Jax took long stride as he led the horse by the reins towards a decrepit looking shack set apart from the village. It was made out of wood, like everything else in the village, and the windows were clouded with dirt and grime. As they neared, Rubyn strained his eyes but it was impossible to see through them.

As he was lifted from the horse, he became aware of how everything around the shack--the logs, the grass, the dirt path--was just as unkempt as the outside of the shack itself. It was an odd sight after being surrounded by the tidiness of the village, and Rubyn smiled slightly. This was the sort of scenery he was used to. During the first few weeks of the war, the commanders demanded that the tents be kept clean, but it soon became obvious that no one would be able to keep it up for long.

The inside of the shack was dimly lit and surprisingly small. "Welcome to my humble abode," Jax said, spreading his arms wide.

"You live here?" Rubyn asked, noticing the single cot in a corner of the room.

The large man nodded once. "You bet I do. Well, most of the time, anyway. Mostly I use this place for my work, as you can tell. Some nights I stay up so late I figure I shouldn't bother making my way back to the 'ouse."

Rubyn scanned the area. It was so crowded and messy he could hardly distinguish what half the things lying on the shelves, benches, and tables were. There was a single, large table in the middle of the room, piled high with tools, different lengths and shapes of wood, and wood shavings. Nothing seemed organized and Rubyn immediately felt at home.

Two windows were set in the wall on either side of the door. The other walls were lined with shelves, stock full of tools, half finished projects, and other things Rubyn didn't know the name of or hadn't seen before. Wooden crates sat on the floor scattered wherever and it looked as though the floors hadn't been swept of the wood shavings in months.

"It's... quaint." Rubyn said, nodding his head in approval.

Jax was clearing away a small area on the table and smiled broadly. "I like to think so, yes. Have a seat up here, will ya? I just need to take a look at that foot of yours."

Rubyn shakily made his way over to the table no more than three steps away and hoisted himself up with his hands. His legs dangled beneath him and he swung his left leg back and forth as Jax bent down with a handheld tool of some sort in his hand to observe the right one.

"This should be an easy fix," He muttered to himself and dragged a nearby crate full of tools to his side. He selected one that looked like a mini saw and began working away at the artificial foot.

Rubyn looked on as Jax worked, his mind starting to wander. "Avery..." He said at last, breaking the concentrated silence that filled the room. "He doesn't like me."

Jax chuckled sadly. "That poor boy doesn't like anybody, don't take it personally. The only person he grew attached to was Joab's son, Gilligan." Jax shook his head regretfully, his heavy eyebrows furrowing into a caterpillar-like line between his eyes.

"What happened to Gilligan?"

The broad man reached for another tool in the overcrowded crate but Rubyn could tell that his mind was focused on the conversation at hand and creases appeared on his forehead. He cleared his throat. "He, uh, he went off to fight. He didn't ever come back, neither. Actually, you're the only one who we found that survived the wars."

Rubyn nodded. He knew this already. "Well, what about Joab? What did he do about it? I thought the Shroudspire people didn't fight."

"That's right. We don't. War doesn't do nothing but create a rupture in family and community and it causes grief and it breaks people's hearts. We don't participate in that type of behavior. But Gilligan and some of the other boys... they thought different. They wanted to go prove themselves--go explore and see the world. Can't blame 'em for that, but we knew they wasn't going to come back when they left."

"Did you try to stop them from leaving?"

Jax shrugged his shoulders. "Some did. Joab didn't. He told 'em that he knew the call of adventure was sometimes too strong but if they ever wanted to come back home, they could. But they never even looked back. Or came back. Avery took it particularly hard. The kid's had it rough, no doubt'n that."

"Oh," Rubyn said, his voice quiet.

"I s'pose when we found you instead of Gilligan the boy was a bit upset. But he'll get over it soon. Sometimes you just gotta accept defeat."

Rubyn nodded and looked away, sighing. "Yeah, I guess sometimes you do. How many boys went away?"

Jax didn't hesitate. "Five. Six including Gilligan. Some grown men went, too. The youngest was just thirteen. He was my nephew. His mother was dyin' of a heart condition and he didn't see any point in stickin' around, I s'pose. Avery wanted to go, too, but Joab put his foot down. Told him he was too young. Ever since then the boy's been tryin' to prove he's a man." Jax chuckled and Rubyn saw some of the light return to his eyes.

Just then the door to the shack swung open and Joab entered, stooping in order to avoid hitting his head against the doorframe. "You almost done, Jax? The first wagon is heading out soon and you're assigned to lead them."

"Just about done. Just gotta screw this in here... attach this bit here... make this piece a wee bit slenderer..." His voice trailed off as his hands and tools got to work again.

Joab laughed to himself quietly and turned to leave. "Alright, then, I'll see you out there. Oh, and Rubyn?" He paused just outside the doorway. Rubyn looked up at him. "I've told Avery and a few of the other woman to keep an eye on you. I'll be gone with Marilla and some of the others until tomorrow evening. If you need help with anything, the elders or mothers here can help you. I've instructed Avery to show you around the village."

Rubyn nodded in response. "Okay. That should be fine."

Joab nodded curtly and walked away, leaving the door open in his wake.

"Welp, I guess we're all done here, too!" Jax said, standing back up to his full height. "Hop down and go ahead and see how it suites you."

Rubyn eyed the floor. The distance between his dangling feet and the ground was about two feet and he wasn't sure he'd be able to make it without falling. He considered asking Jax for help as his only other option, but quickly dismissed the idea. He wasn't a kid. He would be able to handle it himself.

Placing his hands on the table firmly on either side of him, he pushed and scooted off the table. Despite his best efforts to keep his balance, the moment he hit the floor a shearing jolt of pain shot up his right thigh and his other leg buckled beneath him. Rubyn gritted his teeth together and repressed the urge to cry out in pain as he fell to the floor.

"Whoops," Jax said, a sheepish grin on his face and his hand on the back of his neck. "Should've thought that through first. Here, these should help you." A few moments later Jax was back, a pair of simply made crutches in his meaty hands.

He offered the younger man his hand as Rubyn attempted to stand again, but he shrugged it off. "I'm fine," he said, his teeth still clenched.

He took the crutches from Jax and placed each one beneath his armpit. After taking a few experimental steps he made his way back to Jax and handed him the left crutch. "I think I'll only need this one. There's no issue with the weight I put on my left side.

Jax nodded. "Sure thing. How does it work for you now?"

Rubyn scrutinized the upgraded version of his leg. Jax had done something to the toe of the foot so that when he walked, it acted as the ball of a regular foot. He put the crutch down and took another step, focusing his attention on putting most of his weight onto his right leg. As he brought his left leg in front to continue the step, Rubyn watched as the toe of the wooden foot bent upward in order to catch the last bit of weight before passing it on to his left side. Rubyn smiled slightly. "It works a lot better. Thank you."

Rubyn didn't have the heart to tell him that this so-called "masterpiece" wasn't going to be of much use for very long.

A/N

Shoutout to TheSnowWall who was the first to vote AND comment on the last chapter! Thank you so much :) Chapter 10 is coming this Friday!