Imperos 1, Autumn, Era XIV
The countryside was vaguely familiar to the Ranger for he was nearly on to his destination of Acumin. The Summer had been spent wandering in the wilderness of Centripax, taking time out of Natura for reasons that even now he hadn't quite come to terms with. A sudden fear of having his name on an official role had arisen. At first he'd assumed that being the Constable of a remote village would be relatively safe, but his visit to the Governor, for all that she had proved quite pleasant, had forced a glimmer of doubt into his mind.
Added to that were his unresolved feelings for Avrie. Being with women was something that he was currently a little cautious about and it had meant that he'd not been as forward as he'd have liked and in any case he'd come in late. He might be liberal with his affections and yes he had slept with Zo, the partner of his best friend, a move which was dangerous especially since he'd continued to do so after Steve had warned him of the consequences of so doing. But Venn was different.
He kicked the dogs into the embers of the previous darkenings embers and stirred them into flame. He stared into them for a moment, for this brightening was the last one before he'd drop back into the routines of the Ranger Hall for however long he stayed there. It was a small Hall and not one with the time for those who didn't take a full share, so this brightening was his last where his time was his own. It didn't really help that a whole season later and he'd not come to any conclusions. If burying himself into the familiar routines of the Hall didn't help then he'd have to give it up as a bad job.
He dipped water from the stream that ran by his camp and hung the pot from the tripod where it would gently roil to a boil. That done he went to look after his horse which stood nearby grazing on the lush grass. He checked it's hobbles and then worked his way through it's coat with the brush he'd taken from the saddle gear. One of the things he wanted to do in Acumin was to improve his knowledge about looking after the horse. Riding was one thing, but he'd realised in the course of his journey that he'd had to rely too much on others for it's care and that wasn't something that he considered acceptable.
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