Image by Deborah Jackson from Pixabay

Reynard looked out the window. “All right, Ethian. Let’s go.”

Ethian looked up from where he’d just finished his breakfast. “Go?” He got up and looked out the window. “But Uncle Reynard, it snowed.”

Reynard looked at the ten year old child. “I know. You need to learn how to find things under the snow. I’ve taught you how to scavenge in every other season. It’s time for winter lessons.”

Ethian looked at his uncle dubiously. “Okay.” He went and put on his winter gear and followed the older man out the door.

Reynard led Ethian into the forest. The snow wasn’t as thick here because the massive trees had shelted the ground, though it was still piled fairly high. “Now, do you remember what I taught you about finding edible fungus?”

“Look under the trees,” Ethian told him.

“Very good. You’re going to want to do that in the winter too. You’re not going to find mushrooms. You are going to find other things though,” Reynard explained. He took Ethian over to a tree and began digging in the snow. Ethian did the same thing as his uncle until they cleared a patch of ground.

To the child’s surprise, there were half a dozen small plants buried under the snow. “What are these?” he asked.

Reynard named each of the plants. “Now, I can tell you that you’ll only find these on Covus. I’ve never found them on any of the other planets I’ve been on, and as you know I’ve been on several,” the retired warmaster told the wide-eyed child. “I can also tell you that all six of these are edible, though this one doesn’t taste very good.”

“They are?” Ethian asked, his eyes going even wider.

“They are. You don’t want to eat them raw, though. You want to boil them in water like your mother does certain vegetables,” Reynard explained.

Ethian got excited. “Are there other plants under the snow?”

Reynard smiled. “There are. Come on. Let’s look under another tree.” They covered the plants up with the snow and moved on.

Over the court of the next few hours, Reynard showed Ethian more than two dozen plants native to the world they lived on that only grew after the first snow fell that were edible or were medicinal, or in some cases were used for both. Ethian listened to his uncle’s words with rapt attention and asked questions about each plant.

They made their way back to the house to warm up. “How did it go?” Sayana asked.

“He had fun,” Reynard said. “But we definitely need to warm up.”

“Some tea for you,” Sayana said, handing him a cup of steaming liquid. “And a cup of spiced cider for Ethian.” Sayana handed another mug to her son.

Ethian grinned and sat down at the table. He carefully drank his cider and then ran outside again to play in the snow. Reynard shook his head. “He has so much energy right now.”

“What are we going to do with him?” Sayana asked.

“I’ll take him out for a game of tag. That should wear him out.” Reynard finished his tea, handed Sayana the cup, and rejoined his nephew. The two wandered off into the wilds again for one of their usual games.