Page 19 of Witch's Exile
The sunset cast a pinkish-orange glow on the hills and trees of the canyon by the time we headed back. Sal drove the manual transmission pickup truck through the winding dirt roads and then off the beaten path to return to our new home.
I sat next to him with my head on his shoulder and paper grocery bags taking up the rest of the space in the cab, including my lap and between my feet. The nearest town was about a two-hour drive away, so we stocked up on dried goods to last the four of us a month. The only grocery store in town didn't have much in the way of tea or books, which made me grumble.
To Ash's luck, a used book store down the street had shelves stuffed full of classics and essays that I knew he'd enjoy, so I filled two bags up with worn paperbacks and hardback tomes for him.
My tea situation was looking grim but with the strong Earth energy at our new home, it wouldn't be too difficult to grow and dry small batches of my own. To make the most of it, I purchased a kettle, a small French press, and a dehydrator at the grocery store.
"Looks like we might have some neighbors." Sal's voice interrupted my thoughts on crafting tea blends and I jerked my head up from his shoulder.
"We do? Where?"
"Look closely, beautiful." He pointed out the window to his left as the truck ambled down the barely-marked trail that led to our house.
I squinted and searched through the dense forest landscape but it still took me a few moments to find what he was pointing at. Circular wooden structures that looked sort of like tents but stronger and more reinforced barely stood out against the maze of tree trunks. They were clearly camouflaged, painted in browns and mossy greens to blend in with the scenery.
"What are those?"
"Yurts," Sal answered. "Or as Ash would say, traditional portable dwellings for nomadic cultures in central Asia-- now popular among fucking hipsters."
I chuckled at that. "Well they definitely don't want to be seen."
"Yeah." His grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Let's hope they leave us alone as much as they want to be left alone."
