mean aren't you-
What he was going to say was cut off by me kicking him in the shin. "Ow!" He exclaimed loudly.
I quickly pushed him away, "Keep your nasty paws off me."
Nate pouted like a little kid, " Damn, I was just trying to show you some love Arden no need to get all mean."
"Just like you love the rest of the girls in the Burrow?"
Before Nate could say something else, Shelby interjected, "Okay you two, knock it off! Now I don't know about you, but I am hungry so let's go."
I'm glad that she said something because Nate had a smirk on his face. Which means I probably wouldn't have liked what he was going to say.
We walked to Shelby's house where her mom, Diana, was making us food. Diana is one of the cooks in the village. Her job was to cook for feasts and for the purification house. She looks exactly like Shelby except she is plump and her eyes were like a pot of honey. Diana is definitely one of the happiest people in the Burrow, I have never seen her frown.
The moment Diana saw us walking towards her, a big grin was plastered on her face, she came over and hugged me, "How ya' doing sugar?"
I smiled, returning the hug, "I'm doing good Diana, how about you?"
She let me go and continued to hug the rest, "I'm doing good," She walked back to the fire and started stirring the pot, "A little birdy told me that is was Arden and Connor's birthday so I decided to whip up something special."
Connor and I inhaled simultaneously we spoke, "Elk stew."
Diana beamed, "You got it!"
We started eating, Tatum beat me to it, "Delicious as always, thank you, Diana."
After the chorus of thank you's and your welcomes followed. When all of us were finished eating, I spoke, "Can we help you clean up Diana?"
"Oh no dear, I'll make the others help, you twins just sit back and relax."
Connor didn't seem to mind that because he put his feet onto the stump that Nate sat on. It didn't take long between the four of them to get everything cleaned up, maybe ten minutes or so. When they were finished I stood and gave Diana a hug, "Thank you for the wonderful meal."
Diana gave me a squeeze, "No problem honey, it was because of you that I could make such a wonderful meal."
I blushed, releasing Diana.
Waving goodbye to Diana, the group of us started walking to our next destination, the town square. When people aren't working, they go to the square to talk and just have a good time. The town square isn't really a square, it's more like a wide, open area. In the middle of the square is the fire pit; since it's mid-afternoon, the fire isn't lit. Scattered throughout the square there are various logs and stumps for people to lay or sit on. There were a couple of buildings around the square: the town center where Mary is, the infirmary where some of the healers are if they aren't at the purification house. Also, the square is the trade center in the Burrow. We don't use paper or coin money as our ancestors used to, we trade different goods. Although we all get food, water, and firewood rations and items that we use from day to day like bowls and plates. Along with those are goods that the Burrow blacksmith's make like axes, blades, and arrows. As a hunter, I guess you can say I have a discount on some of those goods. The trade center is always bustling with people. There are a couple of smaller buildings where people work: the blacksmith's, woodcarvers, clothes makers, and a couple of other trade makers are located in the square for easy access.
The square is the heart of the Burrow: it is where all of our meetings and feasts are held. No matter what, there are always people in the square. Although I want to explore the outside world, I don't think any place will be as welcoming as the Burrow. People in the Burrow do have conflicts. I remember when the Berkley family accused the Hensen's of stealing their firewood, so they went to Mary and got their conflict resolved. Grudges don't last long in the Burrow, with the Burrow only taking up about 15 square miles, you see people quite often, especially if you come to the square. My favorite part of the square lies in the south corner of the square. Surrounded by a couple of trees is the shrine to my father.
In the Burrow, most people die from old-age or sickness; so, when my dad died, it was a shock to everyone. My father was the headhunter until he died, then Davis took over. Throughout his lifetime, my father killed 22 elk for the village along with a lot of smaller game such as rabbits or squirrels. Which is impressive because small game is harder to kill. Out of my seven years of hunting, I have only killed 7 squirrels; which is better than most of the hunters except for Davis and Sean. The shrine is just a simple one made out of metal which resembles a head of a wolf, my father's greatest kill.
I was snapped out of my trance by someone putting their hands over my eyes. Conner's eyes must be covered too because in unison we both exclaimed, "Hey!"
Tatum whispered in my ear, "Shh, just let it happen."
I shot back, nervous about what was happening, "What if I don't want to let it happen?"
Tatum chuckled, "Oh trust me, you will want this to happen."
"If it has anything to do with Nate than I definitely don't want it to happen."
I heard Nate to the right of me gasp, "Excuse you, anything that happens with me would be wonderful!"
I heard footsteps in front of me. Someone is walking towards us. Those footsteps must be Shelby because I heard her voice, "Okay boys, 1...2...3, uncover!"
Tatum's hands removed themselves my eyes as I looked at Shelby standing in front of me with two small knives in her hand. Conner asked, "What is this?"
Shelby walked until she stood in front of us "It's your birthday presents silly."
Shelby handed both of us a knife. The knife she gave me was gorgeous! It had a dark brown wooden handle with hand-carved leaves and vines in it and at the bottom was my initials carved into it. The blade itself was dark, you could see the sheets of metal that was beaten to make it, I could instantly tell that this was Sean's work. I looked at Conner's and he had a reddish handle with a blade similar to mine just lighter metal. I hugged Shelby in a death grip, "You didn't have to do this, this must've really cost you."
Shelby shrugged letting go of me, "Nope, everyone pitched in to do it. Both of you are really special to us and we thought you deserved something special."
I turned around to Tatum smiling and Nate smirking. I smiled, trying to hold back tears as I hugged Tatum. Tatum is so much taller than me, the top of my head is under his collar bone. Feeling insecure about my height I squeeze Tatum and try to pick him up. It did not end well. Tatum started laughing as he almost knocked me to the ground. "Nice try Arden but you're going to have to try harder than that to pick me up." With that said he picked me up and held me under the armpits, as one would hold a baby. I swung my feet and pouted as everyone watched me pathetically dangle.
Finally, Tatum put me down. I turned towards Nate and I looked up at him wondering if I should hug him or not. Before I could decide, Nate pulls me into a hug,. He squeezes me tightly, my headrests a little bit above his shoulders. Nate whispers down at me, "I know we don't always get along Arden, but that doesn't mean that I don't care for you. Trust me, you mean more to me than you know."
I looked up Nate to see that he was staring down at me with a genuine smile on his face. For the first time in a while, I blushed furiously. I pushed Nate away gently, "I-uh um sure, okay yeah."
With me stumbling over my words the whole group laughed, which made me blush even harder. "Shut up guys!"
Conner came over and pinched my cheek, "Aw, is the little girl blushing?"
My nervousness was blown away with that comment, you can make fun of me however you want to, but as soon as you mention my height, I get angry! I flashed a smile at Conner while I walked toward him, knife in hand. He instantly knew what I was up to. His eyes got all big. I knew he was scared because he muttered curses under his breath, which he never does. He turned around and started running. I quickly handed my knife to Shelby as I chased after him as fast as I could. Conner hopped over a log trying to escape, but I'm a hunter and I never let my prey escape. I was slowly gaining on him. I knew that I would soon catch him, I have to stay physically active as a hunter. Conner, on the other hand, doesn't have to stay in physical shape. When he looked over his shoulder to see if I was still chasing him, I knew that I had him. Looking back slows you down. I continued to gain on him as he ran through the square. I was getting closer, ten feet - seven feet - five feet - three feet - and then. I jumped tackling Conner to the ground. I might be small, but boy do I pack a punch. I had Conner under me and I started doing the worst thing possible... tickling him.
Conner instantly started laughing, trying to get me off of him. I tickled him until he was snorting, crying mess. Feeling satisfied I stood up brushing off the dirt off my pants. I held a hand out to help Conner up. He looked at it, fear still in his eyes, but he reluctantly took it. As I helped him up, he spoke still gasping for air, "Remind me to never comment about your height again, you're scary when you're angry."
I smirked, "Glad to see we won't have to have this conversation again."
We walked back to Shelby, Tatum, and Nate to see looking at us smiling.
Shelby was the first to speak up, "Oh you two - you two are hilarious."
Tatum chuckled shaking his head, "And that's why I don't make comments about your height when you're on the ground."
I laughed turning towards Nate waiting for his comment because he always seems to have one. He just looked at me with this weird look, "What is it Nathaniel?"
He glared at me for using his full name, "I was just thinking."
"Thinking what?"
"I was thinking about why you never chase me like that."
I snorted, "I wouldn't chase you, goodness knows what sickness you have."
Shelby shot her hand in the air, "Oh, I know!" She walked over to us and put a hand on Nate's shoulder, "Playboyitis."
We laughed Tatum decided to join in on the fun, "Oh that's horrible! What are the symptoms doctor?"
Shelby rubbed her hands together, "Well the symptoms of Playboyitis are simple, but are irreversible. Some of the common symptoms of this disease are as follows: perverted comments, attracted to anything that walks, and desperation, just to name a few."
Shelby continued to ramble about this newfound disease as everyone one else was cackling with laughter, except for Nate of course who was grimacing.