I can’t see a way to deal with this without being an absolute jerk. Of course, the baby needs safety. I get that. But it gives this caveman intruder the ultimate argument to do just about anything in my home.
And I don’t want them in my home. It’s mine and Callie’s—the only place the jungle couldn’t reach. And now it’s inside.
“Yes,” I agree tightly as I check out the pot he’s boiling. It looks like fruits of various kinds, like a compote, as well as herbs. Probably he’s preparing the food for the baby. But all I can thinkishe moved my stuff. And I was going to fry some filets over that fire.
“What if you and Aker’iz not go in ship until danger comes? You can sleep outside. Build a hut. I can help.”
He puts Aker’iz over one massive shoulder and pats her back. “The ship is safer than a hut. Bigs and Smalls may not come here, but Tinies might. They don’t think much. I want Aker’iz sleeping safely at night.Withthe door closed.”
“The hatch,” I snap, feeling powerless and latching on to the only thing I can object to in what he said without being a total bitch. “Is not a door. Ishatch.”
“Hatch,” he repeats. “Did you hear that, Aker’iz?”
The baby gives off a little burp and then squeals with glee as Kenz’ox lifts her over his head and tosses her into the air like a toy.
She doesn’t sound like a dactyl at all. The girls and I were always so careful about not making noises any louder than the hiss from the beach, and now there’s a freakingsiren.
I spot Otis standing on one of the barricades, staring at the newcomers with his gigantic eyes. I walk over to him. “Yeah, they moved in last night. Just like that.”
He snakes his tail around my waist without taking his eyes off Kenz’ox.
“I know,” I tell him as I reach down to scratch the back of his head. “Callie’s not back yet. I wonder what she’d do if she came home and saw that guy. She couldn’t just come out and say ‘hi.’ She might have to stay away unless she saw me there, too.”
Kenz’ox suddenly gets up, staring at us. “Move away, Dorie! Slowly!”
“Not danger,” I yell back to him. “Only Otis. Is nice.”
He comes striding, hand on his sword. “That’s agriket. Very dangerous. Step away from it.”
Otis’s grip on my waist tightens and he dips his head, still staring.
“Dangerous to other,” I state. “Not to me. Not hurt him.”
The two deadly creatures stare at each other.
“It’s all right. It’s just Kenz’ox.” I carefully grab a handful of Otis’s fur to keep him from pouncing. If he does, Kenz’ox may have no other choice but to kill him. “Kenz’ox, it better if you go back to Aker’iz. Otis not will attack.”
I’m not sure about that at all. If Otis is as territorial as some predators on Earth, he might want to get rid of these two intruders in the way he sees as the most effective.
Kenz’ox slowly pulls back a couple of paces. “If I see a griket anywhere near Aker’iz, I will chase it away in any way I can. One griket looks like any other.”
“Is good. He not likes the ship.” I glance down at Otis and pull gently at the hank of fur. “You stay away from that saucer, you hear me?”
He gives me a quick glance, and his tail slides to the ground as he relaxes it. Then he turns around and trots back into the jungle, the tip of his six-foot tail drawing casual figure eights in the air.
A spark of pride makes me straighten my neck a fraction. I’m guessing that making friends with a predator like Otis is not common in the tribes.
Kenz’ox and Aker’iz are back to playing, and the baby coos and squeals and babbles happily. I think she must be developing fast, but that could be normal for a Xren child.
I make my way to the beach. Shielding my eyes, I look up and down the beach, hoping to see a slender figure sauntering this way. But there’s only driftwood and rocks, and no footprints that aren’t old or my own. I gather a good amount of dry wood to burn, then think about the plan that the girls and I always had about making a boat for fishing. We think there must be fish in the ocean, or creatures very much like it. The fear of sea monsters stopped us, as well as the immense amount of work involved and our lack of steel tools. But now there’s a caveman with a big sword. Maybe he can make a raft, at least.
I return with the firewood. The fire is still going, and now there are six nice-looking skewers being grilled. They smell really good—which they should, because those are the meat slices that Sprisk gave us after his last hunt here. Looks like Kenz’ox just took them without asking.
“There is water,” I tell Kenz’ox, who’s filling several small pots from the one he was boiling earlier. “Can you hear?”
He listens, head tilted. “I was hoping that was what it meant. This girl always has things that must be cleaned. That’s easier in a stream or a waterfall. What kind of water is it?”
“Not stream or river,” I tell him, as the word for ocean doesn’t come to mind. “Big water. Flat.”
