Beauties and Beasts

Chapter 138: brought to you by a fear of commitment

You're insecure. Don't know what for. You're turning heads when you walk through the do-o-or. Don't need make up, to cover up, and then I forget the rest of the wo-o-ords. Point is you should go and bang the tiger man---point is you're being a pansy--*cue chorus* SO strip your clothes and confess and then smooch a lot! And keep on going till it is too gross to watch! Cause we're all looking at you and it sucks to tell you don't know-oh-oh! YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL! Oh-oh-oh! Be'n frustrating ain't beautiful!

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Neara's eyes blinked open, fighting against sand in the tight corners. Everything felt gritty and greasy like she'd been covered in a body scrub and left to dehydrate. Why did her mouth taste like... ugh, she didn't even want to think about it. Her arms thrashed around until they found a soft body. "Tony?" It sputtered like a cough.

The body didn't move.

"Tony?" Her hands wrinkled against her face, rubbing the sleep up and down until she could fully open her eyes. A small campfire crackled next to her, the heat almost oppressive, highlighting a large pile of wood, an even larger pile of berries, and a fish basket. "What the..."

Recognition of the tanned body hit her like a ten-ton sheep. Bruises and open wounds littered his frame, including a deep gash running across his abdomen. His chest moved up and down shallowly, each breath pushing out a little more blood.

"Winston!" She looked around for fresh water and found a lightly steaming bowl near the fire. She grabbed a handful of cotton near the edge and began to sponge off his wounds, a different heartbeat filling her ears.

"Gotta save him, otherwise we're all going to die. Shit, I never told him... ugh, can't believe I'm even thinking that now. Winston's here... but where's Tony? Where's Orson? Did they take the others and leave Winston? Why's he here? Why shouldn't he be here? What could have overpowered Orson?" Her fingers grazed delicately over the shredded flesh and she packed his wounds with treated cotton left on a leaf nearby. She brought fresh water to his mouth and, drop by drop, allowed it to slide down his throat. He still breathed and didn't choke, so she did it until his lips slowly pressed shut. "I don't... understand."

A smear of black on her hand was all that remained of his four stripes. She looked at it, mouth open, and carefully touched it with a cautious finger. What happened to everyone?

Her detective work by firelight didn't prove anything except someone had once made footprints around camp. It was a harsh reminder that she lacked any sort of survival training, particularly tracking, although she hadn't exactly had reason to learn those things. Ethel wouldn't have touched the ground. She'd think she found a snow leopard pawprint, only to find a more complete version and decide on bear. They were too far south for snow leopards, and most of the bear population had to be in the City, right? Or, at least, running from the City. Shouldn't there be a Bear King or something... somewhere?

With the others gone, she picked apart one of the straps for her top and used it to tie her sharpest rock to the straightest, longest stick she could find. Aetius would have had plenty to say about it... but if Aetius were here, Orson would have mashed him to a pulp by now. Her fingers traced the bear mark. Tony wouldn't have gone far. They were newly ma...ted.

A chortling Shay burst into her mind, mocking her for her multiple mates. Yeah, it was pretty ridiculous how she had three mates to her name and still was afraid of Winston rejecting her. She'd scolded Shay for rushing her into these things, but she'd kind of rushed herself... with Winston she felt like she had to hang back. Even if he had loved her once, even if he did like her... what did she really have for him? Wouldn't he be disappointed in a woman who... made such a mess of things? Getting kidnapped and bred like some kind of horror dystopian novel (why were there always birthing barns? Like do all writers secretly hate women?) or having a mountain torn down in her name... was she worth the trouble? And what if Orson suddenly got possessive, like Curtis, and threatened to kill her other mates all the time? Winston would fight and get killed and it would be her fault because she accepted his attentions...