NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11: CH 11
Artie tried the food while Harry took his own place, before blinking and staring at the noodles. "This is very good," she said, sounding as surprised as she looked.
"Thanks, Artie!" Harry said, grinning widely. "It's a recipe Hestia gave me, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet."
Hestia held her customary gentle smile as she took place at the table, taking enjoyment at seeing Harry and Artie share a meal. This was how a home should be.
"So, Harry," Artie finally said, after finishing half of the mac and cheese on her plate. "Aunt Hestia said you wanted to learn about nature and about survival."
Harry nodded, remembering one of the first lessons Hestia taught him – never speak with your mouth full. After chewing, he swallowed. "That's right," he said.
"May I ask what for?" Artie asked. "There are plenty of books that will teach you the basics." Her tone had some kind of tone to it that Harry didn't know. It set him on edge, though.
"I just wanted to know what the different plants do, and which ones are edible, and which ones are useful. So that, when I'm alone, I can take care of myself. Sometimes there's nothing in the skip to eat, and you need to know these things."
Artie looked surprised, and studied him for a moment. "You ate out of a dumpster?" she queried, just making sure that got the British word correct.
Harry nodded. "It's not so bad. Aunt Petunia said I could eat food with fuzz on it, but I don't like those bits and just scrape them off. It tastes a little funny, that's all. When you haven't eaten in a few days, and start being hungry enough to dream about food, you don't even notice the funny taste. So, I thought, if I knew which plants are edible, and which plants are useful for shelter and other stuff, I wouldn't have to go hungry when the skips are emptied."
Artie was quiet, but her gaze was intense. Harry felt uncomfortable with how she was studying him, but kept quiet, finishing his food. It really was good, he was glad he'd made it. Artie's plate was empty by now, and he felt a bit sad he wouldn't have any leftovers.
On the other hand, he had an excuse to cook more of the dish.
"Your… aunt… made you eat moldy food?" Artie asked, as if asking for confirmation.
Harry nodded. "Hestia said it wasn't fit to eat, but when you're hungry, you've got no choice." Harry hoped that was a joke, and carefully smiled at her. She didn't seem to mind the same, and continued to stare. "That's great," he said, putting the last plate out to dry. After drying his hands, he said, "One moment, though."
With a child's energy, he ran to the living area, to return with the empty book and the pen that Hestia had given him.
"Taking notes?" Artie asked, curiously.
Artie fell silent again, and Harry finished the rest of his mac and cheese. Yum.
"Very well," Artie said. "I will give you one lesson. After this lesson, we will see how much you have learned. If you have learned to my satisfaction, I will continue the lessons. If you have not, then it will be the only lesson."
Harry nodded, smiling widely. "Thanks, Artie!"
The goddess of the hunt seemed amused. "You may want to wait until the lesson is over to thank me."
Harry didn't like the sound of that, but tried bravely to hide it. Hestia had gone through the effort of getting him a teacher for something that really interested him, and he wasn't going to let her effort go to waste.
Trying to find something to occupy himself with, he gathered the empty plates and utensils and took them over to the sink and started washing them.
"Since you two seem friendly, I will be on my way," Hestia said, getting up from the table, and walking to the living area to vanish in the fireplace.
Harry suddenly realized he was alone with Artie; a goddess that Hestia had said didn't like boys or men. He'd seen her look at Hestia a few times, and he wasn't sure how this was going to go without Hestia here.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move. Looking over, and noticed that Artie was suddenly rightthere, looking at him doing the dishes. For a moment, Harry felt like an insect under study.
"So, Harry," Artie said, still looking at him. "You said that you wanted to learn how to survive in the wild. Before I take you to a forest and start pumping botany and zoology into you, we will need to cover the basics of survival. And doing your dishes isn't going to distract me." CH 12
When he looked up, she went on, "Now, you know where you are. There are no other people around. You are wearing just what you are wearing now. What is the next thing you do?"
Harry looked at the tunic he was wearing. It was one of the outfits Hestia had given him, and it worked fine for Olympus, where the temperatures were always balmy. Having been on the streets of New York, he knew how cold it could get. And even without food or water, temperatures could get nasty, fast.
"Ehm… How warm is it?" Harry asked. "And is it raining or snowing or windy?"
Harry nodded enthusiastically as he sat down at the kitchen table, Artie taking the same seat she had taken before. "Hestia gave it to me!"
"Good, preparations matter in survival as much as they do in life. Now, let's get started. Imagine you are in a forest. What do you do first?"
Harry blinked, not having expected her to start with a test of all things. His first reaction was to say something about finding either food or water. From experience, he knew he could do without food for a while, but he needed water every day or he'd get headaches.
He frowned. "Where am I?" he asked. "I mean; what forest? Are there people I can ask for help?"
Artie seemed surprised, before a smile broke out. It was the first genuine smile he had seen on her face, and Harry thought it made her look pretty. Maybe she'd smile to him more often if he kept answering?
"Harry," she said, looking business-like again. "If you keep this up, I can make you capable of surviving anywhere. What you said is exactly right. The heart of the matter is, when you enter an unknown situation, when something happens, when you run into problems… the first thing to do is determine where you are. Where you are, what you have with you, what are your immediate problems. We call this, taking stock. Most people in such a situation will panic. They will do something stupid. If you take stock, take just five minutes to determine your current situation and what you need to do, you already have a leg up on most other people."
Harry grinned, and started writing in his book. Being new, he couldn't write very fast, but Artie seemed happy to wait for him to finish.
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