Nation 27

CH 32: Buttercup

[Brien]

[Sector 8 of Nation 27]

[Early May--- 3 years ago…]

The early morning breeze blew and rustled the leaves in the trees as Brien stepped out of his cottage and into the veranda. As he closed his eyes and relished the cool breeze hitting gently against his face, Brien brought up the cup of hot coffee he was carrying and inhaled its scent deeply.

To Brien, there was nothing as delicious as having a freshly brewed cup of pure caffeine on a lazy morning. Moreover, being able to simply enjoy a moment of peace was rare and one he had not been able to have in a very long while.

“Mm,” he hummed and smiled slightly as he sipped at his coffee.

The leaves rustled again, and Brien’s smile began to fade. The morning was still his to enjoy, and he was adamant to keep it that way.

Despite it being a quiet start to the day, he could hear the distant laughter of children as they played with each other. Goats that have strayed relatively closer to his cottage bleated as they grazed the long, green grass. But honestly, these were all the normal activities within the quaint village located at the edge of the woodland.

Such was the way of living here, and Brien was never bothered by it.

He drank more of his coffee when the leaves in the tree rustled again.

Brien sighed and finished the last of his coffee. Just as he did so, a grumbling could be heard.

Unable to ignore any longer, Brien growled and glared upward at one of the nearby trees.

“I thought the agreement was that we all returned to our own homes and would have a meet-up later this week?” Brien asked in an irritated tone.

There was no reply.

“I know you’re there, boy. I’m not in the mood of playing games.”

Another grumbling sound was heard.

“Get down from the tree and come inside. I’ll make breakfast for the two of us,” when Brien was met with silence, he continued begrudgingly, “It’ll be eggs and bacon, your favorite. You can’t be starving up there in the cold. I promise I won’t be mad.”

In an instant, the huge chunk of tree leaves and a part of the tree bark moved. Although it was camouflaged and cleverly colored, a face could be seen peering from one of the high branches of a nearby tree.

“Really?” the young man asked as he continued to peer from the high branch.

“Yes, Boyan… Now stop acting like a child, and come on down!” Brien ordered.

“Great!” Boyan chirped in delight before jumping off the branch and landing squarely on his feet.

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[In the little kitchen of Brien’s cottage…]

“So, why are you here?” Brien asked as he started the stove.

“I missed you, Sir~”

Brien immediately turned and glared at Boyan.

“The truth,” Brien growled.

Boyan chuckled awkwardly, but when Brien continued to glare silently at Boyan, the young man raised his hands in resignation.

“My family hates me, and I don’t have any place I can go to. I received a letter just before the mission that they have cut all ties with me and burned all of my personal belongings… Well, at least whatever that was still in that house.”

Brien felt a slight pang in his heart.

In the two years he had known Boyan, the young man had never opened up about his family. However, with the little he had heard and checked out on Boyan, it was obvious that the family only favored the attractive mistress’s son due to that boy’s political influence. It was uncertain for what exact reason Boyan was so hated and the true extent of his ill-treatment.

Boyan smiled softly.

“It’s all history, Commander. You don’t have to feel sorry for me… Anyway, during our little holidays, I often just spend time alone- be it to wander or to seclude myself in a faraway and isolated place.”

“Ah…” Brien replied awkwardly and started frying the bacon strips.

“I recently found out that you tend to spend your off time alone and simply wanted to see how you keep yourself occupied… I didn’t mean to bother you…”

“It’s no bother… But it’d have been nice if you just told me that you wanted to visit or talk,” Brien said as he placed a heap of fried bacon into a plate on the kitchen counter. He then proceeded to fry the eggs.

“Yes, that’s true… I’m surprised you spotted me so quickly.”

“Boy, you may be the best at camouflage and scouting, but I’m the one who trained you. I know what to look out for… Besides, it was that annoying bird that gave you away.”

“Bird? There wasn’t any bird or nest on that tree I was perched in,” Boyan tilted his head in curiosity.

“You need to be more alert of your surroundings. If you actually searched, you’d have spotted the small feathers stuck amongst the leaves and also on the ground below… I saved that bird when it was a mere fledgling, and it has been chirping noisily on that tree every day. Its nest in one of the cracks in the roof, but it would often perch on the tree as it gives a better view of the cottage.”

“How cute~”

Brien grumbled as he placed a heap of fried eggs into another plate.

“Anyway, when it was chirping earlier in the morning and abruptly stopped, I suspected that something or someone,” Brien looked pointedly at Boyan, “was in close vicinity and had spooked the bird… That bird never shuts up. So, it was an obvious sign that it was hiding from a potential threat.”

“Oh… Haha… I should really work on my scouting.”

“Yes, but I rather you attempt mastering your hand-to-hand combat and shooting. With a mind as creative as yours, it would be put to better use if you were part of the main unit itself. Moreover, it will be good to know how to defend yourself in case you ever get caught while scouting out a potentially hostile area.”

“Yes, I’ll do tha-”

“Oliver! What are you doing?!” a woman was heard yelling just outside Brien’s cottage.

Both Brien and Boyan glance at each other before springing into action. Expecting the worst, both military men burst out of the cottage while fishing out their respective weapons- Brien a gun, and Boyan a dagger.

But upon seeing the scene before them, both military men stopped abruptly in their tracks. Both of them slowly sheathed the weapons they have always worn on their person, be it day or night.

About a few feet away from Brien’s cottage, a young boy who looked no longer than eight winters was holding a yellow flower close to a goat. It seemed that the boy was about to give the goat the flower when the woman, presumably his mother, started calling out to him.

“You silly boy! Where on earth did you find that flower?!” the woman rushed toward the boy and yanked the flower from his little hand, “Didn’t I say that goats can’t eat buttercups?!”

“I-” the boy attempted to speak, but the woman was not willing to hear whatever he wished to say.

“No, excuses! Don’t ever do this again! Otherwise, there won’t be food to feed all of us when winter comes! Now, take the goat back to the pen!” 

After the upset woman and dejected boy have left, Boyan turned to ask Brien.

“I don’t understand… Is there something wrong with the flower?”

“Yes, buttercups are poisonous to cattle and goats. That’s why there aren’t any buttercups in the vicinity. The flowers have all been uprooted. As the people here are of humble background, they rely a lot on the animals they rear and the vegetation they personally grow as a source of food… The boy must have ventured deep into the woods to get the flower. I reckon that the mother, Mrs. Garcia, was upset about the boy’s safety as well but didn’t properly express her feelings in the heat of the moment.”

“Oh, you know the two?” Boyan asked.

“Yes, I’ve known them for years. Mrs. Garcia is a good woman and cares deeply for her one and only son.”

“Ah, I see… Phew~ Who would have known that such an innocent-looking flower can be so deadly to certain animals?”

“Mm,” Brien hummed in reply and watched the fallen leaves dance as the gentle breeze blew.

“Oh! That gives me an idea! How about we use the buttercup as a signal?”

“What do you mean?”

“If there ever come a time where I’m killed or taken away during one of my scouting, I’ll leave either a scribble of the name or a drawing of the flower… Well, if I do have time- which in this kind of case I should… You see, I’ll use a buttercup to symbolize that my attacker or kidnapper is someone who looks innocent. You know, an innocent-looking flower as in an innocent-looking person who can be deadly or dangerous.”

“Boyan, that is not going to happe-”

“Listen to me, Commander. Our line of work is dangerous. Regardless of the rank or assigned duty, there is no guarantee that we’ll come out unscathed. We already know that my leaving behind a dog tag means a non-sudden death or kidnapping. But that won’t tell you who the perpetrator may be.”

“But-”

“Oh! I know, if it’s deadly and I know that death is imminent, I smear blood onto the buttercup word or drawing. That’ll tell you that my killer is someone who looks innocent… Hmm… I guess that not seeing any buttercup signage will mean that my killer is just about anyone else… I should really come up with some signage for that too! Haha!”