"Isn't it a little early to be setting up camp? The sun is about to set, but I thought you all wanted to go past that." She frowned.
"We got an early start." AaQar glanced up at the sky. The branches obscured most of their view of the sky. "And we do need to make time for studying the dragons if we are to become them well enough to fool their pack."
"It's a good plan," Naatos said. "But if you're going to take one down, find me. Even with the three of you, you shouldn't risk it."
"We'll only take a corpse if we find one. These dragons are fast on the defense." AaQar clicked his tongue. "They're fast in general really."
Stopping for the night or continuing on, neither struck her as better or worse. It was as if she were simply passing through, the only clear sensation other than the lightness being an… emptiness.
There wasn't any other way to put it. Not a bad emptiness. But an ever-present awareness that her arms were empty, her fingers sterile.
What she wanted or needed, who could say? It just remained, in her chest, her arms, her hands, her throat.
It did not take long for them to reach the spot AaQar had noted. They unloaded Proteus and the sledge, placed the rels, and stacked the packs beneath a broad-limbed pine tree with mangrove-like roots. Then AaQar, QueQoa, and WroOth were gone, and she was alone with Naatos.
She adjusted Tacky's blanket. It purred a little as she stroked its head. "Don't worry, baby. We're almost through. Maybe you'll feel better when we're on the other side of the canyon." She tucked the blanket back around it, leaving a pocket and opening for air. From WroOth and QueQoa's comments, she'd concluded that the scorpion scent was far worse for them than for her. For her, it was little more than an unpleasant presence rather than a full-on sensory assault.
"You feeling all right then?" Naatos watched her from the other side of the fire, his gaze sharp, his hands braced on his black belt.
She set out the blankets to mark the sleeping spots. "Better than I have in a good while. It's like I am—like I'm starting to flow again."
"Good." He actually sounded pleased, his voice calmer. As if something had eased.
She crossed then to the opi packs. "Don't you sound happy now?" As she straightened, she realized he had come up behind her.
His hand moved along the back of her neck and tangled in her hair as he pressed his lips to her nape. "I am," he murmured against her skin. He breathed her in, the skin on the back of her neck prickling pleasurably.
Laughing, she slid her hand up his chest to his face. "We're setting up camp."
"I know." He kissed her fingers as he gave her a coy look. "What do you think this is?"
"I've set up lots of camps before, but they've never gone this way." She tugged her hand free. "What's gotten into you? Before you were all worried and annoyed with me. Now you're… aroused and playful."
"Concerned. And all four things may be true at once. It is good to see you not so weighted down."
"I feel like something finally came free, and I wish I knew what it was. I wish I knew how I wound up under that cliff too. But all things considered, I really—the dread I've been feeling, that pull to Dry Deep. It isn't as strong. It's like something has pushed it into the back. Even the dreams. I don't remember them really, but it doesn't feel quite as important. It's all going to come together." She pulled the grill pieces out of the pack and began unfolding the bars. "You should get the fire set up. Oh, don't look at me like that. We promised we would—"
"Amelia, they know what we're doing. That's the whole reason they've gone and left us here. It's what it means when a couple wants to set up camp."
She raised an eyebrow. "Setting up the camp means sex?"
He grinned. "If between a couple, generally. And usually vestoving."
"I agreed to set up the camp, and I meant this actual camp. Which, it does have to be done." She made a small gesture with her finger. "So we might as well do that first and then if there's time before they return, we vestov."
He scoffed. "I swear to you on both our lives they do not intend for us to set this camp up on our own. They don't even expect the fire to be made or a waste pit prepared."
She continued assembling the grill. "Sounds like this is going to be a great surprise for them. And if we work quickly, it'll be done soon. Besides, I don't want to lie."
"It isn't as if you've never lied before, veskaro."
"No, but my lies never involved completing tasks for the family." She offered her own coy smile as she resumed fixing the grill. "I have a code for my lies."
"Do you now?"
"I do." She finished putting together the grill. "Also my code says that if we just get this done and don't fight about it, it's going to take less time than you convincing me not to do it right away."
He growled at her. "Tedious little onion fish."
She opened her mouth, then paused. "I don't have a good nickname for you."
"I could make some recommendations."
"You could make a fire." She gathered up the canteens as she tossed a smile his way.
"I certainly could." He gave her a mock glare. "Both literally and figuratively."
"Literally for now, figuratively for later."
"Wretched woman."
"Wretched responsible woman."
He narrowed his eyes at her as she smiled at him sweetly. Then, scoffing, he picked up the hatchet and moved to the edge of the clearing to gather kindling and wood. She filled up the canteens and returned to her own tasks.
Regardless of who went to hunt or gather supplies, she always helped with the camp setup. By this point, she had her own routine. Put out the blankets. Set up the grill. Wash and refill the canteens if someone else hadn't done that already. Prepare the dishes and vessels. She set the colrum serum in the cleft of two roots so AaQar could check it when he returned. On and on it went, a dozen small tasks that gave a sense of routine and almost home.
Home? She laughed inwardly. How had it become that? Perhaps just because of who she was with. Though that was almost as bizarre.
Her elmis twinged.
Something was behind her.
Before she could respond, a great force tackled her, spun her in the air, and then rolled her onto her back—all without hurting her. Startled, she braced her hands against Naatos's muscled chest. "That was—how did you do that?"
"Aerial combat and rescue have certain skills that transcend their initial purposes," he said.
"I really shouldn't find this sexy." She bit her lip as she wriggled beneath him. The way he found so many different ways to make her pulse hammer through her was surprising. But him over her like this, his one hand secured just over the elmis on the small of her back—almost intoxicating.
That crooked grin obliterated the almost. And he knew it. "Except you do. And it's noted."
She wriggled beneath him. "Oh, you're keeping notes—"
"We're done talking." He swept his mouth over hers.
Moaning into the kiss, she tangled her hands in his dark coarse hair and dug her fingers into his scalp. The weight and warmth of him set her alight. She wrapped her leg around his and arched against him as he pushed back against her, kissing her so deeply it was as if he wanted to consume her entirely.
Vestoving on the ground was surprisingly more comfortable than on a broad tree branch even if the ground had only a little more give than a slab of rock. But with no unease about falling, she found it easier to focus on the sensation and the threads and the pleasurable buildup between them as well as the eventual climax. Of course Naatos wasn't satisfied with a single time, but after the third release, he kissed her and pulled away. "If you don't want to risk our being found, we should stop."
Cleaning up did not take long, but her motivation to do anything except rest had utterly vanished. Naatos's too apparently as he stretched out and rested his arms on one of the logs he'd dragged up to serve as a seat. His eyes were already half closed by the time she lay down beside him and pushed up under his shoulder.
Her hand grazed his stomach. Before it settled, he swept her hand up to his chest.
This wasn't the first time he'd moved her hand off his stomach. He hadn't said anything, but there was a twinge of something.
Leaning to the side, she watched his face and slid her hand down again.
His eyes still closed, he grabbed her hand. "Touch my stomach again and die."
"Die? Really? There's no gradual implementation of torture? Just die?"
"Unless we are engaged in some form of sexual connection, preferably vestoving, do not touch me there."
"Are you ticklish?"
"No."
"You told me I could touch you anywhere."
"Fine. You found the one place I do not want you to touch."
"Are you sure it's the only one?"
He gave her an annoyed look.
"So here is good." She put her hand on his collarbone.
"Amelia."
"And this." She slid her hand down to his chest.
He did not look amused. "Yes."
"And here." The top of his abs was next.
"That's fine."
"But no stomach."
He nodded.
She then moved her hand to his knee. "But this?"
"Is that my stomach?"
She pressed her palm over the outside of his thigh. "And this?"
"Also not my stomach."
She slid her hands to the outside of his hip while keeping her gaze fixed on his. "What about here?"
"You're a vicious tease."
She shrugged, grinning. "You're surprised?"
"Not particularly."
She snuggled back against him, placing her hand on his chest. "I'll try not to slip."
He slid his arm about her and hugged her close, kissing the top of her head. "I'll escalate things slower rather than starting with execution."
"You know you really have changed a lot out here," she said, quieter now.
"No I haven't."
"I've changed too, but you're softer."
He growled lightly.
She laughed a little as she peered up at him. "Would you prefer I say you're gentler?"
"No." The edges of his lips curled a little more.
"Cuddly?"
"Crespa." He covered his eyes though he no longer hid his smile. "You're relentless."
"I mean it as a compliment though. You make me feel safer. Like I can trust you with a lot more than before. I can be more open emotionally I suppose."
"And one day, you'll let me see your breasts."
"One day. I don't know why it's so—" She paused, uncertain how to explain.
"You don't have to explain."
"I didn't really expect you to be so understanding on this point after all those things you said about not bargaining for what's yours."
"Waiting isn't the same as bargaining. Though admittedly even two months ago, that seemed unbearable." He shook his head. "In general, I would prefer almost any action to doing nothing, but there are times when waiting is the only wise course. As for my being different, it's just simpler out here. The wild almost always is."
"Even with these dragons?"
"Even with the dragons. Annoying as they may be."
She stared up into the sky, the deepening blue framed with coniferous branches and palm-sized pinecones. "You talk about them like they're starlings."
"Starlings that will happily eat us and that don't sing."
"Fair enough." She let her eyelids slide shut. "Would you sleep in the hammock with me tonight if I put it up?"
He grunted, his disapproval apparent. "I still can't believe you like sleeping in that thing."
"It's more comfortable than the ground, and I don't want to risk rolling away again."
"There are rocks here. We can use them to block you in."
She pursed her lips, considering this. "When are you going on watch tonight?"
"First."
"Well, I'll sleep in the hammock until you're finished. Then I'll join you if you still don't like the idea of sleeping in a hammock."
"Fair enough."
They remained together until she caught a trace of WroOth's presence drawing near. AaQar and QueQoa were close as well.
The quiet moments faded into the chaos of reports and preparing the fish the three had caught on their way back. Proteus happily devoured two twelve-foot salmon. The rest of them waited until it was cooked over the fire.
Of all the meals she and Uncle Joe had had in the wilderness, fish both comforted her the most and made her the most homesick. She'd roasted and pan seared trout and bass with him so many times, often while musing about the Tue-Rah. In their last conversation over fresh-cooked trout, Uncle Joe had tried to convince her to do something just for fun. Anything.
"Even if there is a hard and fast destiny, hon, you still have a lot of points and choices along the way. You don't have to spend every moment focused on it."
Her wry laughing response that she didn't spend every moment on it because she had to work at the vet's office and sleep hadn't gone over especially well. Though Uncle Joe had not scolded her hard—he never did—she'd still felt his disappointment and concern. Not that that had been enough to make her change. She'd known what was best, and she'd believed it in part because it was hard. If something was hard, it was more likely to be better in the long run. She sighed. Few things got through to her until she was ready. For better or worse.
After she helped clean up from dinner and scraped out the marrow of the dragon bone with AaQar, she hung her hammock. There wasn't much else to do but study and practice her mindreading. Especially telepathy.
Why was it so hard?
She climbed into the hammock with her books and blanket. As there wasn't enough room in her lap, Tacky nestled under her arm.
As the soft sunlight faded, her fatigue grew. All too soon, she drifted off, curling up deep in the hammock with the three books beside her.
That tugging sensation returned as she slept, dragging her away. It once more deposited her in the forest. She recalled the previous night with perfect clarity now. That same dreamy sensation stole over her, and already the energy danced through her fingers.
The voice became clearer. Then a second. A third. A fourth.
There the unformed ones were. All four crept out of a gully shrouded with grey mist, bathed in moonlight.
Amelia watched. Those pleas and sobs swirled around her, a painful ballad that summoned her.
She let her eyelids drop almost entirely. "Are you certain this is what you want?"
They wept and confirmed, desperation in their voices even as they drew closer and closer.
A dream. A dance. A discovery.
This had happened before, hadn't it? The thought floundered, nearly drowning before she concluded it didn't matter. Not at all.
The tingling arcing energy flowed down her arms and into her palms and fingertips. They called, she answered.
Shining centers of light shone in their chests, clearer and brighter as they slunk toward her.
That trill of something moved up and down her spine, lulling her and exciting her at once. Vaguely she realized that she could not fight off all four. Three had sent her into a walking state of disassociation. At this point, she'd be comatose.
No fear rose to her consciousness though. Its absence struck her as odd, then perfectly ordinary. Why should she be afraid?
There was nothing to fear.
And none of this was real.
Not a strand. Not a breath.
73
Disinct
Naatos passed by Amelia once more as he checked for threats. She had just fallen asleep, the book hugged to her chest. The dolmath slept beneath her arm, its rising and falling purrs sounding more like snores at the moment. Though it could probably sleep through most changes of position or even someone getting out of the hammock, it would sound an alarm if an unformed one got too close.
Just to be safe, he brought the bav
ril over and fastened the harness to a branch. The bavril shook his head and snuffled, but he soon settled back down. As Naatos turned to leave though, Proteus swatted his leg with his trunk.
Of course. Why wouldn't it want scritches?
Grudgingly, he scratched between the bavril's eyes and then behind his ears. Ferocious beast, his foot. Amelia had completely babied him. Not the worst thing to happen of course. It was more likely a dragon would break through the rels and attack them than it was that this bavril would attack her as she slept.
Still, the woman had the worst luck of anyone he had ever known. One of the last things she needed would be for the bavril to go insane and attack her in the night. At this distance, the bavril could serve as an added warning system, but he wouldn't be able to reach her. A bavril and a dolmath weren't the best of options for guards, but until he regained more of his strength and focus, he wouldn't be able to transform any other creatures to serve as more effective protectors.
All in time though. Everything in time.
He checked on Amelia once more and then resumed watching for signs of any other threats while the fire crackled and the shadows danced. WroOth was on the other side of the camp, but rather than looking inward, he faced out toward the mountains. He caught Naatos's eye with a motion of his hand and then pointed toward those mountains.
Naatos crossed over to him.
Two dragons squared off against one another. The brilliant moonlight caught their forms and outlined them with stunning clarity. Their snarls and roars echoed in the night, interspersed with the calls of other predators. None quite so powerful as the one voice they had heard the first night he and Amelia vestoved.
"There's a decent bit of in-fighting every time we've observed them," WroOth said.
"Did you see signs of any other types of dragons?"
"No." The sadness in WroOth's voice could not be missed as he crossed his arms. "Not even a nesting site when I passed over the canopy. If they're as aggressive with other species as they seem, they may have been wiped out. That living steel in their armor and the scales—I'm not sure how the blue horns or the grey scales could have gotten through."
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