by A. G. Wilde
When she’d seen him hop from the orcs’ vehicle and head into the jungle, she hadn’t expected him to be like this.
He was so…different.
The muscles in his arms flexed even with him just turning the spindle in his hands.
“Your daran…” he said. The word didn’t translate in her head.
“Daran?” she asked.
“Yes. The male who begot you.”
“Oh, my dad. Yea. He used to take me camping all the time.” She paused, memories of time spent with her father resurfacing. What she wouldn’t do to see him again.
“He was all I had. My mother never wanted me. She threatened to throw me away.” She huffed out a laugh. Funny she could talk about it so easily now. As a child, she’d felt like a reject because of that one fact. And that’s why her father, the great Thomas Barlow, had worked so hard to make her tough.
She wasn’t a victim.
She was a survivor.
“Dad taught me everything he knew.” She fingered another knot in her hair, working her way through the strands till they were straight again. “He taught me how to make a shelter, taught me how to find food, taught me how to make a fire from nothing. He taught me everything I needed to know to survive.”
As if he knew he’d leave me one day and I’d need them in this exact situation.
She didn’t say the last sentence but when the faraway look left her eyes, when the glaze of unexpected tears drained away from her vision, she realized the alien was looking at her with a strange look in his luminous green eyes.
“He was everything a child like me needed,” she finished.
A sort of wry smile twisted the alien’s lips. “Must be nice,” he said.
The words sounded bitter despite that his facial muscles displayed no emotion.
As a matter of fact, it was almost as if he had completely closed off suddenly.
For a beat, he just stared at her, his eyes having a faraway look—the kind you got when you were looking at something that wasn’t there…remembering something.
And then he sniffed.
Whatever he smelled pulled him straight from wherever he’d gone and his eyes widened slightly.
With a deliberate pull of his nostrils, so hard the little bumps that ran down his septum bunched up a little, he inhaled again.
“Slizz,” he said, his shoulders stiffening.
Then she heard it—the sound of his claws protracting.
It happened so fast. One second, there was movement at the mouth of the cave and then something flew in so fast she had little time to jump to her feet.
A screech caught in the air as the blur materialized into Wawa.
Wawa!
His claws dug into Sohut’s back, into the wounds there that hadn’t fully healed yet and Sohut grunted in pain as he reached back, his entire palm closing around Wawa’s small body.
Wawa screeched again—a sound she’d never heard him make before—and dug his claws deeper, his mouth opening to show a terror she never knew he even had.
Rows upon rows of sharp teeth were exposed to the morning light.
Cleo’s heart lodged into her throat as her brain caught up with what was happening.
“Wawa!” she shouted, advancing toward them, but Sohut stumbled back instead, out of her reach.
Slamming his back into the cave wall, he tried to put Wawa out of business and Cleo realized at that moment that she was feeling two things.
1. She didn’t want Wawa to hurt the alien who’d appeared in her solitary life like a whirlwind.
2. She didn’t want Sohut to hurt Wawa either.
“Stop!” she shouted to Sohut. “He thinks you’re an intruder. I’ll get him off you.”
The alien looked at her as if she belonged in an asylum. His eyes were the widest she’d ever seen them before.
“It’s a phekking slizz. I knew I smelled it but I hadn’t been sure.” He grunted as Wawa kept harming him and Cleo gulped, the thought of those teeth she’d seen sinking in the alien’s back making her rush toward them.
But the alien moved out of the way again, keeping his back away from her as he tried to dislodge Wawa from his skin.
She saw enough to tell he had one hand around Wawa’s skinny body and the other squeezing Wawa’s neck but Wawa’s claws were dug into his back, not letting go.
One of them was going to win and the other was going to be badly hurt if she didn’t intervene.
She advanced again and the alien took another step backward. They were walking in circles. Every time she moved forward, he’d go around her.
“This creature is dangerous. More dangerous than you realize. Stay away. One bite and it will kill you with its venom. You’ll die in seconds.”
Wawa?
The same sweet animal she’d slept beside for over a year?
No way he was as dangerous as Sohut thought…but then again, she’d never seen Wawa act like he was now…and she’d never seen those teeth.
It was as if the teeth had been hidden until he’d needed them just now.
“Wawa,” she cooed mid-Wawa-screech and the screech seemed to die a little at the end. He was listening to her.
“Wawa…let the nice alien go. He won’t hurt you.” She said the last four words while looking at Sohut but he was still looking at her as if she was insane.
“You named it?” He almost spat the words. “You named this…this little murderer? You think it’s your friend?”
“It—he is my friend. He’s been my only friend for over a year. If—”
“Phek me…” Then his nose scrunched up. “Raxu knows, it phekking stinks!”
The way he said it, she’d have laughed if he didn’t have an animal intent on ripping him apart fastened to his back.
Cooing, she stepped to the side so she could make eye contact with Wawa.
“Wawa,” she cooed, and the animal looked at her.
Cleo’s hand flew to cover her mouth in shock.
Wawa’s big brown eyes were completely and utterly black.
“Wawa?” The animal blinked at her and his eyes turned to brown.
“It’s a slizz, not a pet, I doubt—”
At the sound of the alien’s voice, Wawa screeched again, his eyes bleeding to black in an instant as he twisted his neck in Sohut’s hand, trying to sink his teeth into the alien’s flesh.
“Wawa!” It took her a moment to realize the authoritative voice was her own. “Stop this instant!”
Wawa’s eyes turned to brown again and he blinked at her…but his teeth, wherever they’d come from, didn’t retract.
“This man is my…” Friend? He wasn’t her friend. But he didn’t seem like her enemy either. Enemies didn’t give you their sharp blade and turn their backs to you while you pulled thorns from their flesh, knowing very well you could slit their throat if you wanted to.
Wawa had stopped screeching, but he wasn’t letting go and Sohut was looking at her with a mix of horror and disbelief—the same look you’d probably give someone who could burp the alphabet and the Star Wars theme without effort.
“Let. Him. Go.”
Wawa and the alien blinked at her before Wawa’s teeth…disappeared.
Where they went in his head, she didn’t know. But his mouth closed, and he retracted his claws from Sohut’s back.
Before she could tell the animal “good job”, Wawa was a blur as Sohut threw him across the room. Her body jerked as he pushed her behind him and she got a view of his bleeding back again.
“Stay behind me,” he said, his muscles tensed.
A chuckle rose in her throat.
“I’m the one that just rescued you. I don’t need protection from Wawa.”
As she looked around him though, the sight of Wawa made the hairs on her neck rise a little.
He didn’t look like the normal cute little animal she was used to.
He looked terrifying.
He was kind of like an otter.
Cute, but deadly.
Just like the alien guarding her, Wawa was tense. His teeth were out again, and he was ready to pounce should Sohut make a wrong move.
Wawa’s eyes darted from the alien to her and back but he stood still.
“Wawa,” Cleo stepped from behind Sohut and he made a noise of disapproval as she reached out to Wawa. “Come, bubba. He’s ok. He won’t hurt you.”
She shot a look behind her at the bewildered alien.
Wawa came forward slowly and crawled up her hand to sit on her shoulder at his usual spot, his tail swishing lazily on her back.
He was giving the alien the stink eye and it was strange to recognize that on an alien creature’s face. So strange, she had to hold back a laugh.
Sohut was still looking at her like she was insane then his claws retracted slowly.
She actually heard them go back in. They sounded frickin’ sharp and she was happy he hadn’t decided to use them on her.
“That’s a slizz…” he repeated, ignoring the fact there was blood dripping to the cave floor from his back.
“I don’t know what you mean. I don’t know what a slizz is,” she said, moving to her water bowl but the water was finished, all used when she’d cleaned his wounds earlier.
“That thing on your phekking shoulder!” An accusatory finger was pointed in her direction. “That slizz…likes you.” He said it, his face contorting into an expression she’d never seen on his face before. He looked utterly perplexed.
He inhaled again, his face contorting some more, before he raised a hand to cover his nose.
“It really stinks.”
Wawa looked at him with hate in his eyes and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
Wawa smelled fine to her.
“I knew I smelled slizz. Just…a slizz shouldn’t be in this jungle.” He paused, his eyes widening some more. “That explains everything.”
“What do you mean?” Cleo’s arms fell to her side as she glanced around her little cave. Despite all the things she’d gathered to survive, she didn’t have much. With Sohut in the cave, it only seemed smaller and not suitable to live in.
“I don’t have any more water to wash your wounds.”
“It explains why you haven’t been attacked by any spined beasts…”
That made her stiffen. “What?”
“This is their territory, but they are natural enemies to the slizz.” He stared at Wawa in horror. “Little phekker must have been destroying their population…while protecting you.”
“What?” she repeated, her eyes widening as she turned to look at Wawa, who blinked innocent brown eyes at her. She couldn’t imagine it.
“Slizz are untamable little maniacs.” He moved to his bag and took out that tube she’d used on his wounds earlier. “That’s why they’re banned and their population controlled. I haven’t seen a slizz since…” he stopped to think “…forever. Whoever let it go out here was smuggling.”
Cleo swallowed, her eyes still on Wawa. “Are you really what he says you are?”
“Slizz don’t speak.”
Cleo rolled her eyes at Sohut and chuckled. “I know that but he’s my pet. You talk to your pets, don’t you?”
“I don’t have any pets,” Sohut said, his eyes flicking to hers then back to his healing tube as he rubbed the solution into his back. “There are animals at the Sanctuary but none of them are my pets.”
“Really? Every good person deserves a pet.” She stroked Wawa’s back and he rubbed his head against the side of her face.
“I’m not a good person.”
17
He couldn’t believe this small little female was harboring a slizz of all beasts. The thing had almost ripped his skin apart. If he’d been too weak to fight it off, he’d probably be lying stiff on the floor.
Vile, vile beasts they were.
He eyed the two now, how she cooed and purred to it, her soft lips curving into a circle as she made soft sounds to the little maniac.
Of all the beasts to bond with…
Clee-yo stroked the slizz softly, her hand running down the thing’s back and he watched her hand move.
All he could think of was the feel of her touch as she’d tended to his wounds.
The last time he’d had someone touch him…care about him like that…he couldn’t remember when that was.
Watching her pet the slizz, an unsettling feeling developed at the pit of his stomach.
Sohut blinked and turned away to look out the cave hole.
He wasn’t…jealous, was he? Of a slizz? Impossible.
Yet, when he glanced behind him to look at them once more, the little beast was giving him a look as if it owned the female and that thought…unnerved him a little.
“I smelled his scent marking before I came up the mountain,” he said, still looking out the cave entrance.
“His what?” He could hear her bare feet pad against the grass on the floor as she approached him.
“Your slizz created a warning around this mountain, to warn the spined creatures off.”
There was silence and when he turned to look at her, Clee-yo was looking at the slizz confused.
“He what?”
“He’s been protecting you.” He eyed the creature. “It…likes you.”
He still couldn’t believe it. To his knowledge, slizz only had the propensity to hate and kill.
Clee-yo hugged the animal to her chest and he tried to keep his alarm at bay.
“You did that?” she cooed at it. “You’ve been protecting me?”
The slizz shot him a hateful glance before snuggling against her.
Fine. He didn’t want to be friends with it either.
“We have to go,” he said and that caught her attention.
“Go?” There was panic in her eyes.
“We can’t stay here. We have to go farther into the jungle, head to the Torian camp there, and then from there to the Sanctuary. The Gori will be wondering why I haven’t contacted them to pick you up yet. They will send someone to check.”
He could almost see the alarm travel through Clee-yo’s frame.
“Sanctuary?” she asked.
He nodded. “My home.”
That made her eyes widen. “You’re taking me to your home? Why?”
He found himself smiling. “Where else would I take you?”
Clee-yo’s mouth opened and closed.
“Get ready. Let’s go.”
They had to be quick.
With most of his sluu dough lost when he fell, he’d have to hunt on the way to the Torian camp. If not, they would starve if they didn’t find anything to eat.
Sohut watched as Clee-yo put a few things into a large slemma leaf and strapped it to herself, ready to go. He had everything he needed in his satchel…what was left of his gadgets, that is.
“Ready?” he asked.
Pale eyes met his and Clee-yo smiled a little. “Ready.”
With that, he slipped through the opening and launched himself off the edge, his claws protracting as he grabbed unto the rock at the last moment to swing himself unto the landing under the cave.
He just about heard her gasp of surprise.
“What the fuck?” There was a pause. “Shit, did he fall off again?”
There was worry in her voice and that made him feel a little bit…good. She cared enough about him to worry.
“Uh, Grout?” She called. “Sohut?!”
She used his name. He knew she had it in her.
“I’m fine. Jump,” he called. “I will catch you.”
“You must be fucking out of your mind.” Her response made him chuckle.
She cursed underneath her breath and he heard something along the lines of him almost giving her a heart attack. “Get out of the way, I’m coming down.”
Shortly after, a long twisted thing came falling from above. He’d hardly call it a rope, but it was close enough. It looked like she’d spent quite a long time twining various vines together to make something strong enough t
o hold her weight.
So she’d made precautions a long time ago in case her vine broke.
Impressive.
Looking up, his next view was that of two long legs shimmying down and he had to look away quickly when she came down farther.
He’d be looking right up under her skirt and he didn’t even have to see anything, the thought alone had him throbbing in his pants so quickly he had to turn away.
He heard when her unpadded feet hit the landing and was sure she was completely off the vine because the scent of slizz was unbearable again.
“Are you ok? You just launched off the cliff like you were on a suicide mission,” she said.
“Killing myself would be too easy.” He gave her a wry smile and he could tell she was trying to decipher his words, understand them.
She never would.
“Let’s go,” he said, turning from her and adjusting his satchel where it wouldn’t rub the new wounds her pet had inflicted on him.
“This way,” she said, stepping off into the brush in a direction he hadn’t thought she’d take. “I need water first.”
Walking behind her was a nice view, except for the ugly slizz glaring at him from her shoulder.
Even in the brambles and vines, she moved with grace and caution.
Her ears were flat against her head, and unlike his, it didn’t seem she could perk them, yet he had the distinct impression that she was doing just that.
She was listening for any unnatural sounds.
She had the strange piece of warped metal clutched in her hand as she made her way through.
He wasn’t even looking where she was headed. Watching her was far more interesting.
There was a soft wind blowing through the trees and if he could delete the smell of the slizz, he would be able to fully enjoy her scent and her scent alone.
The phekking slizz really needed a bath.
As if it could read his thoughts, the slizz protracted its teeth a little and bared them at him.
His fangs responded instinctively.
Ignoring the annoying beast, he turned his attention back to watching Clee-yo’s hips sway underneath her worn attire. He was so mesmerized, he almost tripped over a root on the ground and then Clee-yo turned to glare at him, her strange metal thing pointed in his direction.