Ashima felt so warm she never wanted to move. She had been at least slightly cold the entire time she'd been on this planet. Feeling comfortable and cozy for once was a welcome relief. So, still not very conscious from her deep sleep, she snuggled further into the warmth, letting out a long, content moan while her hands caressed the source of warmth in front of her.
All too quickly her brain jolted awake and it registered that her hands were touching bare skin, tensing against it. She moved her head back just enough to look and see she was pressed firmly against Kietnan's lavender chest. The rest of her waking up, she now realized his arms were circled around her, her head was laying on the spot where his right shoulder met his chest, and his left leg was over top of her thigh. She was frozen in place, both from their position and from the shock from it.
How did we end up like this?
What should I do?
Kietnan is a cuddler?!
Her heart began to race. Her eyes looked at the large chest in front of her, noticing the light scar from a few nights ago. Both from the memory of their position then and their current position now, she blushed furiously and felt her skin warm even further. She became hyper aware of everywhere their bodies touched, along with the fact that she could feel his breath on her hair.
She must be absolutely crazy. This man was a different species, topped with the fact that they couldn't communicate and he was still practically a stranger. But as he stirred slightly, pulling her closer to him and a low sound radiating from his chest, Ashima could not deny her reactions to the alien. She was physically attracted to him.
She should push away and free herself, her mind told her. Never go near him again. This was bad and would only ever end badly for her if she didn't squash these feelings deep inside now before it was too late.
But her body didn't move.
~~~~~~~~~~
An hour later Ashima fiddled with the hem of the shirt she was wearing and kept her eyes pretty much anywhere other than on the alien across the tent from her. Today she was wearing the clothing Kietnan had bought for her on their way home after walking through the wilderness and finding the flowers. She had been alternating between them and her own, thankful for an alternate so she could wash. Unfortunately, she's had to go commando while washing and drying her underwear since he hadn't thought to bring her any of those. She slept in the thin clothing that was provided to her in the medical tent.
"Shima." Kietnan stated.
She tensed but hoped her face showed neutral as she turned to look at him. He had a satchel packed and was putting on his socks.
"Are you going somewhere?" She said in alarm as she took a small step toward him. On the days he'd been gone for hours he had never taken a bag with him. Her heart lurched at the thought of him going on an overnight trip. She was truly becoming pathetic, she thought to herself but quickly squashed it. What else am I supposed to do? I have to rely on him.
"Shima." He repeated. "Deit. Boot." He pointed at her feet.
Her head tilted curiously. "Boot?"
He nodded.
She reached for his boots, assuming he was asking her to bring them to him.
"No." He shook his head. "Shima Boot."
"My boots?" Her brows furrowed in confusion. Finished with his socks, he stood and came to where she was standing, picking up her boots and handing them to her before grabbing her coveralls.
"Oh!" She quickly sat and put on her thicker outer layer socks she'd stored in her boots, followed by the pants portion of her coveralls, her boots, and then stood to put on the top half of the coveralls. Grabbing her goggles and face covering.
He put on his light jacket, followed by his pack, and they walked out the door. As they walked through the paths of the camp, Ashima's excitement died quickly. She received curious glances and glares from every person they passed. She confirmed that yes, every one of these natives had no hair on their head, no eyebrows, no eyelashes. Almost all of them had a shade of lavender skin, with a few having slightly darker shades of purple. She was thankful they could only see her clothes and not her skin and hair, that would potentially gain more than just the curious looks she was receiving now.
But the more pressing thing on her mind was the reason she was finally leaving the tent. She was initially so excited she hadn't stopped to think. Is Kietnan done with her? His time being assigned as her babysitter over? Would he pass her on to someone else? Someone more cruel? Or was he releasing her to her own care? While the thought of that would typically sound appealing, it only held fear for her now. But she did the only thing she could do, follow him down the path in silence.
Half an hour later, they reached a point where there were no more tents in sight in front of them. She looked around, nervous. Was he going to abandon her outside of camp? Tell her she was no longer welcome? One part of her said he would never do such a thing. That he had been too helpful to her so far to just abandon her now. But the other side of her said that she was already lucky for what she had been given. And that her time was bound to run out at some point.
"Kietnan?" She said timidly. He turned and looked down at her, but she couldn't read any expressions on his face. "Where are we going?" But of course he didn't understand her. He simply nodded toward the mountains ahead of them, west of camp toward the forest. The wilderness. He continued walking and she followed.
The further they got from the camp, the more nervous she became. "Are you going to leave me out here?" She asked him, her fear mounting. "Is it because I ate all of your meat? Am I becoming too much of a burden? I can give you more space, leave you alone more." She was becoming more and more panicked with each word she spoke.
He stopped and looked at her, questioningly. "Please..." She whispered. "I have nowhere else to go." She lowered her eyes and sniffled back tears, trying to will herself not to cry.
He took the steps to close the distance between them, reaching up with his large finger to wipe the tear from her face. She hadn't even realized a rogue one had escaped.
"No, Shima." Followed by words that she, of course, did not understand.
"No, don't cry because everything's fine?" She asked, with hope in her voice, "Or no, don't cry because it has to be this way?" The fear still not wanting to leave her. He offered her the tiniest bit of a smile and motioned for her to continue. Given how rare those smiles were from him, she wasn't sure if that was being offered as comfort in a good or a bad way. But she decided she had to trust him. And continued following him into the wilderness.
What was probably two hours later, no other natives or signs of intelligent life anywhere near them, Kietnan stopped and had her sit with her back to a large fallen log. They were in thicker forest at this point, surrounded by huge trees. She imagined this is what it would look like if she had visited the redwood forest or Sequoia national park in California. Perhaps these trees were even larger, more ancient. She, of course, had no way of knowing.
Underneath the giant trees were some smaller ones, although those were still large. But the tall canopy of leaves above them made it to where there wasn't too much underbrush beneath. She could just see rows and rows of trees as far as her eyes could see. He sat on the ground next to her, and began looking through his bag. He brought out a small jar of water and a small piece of dried meat and handed them to her.
Shema, "Kneit."
"Net? Does kneit mean eat?" She motioned with her hands.
"Yiet, he noted."
"Kneit means eat." She added it to her mental dictionary. She had to figure out how to ask Kitenan for some pen and paper so she could write these words down. She accepted the food and water, doing as he asked.
He brought out a purple vial for himself and drank it down quickly.
She, however, had to gnaw on this tough meat so it took her several minutes. She wondered if that's why he preferred the jars of liquid. Ease and speed. It seemed like a decision he would make. No nonsense, no fuss.
After going behind a tree to do her business, they were eventually walking ahead again. She managed to push her fear and worry to the back of her mind, and simply enjoyed all of the wonders this exploration had to offer. Despite the freezing cold, the forest and landscape was absolutely beautiful. She was surprised that much of their trip had been pretty flat so far. Even though the steep mountains had been visible all around them at camp. The camp in the forest must have been in some kind of humongous valley, between the mountain ranges.
They entered an area where the underbrush was getting thicker as they walked, making it more difficult to travel. Suddenly, Kietnan crouched low, motioning behind him with his hand for her to stop. She froze in place and ducked down to the ground as well. Her heart spiked and her breathing quickened. What was out here that Kietnan was afraid of? If he was afraid, she should be terrified. He turned and held out his hand at Shema, "No Donto."
"Donto? Are you telling me you don't want me to follow?"
He held out his hand again, flat in the air towards her. "No Donto, Shima." He shook his head.
She nodded, hesitantly. The last thing she wanted was to be left here alone, but she had to assume he knew what he was doing.
He nodded at her before pulling a long blade out of the side of his pack, and took off in a sprint through the thick foliage.
"Donto means follow." She whispered to herself as she stared at the foliage where he had disappeared. The direction he went and him pulling out the knife and sprinting off like that at least gave her some peace that he wasn't simply abandoning her.
She heard the screeches of some kind of animal, followed by a loud yell from Kietnan that she could only describe as a war cry. With one more loud screech from the animal, everything went silent. She decided the silence was worse. She sat there, every muscle in her body was tense. What should she do now? Or should she go try to find him? Was he OK? Injured? Was he dead? Her heart clenched at that thought, and she quickly pushed it away.