The Second Saga: Part Four

Oggin woke back in his own bed, having enjoyed the “early night” spent with Kajoa and was feeling quite relaxed. He got up and even left the cats to sleep on, dressed and went into the kitchen. Kajoa was standing at the stove and softly singing an old Tosk folk song as she worked. To Oggin, the words were unintelligible but the melody was pleasing and it signalled that she was for once, in a good mood in the morning.

“Good morning my little song bird.....I hope you slept well...”

“Mornin’ hen...sit ya’sell doon...awe’ll hay ya breakfast in’a minute...”

Oggin sat and watched as Kajoa shuffled pots and pans and returned to her soft song. He was struck again how lucky he was to have found this woman, despite her often bad temper she was fiercely loyal and when the moment took her, very affectionate too. She turned and put a plate on the table in front of Oggin, six large sausages and two fried eggs nestled up to a slice of fried greybread, topped with a big tomato.

“There ya are hen...get tha doon ya...ya need tae keep ya strength up....” she said, with a polite cough and a grin.

“Thank you “hen”....it’s going to be a long day and I’ll need this....”

“Aye...right enough...I’m away tae haya wee snooze....Noo jus ye ‘member this Oggin tha Ogg....ye haya breakfast here...mak sure ya come bak here fe ya supper an’all...”

“I will my flower...I will...you go and have rest in the warm....I’ll see you later don’t worry....”

Oggin set about the plate of food with passion but as was his habit, secreted two of the sausages in his shirt pocket, for later. In a matter of minutes his plate was empty and he rinsed it under the water cock over the sink. He’d already put on his ‘cold trousers’ and foot covers in readiness for the day ahead. Oggin didn’t usually wear foot covers, as his feet, like all Ogglanders, were not only very large, wide and hairy but had soles like thick leather. However, in the cold season they were sometimes necessary and besides, they hid Oggin’s odd looking toenails. Putting on his pikka coat, he grabbed his ‘day bag’ and set off to see Nitaa.

 Outside, there had been a very slight thaw over night and now the sun was doing its best to raise the temperature a little more. The air was still quite crisp and in the shady places in the lane, the frost still held a stubborn grip on the countryside. With his hood up, hands thrust in pockets and bag over his shoulder, Oggin trudged on toward the cottage of Nitaa the Cutter but saw few people on the way, the children were busy in the Mammies’ back garden, building a snow burrow, which apparently required a great deal of laughing and shouting. Oggin had never really understood the childlike fascination with digging holes but he supposed it kept them out of  trouble, for the most part anyway. The local wildlife had thinned out as it always did in the Cold Season. A lot of the birds had gone South, over the Small Water, to more sunny climes, those that remained made the most of any “Brown Season” berries and fruits that lingered uneaten in the hedgerows. Creatures that couldn’t leave had to make the best of life as they could, Oggin saw some Fox tracks in the snow and hoped all the hens were shut up at night or someone would be going short of eggs. Keeping to the main paths and tracks meant his journey took a little longer but meant he avoided the deeper snow drifts in the old copse, besides it was a nice day and it was good to get out in the fresh air.

He arrived at Nitaa’s cottage and was amazed at the transformation that had taken place since H’rsh the Boog moved out. The pretty garden had all but gone and had been replaced with a wilderness of pebbles and sand. The cottage itself seemed to have been expertly renovated on the outside, even the front gate had been painted and re-hung. The front door had been replaced with a forbidding looking studded Oak arrangement that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a castle, Oggin grasped the big black iron ‘cat’s head’ knocker and gave it a good bang. It opened to reveal Nitaa the Cutter, dressed from neck to ankle in black silk, embroidered in gold, the high neck tunic was almost military but the trousers were flowing and full.

“Mornin’ Oggin....why don’t you go rand da bak an’ I’ll come owt an’ show ya what I wants...won’I....”

“Okay....” said Oggin with a nod and a smile.

He went “rand da bak” as instructed and found that the back garden had also been transformed. All the carefully cultivated soil had disappeared under flag stones and pebbles. Two enormous wire cages had been added, one attached to the back of the cottage and another at the far end of the garden. The cottage cage was fitted with a roof and back wall, it looked for all the world like a little house with three wire walls. The other was like a huge sort of ‘fruit cage’ and Oggin could see a perfusion of different plants growing in various pots inside it and in one corner, a bee hive. The snow which had fallen everywhere else in the area seemed to have all but missed this single patch, in fact there were very few signs of the cold which had gripped the rest of the village and woods nearby.

Oggin’s musings were interrupted by a noise from behind him and he turned to see Nitaa standing at the back door, she was now wearing a big coat, in the same style as before but this one was ginger and white. Oggin noticed that her face was very pale and looked like it was made of fine alabaster, her lips too, were pale and thin. She regarded Oggin with those strange blue and gold eyes and he fancied a little ‘half smile’ crossed her face, she stood arms folded across her, holding the coat closed tight against the cold, she spoke.

“Roite den Oggin...less git darn to’it....Iss too fuckin’ cold to fart abaght art ‘ere....I wants a nue midden ‘ole on the end off da girls wun...iss gonna need a slide fwom inside so’s dey kin do their business fwom inside da wun an dat...”

Despite her tortured use of the Oggish language, Oggin thought he had got the drift of what she was asking for, he was concerned however that the woman was some sort of slave trader, which made him a bit uncomfortable.

“So....your...er....‘Girls’ do this...er...outside then...?”

“Yeah....course they do....they ain’t dirt’ey.....”

“Right....of course not...” stammered Oggin.

“You wanna meet ‘em...?”

“Oh...er...um....yes...I suppose so....that might be nice....”

Nitaa half turned and let out a high pitched whistle and then called out.

“Come on me Girly Girls....come on.....come an’ see mummy an’ the nice man...”

Oggin watched in fascination as a flap opened in the base of the cottage wall, inside the cage. At first slowly and then in a rush a dozen or more cats appeared and stalked into the cage. Some hung back, eyeing Oggin with open suspicion others came up to the wire and rubbed their faces on it, tails held high in feline greeting, all seemed well fed and in very good condition.

“Thas me girls Oggin........thas me girls...” said Nitaa, her face wreathed in smiles.

The rest of this strange ‘site meeting’ passed under the watchful gaze of this curious feline audience. Oggin was both surprised and pleased to find that not only did Nitaa know exactly what it was she wanted but also how she wanted it done. After almost an hour of instructions, questions and counter questions, the two parties agreed on a price and shook hands on the matter. Oggin said he would return in two days to start the work and would hope to have it all done in seven work days. They parted company and Oggin started to make his way to see Bob Weaver and his brood to discuss terms with him. It was the custom in Ogg that all men were entitled to make a fair profit from their labour but ‘fleecing’ was considered very bad manners so as he walked, Oggin was figuring what profit there was to be shared with Bob Weaver and his boys. As he walked, he munched on a sausage and was feeling well pleased with himself. This was a good job to have in the Cold Season when work was hard to come by and it’ll provide coin for two households.

It has often been said that one should never be too pleased with oneself, lest others don’t agree....I’m not sure who said it but that is of no matter.