45 BULLETS
We had the rest of the fish for breakfast and then he took his morning disappearance.
While he was off doing whatever he did, I decided it was time for me to get him a present. He'd done so much for me that I wanted to repay him. I wandered around the forest until I came upon a big leaf. It was dinner plate sized, and a beautiful orangey red color, like a maple leaf.
Hoping it wasn't poisonous, I pulled the leaf and found a vine that I chopped a few feet from.
Back at camp, I kneeled at my emergency tote and dug around until I found the matches. Grabbing a good handful, I tied them together like a little bouquet and placed them on top of the leaf. Then I cut away half of the box's striker and placed it beside.
Grinning at the leaf, I covered it around the bundle like wrapping paper and used the rest of the vine to tie it. It looked like some small sized newspaper bundle you'd see at a store and made me homesick again, but I was pleased at my work.
Hopefully Thann would like it.
About thirty minutes later, he announced himself with his two note exclamation and I leapt to my feet in a grin.
He smiled at me and I held out the leaf bundle.
"Yini lokhu?" He took it and stared confused. "Amaqabunga aboshiwe. Umsebenzi omuhle." Then he went to hand the mass back.
I pushed it back to his chest. "No. It's Thann's. Present."
He looked again and I untied the vine. It fell open to show the matches.
"For Thann." I pointed to them and then to his chest.
His face turned to a full sunny beam as he picked at the matches. "Thann fire?"
I nodded and giggled. "Thann's fire. Happy Birthday."
"Emangalisayo!" He then lifted me into his arms and pressed me fully against his chest in a deep hug, one hand still holding his gift.
I hugged him back, melting into his heartening warmth, and soon the hug went from a happy exclamation to a loving embrace. His free hand moved slow and gentle over my back, and he nuzzled down into my hair.
My heart started beating strong, and lips parted in heavy inhalations. A heat fell over my body that had nothing to do with the blazing sun and it caused me to step back washed in embarrassment.
I patted over his arm platonically, my fingers shaky and tried to breath. "Just wanted to say thank you for all the help."
Thank you. Fire. He signed, eyes gazing strong.
"You're welcome," I said hushed and then turned back to my bins. No longer willing to see his watchful glance. "Should we start walking then?"
"Walk," he agreed, placing his new matches tucked safely in his pouch.
When we were packed, he started leading us off a diagonal path to the way we had been going. I figured he was trying to lead us around the open valley. It meant more steep mountains, but he'd been good to help with the wheelbarrow when I needed it so far.
I told the rest of the Triwizard book animatedly, and while we stopped for a lunch break, I taught him signing numbers one through ten. I used small green pebbles to show the numbers, as well as finger counting. I wasn't really sure how one through ten would help us, and especially since I didn't know any other numbers, but maybe I could figure out how many days I'm supposed to be walking to Molly. I didn't try with the signing alphabet, but I did think Molly needed her own sign.
"Molly," I spoke with my fingers in an M letter and signed like learning. Since she had taught Thann some English words, teacher Molly sounded right for an identifier.
"Molly." He followed. "Lissette."
"Um... Lissette could be for her dog, I guess? Lissette." An L with a tap to my thigh.
Lissette. "Mathe."
"Molly Mathe? No." I shook my head. "We don't have to do last names."
He looked contemplative then hit a flat hand against his chest. "Mathe."
"Okay. Molly Mathe."
His flat hand held over his ear. "Kayo." Then a flat hand pressing down at his chest. "Cane."
"Cane? What's Cane? Lissette's Dog? I thought he was Oscar?"
He turned to me and smiled. "Cane! Cane! Mfowethu. Iqembu lezimpisi. Cane. Mathe. Kayo."
"I don't understand." I was confused.
He looked around without purpose, trying to figure himself out. When he thought of something he tapped my new skunk pouch. "Cellphone! Movie. Baby! Baby El!"
I still wasn't understanding what he wanted. "I can't turn it on. The battery is dead. We haven't been charging it on our hikes." Finding my solar charger, I opened the panels to the sun and plugged the phone in. "It'll take a few hours for us to Movie."
He made a displeased sound and then thought of something else, turning me to him and looking deep into my eyes imploringly. "Cane. Mathe. Kayo. Thann. Indawo male. El. Molly. Lissette. Mataoka. Earth female."
My breath came out in a rush. "Oh! Wait! You mean Cane, Mathe, and Kayo are other people? Other men? Of your planet? Oh wow! ...Oh. I mean, I guess I shouldn't have thought that you left Molly and Lissette on their own somewhere. That sounds pretty dumb now." I laughed. "Mathe and Kayo. Oops. I thought they were last names." I asked a question with my expression. "Molly and Mathe together?" I mimed two fingers meeting together tall.
He nodded excitedly that I finally caught on. "Molly. Mathe. Mate."
I startled, eyes wide open at the discovery of the couple's bedtime activities. "Uh, hmm... that's nice."
"Lissette. Kayo. Mate." He said matter of factly.
"Okay, so you know the sexual habits of all your friends." I found it rather disturbing, until I really thought about it and laughed. "Actually, I guess Earth males would talk it up too."
His emotion changed then to one of sadness. "Cane. Mataoka. Mate."
"Oh no. Was Mataoka Cane's girlfriend? That's so sad." I stepped forward and touched his arm.
He looked at my hand and sighed. "Cane mate. Werewolf kill."
"Yeah, I remember you saying that's how she died. That's sad she meant something to Cane though." I hugged into him, trying to ease his frown. His warm hand rolled over my back softly.
After a loving minute, I patted him and then stepped back.
He looked up with a small smile. "Molly. Mathe. Baby." He put a large hand over my stomach.
My heart did a delightful little dance in my chest. "Aww! Molly's pregnant? They're going to have a baby?! That's so sweet!" I then realized that them bringing a baby into this beastly planet was kind of scary. "Whoa. Will Molly be okay? Do they have a house? Are they warm? Are they safe?"
"Safe. Mathe Molly safe. Yes."
"That's so neat. Maybe we should walk now? Go to Molly Mathe Baby faster?"
He nodded and we were on our way.
I was tiring of the wizard story for the time being, so as we walked I began to sing Earth songs I could remember. It was everything from Disney princess to musicals to Christmas carols. Thann kept sending side glances with grins my way so I kept singing when the terrain wasn't too strenuous.
Later in the day he even joined me in a striking rendition of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. We laughed for a moment and then he hushed me.
"Meat. No mouth."
I nodded and put the wheelbarrow down, thankful to get the weight out of my hands.
He placed his totes down and then started inching up the peak of the hill in front of us. I started following. He laid down on his belly at the top and looked over. I mimicked his angle and looked over the top.
In the valley below there was a herd of weird looking goats. They were long haired with goat like heads and horns, but very close to the ground with almost no legs. Were these things like what I thought was a pig when he ate it?
I pointed at the goats. Eat?
He nodded and put his hand on his dagger, lifting himself up to dash over the hill.
I grabbed his arm and he let me pull him back down. No Thann. El kill.
He shook his head. No. El hurt.
Stay. Watch. I pointed back and forth to our eyes.
Then I pulled the rifle from my back and aimed.
Letting my breath out, the bullet went right into a larger goat's neck.
44 BULLETS
"Umsindo omkhulu! Ukuduma!!" He shouted in surprise at the firing, eyes lifting to the sky.
The entire herd scattered around the valley, running into the trees. The shot goat ran with its buddies for only a few seconds before it fell to the ground spent.
"Ear?" He asked about the sound, still surveying the cloudless sky.
I pointed out to the dead goat and then the gun.
He stared back and forth from the goat to the gun.
Gun. "Kill. Yes-No."
"Yep. El. Meat."
He spoke to himself. "Akumangazi ukuthi uyawuthanda lowomshini. Ukubulala ibanga elide."
I stood at the hilltop and pointed to his dagger. "Go butcher it, big guy."
He nodded, though still seeming a little dazed. Then he stood and darted forward to the goat, taking it into the tree line.
I figured this was as good of place as any to set up camp, so I began laying the fence wire around and started us up a fire.
Thann came back with the thing butchered and it did look a lot like the pig, but the legs seemed much smaller. I signed Goat.
Goat. "Buzi."
"Hey, I can say that word," I laughed. "Buzi, buzi, buzi."
He smirked then cut a miniature leg off for me. "Buzi eat."
"Thanks," I placed it in my pan over the fire.
He sat down next to me comfortably and watched me fiddle with cooking. He then looked to me with a twinkle in his eye. "El."
"Yeah, what?" I asked at his scheming tone.
"El eat no fire meat. Thann eat fire meat." He slyly held a small piece of raw meat out.
"You want me to eat it raw? And you'll eat it cooked?" I eyed the outstretched meat chunk. "Is that a challenge Mr. Thann?"
He pressured, "El eat. Thann eat."
I chuckled. "Alright. I'll try it. But just because you've appealed to my wagering side."
I then cut a hefty piece of the cooked leg and handed it to him, taking his raw portion.
We both dug into our pieces, watching the other.
His face scrunched into rubbery misery, but I realized ...what? This was actually really good!
He was right. Not cooked was totally better. I mean I always liked steaks to the rarer side, but they were still always warm and the outside seared. This was red the whole way through, but so tender and juicy I couldn't believe it.
Man. I was stupid to tease Thann about eating it raw this whole time.
"Like," I smiled. "That is really good Thann. No fire meat good. Like."
More?
I nodded, and then smirked at him. "Thann more, fire?"
He made a face. No. Don't like.
I laughed at him.
He scowled playfully and then handed me a good cut of a raw piece. It was eaten down, the cooked leg long forgotten.
It was the middle of the night when my stomach rolled so badly, it woke me up. My body was freezing even against Thann and my hands were shaking in strong tremors.
My stomach rolled again, and my mouth started filling with saliva.
Shoot! I was going to be sick!
I jumped off Thann and ran to cower beside a bush, my insides spewing out.
"El!" Thann woke panicked and ran to my side.
"Don't come near," I begged as another round hit me.
"El hurt!"
He hovered over me for a few minutes as the sickness continued.
When I finally felt I wasn't going to lose my stomach for a moment, I brushed some soil over my mess and laid down in the grass holding my head.
"El hurt. Yes-No."
"Yes," I groaned. "Sick."
"Baby."
I looked over to him in anger, almost forgetting my stomach. "Baby? Who you callin' a baby? I cannot help being sick Dothraki."
He sat next to me and patted my stomach. "Molly -blaw-. Molly baby. El -blaw-. El baby."
I sat up to my arms wildly. "NoNoNoNo Dothraki! This is not morning sickness. No baby."
"No baby?" He asked confused. -blaw-
I laid back down, the quick movement already making me feel sick again. "No. No baby. I think it's food poisoning. Hurt-sick meat no fire."
"Meat no fire -blaw-?!" His eyes widened fearfully.
I nodded and then twisted back to my bush to let another round of sickness free.
He paced around me in terror. "Hhayi bo! Inyama eluhlaza ibulele umkami!"
"Stop your yelling," I pleaded between breaths and then rolled back to my back.
He kneeled beside me and tenderly took my hand. Thann help?
"Can I get some water?"
He nodded enthusiastically and ran for a bottle, holding it to me in no time.
I sat up and took the bottle, rinsing my mouth out. I felt like my whole body was sunken in. "El fire meat."
He let out a long exhale. "El fire meat. No hurt."
Rubbing my hands over my face, I nodded. "Hurt-sick no fun."
We sat in relative silence for another hour. The quiet only breaking for my occasional bout of continuing sickness.
But then he sat up tall and head darted around.
"What is it?" I asked miserably. Great. I'm puking my guts out and now is when a bear attacks? Come and get me. I'll ring the dinner bell. Put me out of my misery Mr. Panda.
He shook his head and scooted next to me, pulling me in his lap. "Ear. No ear."
"You thought you heard something?"
Heard.
I cuddled down into his chest, letting his heat warm me after the sickness freezing my body. His fingertips roamed my arm and it was so comforting, I finally felt myself starting to drift.
I jumped off his lap three more times through the night, but everything was already gone from my belly, so it was just terrible noises to frighten Thann with worse.
I was certain even if I wanted to try raw meat again, he would never let me even look at it.
That was, if I lived.
When sunshine hit my eyes, I realized I did live. So I sat up and tried for small bites of the last rambutan and sips of water. Thann hovered over me at every movement. Then I tried to stand to go do my morning business. He was not pleased when I grouched at him to stay put. He watched me barf, he did not also need to watch me pee.
I tried to start walking various times throughout the day. Each time I would be unceremoniously picked up and sat back on Thann's lap, him cradling me to his chest. By the afternoon, and my stomach completely settled, it started to become a game. How far would Thann let me walk from camp? So when he told me to stay and started to jog into neighboring trees, I decided to play another round.
He went South, and I went back the way we'd been walking for days. I had gotten nearly fifteen minutes away when I heard him shuffling in behind me. I giggled and waited for him to swipe me into his arms, but a full minute later and no pickup had me turning.
"Thann?"
But the area was empty.
I stopped and surveyed the surroundings. Just the same trees and vegetation as normal.
"Thann?" I asked again.
No reply, but I had that feeling where eyes were on you. I grabbed the rifle from my shoulder and pointed it around the trees, letting my senses take over. If one of those panda bears were going to jump out at me, I would be ready.
When a tiny snap of a branch came from my left, my scope darted that way, but nothing was in my sight. I inched into the trees toward the sound, ready to blow the brains off of whatever animal was trying to scare me.
A handful of steps later, I stopped cold as a snake head dropped in front of me. I went to pull the trigger, but my finger wouldn't move. And then as I stood there paralyzed, the snake head opened up into the most brilliant flower I'd ever seen.
My rifle instantly dropped to the ground, and I inhaled the sweetest perfume. It was those chocolate cookies with marshmallow frosting that my grandmother used to make during Christmas. The fragrance was undeniably beautiful, and my vision started doubling, glistening into some other time, the dancing glittering plant fading to black.
I stepped forward into my grandmother's kitchen, eager to taste Grandmother's delectable cookies. Her smiling face holding a plate out to six-year-old me. I lifted to my toes to breathe in over the plate. But instead of being warmed by the fresh from the oven cookies, my cheeks were warmed with pain.
"El! Vuka! Vuka!"
Another painful warming across a cheek.
"El! Sukuma njengamanje!"
Stinging across my other cheek.
My grandmother's kitchen was fading and Thann's face hovered over mine, ready to slap me again. I put up my hand to stop him. My voice was weak. "Hey, don't."
He yanked me into his chest and placed his head over mine, a deep breath of relief thrumming from him. He stroked over my head and back whispering again and again. "Uyaphila. Uyaphila. Uyaphila."
After a full five minutes of support, he let me away with an angered face. "No! No go! Stay. Kill!" He pointed to the withered flower head that had been severed from its vine only feet away. Plant kill! El stay!
I looked away ashamed. Sorry. I didn't mean to go off the path. I just thought I heard something and wanted to defend myself. How was I supposed to know a snake flower was out here? El no go. El stay. El no play.
He nodded and pulled me back to his chest and then carried me back to the campsite. I stayed sitting by him for the next hour, not saying anything. I felt horrible that my silly game almost ended in my death. It's one thing to be eaten by a bear, but I should not make mistakes and get poisoned by a flower just because I was flirting.
He handed me bits of jerky and water throughout the time and then he wandered around the campsite and picked up handfuls of tiny stones, dropping them next to me. Play.
I finally almost smiled. "Mancala play?"
He nodded, though wasn't as appreciative of the game as he had been last time I showed him how to play. He must think I need to play a game to stick around now.
I pushed holes into the dirt beside us and put the pebbles set for a new game. I needed to figure out some other games we could play, but mancala was a good one that didn't require language.
A few rounds down, I pointed to the way we'd been heading for days. "Go Molly?"
"Sleep. El hurt."
"I'm not hurt anymore. Stomach safe. Walk safe."
He shook his head. "No. Stay."
I sighed and nodded. "Okay. But we're wasting a walking day."
"Lesi sitshalo sazama ukubulala. Singaphumula ngelinye ilanga," he purred, petting down my head.
I nodded and when he was certain I was alright, he started a fire and made a soup from the jerky and a few vegetables.
I had to smile. "You cook now?"
He poured some soup into the smaller pot and handed it to me. Soup. Eat.
"Thanks big guy."
As we finished our soup, the sun set and darkness fell around us. We sat in silence watching the small fire. Thann then scooted close to me and held his arm around my back, leaning to me. I wasn't sure how to feel about it. It was causing deep shocks of electric heat inside me. The feel was romantic to me, and I couldn't help wondering if I lifted my head to him, would he kiss me? There had been plenty of flirting between us, but it never felt like such a coupling as right now. Sure, I'd slept in his lap plenty of times, but it usually felt more platonic. His arm around me, as it was now, felt so much more intimate than that. But how would I even know the romantic gestures on his world? What if I tipped my head? Should I try to kiss him instead?
I didn't have to worry about it much longer.
He released me, going cold and pointed his sharp eyes at me. "Stay."
I nodded and looked towards the fire, my heart pounding hard at my stupid thoughts that maybe there could be something romantic about us.
He set off and disappeared.
It hadn't been ten minutes when he came back staring me down. "Night."
"Okay," I spoke getting up and getting ready for bed.
He kicked out the fire, then sat back against a fallen log. I walked up to him and hesitated. Was I supposed to sit on him now? Or had something happened at the snake flower that he was still angry with me at?
"El," he spoke in an annoyed tone and held his arms out.
A relieved sigh broke through me. "I thought maybe you were done with that." I sat down across him and he pulled me tight, wrapping warm arms around me.
As I nestled down into him, a slight smile lifted my lips. I was wrong. It did not feel platonic.