by Corbin, C. R
"So if all else fails a rescue party should be sent in about...a couple months from now? Nearly that long at least judging by the fact that it took us about three weeks to fly here and by the fact that there's no way to contact home base with what we have right now." stated Josh.
"And all that can contact home base is back at camp...shit. So it really is just us then." Kelly remarked.
"Well if we wait here long enough and stay hidden they'll initially send someone but...I don't like the idea of being on the planet that long with a couple of Jorathians that are ready to kill us." remarked Josh.
"We better listen to what this guy says then. Since it's all that we have to go off of." remarked Kelly.
"Yeah but first things first is the food." remarked Josh as he rubbed his stomach.
"I'm sure he'll teach us to hunt Josh. God." remarked Kelly with an exasperated smile.
So I then turned to face him.
I stepped over to the tree and looked up at him while he sits on the branch. He looked down at me and smiled before letting himself fall onto the floor, he makes a safe landing and levels his gaze with mine.
"What's wrong?" he asked and I shrugged.
"Just wanted to talk I guess." I remarked.
"Why not speak to your human friends?" he asked and I shrugged.
"I don't know I just....I wanted to really talk about what you said to me earlier today and I want to thank you. It really meant a lot you know?" I asked and he shrugged
"Don't worry about it human. We need you fully prepared to face whatever is going to happen in the coming weeks." he remarked.
"I was going to distrust you the entire time but something...something turned me around I guess." I said and he smiled.
"Was it my wicked charm?" he asked and I smiled.
"That was part of it." I remarked and looked back over at the fire.
"Your companions seem to be in better spirits now." he stated and I sighed.
"They actually knew who was there at the camp. Not like me....it's a wonder that they're functioning at all." I stated and he leaned against the tree.
I took the moment to really look every inch of him over. I watched those overwhelmingly rock solid muscles glow in the light of the flame, I watched his hands tensed up as he gripped his elbows, and his blue eyes flickered as he watched the flame dance. He was so...powerful, so confident in who he was. His white hair shuffles in the wind and I glanced back over at the fire to my companions.
"Sorry Josh is giving you a hard time....I guess it's just going to take some time getting used to you." I said.
"Seems like you did it rather quickly." he remarked as he brushed his hands together, sliding his fingers against one another and staring at his feet before looking back up at me. He had to pivot his head downwards just to glance at me since he was about 7 feet tall and I was only...well I was only about 5 foot 4.
"I still am you know. Don't think you're completely off my radar just because of some smooth talking." I remarked with a grin and he smiled back at me.
"That grin says otherwise you know? But I like a challenge so I will wholeheartedly accept." he proclaimed and I giggled softly.
"Well you know...you're already on your way there. Just a little longer and you might reach the point where you have me laughing at everything you say." I state, he shrugs.
"Looks like I have you there already." he said, he gazed over at the rest of the group, almost like he wanted to sit down with us but was afraid.
"You want to join us by the fire?" I asked him and he raised an eyebrow, I only kept my gaze on him.
"You know that I know you keep on looking over there like you want a spot. Come on. I'll try to keep the other's at bay." I informed him and he shrugged with a grin, tentatively stepping towards the fire before the rest of them notice him. Kelly only shoots him a blank glance while Josh has a slight frown plastered on his face although not nearly to the same degree as the one that he had earlier today.
"We don't have food if that's what you're wondering." Kelly remarked and Dez only nodded.
"It's fine, I just want to sit by the flame." he remarked and plopped himself down. Josh tries to muster the effort to glare at him but he can't manage to scrounge up the will and simply looks back at the flame.
We all sit for a while in silence and watched the embers pool on the soil. Our faces were all marred with the damage of fatigue, of sorrow, of grief. I tried to think of something to say but couldn't muster the energy. Thankfully after a few moments, Dezdrin fills the silence.
"You know....I was on a mission like this once. I was trapped under some rubble on this Kasorian city on this small colony near the center of the galaxy." he remarked and I stared at him, completely enraptured by the sound of his voice and the way the flames flickered in his eye.
"It was a long and cold night. I missed everything that I had left behind on Jorath after I had departed. I missed my family, my friends, everyone, and all that I had to hang onto was this flame...this fire that sat in the middle of all of this rubble that I had managed to spark up. It was the one thing that reminded me that there was still some hope, I may have failed my initial assignment, I may have been tracked but...the thought that I could still start a fire even when everything seemed lost was just...it was just inspiring. I was lamenting all that I lost in the process, the opportunity, the home that I might never see again but something in that fire kept me on my feet....and I knew that I had to keep going. I owed it to myself to survive to see the day once more because it wasn't about what they could do to me in that moment...it became a matter of what I could do to them to get back." he remarked and we all affixed our gazes to his, Josh's mouth was slightly agape and Kelly was smiling gently.
"Still...kind of hungry." remarked Josh and we all laughed, each of us having a smile that was brighter than the last as I keep my eyes on Dez, my gaze lingering as I thought of the hope that he saw and the hope that was beginning to find its way into my pupils as well.
When the fire had finally died and we were all approaching the end of our days I was keeping close to him almost unconsciously. He hopped up into the tree and laid down on the wide branch while I sat directly beneath him, my back was against the soft forest floor and I was sighing. I didn't want to imagine what sort of creatures that I could find down here. Earlier today I saw this thing that was like a cross between a worm and a crab, it had the long head of a worm that jutted out of this carapace and squirmed while the rest of it walked around. Truly disturbing.
"You know....in a sense this is kind of nice. Out here in nature, under the moon." I remarked and he smiled.
"With me." he stated and I let a gentle smile creep across my face.
"Sure...that too." I stated with an eyeroll.
"You sure you want to sleep down there with all of the creatures that are on this planet? The branches are mighty comfortable." he stated and I raised an eyebrow, the higher up you went, the thinner the branches were. Thus when you were close to the ground the branches were thick enough to sleep on.
"Not sure if I can climb that far up." I stated and he chuckled.
"Whoever said anything about climbing?" he asked as he hopped down from the branches and appeared in front of me.
"So what are you proposing?" I asked him and he smiled.
"This." he said and gripped me, pulling me towards him before launching himself into the air. He grabbed a branch above him and pulled me up, about to lay me down on a branch that was about 10 feet off the ground.
"And if I fall?" I asked him and he shook his head.
"I can guarantee that it won't happen. Never happened to anyone i've known and I don't think your body will let you fall that easily either." he remarked while holding me. I gazed back down at the floor and realized that the thought was silly. How did humans survive all of those years before beds if they kept falling out of trees?
"Alright well..." I remarked while looking up at him, the way the li
ght of those two moons danced across his face was so enrapturing...the way those blue eyes glowed in the light and his gold skin shone just made something inside of me flutter. I was acting like a schoolgirl! When he looked back down at me I looked away with a flushed face and he only laughed.
"Sweet dreams girl. I'll be on the top branch if you need me." he stated and hopped up to a branch about 6 feet away from mine, it was slightly above me and to my right. My eyes fluttered and I keep my gaze on him while he stands there on the branch, watching over our little camp with the attention of a hawk while I peppered him with silly questions as darkness claimed my vision and my last sight was of that man standing tall in the trees, watching over me.
CHAPTER SIX
Dezdrin
In the small hours of the morning on this planet I finally awoke. I had been keeping watch but eventually exhaustion claimed me and I needed to lay my head down. I was pinning my claws to the wooden branch and slowly pushed myself up from the wide branch to look over at her. Just as I had promised she was comfortably laying there on the wide branch, smiling and mumbling in her slumber.
The way the daylight danced over her brown hair was so..it was so beautiful.
I can see her curves being emphasized as the shadows of the trees flickered over her body and by the way the sunlight danced over her flesh. I wanted to hop down and caress her the entire time I was up there keeping watch and who knows? By the way she was glancing over at me during that short period of time when I had held her to get her across the river and to get her up to that branch it seemed like she was rather comfortable in my grasp.
But I couldn't risk it.
How had I found my mate so quickly? How had I realized that she was the one with a great deal of certainty before...well before any bonding had actually occurred. There is some variation in how you found your mate back home for sure. For some it took only a day to realize it for others it took a month. Mine happened nearly in an instant of meeting her, perhaps my sense was much stronger due to some genetic predisposition. I had no idea how it took some men nearly a month to realize it but apparently it did, as a result some never found their mates due to their inability to realize it on time. I was so lucky I recognized my feelings the first time they happened. Much of the realization came with recognizing the signs that the person was your mate. The fascination with their appearance, the strange mixture of passion and joy that lingered in your heart when you saw them, some brushed this off but I knew, I knew with the first glance I shot her.
And I think it fully solidified this morning.
She had woken up and I stood above her as her eyes fluttered open. Her mouth was slightly agape and she was glancing up at me, she allows a small smile to creep through and I returned the gesture.
"So you want to get down from here?" I asked her and she shrugged.
"Kind of comfy, don't know if I really want to run out just yet." she replied and I laughed.
"You can sit for as long as you like." I said and she shakes her head.
"No, no, let's go. Come on grab me." She said and reached out, gripping my sides and nestling her face into my chest before I leapt down onto the ground. I was carrying her with both arms, her head cradled in my hand as I landed and set her down on her feet. I realized how much stronger I was, how little and fragile she was, I knew that I would have to protect her with my life no matter how furiously both Kol and Mephisal fought I would have to safeguard her, my mate.
I wished that she could know, that she could realize that she and I were meant to be from the moment I saw her but this was uncharted territory. I had no idea how humans mated traditionally and I wasn't going to risk our bond to find out, much less risk them pouncing on their suspicions of me. If I told her now then they may think that I was with them simply for her, to take her, which would likely paint me in a bad light in her eyes at least.
No I would have to bide my time.
"Come on, let's head over to the river." she said to me and beckoned me over to the stream where we had washed up the day before. I looked back at the rest of the camp and saw that the other two were fast asleep, leaning against the trees and snoring before I turned my gaze back to Amanda and followed.
She takes off her shoes and dipped her feet into the small stream while sitting on a rock nearby. Her toes dash against the fluid and she sighed as the cold rush of the stream washed over the back of her feet. She looks over at me and I joined her by taking off my boots and tying them to my back before setting them near the shore. With the rest of my armor on I hopped in, the water ran up to my knees and was cold, immensely cold. I sighed and looked over while she splashed her face with some of the fluid before I splashed some fluid onto her.
"Ah!" she yelped and I laughed as she jolted back from the water I pushed onto her.
"Oh yeah? Two can play at that game." she said and splashed a handful of the water onto me as well. We both laughed at our antics and stopped soon after, sighing and glancing at one another as we continued to wash up. The early morning was void of conversation but what it lacked in that it made up for in the glances that we would trade.
She soaked her hair in the water and shook, her entire head was covered in the fluid and she sighs as it runs back down her chin and onto the floor. Her hands dipped into the cold fluid and she splashed her face once more before merely taking a handful of it and drinking from her hands. I keep my gaze on her and looked back to camp. From what I could tell during my time here before we saw the humans there was...food. There were creatures that lurked in these rivers and through the canopy but I hadn't gotten chance to hunt.
"You want to go do something?" I asked her.
....
I take her to the river that we had crossed, although it was all a bit rough we had found a smoother portion to be in. The hike took about an hour and she made sure to inform the others of where we had gone, to catch breakfast.
"Alright so right there! You see it?" asked her as I saw this flat fish that was shaped like an arrow floating through the stream, she nods.
"Yeah I see it." she stated.
"Come on, let's make you a weapon." I suggest and walked back to the shoreline, I ripped a small branch from the tree, not one of the full sized ones that could fit an entire person atop it. I take it down and stare at the end as I take my knife out and began to carve a sharpened head into the end of it. I split it down the middle to create a ring of spear heads to increase our chances and handed it to her.
"So what now?" she asked.
"We're going to hunt and judging by the size of that fish this shouldn't be too difficult." I remarked and walked her back over to the stream.
We stand in the ankle deep water and watched the stream float by us, it was running past our toes and we could see those fish floating by, all of them were of a similar shape to the one we had seen and I tell her to ready her spear.
"Ready?" I asked and she nodded.
"I guess." she said with some doubt lingering in her voice.
"Don't worry, just pin it down on the rocks. That's all you have to do." I stated and she smiled, nodding and readying her spear near the stream. The prongs nearly dipped into the water and I held her from behind to control her grasp.
"Alright so....what?" she asked me.
"Now you just have to launch that spear into the water. I'll guide you but you need to provide the force." I stated and she nods.
"Okay well....." she trailed off before slipping the spear into the water in one swift motion, she managed to catch the fish right at its tail end and pin it to the ground. I smiled at her and she hauled it out, the fish was rather large as well which added to the catch.
"It's so flat...like a manta ray." she remarked.
"What?" I asked her. What was a manta ray?
"Oh nothing." she remarked.
We walk back to camp after hunting a few more, one for each of us in fact. When we got back and I chucked the bag full of fish over to Josh and Kelly t
hey were certainly shocked.
"My god this is...incredible." Josh remarked as he takes out the fish and starts up the fire once again.
"She caught it." I remarked and pointed over to Amanda who stood quite a ways away. Her smile appeared in the sunlight that fluttered through and I can fell that grin creep up on me while I nodded.
"Jesus you really are the M.V.P. Heal him and catch us breakfast? Way to go!" said Kelly as she patted Amanda on the back.
"Thanks guys..." Amanda said with a genuine smile plastered on her face. I looked upwards into the trees and back down at my stomach injury. I did spot some fruits somewhere in the canopy but I was unsure if I could make the journey with this injury. It was still healing but I figured if I could climb slowly then I could probably get some. I leapt upwards and stormed through the branches before arriving near the top and gripping onto a branch. Further above me was a variety of yellow fruit waiting and I plucked it off the branches once I got high enough. They were calling out to me and I soon appeared to them with a sack with clusters of the fruit.
"Try some." I muttered and dragged it out of the bag, handing it to Amanda who dipped the fruit into her mouth and bit it, the sound that resulted was a loud and satisfying crunch, the flesh was blue but the shell of the fruit was golden.
"We tried some before. It's really good!" she exclaimed and continued to munch on it. I handed some to Kelly and then...to Josh.
"Thanks." he said with a genuine smile creeping up on his face as he takes the yellow fruit out of my hands and I nodded.
Looks like we're making progress.
#
Dezdrin
Over the next couple of days we establish a routine. I would take them all spear hunting and have them do various chores while I tried to figure out a plan. Each night would end the same way, with me talking to Amanda over the fire and learning more about her. From what I had come to understand she was a young woman in human terms although I could already grasp that. She was originally from a colony called Mektor which was somewhat close to Earth, in the closest solar system in fact. She had decided to go to college near the colony of Orsova and well..she ended up there. It was her intention to go back and complete her training as a doctor and well...live ordinarily I suppose.