"An' it did!" the farmer chuckled. "But this big'un gave me a hand an' we got the sled unstuck between us." He gave a rueful shake of his head, looking back at the horse who stamped impatiently in the snow. "Young Tess 'ere got goin' a bit fast 'round that curve in the ol' road back by the standin' stone an' took the whole sled sideways into a drift." And she didn't look like she regretted it at all, though she was impatient to get back to her warm barn and a bucket of hot mash.
"Aw, naw, Stian's home nursin' a sprained ankle," Merles snorted with a wave of his hand. Hadama, not one to let work go undone, had begun to unload the sledge, shifting bundles of firewood to pile against the wall by the front door in easy reach. He had kept his head tucked down into his scarf until Maea asked about him, and then he looked up to meet her eyes, his own emerald green ones peeking out from the dark skin of his face that was mostly muffled in warm wool. "He don't half say much, does 'e?" Merles said. "Said he's a friend of yours, though?"
One emerald eye closed in a wink as Hadama straightened fully and tugged his scarf down to reveal his face as he gave the petite woman a polite nod as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "Hello, Maea." Mischief danced in his gaze as he sniffed appreciatively at the aroma of cooking food wafting out into the cold. "May I come in?"
"Aw, naw, Stian's home nursin' a sprained ankle," Merles snorted with a wave of his hand. Hadama, not one to let work go undone, had begun to unload the sledge, shifting bundles of firewood to pile against the wall by the front door in easy reach. He had kept his head tucked down into his scarf until Maea asked about him, and then he looked up to meet her eyes, his own emerald green ones peeking out from the dark skin of his face that was mostly muffled in warm wool. "He don't half say much, does 'e?" Merles said. "Said he's a friend of yours, though?"
One emerald eye closed in a wink as Hadama straightened fully and tugged his scarf down to reveal his face as he gave the petite woman a polite nod as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "Hello, Maea." Mischief danced in his gaze as he sniffed appreciatively at the aroma of cooking food wafting out into the cold. "May I come in?"
