The foods were of a particular sort, their nutritional values going beyond mere protein, carbs, and fats. These were made with ingredients that naturally bolstered and enhanced thepigments now taking hold in her body. The living, symbiotic plant colors would soon be fully integrated with her own flesh, but the first few days were always a little tenuous, and Rohanna and Tikanna had both agreed she should be given a little something extra to help the pigment bind faster.
“Damn, I feelgreat,” Shalia said aloud as she dropped her nearly licked-clean plates in the communal washing bin and headed out for a stroll.
The air smelled different. Crisper. More fragrant. And the sounds around her were changed as well. Not louder, but enhanced. She squinted up at the distant hills and could have sworn she could actually focus on details she hadn’t been able to see before.
“It’s the runes,” a familiar voice said from her left.
She turned to see Zepharos leaning against a building, watching her as she began acclimating to her new abilities.
“Is it always like this?”
“For some. Others don’t really react at all. But the more significant changes will take time to present themselves.”
“Like what?”
“You may find you are stronger. Or perhaps you will be able to see great distances. It varies wildly, but with the quality of the pigment you were given, I would wager you will have at least a few enhancements once it’s all healed.”
Shalia kind of liked the sound of that. It was sort of like being told you were going to become a superhero, though she had no idea what kind. Obviously, she wouldn’t be flying or get laser eyes, but if a rune on her wrist could make it easier to open stuck jars, that would be pretty cool too.
“Shit,” she muttered. There wouldn’t be jars. Not anymore. She wasn’t on Earth, and things worked a whole lot differently here.
“What troubles you?”
“Just thinking about home. Everything is different now. New.Alien. And the one thing I still had from Earth even after the Raxxians took me was taken by the Dohrags. Bastards.”
“What was it, if I may ask?”
“Just a stupid bracelet my friend gave me years ago. It doesn’t have any real value, but I’ve worn it for years.”
Zepharos fell silent a moment in thought. “Well, I was not planning on taking anyone with me?—”
“Wait, you’ve got a way back to Earth?”
“No, nothing like that. What I was going to say was I wasn’t going to take anyone with me to the Dohrag camp, but if you wish to join me, I would enjoy the company. And who knows? Perhaps we will find this bracelet of yours in the process.”
“You’re going to their camp? But why?”
“Because Kuxx informed our village elders of the situation there before he left. The abandoned crops. The items left behind.”
“But isn’t that dangerous?”
“We understand the Dohrag’s other shuttle was undergoing repairs that apparently required parts from the next ship to visit our world. They are stuck on their supply platform, for now at least.”
“And you’re going to go empty out their ground base?”
“Something like that. As well as assess their crops to see if perhaps we might harvest some for ourselves and other villages before it all rots and goes to waste.”
Shalia had been so caught up in the whole freedom and repatriation of other captives that her missing personal items had slipped her mind at the time. But now an interesting opportunity had presented itself.
“I’ll do it,” she said without further hesitation. “When are we going?”
“I was actually heading to the shuttle right now. Are you sure you’re up for it? Your runes are quite fresh.”
“It’s a quick flight, and we’re not going to be doing any heavy labor. So yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.”
Zepharos shrugged with a little grin and headed off towardthe hidden Dohrag craft. When they stepped aboard, Shalia noted there was another person there. A man named Orvus. He sat at the controls, apparently ready to play pilot for the day. Zepharos noted her confusion.
“There are other locations to survey now that we possess this vessel. Orvus is going to drop us in the Dohrag farming compound then return to collect us after a few hours. We should be done with our task well before he returns.”
