17 Bullets: becoming the Werewolf Queen

Chapter 21: To the Peak

"No." Bathroom. He pointed at the area just before us and then turned around.

My lips lifted in disgust. "You're just going to stay here and listen? Go!"

"No." Bathroom.

I growled under my breath and finally gave in. I needed to go, so I snuck at least behind a tree. "Don't listen Rambo," I cautioned.

After a very long period of hesitation, I finally was able to go.

He followed me back to camp and I rinsed my hands in the pond.

When I turned around, he was standing before me with a bowl of his white paste. "Hurt."

"Uh.." I stumbled, "okay, I guess." I took off my shirt and turned and he began smoothing the paste over my back. My teeth clenched in pain as his fingers prodded the broken flesh. I kept seizing every time he poked over something exceptionally tender, but as more paste was applied, the pain began to numb to a dealable level. "Thanks," I mumbled and put my shirt back over the wound then hooked my rifle over my other shoulder.

He looked at the mountains to the northwest and began to walk. "Go."

As I realized he was not walking to the sharp peak at the east that we walked to all yesterday, I stopped him, racing up and grabbing his hand.

He pulled his hand from my grasp and spun around.

I pointed to the sharp peak. "Wheelbarrow."

His eyes perked that way and then he shook his head no. "No wheelbarrow.  Inkosi Maza." He pointed the direction between two mountain ranges. "Wokuduma yiba yindlovukazi. El mate Maza."

"Maza again? We already talked about this. I'm not sexing up some matza ball guy." I scowled and pointed back at the peak. "Wheelbarrow."

He turned me straight on. "No. Inkosi Maza."

"No," I fired back and turned to the peak and began walking.

Thann was already blocking my path. "Inkosi Maza."

"Wheelbarrow." I tried to dodge around him, and he swiftly stepped in front of my path. Any move I made he blocked before I did it. "Stop it!"

He started walking to the mountains. "Wokuduma go."

"Forget it, Wakuduma-duma. I'm going to my wheelbarrow. I don't need you anymore." I flipped my hair in his direction as an act of defiance. But my hair caught the wind and went up in my face, negating the cool factor. I growled to myself and tugged it back into a pony, using the band at my wrist to tie it up. I twisted the locks into a bun and used the bobby pins in my pocket to hold it in place. With one final act of annoyance, I even stuck my tongue out at Thann's retreating form. Then I started toward the peak instead.

In three feet he was already in front of me. He was hollering and hands pulled at my bun, practically tearing it off me. "Imisebe yegolide yokukhanya kwelanga!"

When he ripped a strand free, I hollered in pain. "Ow! Freak Dothraki!" I slapped his hands away. "Knock it off. That hurts."

I tried to walk around him again and this time he pulled me flush against his chest and started peeling hair from the bun.

"Hurt! Hurt!" I yelled at him.

He stepped from me and pointed at my hair. "Imisebe yegolide yokukhanya kwelanga."

"Kwellangwa!" I yelled his gibberish back at him and barely moved to half a step around him before he was blocking again.

He reached around my head and got fingers on a bobby pin and pulled it out. He eyed it distrustfully.