CHAPTER 20 ~ MATES
"God, I'm starving," I complained.
"Just a little longer, then the meat will be ready," Alexis said. "And how can you still be starving? You already ate three parrots."
"As a panther," I replied. "As a human, I'm still hungry. And then comes the nymph part, but that one is easily statisfied with some water."
She rolled her eyes and continued turning the meat over the fire she created. On my other side Shasta and Zeb were playing tic-tac-toe in the sand. I turned around and watched their game from over Shasta's shoulder.
"There," I said, pointing.
Shasta laughed, painted his circle on the spot I showed him and painted a stripe over his three circles.
"I win," he announced. "Thank you, Namir."
He turned his head and kissed me gently. Zeb looked at us curiously. I broke the kiss and when Shasta asked why, I pointed at Zeb.
"What is it, Zeb?" I asked.
He shook his head."I'll tell you later."
I continued staring at him. Ever since Shasta and I had climbed aboard again and we had headed toward La Isla del Coco, Zeb was thinking. A lot. He hadn't talked much and when we went hunting for food he had been very quiet, chewing on a bite of grass.
"Meat's ready," Alexis announced, breaking the silence. "Come and get it."
All three of us sat down next to her. She handed out our portions. I noticed her portion was bigger then the other. She saw me looking and grinned evily. I shrugged and let it go. I leaned against Shasta and nibbled on my parrot wing. I finished my wing and felt thirsty.
I raised my hand and four balls of water came flying. They hovered in the air in front of me and with a whisk the salt disappeared from it. Then three of them flew away and each went to another person.They saw the balls and looked at me in confusion.
"How are we supposed to drink this?" Alexis asked.
I opened my mouth and a small part of my ball broke off and drifted into it. I swallowed the coll, refreshing water and then watched he others drink. After that, everyone look statisfied.
"Namir, I'm going to keep my promise," Zeb started. "I'll tell you what I've been thinking about. You see, some animal species are monogamous. They only mate with one other. Good examples are wolves and bald eagles. Humans are very rarely monogamous, but once you have been injected with animal DNA, that changes. After you have been injected you are beautiful to all, but only attracted to one, your mate. The problem is that you don't realize who your mate is. You can already love him or her or it can be someone you have never known. Deep inside, you already know who it is and there you already have feelings for him or her, but it can't find a way out. Not until you kiss with your mate. That is the reason why mates are very rare to find each other and you two are lucky that you did."
Both Shasta and I were quiet. We were mates... But... how... I looked at him for help and he was looking at me for help. A smile showed on my face and I hugged him.
"Zeb, what do you do with a mate exactly?" Shasta asked.
"Well, besides making kids? You will always be together and never love anyone else, even if the most beautiful person in the world loved you. When you're away from each other, you feel like there is a part of you missing and you'll be willing to do or pay anything to see him or her for just a minute..." he trailed of and I could see that he knew all this from a firsthand experience.
Alexis moved over and sat next to him, rubbing his back. "Who was your mate?" she quietly asked.
Zeb looked away and when his head turned back, he was crying. "I loved her," he sobbed. "But she wasn't mine to be. We kissed but she was already married. Married! I had to leave her, but I promised myself that one day I will go back there and kill him. He never loved her. She comes from a rich family and he needed the money. She told me that. She couldn't leave because she would be punished for running. And I don't wan't her to be hurt."
The three of us didn't know what to do with a crying man that found his mate but couldn't be with her. I looked at Alexis and saw that she had made her choice. I now knew that Shasta would follow me anywhere and stick with me whatever I did.
"Zeb," I said, causing him to look up. "We'll help you."
"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.
"We'll help you find and kill him so you can be with her," Alexis clarified.
On her face, I already saw that she would enjoy the hunt. She has always loved torturing people. She was definetly going to help kill him. I wasn't. It will be enough for me to see Zeb with his mate.
"Zeb, what's her name?" I asked.
"Ayala Delore, married to Alem Aradia. She has a son. He looks so much like his mother."
"Don't worry. We'll find them, I'm sure," I told him.
He wiped away his tears. "Time to go to bed, kids. Apparently, tomorrow, we have to get to the mainland," he told us firmly.
I got up and walked to the nearest bush. I took off my clothes, folded them up and started shifting. When I was done, I took my clothes in my mouth and trotted back. Alexis was gone, shifting in another bush and the guys had just done it here.
I put my clothes down on a stone and curled up next to the grown husky. Shasta looked at me with his deep brown eyes. I caressed him with my tongue, licking his ear. Then I noticed that where the black touched the white on his body there now was a streak of brown.
He looked at it, shrugged and put his head on his paws. Alexis came back and lay down. I snuggled myself against Shasta warm body, my head next to his. He put his head on my neck and I saw Alexis express her disgust by slashing her tail back and forth irritantly.
Zeb just looked at us, a look of desire coming into his eyes. He shook his head and closed his eyes. I did the same and listened to the sound of the waves beating against the shore. Around me the breathing slowed and I also dozed of.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
A movement around my right ear woke me. I opened my left eye and then my right eye. Shasta was nuzzling me. I sat up and licked him. Almost immediately, Alexis' tail wacked me.
"Oww," I complained.
I turned around and she sat there watching us with a grossed out expression on her face. Behind her, Zeb was staring of into space, obviously thinking of Ayala. In front of him was a small fire and a parrot hovering above it. I got up and sat down next to him. Shasta growled soft, but possesive. He didn't me to be with another man, even if that man was his replacement father.
"So, how are we going to get to the mainland?" I asked him, ignoring Shasta's possesive growling.
He focused his gaze on me. "I was thinking about taking the boat. Then we need to get ourselves cellphones and contact the agency."
"When are we leaving?" Shasta asked.
Zeb shrugged. "I have no idea, sorry."
I rolled my eyes. "Well, it's obvious. We have to reach land in the dark. So we're leaving around five, without the boat."
"Transport?" Alexis asked.
"I don't know, think of something. You know your elements, use them," I said.
Everyone grew very quiet, thinking of how to use it. I knew Alexis was planning on using her dragon again. I would shift again and Shasta would most likely acompany me in some sort of way. Zeb would probably surf with Alexis. I started thinking of a way to keep Shasta with me.
I got up and walked to the forest, I needed some alone time. I heard Shasta trailing behind, not wanting to lose his new-found mate. I sighed and started running. Passing a tree, I climbed in and waited for him. He came closer and closer and ran past the tree.
At the same time I jumped on his back and we rolled over the floor. When we lay still, I got up and ran away. He followed me and ried catching me, but I was too fast. Each time when he jumped, I changed direction rapidly and stood at a distance laughing at him when he hit the ground.
But soon, he learned to use his element. He would jump and at the same time, the earth around me would rise up and create a wall so I couldn't get out. He would jump on me and then we would roll over the floor, laughing. Then I stood up and would run away again. We had a lot of fun.
We reached the other side of the island and in the distance I could see the coast ofCosta Rica. In the water, I heard dolphins playing. I laughed at their childishness, which reminded me of my own. I was definetly a Child of the Sea. And I enjoyed it.
Shasta sat down beside me and I also plopped down on my haunches. A light morning breeze blew in my face and I scooted closer to the husky. He understood my action and put his paw posesively over my neck. I let out a deep, content sigh and stared at the horizon.
The dolphins were still playing and a few ships passed. One in particular caught my attention. It was very big and looked like a cruise-ship. I remembered my dream of once owning my own boat and going on vacation with my husband. With him I would sail to wherever we pleased to go.
I now pictured Shasta as that husband. It was different from what I had imagined years ago. My perfect husband was long, funny and looked like Shasta. But the difference was that know I knew that Shasta was my mate. It changed my whole perspective. I sighed again.
While I was lost in my litte fantasy, the cruise-ship came closer. I now focused n it and nothing would distract me. I felt that Shasta was snuggling me and that he felt my tension. He whined softly, trying to get my attention. I shook my head.
Slowly, as the cruise-ship came closer, I realized what it wanted. It was going to dock here. I looked left and right. Shasta with me. Right was a dock that went far enough out to dock a cruise-ship. Left was a small hut. I got up and walked towards it.
I smelled cotton, plastic, sweat and detergent. When I looked in, I saw that there were beach-chairs stacked on top of each other and the rest of the small hut was taken in by towels. Hundreds of 'em. I turned around quickly and ran to the surf where I peered at the ship. Slowly, its size grew and slowly I became more visible.
I stood there for at least five minutes. I could feel Shasta's eyes burning on my back. When the cruise-ship was so close that the people on board could almost see me, the black panther on a white beach, without a binocular, I turned and bolted for the forest. In the shadow of the trees I waited for Shasta, who came a few minutes later. I ran back and he followed me, but we weren't playing any game this time.
We were running for our lives.
I burst onto the beach first and Alexis and Zeb had been pacing the beach. I could see that from their tracks. Shasta glided to a stop next to me.
"I have to tell you somehing," Alexis and I said at the same time. "A cruise-ship is about to dock on the island."
We looked at each other in confusion. How had she known that a cruise was coming here? Maybe Zeb felt the pollution.
"Yes, that's exactly what he felt," Alexis commented.
"We have to leave, like NOW!" Zeb butted in.
I nodded and grabbed my clothes. I created a small bag of water that fit nicely around my back and placed them in it. When I looked up, the others were also packing their clothes. Shasta created a small gear from sand and put his clothes underneath it. Alexis had decided to shift and so had Zeb.
I stepped onto the water and watched Alexis make her dragon and mount it after she had shifted. Together we waited for the others. Zeb was making some surfboard made out of air, he was planning to surf the wind. Shasta stepped into the surf and with a rumble the seafloor rose up. He stepped on the platform and smiled a wolfy grin at me.
Then he barked, signaling that we were ready. Meanwhile, the sea floor rose up in front of him, already making a pathway. Above us, Zeb was making some awesome air tricks and Alexis flew away on her dragon. I dug my heels into the water and sped away, following Alexis, with Shasta on my heels.
I had no problem getting a good grip, but Shasta's ground went a bit slow. Once, I noticed that he was falling back. I braked and walked to his side, purring. He shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Namir. It just goes too slow. Leave me. I'll find a way."
I saw how much effort it took him to say that he wanted me to leave his side and I would never do that, so I froze a path for him. Wherever I stepped, next to it the water would freeze. I walked twenty metres and Shasta looked in surprise at my creation.
He carefully stepped on it and then he ran to catch up with me. Then we ran together to catch up with Alexis and Zeb who had already advanced, but were waiting for us. No doubt that Alexis had warned Zeb that we had fallen behind. She saw usand shot a flare up into the sky.
I immediately extinguished it with a big ball of water.
The cruise can see it and come look here, I thought as an explanation.
From down here, I could see her nod and kick her dragon in his flanks. Zeb was caught in the wind again and Shasta advanced at the same pace as me. I ran directly beneath Alexis and followed her dragon's shadow.
We ran like that for a while and slowly the island disappeared in the distance. But at the same time, Alexis was steering her dragon towards a big pack of dark clouds. Zeb was already looking worried and Shasta had already howled at Alexis to stop.
She didn't listen and coursed towards the storm. But the storm moved away from us. I sighed in relief and looked behind us, scanning the area for threats. I finally noticed that it had gotten dark and that following us was the lights of a cruise-ship.
"Shit," I muttered.
Then came the understanding.
Alexis, extinguish your dragon. The cruise-ship is following us, I shouted in my mind.
Looking up, I saw her respond. She looked over her shoulder and immediatey hrr dragon shot down. She hovered close beside me.
"What do we do?" she shouted over the roar of the rising waves and the howling wind.
We have no other choice. We have to go into the storm to hide you and avoid contact with the ship, I thought.
She got a pained look on her face, but flew on. I followed her, speeding up. Next to me and above me, the guys copied it. They also understood that we had to hide in the storm. Zeb surfed down and now we were speeding forward side by side.
I was ahead with Alexis and so we stepped into the storm first. I was hit hard by rain, but it felt like soft, caressing fingers. When I looked at Alexis' face, it looked unhappy. Shasta's face was just pain. Zeb blew the rain away with his wind, but couldn't avoid getting hit.
Above us, lightning lit the sky and was followed by thunder. In the second when the sky lit up, I saw the others straining to continue their journey forwards. I also felt my strength leave me and the rain that felt like hammers pounding on our backs wasn't helping.
I now knew why Alexis had gotten a pained look on her face. She knew we would have to pass through the pain. I pulled together my strength and created a bowl of water over the others. They all looked at me thankfully and we continued, but a bit slower.
Shasta suddenly got a happy look on his face and led the way. I knew that he had found land and followed him with a feeling of relief slowly spreading inside me. I felt the amount of water underneath us decrease and let go of the bubble.
We somehow managed to reach the shore and I watched the others reach the sand. Zeb went through his knees and Alexis' dragon disappeared from under her. She fell into the water with a splash, unable to go further. Shasta jumped off of his road and stumbled into the surf where he fell down, too exhausted to go Nymph and get energy from his element.
I grabbed Alexis in her collar, stumbled to the beach and dropped her on the sand.Shasta shifted in front of my eyes. I crawled next to him and then fell into the sand with the waves rushing over my feet. I shifted, using up my last bit of strength and then everything turned as black as my fur.