Chapter 6 Water Me
Datu
My thoughts are tumultuous. I cannot remember the last time my sister brought me water. I can barely remember the nights that go by, but the days, I remember all too clearly. The critters come and go, not even sparing me a glance.
My mouth is dry, lips cracked as I attempt to lick them.
It is no use. There is no more moisture left in me.
The slats of reflective material—used to capture the sunlight that peeked through the thick forest canopy—is tilted my way.
It is my constant tormentor. I cannot see, but I know it is there. It always is.
I feel the pull of the Otherside. I am so close. It is a harsh reality to think what had once been my source of strength has now become my death. My sense of smell has been rendered useless, but my hearing is sharper than ever.
There is a thrumming so much like my own somewhere. It is faint, but distinct enough that I know it is not Sateva. It follows a sporadic rhythm that I lean into it as much as my manacles allow me.
Somewhere in my focus, there is a rustling of leaves. It gives me hope that everything is not as dry as I thought. My belly growls, loud and insistent.
“Be of care, there are serpents as big as you are here.” I hear my sister’s voice. She has come back to water me with another person. From the sounds, there is more than one person.
A spurt of strength allows me to lift my head. I strain my eyes until I feel the sun burn my retinas. Has Sateva brought someone who can help me? Is this the human? She does not sound like how I imagined… She is soft-spoken and timid. Familiar.
“Let me get this straight, you bound him so he wouldn’t go dormant and safe from the females?” A soft voice asks.
“Yes, he is at the risk of dormancy. He needs sunlight now more than ever.” Sateva responds.
“Wait, how long has he been in the sunlight?”
“Apart from the nights, ever since I bound him.”
“You do know there’s a thing called too much sunlight, right?”
Yes, that’s it…
She is voicing out my doubts. The sun is killing me.
Sateva gasps and snarls. “There is no such thing!”
“Teva, calm down.” Another deeper voice speaks.
A male. Sateva’s human. I want to tear my binds and remove him from our presence. I want to snatch away the female who also has the answer to my safety. If she keeps saying things that displease Sateva, she will no doubt be eaten. I have to protect her…
Indicating their distance, the rustling has now turned into crackling.
“See, look at this. It’s bone-dry and brown.”
“I water him everyday!”
“It’s not enough. What about the surroundings?”
“I—I—” Sateva’s words are stumbling out brokenly. “You do not understand. He is strong. He is the source. I water him so he spreads it throughout the land.”
“But you’re giving him too much sunlight. Water is drying before it can soak in.”
“That is not true! Sunlight is everything to Terra.”
Twigs snap and I am struck again by another ray of sunshine, telling me they have parted the hanging leaves that covered my prison.
There is a pause, then a gasp. “Oh my god.”
I am blind in this miserable prison. A deep groan is the only sound I can muster. As she slowly approaches, a rapid pounding invades my hearing.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
What a strange human. She carries with her the sounds of seductive drums.
“Please don’t eat me,” she whispers to me.
“He is not like I am. He will do you no harm.” Sateva reassures her.
The thing in my belly roars as her smell assaults me. I cannot put it into words but it makes my fingers, my toes curl.
“Ingar, he’s fried. Please cover the mirrors. It’s not helping him, it’s killing him.”
“No!” My sister screeches. “He will die without sunlight.”
“Teva,” the male began. “I brought her here because she is good at what she does. Let’s trust her, okay?”
She is sobbing uncontrollably. She fears my death. She only meant to protect me, but did the opposite instead. The human female is correct. The sunlight is becoming too much. I am parched. Fried.
The metal chains have become one with my skin, and when it is tugged, I hiss in pain.
“I’m so, so sorry. I have to slice this off.” She apologizes. This surprises me.
There is a crunching sound as I feel several of my vines being cut. I feel every nerve die completely. It’s a brutal release. My legs cannot hold my weight anymore, and as I slump forward, I do not expect the human woman to catch me.
And yet, she does in spite of the fact she is much smaller than me. She is soft and warm, unlike the scorching heat I had been in. Her breath hitches, and it is a sound I seek more of.
“Help, help,” she struggles to say and immediately, I am in another’s hold. Sateva’s male. He stinks of metal and my sister, a blend most unpleasant to me.
I am limp and powerless. My exhaustion cannot even register my shame as the human male carries me to the shade.
Soft hands stroke my brittle skin. It might be an inquisitive touch, but after my ordeal, it feels wonderful.
“Is there water nearby? A river?”
“There’s one over the hill.”
As much as I liked the sound of her voice, my awareness of their conversation fades. I can still feel her. It never leaves the crust that has become my skin. I am still blind but the drumming inside her is comforting.
“Hang in there.” She keeps murmuring random reassurances to me.
I admire her courage to be so close to me. How horrid must I look now? I know we are close to the falls as soon as I hear the water. My body calls to it in desperation.
“What is that? Do you need anything else?”
I thirst.
“He does not speak.” Sateva answers her.
“I think he’s thirsty.”
Yesss. I thirst.
“Here, drink this for now. Slowly take a gulp.” Something cool touches my lips. Then, salvation. Water.
My mouth and throat move greedily, swallowing everything I can until the container is empty. It aids me very well. The water has traveled down to my gut, filling me just enough to feel more of her skin’s texture.
She is not rough and shriveled like me. She is smooth with little hairs tickling the spots where she accidentally rubbed against me. She is different. After my imprisonment, the change is resplendent.
“There’s a lot where we’re going.” The male named Ingar tells me.
I do not like him addressing me. I do not trust him.
“We’ll get you more water, okay?” With her, though, I believe her.
The hollowness in my belly boils like magma. It feels oddly like how my sister describes her hunger… Impossible. I am not like her.
My consciousness drifts once more, and this time, I am alert. I have been dipped in the stream, the stones dig into my thighs, my back. My arms are being moved in and out of the water, some poured over my head.
It feels amazing.
“You’re soaking it up real good. Your coloring is starting to come back.” There’s a hint of fascination in her voice. “I’m shocked how fast you regenerate.”
Is she speaking to me? I want to speak to her too but I cannot. I have no ability to do it like she does, but her voice soothes more than the water. A deep noise comes from my throat, my sight not as unclear. I can see an outline of her.
A head of dark hair, clear light skin. These are all I can see for now. Her fingers brush over the cut where the chain had sunk into me and I hiss.
“I’m sorry,” she keeps apologizing to me. It’s a bit jarring. “I’ll take care of you.” Her nurturing words do not match the way she curiously handles me.
There’s a heat in me getting stoked. Poke. Poke. Flames. I’ve never been touched so mechanically that it lights a fire in me. I am used to being worshipped, revered. Not this…
“Watch out for his claws. It’s growing.” The human male warns her.
Water splashes as the female jumps away from me. I had not even realized that she was seated on my lap. Displeased, I snarl and grab her, returning the female beside me.
There is a shudder in her breath as she speaks again, “Ahh, what’s his name?”
“Datu,” my name is the only sound I can make.
“Oh, he talks!” She laughs but the shrillness tells me she’s not amused at all. She is frightened.
My hand rises from the water and I feel her face. My palm swallows it. Small, delicate features. A tiny button nose. My thumb runs over her mouth. It’s terrifyingly exquisite.
The thing in me rumbles again, more insistent. It wants a taste.
Just one.
Xiaoyu
“Datu,” he repeats, his voice odd and breathy.
I can’t place a finger on it. He’s the sound of whispering leaves, slow wind.
The calm that goes with the babbling brook.
Water trickles down his smooth green skin.
I can tell he’s the male of his kind. His jaw squarer, features sharper and more unforgiving.
His browbone is pronounced, eyebrows darker than his hair.
This gives his blind milky eyes a deep-set look.
He has two legs like us, but back in his cave of twisted trees, I could have sworn he had eight.
I’m simply left breathless when I look at him.
There’s so much of him that demands my attention.
The most prominent are the etchings on his skin.
Tattoos. A duskier shade of his skin, almost black.
A unique, incomprehensible mix of tribal and something older.
It feels wrong staring at them too close like this.
It’s like I’m uncovering some sort of ancient secret just by looking.
I suck in a breath as he buries his face on the crook of my neck. It’s alarming and I squeeze my eyes shut, expecting the worst. Instead of sharp pain, I feel his tongue licking a line up my neck.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!
When I try to jump away, he cages me in his arms. His claws run up my legs, my thighs, breathing me in like I’m his favorite meal. His wet, coarse tongue touches my neck again, tasting.
The splashing water catches Ingar’s attention and he raises a brow at me.