34 BULLETS
Thann and I walked in silence for an hour, until my back started bleeding with the effort of walking and the forgotten stitches. He sat me down and quietly worked cleaning and setting the area. After we started walking again, I spoke up a question as he helped me climb up a tall bank.
"Thann?"
"Hmm?"
I wasn't sure how to ask with the few words he knew. "I want to learn your whole name."
He lifted me by the waist and plopped me up on the top of the shelf before climbing up himself.
When he began the walk again, I grabbed his arm and had him stop to look at me. "Hi, my name is El. Eleanor Kay Stevens." I tapped his heart and made my voice low and manly. "Hi, my name is Thann. DadadadadaThanndaddada."
Smile lines appeared at his eyes and the tip of his lip smirked up surely in appreciation to my awesome guy voice.
"So what is it. El-Eleanor. Thann-Thhhhhh?"
He twisted from me and started walking again.
"Thann," I complained with sadness. "I want to know how to say it. Cane said it."
But he only walked on.
So I did too.
Twenty paces further, he spoke. "Yena Wothanndo."
My pace quickened. "Wait. Yeina Wathandew?"
He chuckled and spoke again when I caught up. "Yena Wothanndo."
It took a good twenty minutes, but he was patient with me until I was able to correctly use the intonations and vowels.
We were still walking, but he turned and caught my eye, giving me a sunny smile.
I smiled back. "Nice to meet you Yena Wothanndo."
He held his hand out, but not to shake. More like in the Victorian movies where the man might kiss the woman's hand. My stomach heated in anticipation, and I placed my hand to his.
Instead, his fingers moved around mine until he was holding my hand. He grinned with a wink. "Thann."
My insides flooded like a hormonal teenager, and I finally knew we were okay.
He then learned my whole name, but it barely took him two minutes to get mine right.
"Eleanor Kay Stevens," he smirked down to me, still holding my hand.
"I like El." I told him. Hearing him say Eleanor felt strange now, like I was always El. But his voice around my full name was intensely sexy and caused a zing down my spine.
The sun was near setting when I tugged on Thann's hand. "Sleep?" We were in a perfect little clearing with a great place for a fire.
His brow furrowed looking straight on for a moment then he watched over the position of the sky. He nodded at some unheard thought and he softened and turned to me. He smiled. "Eyes. No see."
"No see?" I asked confused. It looked like a good spot to stop to me. I didn't know what he was seeing that made it bad, but I would trust his judgment. "Okay." I started stepping away, ready to keep walking.
He was suddenly in front of me and I bumped straight into him.
"Goodness Thann," I laughed, hands gliding up his chest. "You have to stop moving like that. You're too fast."
"No see," he said again, a boyish humor to his words. Then he put his hand over my eyes, forcing them closed. "No see."
"Oh, okay. I can close my eyes. What are you doing?"
He moved his hand away, but I kept my eyes closed.
"Like this?"
"Good." And then he swept me up into his arms.
"Thann!" I squawked in surprise and laughed.
He playfully scowled. "No see."
I had opened my eyes. "Oops, sorry." I closed and held my arms around his neck.
And then he was running.
I barely even knew he was. He ran so fluidly, even with me in his arms that mostly a breeze of wind alerted me. Maybe it was like when I rode the back of my boyfriend's motorcycle in high school. Motion yes, but ultimately a smooth ride. I knew I was moving, but it wasn't bouncing.
I tucked myself deeper into Thann's shoulder, snuggling into his warmth.
It was probably a good thing he had me close my eyes. I'm sure it would be like a crazy roller coaster if I opened them and with how I got so motion sick with that other wolf, I'd prefer not to puke on him when he got where he wanted.
After about twenty minutes and the air cooling with the sun finally sliding behind the mountain, he slowed.
"Eyes, no see," he cautioned.
I nodded my agreement, and he placed me down on the ground. His fingers moved to around my eyes.
The ground was squishy under my feet like soft grass. "Can I open yet?"
He moved around to my back and placed a hand over my opposite shoulder. "Yes, see." His husky voice whispered to my ear and fingers pulled away from my eyes.
I opened and let my eyes adjust.
In front of me,
Was my wheelbarrow.
My wheelbarrow.
My Earth things.
I stood stock still taking in the sight.
My bin of emergency supplies.
My bin of collected food.
I couldn't speak.
I couldn't move.
It was there.
All my things.
He had brought me to my things.
It felt like the best gift I'd ever been given.
Thann was watching me with heavy eyes and I hadn't even twitched in a whole minute of staring. "El?" He asked carefully, like I was porcelain.
I finally broke out of the stupor and just nodded.
My eyes started watering, joyful tears holding in my eyes like pools.
When one drop overflowed, I broke loose.
My head dropped to my hands to catch the tears and I bent to a crouch.
My body was heaving with silent tears and suddenly Thann was bent beside me.
His warm hand was held softly at my back. "El. Cry. El hurt? El no happy?"
"No, no no no," I hiccupped. I lifted my head to him and made a wide smile. "Happy. Very happy." I leaned to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, tightening myself to him.
He held me close, palming down my hair.
"Thank you. Happy." I spoke to his chest.
He let me stay like that until I composed myself. When I was well enough, I squeezed him again then went to check through my supplies.
My thermal cooker was right out on top and I wanted to hug it. We could have soup again! Soup!
Oh and my sleeping bag. I cuddled it against my face. My flashlight. My saw and bucket. My perimeter fence. My cellphone charger!
Bullets. I sighed like heaven. Bullets. I took a moment and moved a good handful into my pouch with the cell. "I won't forget you my lovelies."
I went through my tools and moved onto the food bin, grabbing a water bottle and downing it.
I was nearly crying again. Thann's water pouch was great, but it always gave off a musty taste. I missed my plastic bottles.
Thann and I looked through the food bin, and it seemed that those quilled rodents had a good dinner with the abandoned bin. We threw most of it away. I pouted as he chucked the rest of the carrots into the trees.
"Aww," I complained. "Those tasted so good."
At least I could get more.
I held out my precious box of matches. "Should we make a fire?"
He stood and circled the area. After a full look, he pointed at a tree. "Sleep."
I nodded. "Tree is okay."
I turned on my flashlight and made a happy sigh. I didn't even care that I was wasting the last of my batteries when there was still enough light to see. It was like a safety. Like a child clutching a teddy bear, a flashlight was my happiness.
He chuckled and started digging through his basket for our dinner.
A permanent smile was on my face as I nibbled through jerky and potatoes, just staring at my supplies.
After a long while, I looked to Thann and gave a soft smile. "Thanks for getting me back here. Thank you, wheelbarrow."
He flashed a smile and nodded.
Although we had been intimate in the same day, we had barely held hands since, so I wasn't sure what his position with me anymore was. So I went to sit close, tapped my fingers together, and signed, Kiss?
His glance dipped to my lips and my heart sped as he leaned close.
I closed my eyes, waiting for him and his lips hovered over mine. "Eleanor."
My breath hitched at my full name spoken so deeply and opened hooded eyes. "Yena Wothanndo," I answered.
He grinned and captured my face in his hand and pulled me to his kiss.
The happiness that surrounded me with him was eternal. Like stars coming together, two beings of different planets were meant to be.
I didn't want to be the silly romantic that said I felt like I knew him my whole life, but this me was a whole new life. And he'd been there through most of it.
He pulled away and leaned his forehead against mine. His voice now heavy and forlorn. He was unhappy. With a sigh, he spoke, "El, Maza mate."
But I giggled.
He was not expecting that reaction and sat back in question. He was probably expecting a fight when he talked about Maza dude again.
I held out my ponytail. "Don't make me cut my hair Thor. I'd be super mad." I giggled again and followed him, straddling over his lap. I was sick of hearing about Thann handing me off and I'd no longer hear of it. Wrapping my hands over his jaw, I smiled and started setting soft pecks across his cheeks. My voice was low. "No Maza. Only Thann." I then kissed him biting his bottom lip. "Why don't we break in my sleeping bag before we go up in the tree."
His eyes darted to look at the large tree.
I stood off his lap and grabbed his wrists, lifting him to a stand. "Come on handsome," I winked.
He smirked and let me guide him.
We never made it to the tree that night, so I woke tangled around him. The cool of the morning was reminding my shoulder that we never refreshed the healing paste after dinner. I didn't want to move from my snuggled spot, but the thought of having my supplies back and having ibuprofen had me jumping to a stand.
Thann's eyes widened and he sat up in a flash.
My hands opened in calm, "oh! Sorry. I just wanted medicine. You can sleep."
He softened. "Medicine?"
"Yeah." I started digging around until I found the bottle in my purse. I downed two and though I knew it was absurd, instantly felt the pain at my shoulder lesson.
Placebo effect rocked.
He was up now and digging through his own pack and brought out his bowl of paste.
And while placebo effect was awesome, I would happily bathe in his white healing concoction. So when he pointed at the sleeping bag and signed sit, I immediately obeyed.
He washed off the area and refreshed the stitches and paste, then started roaming my back and arms with delicate fingertips.
It was a sweet movement. Soft, joyful touches that brought me sighing in contentment. His hands moved to my hair and started combing through the strands with his fingers.
I had always liked people playing with my hair and his touch was more divine than I could have guessed. Relaxing and beautiful. Even when he got to a tangle, he was gentle, releasing the locks from their grip and soon my hair was smoothed all the way throughout.
I looked soft eyes up and him with a sweet smile.
He grinned and helped me up, holding my extra shirt out to me.
"Thanks," I took it and was so glad to have another Earth shirt to wear.
A change of clothes was going to rock.