Chapter 13 #3
“Focus, Hattie. Don’t think about that. Tell me everything you know about this forest.”
“That’s pretty much it. It was never in my plans to visit this forest even in the best circumstances. And I’m a chef. We don’t really study the . I can identify food if you need me to. But that’s about all I’m good for.”
Tuvo gave her a smile over his shoulder. “Don’t downplay how useful a skill like that can be. Would the creatures in this forest be edible? Besides the poisonous frogs?”
“Good rule of thumb on Earth: The more colorful it is, the more likely it is to be deadly. But I don’t know any mammals off top that are poisonous. None that I can think of anyway. Are you any good at hunting?”
“I am one of the best. Between the two of us, we won’t go hungry while we’re here.”
“Well, that’s something. All that’s left is water.”
As though it had been summoned, a drop hit her cheek.
And it was like the heavens had been ripped open because it was followed immediately by a deluge.
Within minutes, Hattie was soaked to the bone and shivering despite the warm temperature.
Her inappropriate shoes were rubbing blisters into her feet, her legs itched from mosquito bites, and, when she tilted her head back to catch some of the rainwater in her mouth, it left a weird taste in her mouth.
She was lucky, she knew that, but she could already tell that surviving this was going to be an unpleasant ordeal. And it was just the beginning.
How deep in the were they? Was anyone even going to be able to come get them?
“Rodger had an escape plan.”
“What?” Unprepared for Tuvo to speak, it took Hattie a second to realize what he said.
“That pack he wore. It was one of those old-fashioned fall decelerators, wasn’t it?”
She snickered at the wording. “Yeah. A parachute.”
“Which means he planned to live through this. Which must mean it’s possible to live through this. There’s a way out of here. We just have to figure out what it is.”
He turned back to face her and frowned.
“Why are you walking like that?”
Hattie had changed her gait to try to ease some of the pressure off the sore parts of her feet where the blisters were forming. But there wasn’t anything to be done about it, so she just shook her head and went back to walking normally. It burned like fire, but she smiled at him.
“I’m okay. Any idea where we’re going? Or how close to the crash site we are?”
Tuvo turned back and picked her up about the waist, surprising her. He held her across his chest as he walked over to a nearby rock and sat her on it.
He kneeled and began pulling at the straps on her heels as he spoke, “The boom came from this direction. I was hoping we’d smell smoke if we walked this way, but that’s not likely with this rain.
So, we’ll have to look for any disturbance in the area.
Fresh leaf cover from the shockwave of the crash, any unusual animal behavior, any signs of the trees being disturbed. It can’t be... Hattie…”
His voice trailed off as he revealed her feet. The red marks, the blisters, already apparent. They had to have been walking for over an hour now. The terrain was uneven and rough, so she wasn’t surprised her feet were bleeding.
Fresh air hitting the wounds just made it worse and she grimaced, already hating the idea of putting those shoes back on.
“Why did you not just ask me to carry you?” Tuvo asked, holding her feet in his hands. Gently glaring at the marks.
“You’re hiking too. And you need your hands just in case we get attacked or something. I don’t know if there are any predators here.”
“Hattie,” he fixed her with a glare, “You’re begging for an infection from this. I can carry you. I’m made to carry you. Let me do so.”
Her heart was pounding in her throat. Eager to accept the offer, hating that she couldn’t.
“I’m too heavy for you to carry like that, Tuvo.”
Something flashed in his eyes. It looked like… anger.
She didn’t think she had insulted him until he suddenly swept her up in his arms and began to march forward, grumbling about her lack of faith in his strength all the while.
She didn’t know why she was surprised. Domini were a very competitive people.
Her stating that he couldn’t do it was basically a challenge he couldn’t refuse.
She wanted to assure him she could walk, but she knew that would only make things worse. So, she held her tongue, and her shoes, and let him carry her as he traversed the wild jungle until the rain finally stopped and he opted to take a break.
He sat her down on the remains of a fallen tree this time and stepped back, stretching his arms overhead as he looked around the forest.
Hattie already missed the rain. Without it, the air got hot again, and so humid the water couldn’t even evaporate to cool her properly. She was wet, sticky, and mosquitos were filling the air once more. Added to that, her feet were burning worse now that she had a break from walking.
“Are you hungry?” Tuvo asked, looking her over.
Hattie shook her head. She kind of was, but not enough that she was going to make him go get food for them yet. She would rather wait until they got to the plane. There might be some food that survived that she knew would be safe to eat. There might even be bottled water.
Tuvo could survive drinking the blood of any creatures he found. Their blood and meat together would satisfy all he needed for food and water. Especially if they weren’t here for very long. But she wasn’t so lucky.
Tuvo gave her a suspicious look, like he didn’t believe her. But she just smiled. It hadn’t been that long since she had eaten. She was fine, he was just worrying too much.
“I’m okay,” she laughed, kicking her feet in the air – the log was taller than her, but it put her head about even with him so she could look him in the eyes without putting a crick in her neck. “Why don’t you take a seat? You’ve earned it.”
“How are your feet?”
“They’re fine,” she assured him with a smile.
“I know what that means,” he narrowed his eyes on her. “Human females don’t say things are fine unless they’re not fine.”
Hattie threw back her head, laughing loudly. She had told one guy, one time, that fine did not mean fine, and it seemed that every domini immediately was warned.
“Okay, yeah. My feet aren’t perfect, but they’re fine in that I can live with it. How about you? Are you okay?”
“My boots are quite comfortable, actually.”
“I believe that,” she said, giving them an envious look. They were combat boots, and she had a feeling that Tuvo would have offered them to her if they weren’t boats compared to her feet. “But you fell from a plane too. You hit the tree on the way down. Were you hurt at all?”
Tuvo suddenly hid his hands behind his back. “No, I’m fine.”
“What’s wrong with your hands?” She frowned, leaning to the side, trying to look.
He turned, blocking her vision. “Nothing. They’ll be fine.”
“You said ‘would be’ that time.”
“Don’t worry about it, Hattie.”
“Show me your hands.”
“You’re safe, I assure you.”
“That’s not my concern.” She frowned, hurt. “Do you really trust me so little that you won’t even let me see your hands?”
She couldn’t keep the warble from her tone, and he sighed, giving in. “No. That’s not it. I just…”
“Tuvo?”
He lifted his hands, showing them both to her. Immediately, she grabbed them, turning them over, searching for damage. Surely, there had to be some. Huge trees weren’t known for being delicate and he had carried both of their weight down.
But there was nothing.
She looked them over carefully, but there wasn’t a scratch. His claws were still out, still long and sharp with a wicked curve. But aside from that, they were exactly the same as before.
“What…?” She frowned, turning them again.
“Careful,” Tuvo said softly.
“Huh?”
“My claws. Be careful. I don’t want you to cut yourself.”
“Just retract them.”
His jaw tightened. Her head tilted curiously.
“Tuvo? You can’t retract them?”
He shook his head. “They’re, er, swollen. Bruised. The landing was a hard one. I can’t retract them until the swelling goes down.”
“So, you did hurt yourself?”
“No. It’s not really a true injury. It’s pretty normal for that kind of landing. It’s a violent thing to come down that way. My claws took all of our weight, and the claw beds were traumatized. The swelling will get better, it just might take a day or two.”
“So… you were just afraid you’d injure me? That’s why you pulled away?”
“I’m not trying to hurt you,” he promised, turning his hands, gently taking hold of her wrists.
His huge hands encircled them completely, even without his claws adding extra length.
“I… I’m not good with my words. I know that.
But trust me, Hattie, it is never my intention to hurt you.
I don’t think you should take my hands until my claws go down. ”
She chuckled, shaking her head. “Tuvo, I’m not that delicate.’
“Compared to me, you are.”
“I’ll trust you not to hurt me, but you have to trust me too. Trust me to know my limits. To know what’s too dangerous for me.” She turned their hands over.
“Hattie, my claws are not something to be so flippant about. Do you understand how easy it would be for me to cut you with them?” He growled, as though the very idea angered him. “If I use my claws, I can rend my enemies nearly in half. They’re dangerous. Too dangerous.”
“Is that why you fight with your fists?” She asked, gently running the tips of her finger in circles over his palms. She had often wondered why Tuvo fought so differently from other domini.
It was standard for them to splay their fingers while fighting, putting their claws out to their best advantage, but Tuvo never did that.
He came into fights with his fists clenched, deliberately not using his claws.