21. Ree
21
Ree
For someone who looks downright deadly Thivoll really is just a giant stuffed cat-bear.
I doubt he would ever hurt a fly if simply left alone. I smile thinking of him turning teddy bear into a verb. I'm eagerly awaiting being 'teddy beared' and as much as I find our headlong, rolling gallop exhilarating I hope it's over soon and we get settled into another tree so I can pet his fur again.
Then I feel incredibly guilty because I keep forgetting about Silver and letting myself get swept up in . . . whatever it is I'm feeling about a giant furry alien.
Discussing how to rescue her must be the first order of business.
Not nanite-fueled lust.
No, not only lust , I correct myself. Nanites didn't change my opinion of the genali.
Not all of my attraction to him is related.
Ugh, but his to me might be , I groan internally.
I'll have to talk to him about that, too. Just the thought of that conversation makes my face turn into an inferno.
When a stream comes into view, I let out a big huff of relieved breath.
It should be boiled and filtered, but since there's no way to do either I'm just going to risk it.
I slide off Thivoll's back when he gets close, and kneel in a rush. I never remember being this parched in my life. The water is very clear and smells clean when I sniff it.
I take a long drink, starting off with desperate gulps, then trailing off into smaller ones until my stomach feels like it might burst.
I know from experience over the past few weeks that I don't really need to bathe after the modifications they made, but the impulse to wash is too hard to resist. I cup water in my hands and use it to scrub at my face, wishing I could jump in.
I don't want to get him wet from my clothes, or of course get naked.
I'm reconsidering the getting naked plan, my libido making its own demands, when a splash next to me makes me jump.
I look over to see Thivoll holding out a wiggling version of this planet's fish. It's a muddy brown, has legs like a salamander, but with billowing membranes that look like they would function as fins.
"In case you're hungry, too," he explains.
I try not to gag at the thought of eating the slimy thing.
"Eating that raw would make me sick," I tell him instead of voicing my distaste.
He hums. "If you are as modified as you look, then your nanites would also make this safe for you."
I grimace. "Maybe, but I'm not that desperate yet. I appreciate the thought, though."
He nods at me, then tips his head back and downs the thing in one gulp.
I don't contain my reaction this time and retch. Luckily he doesn't see it and my face is schooled by the time he looks at me again.
I give him a weak smile and climb back up when he crouches down. I get my foot wrapped up in my long hair and have to flip it back behind me, but it whips around too far and then is in the way of my other leg.
I get it sorted and eventually scramble up, my face burning at the delay.
After about fifteen minutes of running, Thivoll stops under the same type of tree as before. This one with unmarked bark. I wonder how he will manage a climb with me stuck to him like a cowardly barnacle without damaging this one, too.
I don't ask, though, trusting him to know his abilities and limits.
I slide off as quietly as I can. He tips back on his back paws, his tail held out as a counterbalance. It must be difficult to maintain. I wish I could help more, but he is too tall for me to just grab.
He lifts me and I hold on tight.
He talks quietly near my ear, the feel of his warm breath on my skin raising goosebumps.
"I'll need both arms for this climb, Ree," he explains.
I gulp, then nod into his chest.
"If you start to slip, I'll grab you. I promise," he says with a purr in his chest.
It turns into a soothing rumble against my cheek as he gets closer to the tree.
His purr suddenly cuts off and his body tenses.
It's the only warning I get before the roar of a gun echoes across the forest and a searing pain blooms in my left bicep. It pulls a scream from me as another shot rings out and tree bark explodes out from the tree behind me, grazing my cheek with a stinging impact.
A moment later Thivoll has me crushed up against the tree, one arm gripping me tight as he scrambles up it.
Another shot and a deep groan from him lets me know he's also been hit, but he continues his mad scramble.
A glimpse of the forest lets me know he's moving us to the far side of the tree as he climbs it.
"Can you hold me?" I don't understand right away. "Ree! Are you too injured to hold on?"
The question knocks me out of my shock and I cling hard to him, my adrenaline helping me ride out the searing pain.
"I'm alright," I hiss out through gritted teeth.
We are high in the canopy when he lets out another pained groan and launches us away from the trunk, twisting us around so he can grab onto the branches of another tree.
Our impact is jarring and the swing of our bodies almost jolts me out of his arms. I have to clamp down hard on a chunk of his mane with my good arm to keep myself from falling before he wraps his tail around me.
It pulls me tight to him as he moves us up into the twisting thick branches of the tree.
His tail unwraps again and I let out a small mewl of panic as I frantically pull all my weight to his chest, gravity trying to pull me down and his moving limbs jostling me from where I'm clinging to his chest like a baby ape.
"I need it, sorry," he pants out.
I can't reply.
All of my focus has to be on making myself continue to grip him as I get increasingly dizzy from the pain and rapid changes of direction.
A small, agonized eternity later he slows down and wraps an arm around me.
"We should be fine now if we aren't too loud," he tells me in a whisper.
I nod against his chest as shivers of fear and agony wrack my body.
I push through them to ask about his wound. "Where'd they get you?"
"Nowhere dangerous. You?"
"I'll have to stop the bleeding quickly or I'll pass out."
"So soon?" His low voice sounds panicked.
There's no reason to risk an answer, so I focus on staying conscious and not screaming each new torturous time he bumps into me.
Eventually we stop moving and he repositions me as I hiss in a breath through my gritted teeth.
"Ask your suit to recede?"
I realize what he means after a long, dumb moment of confusion. A quick image of a sleeveless black shirt and my wound is exposed. The blood flow is sluggish, but my arm is coated in it, as is his fur.
"Is there an exit wound?" I ask him.
He tips me forward slightly as he moves his head to the side so he can look, his large body caging me against the trunk of a tree. His claws are digging into the bark and his tail is anchored on a limb above us.
"No, just the one in front."
"Shit. Can you dig it out?"
"What? I don't think I should—"
"It has to come out, Thivoll."
"Won't your body just expel it? Mine is already out."
"The fuck? No, it won't."
His eyes are wide as he looks back and forth from my face to my arm. "My fingers won't fit."
I growl and push my back against the rough bark so I can do it myself. "Hold me tight, then."
"Don't you think you should wait for . . . Alright. I see your point," he admits with a shaky voice as he moves a hand to grip my waist.
I wipe the blood away so I can get a better look.
It's a smaller hole than it should be.
"Nanites are working, at least. I need something to bite down on so I don't scream."
"Wait. Why? They should dull the pain as they heal you."
I snort out a breath. "The slimes wanted us to feel pain."
"Thela-cursed pieces of . . ." he trails off as he snaps off a branch.
"You're going to have to use a claw to cut it open anyway. Fish it out."
"I can't—"
"You will," I cut him off with steel in my voice.
"I can't have a bullet in my muscle. The scar tissue will make it harder later."
"But the pain and the blood . . ."
"I've had endometriosis most of my life. It's fine."
His whiskers droop. "I don't know what that is."
"It's . . . never mind. I can take a lot of pain."
I snatch the branch from his shaking hand.
"Just do it."
I cram it between my teeth and brace myself.
He closes his eyes for a long moment, then opens them. He raises a shaking hand as the claws extend from his fingertips. My heart is pounding and I look away.
Then I can't stand not knowing what's about to happen so I dart my eyes back to my arm. Just in time to see him fold back all but one of his fingers and make a quick slash with his claw.
After that, it's all I can do to keep myself from screeching out in agony.
Hot flares run through me as he digs around searching for the bullet, the muscles cording in my neck so hard they send another layer of pain darting down my spine. I clamp my teeth down as hard as I can on the branch as my lungs burn with their need for air I can't give them right now.
My vision is fading to black by the time he finishes, then I lose track of time.
When he speaks again, I push through the haze, though I don't know what he said.
"Ree!" He's pressing a hand hard against my arm. "There's too much blood."
I take in a ragged breath. My teeth are chattering against the stick in my mouth as my body quakes.
I spit it out so I can speak to him. "W-rap your t-tail around m-my arm."
I take another long breath in to collect myself as he unwinds his tail from the branch above us and does as I ask.
"Higher. Yes, t-there. Now squeeze."
My body arches again from the pain, and he loosens his tail in response.
"No. Keep going."
I close my eyes and focus on each breath in and out, just like we teach so many of our patients.
In. Out. Over and over.
When the pounding pulse in my fingers becomes too insistent, I open my eyes again.
"Pull your hand away," I tell him.
The bastards might have skipped the pain reduction feature, but the nanites have already started to do their work. The wound is still gaping open, but at least the blood flow is under control.
Well, at least with a tourniquet in place.
"Ok, loosen now."
My whole arm pulses and aches as blood flow returns to normal. I let out a huff of breath when there's only a small increase in the rate the blood oozes out.
"Will your skin close itself?"
"Let me guess. Yours already did?"
"I'm sure my scales already shifted, yes."
I grunt. "Will the nanites close mine up anyway?"
"Eventually. But it'll take more time and resources."
For now, I ask my suit to expand back over the wound. Hopefully it will keep it moderately clean that way.
My teeth are still chattering and now that we've done all we can the fear rises to the surface. I can't stop trembling. My heart pounds as he repositions us so I'm cradled against him.
He pets my hair and I take deep breaths to get myself back under control.
As my heart rate lowers, I realize that the pain in my arm is rapidly diminishing right along with it.
Soon all I can feel is a slight ache.
"It doesn't hurt very much now. That's weird."
He growls. "They must have programmed in a delay."
"Maybe one tied to heart rate?"
"Yes, that's possible. Seems like we should keep you calm for a while."
He purrs and I focus on the thrum for a while as he continues to run his hands through my long hair, working through tangles as he goes.
"Do you like when I touch your mane?"
"Oh, yes," I breathe out. "Do you like it when I do?"
"Most certainly," he says with emphasis.
I smile at him, then stroke his soft fur.
We stay like that for a few minutes, then I start lightly scratching at the transition between fur and black scales. He responds like any cat I've ever known by tipping his head back, pursing his lips, and extending his whiskers out.
It's even more comical and rewarding when he does it and I smile.
"I didn't think an alien would look so similar to a cat," I say aloud, then feel my face heating.
"I'm guessing that's an Earth creature?"
"Yes. Your fur, ears, whiskers, purr . . ." I trail off, feeling weird now.
"It's common for us to make connections to what we already know," he comments. "Plus, from what you describe, it's likely that creature originated from manticorids visiting your planet. We have several creatures with similar features to my own. As I mentioned before, we were once empire-seeking so I'm sure we surveyed your planet and we were too full of pride to hide ourselves."
"Huh," I say, my mind blown. "You do seem like something from our mythology."
He nods. "It's been thousands of standard cycles since we dismantled our empire, but the myth was probably based on an encounter with us."
I shake my head and mentally berate myself.
I'm letting my mind think of soothing distractions instead of doing what needs to be done.
"What about Silver? I think she needs more medical attention."
He scratches his chest with a scaled hand while he thinks. "I could go move her, but I don't like the idea of leaving you."
"I'm concerned she'll be recaptured if we wait. I'll be fine."
He growls, but doesn't argue with me. "I can move in haste and put her somewhere safe, then we can figure out how to get medical supplies for both of you. I'll need to stalk some hunters for those."
I gulp, my hand wanting to rise to brush against my wound at the reminder, but I know he's right. "I can stay here this time because I don't want to slow you down, but I want to help."
He hums again. "I would rather you remain in the trees, but we can talk about that soon. I'll run back to the ship and move her. First, let's get you to a tree that isn't covered in your blood."
I look down and see what he means, then nod.
It doesn't take him long to move me, but when he starts to leave I remember his own injury.
"What about your wound?"
"It was minor."
"A gunshot is minor?"
"That one was."
I'll need more time to get my mind around that one.
Time we don't have.
"Alright," I say, "please be careful."
"I'll take the utmost care of your fellow human, Ree," he vows.
I pat his mane. "Oh, I know you will. I mean be careful to not get hurt."
He purrs in response and his whiskers wiggle.
I'm pretty sure it means he really liked what I just said, but I'm too shy to ask.
He makes sure I'm firmly wedged against the tree trunk, then pulls away. He uncoils himself, runs a hand through my ridiculously long hair, and then disappears into the canopy.
I listen carefully, but can barely hear him descend.
I realize I didn't think of two important things when I agreed to this plan. For one, I'm now who knows how high in a tree by myself with an injured arm. And for another, I really should have peed.
"Dammit."