Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Here, at the farthest caves, we will need to hunt something large for the bones and large skins to stretch to make sleds. A large one for me, and a smaller one for Mah-dee. I would drag both behind me if I could, but I suspect my fierce, yellow-maned human would not like that much. Just thinking about her reaction makes me smile.
Being with her has been…joyous. There is no other way to describe it. If I was alone, I would be full of despair, worrying over my tribe. But with Mah-dee, she forces me to think logically. To trust that the others are safe under the chief’s care, and to focus on the task at hand. To her, there is no problem that cannot be fixed.
This journey has not been so lonely with her at my side. I wake up each morning with her in my arms, and I go to bed each night in a different cave, but with Mah-dee’s hands tucked against my chest. We mate most nights, but sometimes she is too tired, and that is fine, too. It is enough to hold her close and inhale her scent. It is enough to hear her laugh, or to see the smile cross her funny human face.
When she is with me, I think that even the destruction of the cave is not so bad. It is not something that will destroy us. We will survive and go on. Mah-dee has started her world over. Li-lah, as well. Each human female who found herself here in the snows of our planet, far from home, has started their worlds over. The sa-khui can do this, and be stronger for it.
Mah-dee teaches me this every day.
“So how far are we from the ocean?” Mah-dee asks, shielding her eyes from the sunlight. Today is one of the first days that the suns have broken through the dark gray clouds, and the sight of them has made both of us happy. Sunlight means no more ash. No clouds and no earth-shakes mean things will return to normal soon…and the brutal season will remain at bay for one more day.
O-shun means great salt water to her. I remember this. I point at the spiky mountains on the horizon. “On the other side. Did you want to go?”
“Can we cross those?”
“Not easily. We would go around. Take the long way. It will add another two hands of days to travel.” I think for a moment and then add, “My hands, not yours.”
She wiggles her four fingers at me and grins. “I’d like to see what the ocean looks like here, but we should probably get back to the tribe as soon as possible. I guess now’s not the time for a detour.”
“True. I would still go for you.”
“You’re sweet,” she says, squeezing my fingers. “You can just tell me about it instead. Is it blue?”
“Is what blue?” I begin to head down the far side of the hill. The snow here is deeper, and I turn back and offer her my hand so she can descend easily.
“Is the ocean blue?” She grabs my hand and tilts her snowshoes, like I have shown her.
“No, it is green.”
“That sounds gross. Like a dirty swimming pool. Maybe I’ll just pretend it looks nice since we’re not going to go see it.”
“You would not want to swim,” I caution her. “The shore is very rocky and would tear at your feet. Plus, there are many things that live in the water that could eat you in a bite.”
“Charming. I love this place.” Her tone is dry. “So where are we? Close to where you found me and my sister?”
“Closer to the mountains. We would need to journey for another day or two in order to reach it.”
“Good. I really don’t want to head in that direction.” She shudders, and I feel the tremor in her hand. “Sometimes I still have nightmares about those little green dead guys and what might have happened if the ship hadn’t crashed.”
I squeeze her hand tightly in mine. I do not like to think about that at all.
Mah-dee pauses at the base of the hill, pretending to adjust the straps of her pack. I have learned these little tricks; she does not want to tell me that she is tired, so she checks her things. Sometimes it is her shoes, sometimes her pack. I wait patiently, pretending not to notice that she is breathing hard. Every day, she gets stronger and can go for longer, but she is still new to this life. It will take time, and even then she will never be as strong as a sa-khui female. Humans are delicate.
It is good that I am strong and capable, because I can take care of her. The thought gives me fierce pleasure.