by Ruby Dixon
“I mean you never let up on her,” Mah-dee tells me as Masan lifts his spoon to his mouth. “Every time she turns around, boom, there you are. Maybe you ease up a little.”
“But how will she know of my interest?” I shake my head at her. She does not know Kate like I do. “It is clear she has not picked up on my hints. If anything, I need to be stronger in my efforts to woo her.”
Hassen just snorts and does not look up from his task, stuffing items back into his hunting pack.
“Oh sweetie,” Mah-dee says in a placating voice. “People two galaxies over can tell you’re interested. It’s not that she hasn’t noticed. It’s that she’s ignoring it. My guess is that you make her uncomfortable.”
I ponder what she is saying as I take a bite of stew. What she is saying could be true. My Kate does tend to get stiff-shouldered when I approach her. I thought she was merely shy or unobservant. Perhaps not. “So how do I make her comfortable?”
“Has she ever smiled or laughed in your presence?” Hassen asks and leans over. “And Mah-dee, hand me that pack of trail rations?”
“Oh, I thought we were staying out of this,” Mah-dee says in a sweet voice. “Guess that changed, didn’t it.” She chuckles and hands him two packs. “Bring extra. I don’t want you starving on me.”
I ignore their banter for a moment, thinking. Kate smiling. Kate laughing. It is discouraging that I cannot think of many times where I have made her laugh or smile. Ah, wait. I set my spoon in my bowl and flex my hand, thinking. The day I went fishing to get her eight fang-fish. She laughed and smiled as she gave me the challenge, a glint in her eyes. My Kate is competitive. She likes a challenge.
And I…have not been challenging her. I have simply been teasing her, flirting with her in the hopes that she would flirt back. I have spent every moment in the village near her in the hopes she would encourage me.
I should have been prodding at her and challenging her, making her think. Making her feel the need to compete. Giving her something to focus on to interest her mind.
Of course. It is obvious now.
I jump to my feet, encouraged, and in doing so, accidentally fling the bowl of stew from my lap and into the fire. Oh. My thoughts full of Kate, I automatically reach over to grab at the small bone bowl before it begins to burn—
—And I am immediately tackled by Hassen, his large weight flinging me to the ground. “No!”
My head bangs on the stone floor, and I lie on my back, dizzy. I grunt with pain as Masan begins to cry and Mah-dee soothes him. I rub my head, stunned. “Was that necessary?”
“You fool. You almost stuck your hand in the fire.” Hassen gives me an incredulous look and then gets off me, holding a hand out to me. “Do not harm yourself in front of my mate and son, please.”
“Harm myself? Bah.” I get to my feet slowly, ignoring his offered hand. “You act as if I would tip into the fire and burn my face off.”
“This is you, is it not? That is exactly what I think,” Hassen says with a laugh. He moves to his crying son and scoops him up, soothing him while Mah-dee watches me with wide eyes.
Bah. I get to my feet and rub the back of my head again. It is not wet, the skin unbroken. I am relieved, and my gut churns a little at the thought of my head bleeding. Perhaps I should see the healer.
Then again, perhaps not. If word gets out that I was injured again, they will never let me go on the journey with the others to the Elders’ Cave, and I plan on being next to Kate every step of the way. I rub my head, lost in thought. I need time to contemplate the best way to get her to compete with me. To make a game of travel.
And most of all, to make her laugh and smile.
KATE
“Oh, could you carry my pack for me? I would love that so much.” Brooke gives the silent Warrek a sugary-sweet smile. “It’s just so big and we’ve got such a long way to walk, don’t we?”
He takes the pack from her with a nod and settles it on the sled, tying it in. Then he looks over at Gail and Summer, who are standing close by, and puts a hand out. They immediately hand over their packs of supplies, and poor Summer starts to babble about how nice Warrek is for doing this for them and then proceeds to move right into an in-depth analysis of the day’s weather, all directed at Warrek, who’s almost as quiet as Elly.
“Are you going to go and give him your pack?” A too-familiar voice says, and Harrec appears at my side, all sly grins, long braids, and blue muscle. He’s got a huge pack on his own back, just like all the other hunters. Even Elly’s got a small one that she hasn’t given up.
There’s something about his tone that makes me bristle. Is it because I’m Kate the Beanstalk that he thinks I should be strong enough to carry my own pack? Or is he teasing me that we’re all weak ninnies? Either way, I shake my head and hold my straps tighter. “If you guys can carry packs, I can, too.”
He lifts his chin in silent acknowledgment. “I give it one day.”
“That so? I bet I can make it the whole damn journey without having to ask for someone to carry my pack.” I stand a little straighter in the calf-deep snow. We’re at the edge of the gorge, having just ridden up the pulley into the valley. Looming ahead is a long, several-day walk to the Elders’ Cave, which is apparently a really old spaceship. It’s the same one that brought the ancestors of the sa-khui tribe here to Not-Hoth, and there are a few tribesmates there that are working to get it running again. Since this is the last window of time before the brutal season—this place’s version of winter—it was decided that all the humans should go and get the sa-khui language taught to us by the computer, retrieve the tribesmates staying there and bring them home, and stop off at a nearby fruit cave for some last-minute winter supplies.
It all sounds legit, except for the fact that they picked all the “bachelors” of the tribe to accompany us. To me, this feels like one big long singles cruise. Taushen, Warrek, Sessah, and Harrec are accompanying us, along with Bek, who’s now mated to Elly, and Vaza, who’s hooked up with Gail.
Singles. Cruise.
The others can sense it, too. Brooke’s putting on her best flirty mood, even if Warrek and Taushen aren’t the most receptive audience. Warrek’s so mild and quiet that I don’t know that he’s even interested in getting a mate. Taushen? Well, he just seems kind of…surly. He’s abrupt to everyone and walking ahead of the group, ready to get us moving along on the multi-day journey. And because Brooke’s being flirty, it’s making Summer edgy, I think, because she’s babbling to Warrek about a science camp she went to when she was in eighth grade. Poor Summer and her nervous blabbermouth.
Taushen’s taking off at the front, and Vaza and Gail are right behind him. There’s a sled full of supplies—and packs, now—that Warrek is pulling for this leg of the trip. Bek and Elly are going to take up the rear of the group.
Of course, this leaves me with Harrec. Harrec, the obnoxious flirt.
I wonder if I can walk with Elly and Bek. I’m not particularly close to Elly. No one is, except Gail. She’s quiet and thin, all eyes in her pale, narrow face. When I first met her, she stank and wore several years of dirt and didn’t talk to anyone. Now…well, she still doesn’t talk much, but she’s clean and even kind of pretty. She’s not nearly as thin as she was, and occasionally her serious little face turns up in a smile at something Bek says. She clings to his hand, and he fusses over her adoringly.
It’s kind of cute. And it makes me lonely. I thought Bek was kind of mean and unpleasant, but he’s a huge teddy bear around delicate Elly. Every now and then, I catch her whispering something at him that makes him smile, and it makes me feel good to see them so happy. Someone’s got a happy ending out of this, at least. Gail too, actually. She’s older than the rest of us, probably old enough to be my mom. And Vaza’s one of the older men in the tribe. A widower. He fell for Gail the moment he saw her, though, and she’s let him chase her around, acting like she’s in control of the relationship…though I suspect it’s far more mutual than Gail lets on. He
dotes on her, though.
If I’m going to resonate to someone, why can’t it be someone like that? But the three single guys that are left in the tribe? I…ugh. I just don’t know. Of course, there’s also lanky Sessah, who’s just about hit his adulthood and seems to be all hormones.
I don’t know if I want that, either.
Basically, if my cootie decides to go off like a bad fire alarm, I’m screwed.
3
KATE
We set off, our party moving slowly across the landscape. There’s no hurry, since we’ll be walking for a few days, and I notice that Brooke and Summer settle in near Warrek, chatting. Harrec decides to keep walking next to me. Figures. I decide I’ll endure it. There’s not much else to do other than to be rude and tell him to buzz off, and I don’t want to start the trip like that.
It’s silent for a few minutes, and I glance back to see how far we’ve come. Not all that far, but I do see Elly and Bek holding hands. Gosh, they’re cute. I feel another lonely twinge. It’s not that I want Bek…I just want to be as happy as Elly looks. And it’s not that I want a man for said happiness. I just want to feel like I belong, not like a freak show or someone wanted only for her childbearing womb. That would be nice.
“This shall be an interesting trip,” Harrec murmurs, grabbing my attention.
“How so?” I have to ask.
He glances behind us then looks up ahead. “This feels as if we are deliberately being sent off so we may spend time together.” He leans in closer to me, his voice dropping. “I suspect they wish for all of us to resonate all at once and solve the problem of anyone remaining unmated.”
I can’t help but laugh, because he’s saying the exact same thing I’m thinking. “On Earth, we call it a date, though I guess something like this would be a group date. You go out with someone to see if you’re compatible.”
“I do not see any pleasure-matings happening in this group other than the ones that have already occurred,” he tells me and then gives me a sly look. “Other than ours, of course.”
I ignore that part. “You don’t think Warrek or Taushen like anyone? Or Sessah?” I don’t like any of them romantically, but I feel a little bad for both Summer and Brooke, because they’re nice and pretty, and maybe they want a boyfriend. Slim pickings in this group, though. At his little snort, I say, “Maybe they’re just being nice and giving everyone space.”
Harrec laughs. “Is that what it is?”
“What do you think it is then?” I retort, curious.
He shrugs, walking easily next to me. “I know all of them. I have grown up with them. I know how they think.”
Well, now I’m really curious. “And what do you suppose they are thinking right now?”
Harrec gives me one of those sly smiles that makes him so handsome—and infuriating. “What will you give me if I tell you?”
“A punch to the face?”
He laughs, apparently amused by my sudden offer of violence. I can’t help but smile a little, too. Looks like he takes me about as seriously as he takes himself, which is to say, not at all. “You may keep your fists to yourself, but I will share my knowledge with you anyhow, because I am an excellent observer.”
“Oh, the best,” I tease. “Please, lay your knowledge upon me.”
“Sessah,” Harrec begins, “is not interested in a resonance mate at this time, especially a human one. He very much wished for Farli to pleasure-mate with him, but she resonated to Mardok. He is the strange one with the skin etchings and the shiny horns. You will meet him at the Elders’ Cave.”
Strange one, huh? “Skin etchings? Dare I ask?”
He reaches out and touches my arm, tracing a finger over it. Even though I have long sleeves on, I still get goosebumps for some silly reason. “Pictures on the skin.”
“Oh. Tattoos? I have one of those.”
“You do?” He looks astonished, then makes a gesture with his hand. “Show me. I wish to see.”
“What? No way! I’m not showing you.” Some of the others might be into casual nudity, but I most definitely am not. Mine is on my butt cheek, because that was the only place I could get it without my super-strict stepfather seeing it. I think sadly of him and my mother, but the grief has been dulled by weeks of knowing I’ll never return and is now merely an unpleasant ache. At least they’re happy together and can comfort each other.
“You grow sad,” Harrec says, pausing in his steps. “Is it the skin etching? It is personal?”
I shake my head, staring resolutely ahead at Gail and Vaza. “It’s nothing I want to talk about.”
“I have made your smile disappear. This wounds me.”
So dramatic. He has to be joking, and I’m not in the mood for his faux-flirtiness. “Just go on with what you were saying. Sessah’s in love with someone else, right?” Doesn’t bother me, because I haven’t said two words to Sessah, who reminds me of a sulky teenager despite the horns and blue skin. If I notice one of the other girls flirting his way, though, I’ll pass it on. No sense in Brooke or Summer getting their hearts broken.
“Yes. He will get over it in time, but he is young. As for Warrek, he is a quiet one and has never shown interest in a mate.”
“Why is that? Does he not like kids?” He seems nice enough, if quiet. “Or women?”
“No, he likes both. I suspect he is shy. His mother and sister died in the khui sickness many years ago, and his father grieved so deeply that I suspect he is afraid to risk his heart.”
“Oh. I get that.” It’s hard to put yourself out there. God knows I’m well aware of that. “Which one’s his dad?”
“His father died in the cave-in six turns ago when we lost our home.”
Eesh. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It was a difficult time.” He shrugs and gestures at Taushen far ahead, so distant that he doesn’t look like more than a blue speck on the horizon. So much for leisurely walking. “That is another that is afraid to try again. He was very eager to mate when the humans first arrived, and had his sights set on Tee-fah-ni.”
I can see that. Tiffany’s gorgeous. “But she mated to Salukh?”
“Yes. And then he hoped to mate to one of the sisters when they arrived, but they resonated to others. I think perhaps he wished to mate with Farli as well, but when her khui chose another, he gave up hope. He thinks he will be alone forever. If one of the females wishes to take him to her furs, she will have to approach him. He holds himself back because he is weary of his khui’s silence.” He glances over at me. “You will find this difficult to believe, but Taushen was once very happy and eager.”
He’s right, I do find that difficult to believe. The Taushen I know is far more cynical and impatient. “Guess his glass is no longer half full.”
“He carries many wounds on his heart,” Harrec says.
“So basically you’re telling me that out of the bachelor crew, we have a teen boy, a shy guy, and a broken-hearted sourpuss. And you.” Well, isn’t this ducky.
“Yes. And I am taken.” He gives me a cocky grin.
“Does she know you’re flirting with me?” I shoot back at him.
He laughs. “Who do you think has stolen my heart?” He puts his hands over his chest and then gestures at me. “It belongs to you, beautiful human Kate.”
“Oh barf. Spare me.”
He only laughs harder at my disgust.
It’s a long, long day of travel. I’m in good shape due to the fact that I helped my stepfather and my mom out with the family gym, but even I’m ready to drop at the end of the day. My pack gets heavier by the hour, and I regret letting Harrec goad me into carrying it instead of lobbing it onto the sled next to the others.
Of course, I’ll die before I drop it now, because then he’ll think he’s won.
We all collapse in front of a small cave at the end of the first evening. A big fire is built close to the entrance, and since the cave isn’t large enough for everyone to sleep in, it’s decided that Summer, Brooke and I
will take the cave. Elly and Gail are going to snuggle with their men outside, and the others will hang around the fire. I don’t complain—the wind is making my face hurt by the end of the evening, and I’m ready to get out of it.
“What a long, awful day,” Summer complains as she strips off her outermost layers of furs inside the cave, and Brooke makes a noise of agreement. “I don’t know how you managed to walk the whole time, Kate. I was exhausted after an hour!”
Any irritation I feel at them quickly fades at that comment. I could have ridden with them, it’s true. It was only my stubborn pride—and the thought of Harrec’s too-knowing smiles—that kept me from jumping on board with them. It’s clear both Brooke and Summer are exhausted, though. Gail and Elly are wilting, too, out by the fire. “It was hard,” I tell them. “I should have joined you.”
“You should tomorrow,” Brooke says. “I promise there’s room.”
“Maybe,” is all I say. I probably won’t, just to show the others that I can hang with the boys. It’s that competitive side in me again. After growing up with a stepfather who pushed me constantly to work harder, lift more weights, run faster, I can’t bear the idea of being thought of as weak. I’m going to walk if it kills me.
“I’m going straight to bed,” Brooke declares as she lies down, pulling her furs over her body and huddling under them. “Summer, come snuggle next to me so we can share body heat. You too, Kate.”
“I will soon,” I tell them. “I’m going to hang out by the fire for a few, I think.” The others are talking quietly outside, and I want to hear what’s being said over there. I emerge from the cave again after them and move toward the fire. Sessah, Taushen, Harrec and Warrek are standing off to one side, while Bek is wrapped around Elly, a fur on his shoulders, his mate protectively cradled in his arms. Gail is cuddled against Vaza, and the moment I step near the fire, I feel weird for being the only single girl out here. Maybe I should have hung back with the others. I cross my arms under my breasts and hunch my shoulders, wondering if I should go back inside to grab an outer fur. It’s a mild evening for the ice planet—but it’s still an ice planet.