Chapter 15
Hattie
She didn’t have a long sleeve shirt, only a three-quarter sleeve shirt with a low cut, circular neckline to best show off the girls, but it was better than nothing.
After putting it, a pair of jeans, and a comfortable pair of walking shoes on, she felt a lot better already.
More prepared to face a wild and untamed jungle and all its inhabitants.
And she tried not to focus on how hot it was to see Tuvo manhandling Keith like that.
By the time the three of them finished getting everything useful they could find out of the wreck, it was late. Tuvo ushered them into the back of the plane, where the kitchen had been, and blocked it off with the piece of roofing she had sat on before.
They slept in there, Hattie curled up against Tuvo’s side, Keith pressing against the counters, as far from him, as possible. It wasn’t cozy. It was too hot, the jungle was loud and intimidating, and the ground was uncomfortable.
But her head was resting on Tuvo’s arm, and she wasn’t afraid of any potential predators with him sleeping lightly beside her.
The morning came and Tuvo slid the roofing segment aside, letting them out. Hattie did her business behind one of the trees and rinsed out her mouth with water that she swallowed rather than spit – she didn’t have the luxury of wasting any of it.
Tuvo left to scout the area, and Keith spent the morning scaring her with tales of predators that stalked these woods – alligators and anacondas and jaguars.
She promptly told Tuvo about them when he returned with, coincidentally, a snake in hand.
Not a big anaconda, but a small one. He asked if it was edible, and she figured it was worth a try.
Hattie knew how to carve a lot of meats, but snake was a new one.
She did her best though. Tuvo made a fire, and they had a breakfast of grilled/raw snake meat.
The creature had almost no blood as she was skinning it, but it did have fang marks on its back, and she imagined that Tuvo must have killed it by exsanguination before bringing it to her.
Keith complained, but actually the meat wasn’t bad. The plane had little packets of salt and pepper that survived just fine and while she could imagine a few different spices to add and it was a bit gamey, it was pretty good for a random hunt cooked over a fire.
After eating, Tuvo left again to dispose of the uneaten bits and continue scouting while Hattie sat in the shade of the plane wreck.
All told, this actually wasn’t horrible.
Not ideal, but not bad. When it began raining, she dragged her chair further into the back of the plane which, helpfully, was angled up and sat there watching it while Keith complained and sat on the ground next to her – there was only one chair left.
The others were lost to the jungle somewhere.
She set out the empty water bottles they had already drained with makeshift funnels made from fallen leaves as well as the clean bowls and pans to gather as much of the rain as they could. They could drink it with the straw once it was all gathered.
Tuvo returned sometime later, no food this time, but the sight of him struck her dumb.
He walked into the plane soaked, hair plastered down to his head, muscles glistening, tail flicking, jeans dirtied. Sexy and manly and wild. He ran his hand over his head, wringing out his short hair, and she longed to do that for him.
His claws had finally retracted, and he lost some of that caution he had around her. A fact which made her smile as she stood and offered him her chair.
“I’m all right,” he said.
“Take it,” she insisted. “I’ll sit on your lap.”
He paused. Then turned and sat.
Giggling, Hattie perched across his thighs, putting one arm around his neck, and leaned into him with a smile.
“Hi there,” she said, making circles with her longest finger against his chest.
“Hello,” he returned, one hand resting possessively on her thigh, the other on her knee.
“Enjoy your walk through the wilds of the ?”
“Actually, yes. This place is quite nice.”
She threw back her head, laughing. Of course, he would think so. This was a challenge, and he was a domini. This probably felt like a nature hike back on Turv.
“The snake blood was tasty. A bit sweet and a bit spicy.”
She snickered. “Do different creatures taste different?”
“Absolutely. And how they lived and what they ate and what they were feeling at the time you drank from them can change the flavor.”
“So, fear generally tastes..?”
“Spicy.”
“I see. And the sweetness?”
“Probably an inherent trait of Earth creatures, if what Havali says is true.”
Hattie tilted her head curiously. She so dearly wished to ask if he was interested in taking a couple nibbles out of her, but she also didn’t know if this… whatever it was… allowed her those kinds of personal questions. Especially considering the effect of human blood.
Tuvo gave her a long look. As if he knew exactly what she was thinking, and he was just waiting for her to open her mouth and ask. But his expression was so carefully guarded, she had no idea what he would say if she did ask and-
“Ugh!” Keith let out an exaggerated grunt as he threw himself back. “How long is this rain going to last? Damn.”
“It’s a rainforest,” Hattie snickered. “It rains.”
“What are we even doing here?”
“Waiting for rescue.”
He scoffed, pushing himself up on his elbows. “You’re getting awfully cozy for a girl waiting for rescue in a wrecked plane.”
She shrugged. “I’m alive. I’m fed. I’m safe. What more could I need?”
Keith smirked unpleasantly. “And you’re sitting on a guy’s lap. You know, for once.”
Hattie stiffened. Tuvo stiffened in response to her.
“Keith, not now-”
“I’m just saying, it’s not a treat you get to enjoy often. You’d probably break a bone if you tried to do that to me.”
“Keith…”
“Wait! You did try that with me once!” He threw back his head laughing. “Fuck, it felt like I got punched in the gut. I’m surprised he can breathe.”
“Seriously, stop,” she said, trying to sound hard and determined, but the words came out soft and uneasy as a horrible clawing started in her gut.
“Chill out, Hats. It’s just a joke. What? Are you somehow unaware of your size? You know you’re huge. Get a sense of humor about it. Not everything has to be a fight.”
Hattie found herself pulling away from Tuvo. Hating how ashamed Keith could make her feel so quickly, so easily.
Tuvo’s grip tightened, and he brought her back, growling, “What did he just say?”
She shook her head. “Nothing worth repeating.”
“All the more reason to tell me.”
“It’s fine, Tuvo.”
He caught her chin and forced her to look at him. She flinched at the three eyes that narrowed on her suspiciously. It was amazing how simultaneously big and small she felt at that moment.
“Tell. Me.”
She shivered at the command in his voice – not in an unpleasant way.
“You’re snitching on me now, aren’t you?” Keith scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Figures. You’re going to act like the victim and twist everything I say out of context again. You’re always doing things like this, Hats.”
“Hattie.” Tuvo’s hand was clenched into a fist. “Tell me, or I fight him on principle. No one has the right to put that look in your eyes. No one. Over anything.”
She sniffed and forced a smile. “He’s just making jokes, you know.”
“They’re clearly not funny. What is he saying?”
“Just… Making jokes about my weight.”
“Your weight?” He repeated, confused. Because fat jokes weren’t really a thing among the domini people.
They didn’t measure beauty in terms of size.
It was measured in terms of strength and skill and determination.
And sometimes tail length. But other than that, the only difference between Hattie and the other kidnapped girls was how soft they found her to be.
And for them, that was just as much of a turn on as Scarlet’s height or Holly’s willowy frame. The differences were exciting, giving a range of enjoyment for all.
That kind of made explaining what Keith was saying harder. But he was determined and forced her to try.
“He’s just saying how he’s surprised you can breathe. Because I’m so big. And stuff. That’s all. I-It’s not that big of a deal. He’s just…” Her voice trailed off, because she honestly wasn’t sure what he was trying to do. Besides maybe amuse himself at her expense.
Or maybe get some sense of power back in this powerless situation.
That sobering thought drained a lot of the hurt from her chest. Because she realized just how true it was.
Keith was feeling helpless. He couldn’t hunt and camouflage like Tuvo.
He couldn’t skin and cook their meals like Hattie.
He couldn’t make a fire. He couldn’t contact help.
He was just kind of useless and that was a blow against his masculinity.
So, he had to bring her down to make himself feel better.
It was kind of… sad.
But as Hattie was having that epiphany, Tuvo suddenly understood.
Growling, he stood with her in his arms and gently turned to set her back on the chair. Keith was scrambling to his feet and trying to get away before Tuvo even turned to him.
He didn’t get far. He grabbed Keith by the back of the shirt, claws slashing through the fabric, and turned to slam his back against the wall. Keith cried out in fear to find Tuvo’s claws pressing against either side of his neck.
It happened so fast, Hattie didn’t even have a chance to catch her breath.
She opened her mouth to stop him, to insist that Keith wasn’t worth it, when Tuvo spoke.
In English.
“Little male,” he growled in a voice so dark and dangerous it made her shiver. “Weak. No make her feel small to feel big. Want feel big? Be big! No make her small!”
Keith said nothing. He didn’t breathe. He stared, wide eyed and terrified, until Tuvo scoffed in disgust and pulled his claws away, letting him collapse to the floor.