A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

36: Off the Leash

—1 month later—

"That doesn't look menacing at all."

Mara chuckled, continuing the angled swiping. The shink of the machete blade being sharpened was high-pitched, making Jimin grind his teeth.

"Namjoon asked if you could sharpen his too," Jimin gestured to the knife in his hands.

Mara shrugged, "Might as well." Jimin gave her a thumbs up before heading back inside.

It was a rather cold day, a very light snow befalling the now unnamed cities and forests. The warmth of several layers of clothing allowed for everyone to comfortably work outside, and even the horses were warm with thick blankets stowed on their backs. The chickens, though free roaming, we're keeping warm in their sealed coops, snuggling up to one another for heat. A makeshift fireplace had been set up inside, where everyone would heat up before resuming their work. As the other three—Taehyung, Jimin, and Jungkook—gathered their belongings for a day out, Mara hung out by the fireplace. She sat on the love seat with a sharpening stone on her lap, passing her machete, Bowie knife, and now Namjoon's Bowie knife over it. It was a calming task, in her opinion. She loved the sound and could already sense how sharp the blades were becoming. The satisfaction came later, when the blade would be put to use.

Mara had finished her chores early on, having packed for the day out already. With her things laid out beside her, she patiently waited for the other boys to finish. She'd been there for about thirty minutes, but the task she was now close to finishing was enough to keep her occupied.

"You're scary when you have that many knives around you."

Mara smirked, "Makes me look a little psycho."

"A little?" Jungkook teased. He had come up from behind to watch her work, and Mara guessed he was done with whatever he had been tasked. The girl gave a playful glare, Jungkook chuckling as he sat across from her.

"Who taught you this?" Jungkook curiously asked, his eyes never leaving her working hands. They were starting to get cold, but the girl preferred to sharpen with barehands—a glove could cause a slip up.

Mara reminisced of her early teen years, when she was a happy only-child, a saddened smile on her face, "My mom would make me help with cooking. She said if I ever decided to move out on my own when I grew up, I would have to learn the basics," Mara paused to check on the blade, nodding in satisfaction when the blade was done.

"We would use knives all the time and I always complained that they were dull," Mara chuckled to herself, "Eventually she got tired of sharpening knives for me so she taught me how to do it myself so that...I could be independent."

After sliding each knife back into their respective sheathes, Mara looked up to find Jungkook staring. Mara slightly leaned back, "What?"

Jungkook shrugged, "That explains."

Mara looked confused, "Explains what?"

"Explains how you owned a machete for so long. Why you do everything on your own. How you went so long on your own," Jungkook explained, a soft smile on his face. Mara nodded slowly, eyes shifting as she fondly remembered her mother's face.

"I didn't think independence would come at such a heavy price," Mara solemnly spoke, her almost four years of solitude flashing across her mind. It was a flurry of ups and downs, peace and absolute wretchedness. Then there were those numb days—those were hard to explain, hard to remember.

"Just be glad you have good memories of them," Jungkook mumbled, "Because others don't have those. They only remember the pain," he sat with his words for a second and seemed to grow upset. His jaw clenched as he stood up from the chair, walking away without another word as he exited the lodge. Dumbfounded, Mara watched him go, conjecturing what kind of past the boy must've had to have such a reaction to her statement. Must not be good.