Chapter 6 #2
They talk around me as if I am not here, which is baffling, but then Mardok puts a hand on the small of my back and I feel all warm and giddy, and I forget to be irritated.
How can I be, when he is around? Everyone heads down a passage that leads into a large chamber full of lights and colors.
This is the room I sat in before, to teach Mardok my language.
Things flash on the walls, and it reminds me of the Elders’ Cave.
The others file in, moving past me, and sit on strange-looking stools with backs.
Mardok touches my arm and gestures at an empty stool in the rear.
I follow him, and he taps a few clicky things on the slab of shiny stone in front of him.
Something rises from the floor and it looks like a stool.
He indicates I should sit and moves to sit down in his own chair.
Oh, I would rather sit in his lap. I ignore the stool and move toward him, sitting on his thigh and putting my arms around his neck. “I like this much better.”
He stiffens, and I hear the one called Trakan give a muffled laugh, but no one says anything. I look over at Trakan curiously, and then lean in to whisper to Mardok. “Why does he laugh? Do mated people act differently where you come from?”
Mardok just shakes his head. “Ignore him. He’s an ass.
” His hand goes possessively to the small of my back, and I wiggle a little, because just that small touch is making my khui sing.
My tail finds his and tries to wrap around it, but he flicks me away.
Aww, he’s shy. That’s…sweet. I smile at my mate, admiring the lines of his face.
I will break him of his shyness soon enough.
“Starting engines,” Trakan calls out.
“Vendasi,” Cap-tan says. “Run a diagnostic on all systems before we proceed.”
“Starting diagnostic,” my mate says, and reaches around me to press a few clicky things. “Standby.”
Swirls and squiggles move across the stone in front of Mardok, and I watch it, fascinated.
Strange pictures pop up, highlighting different portions of what looks like a smaller version of the ship.
I poke at it, fascinated at how it can appear in the stone itself, and Mardok gently pulls my finger away. “Careful,” he murmurs.
I shiver, because I do not know what is going on, but I love his voice when it is soft.
“Diagnostic complete,” Mardok says a moment later. “All systems running at expected levels.”
“Excellent,” Cap-tan says. “Take us up. External display on the forward monitor, please.”
“Aye, Captain,” Trakan says, and the ship trembles underneath our feet. There is a distant roar, and I am reminded of the earth-shake so many seasons ago. I cling harder to Mardok’s neck, frightened.
He rubs my back silently, and somehow…that makes it better. If he’s not worried, then the noise must not be dangerous.
I lift my head just in time to see the wall ahead of us flash white and then disappear.
Or not. It’s like an image of the outdoors—so realistic and lifelike that I can practically smell the snow—appears.
I gasp in wonder. It is like we are standing on a very tall hill and looking down. “How is this possible?”
“It’s a visual,” Mardok murmurs. “No need to be afraid.”
I am not afraid; I am full of wonder. You can see everything, right down to distant herds of dvisti.
It is fascinating, and the picture makes my world look so…
pretty and yet distant. Then the picture changes, replaced by a new picture, this one of green and white smears cut through by delicate blue lines. I like the other view better.
“Can your little girlfriend point out where her tribe’s located so I can set the coordinates?” Trakan asks, voice dry. “Or do we need to break out crayons for her so she can draw it? Or is a smoke signal more her thing?”
“She’s not going to know what a topographical map is,” Mardok growls at him, clearly irritated. “Don’t be an ass.”
“Well, then, how are we going to get there if we don’t have coordinates?” Trakan retorts.
I can feel Mardok stiffen with anger under my leg. I place my hand on his chest to calm him, and speak up. “I can guide you, but I need the picture of the valley again. I can show you which way to go.”
“You’ll have to manually pilot it,” Cap-tan says. “Will this be a problem?”
“No, sir,” Trakan replies, but he sounds unhappy. The picture switches again, and it is the current valley once more. “Okay, where to?”
I get to my feet, crossing the chamber and approaching the wall with the picture on it. “I have never seen from this high up before. Give me a moment to think.” I worry I will tell them the wrong thing and the others will grow upset. I do not wish to get this wrong. I want Mardok to be proud of me.
“Drop lower to the ground,” Cap-tan calls out. “Give her the visual she needs.”
I feel a lift under my boots, as if the floor is puffing with air, and then the picture changes.
We are now close to the ground, and I can tell where we are.
I know these lands. I scan the landscape, looking for familiar things, and then tap one particular rock.
“Between these walls, into the next valley.”
The ship moves, gliding along faster than I could ever run, and I gasp as the world speeds ahead.
It is marvelous. Within the space of a breath, we are at the spot I pointed at, and so I give them the next coordinate.
On and on, we glide through valley after valley, heading back toward the village at a dizzying pace.
What takes me all day to run takes mere moments to swoop past. We will be at the village in a matter of moments, and the thought is incredible.
I keep calling instructions out to Trakan, and he guides us along, the ship moving through valleys and past steep cliffs with more skill than the most delicate-winged scythe-beak.
Then my home valley appears. In the distance, I can see the shadow of the gorge. “There,” I say, pointing at it. “We live in the canyon there.”
“In a canyon?” Niri asks, speaking up for the first time. “Really?”
“Yes. We used to live in caves—”
“Of course you did,” Trakan interrupts, smirking.
“Kef off,” Mardok growls at him, surging to his feet.
“Enough,” Cap-tan tells them, and Mardok sits once more. Trakan hunches behind his table. Cap-tan looks at me again. “Go on.”
I hesitate, not understanding their reactions.
Why does Mardok get angry to hear we lived in caves?
Is that bad? The caves were nice and cozy, and it was easy to get outside.
The gorge is quiet and sheltered from the worst of the weather, but taking Chahm-pee out on a regular basis is difficult, and the hunters must do a great deal of hauling to bring things down into the village.
The humans love it, though. I am puzzled by their reactions, but I continue slowly.
“We moved to the gorge when a great earth-shake destroyed our home.”
Mardok shoots Trakan an angry look, and Trakan just slides lower in his seat. “Your home is fine, Farli,” Mardok tells me. “You and your people are incredibly resilient to be able to make a life here on this planet.”
Resilient? It is my home. It is the only place I know.
“Well, someone want to tell me how I’m supposed to pilot the Lady down into that gorge? Because it’s not happening.”
“We’ll get out and walk,” Cap-tan says. “Set the ship down as close to the lip as possible. Everyone suit up and let us be on our way.”
A short time later, the others are wearing thick suits that cover every inch of their skin, their bodies made bulky. Each one clips a device to their noses and wraps garments around their heads and horns to keep them warm.
I stand there in my leather tunic, a little amused at how much work it takes for them to bundle up.
Not even the humans are this bad. Chahm-pee nudges my hand, eager to go outside.
I do not blame him—he is hungry and did not care for the food on the ship.
I did not, either. He has eaten all the roots in my bag, but I do have more back at the village.
If nothing else, I can pry a few from Stay-see, who keeps a well-stocked hut full of extra foods for her strange cooking projects. “Soon,” I tell him. “Be patient.”
He bleats at me.
I look over at Mardok, still handsome despite his strange cold-weather leathers.
He finishes buckling on his gloves and glances up at me.
Our eyes meet, and my khui begins to sing, and his ears darken with a hint of embarrassment, his focus suddenly going back to his buckles.
I find it charming. He is so like—and yet so different—from the males in my tribe.
He looks up at me again, and the heated look he sends my way makes my pulse flutter.
Not so different from any other male in resonance, after all. Wait until you get a khui, I think. Then you will know. This? This is nothing.
They are finally ready, and the wall of the ship opens up, letting in a blast of refreshing, crisp air.
I suck in a deep breath, pleased. It feels as if I have been trapped in the steamy, heated fruit cave for far too long, and the chill feels bracing.
I nudge Chahm-pee to follow me and head down the ramp.
The others trail behind me, and I scan the horizon.
The herds that wander near the upper valley are nowhere to be found, of course. The roar of the ship will have chased them far away. It is utterly still, and after being on the ship, it seems almost too quiet.
“What the kef is that?” Mardok snarls, and I look around, pulling out my bone knife. The others will be slow moving in their strange leathers, so I must protect them like any good hunter.
But I see nothing—no scythe-beak, no snow-cat, no sky-claw, no metlak. I turn back to him, a question in my voice. It dies when I realize he is not looking around him, but staring hard at Trakan and Cap-tan.