The village air was thick with the scent of wet earth and wood smoke. Rain had been falling for days without pause—sometimes gentle as a sigh, sometimes pounding so hard it swallowed all other sounds. Paths had turned to soft mud, and puddles reflected the silver-grey sky. The river, swollen with the season's generosity, rolled past the village with a deep, powerful murmur.
Charlisa pulled her shawl tighter as she crossed to the riverbank. A group of fishers—men and women alike—were gathered there, checking the woven traps set the night before. The rainy season brought both hardship and abundance, and the fish were running strong now, glinting silver beneath the muddy water.
Kael was among them, his hair plastered to his forehead from the drizzle. He crouched, lifting one of the basket traps with ease. Water streamed from it, and inside, several fish writhed and flashed.
"That's a good haul," one of the older men said with a grin.
Kael smirked. "Not bad for standing knee-deep in freezing water all morning."
A younger woman, her braid dripping with rain, teased, "You just got lucky. Wait until tomorrow when the river decides to give you nothing but weeds."
Charlisa stepped closer, smiling at their banter. "If it's weeds, I'll cook them for you, Kael," she said, her voice light with mischief.
He glanced up at her, eyes glinting despite the grey sky. "Only if you eat them with me."
The catches were sorted quickly—some for the evening meal, some to be salted and stored for days when the rain would be too fierce to fish. Charlisa knelt to pick up a bundle of fresh catch, the cold water making her fingers tingle.
"Careful with that one," an elder warned. "It still has fight in it."
She chuckled. "So does Kael. I'm used to it." The group laughed, the sound carrying warmly over the patter of rain.
By nightfall, the smell of fish roasting over the fire mingled with the sweet steam of boiling roots. The rain outside softened to a steady patter, and inside the huts, the warmth of food and shared company made the wet season feel a little less heavy.