Our breathing slows together. The dying fire crackles beside us.
Kenz’ox presses his forehead to mine. I feel him smile against my lips.
“You were very loud,” he rumbles, amused and tender.
I laugh, wet and shaky. “I really tried.”
His arms tighten around me. “Try less next time.”
There will be a next time. The certainty of it settles warm in my chest, chasing away the last of the day’s fear.
Out here, wrapped around him and impossibly full of him, I finally feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Even if it is Xren.
“I love you,” I whisper. Because it’s the one thing I know right now.
- - -
We finally eat the stew Kenz’ox has made. It’s a nice change from the fried meat, although next time I’ll carefully suggest he go a little easier on the salt.
I sit with my back to his side so I can lean against his warm, massive torso. We don’t say much, because there’s no way this moment could be better anyway. Whenever he moves or breathes, I feel it in my whole body. The night is balmy and not too hot; the ocean hisses calmly in the background, and for a change the jungle doesn’t feel that threatening.
When we go inside the saucer to sleep, it has started to rain. Big, heavy drops fall from the canopy of leaves high above us and hit the hull, creating a comforting sound inside.
I curl up right next to Kenz’ox and feel how he carefully embraces me from behind. He’s being a perfect gentleman and making me feel safe. That bubble of safety I felt around Sprisk is definitely present here too—just stronger.
He still hasn’t shown any sign of wanting to kick me out. If anything, he’s making me feel wanted.
I yawn and relax, pushing my butt into his hips.
He puts one massive hand on me. “My woman.”
Maybe this can work. Somehow.
- - -
The other two take a trip to the beach in the morning, both to do laundry and to make salt from the seawater. I breakfast on fruits and decide to go and gather more of it. There’s a lot of fruit in the jungle, and I can’t let Kenz’ox be responsible for all our food supplies. We’re getting clean water from the saucer, but there’s no way I’d want to go back to eating the thin slop it produces by some mysterious means that we could never explain.
It would be nice to surprise Kenz’ox with a small heap of fresh fruits that he can use for Aker’iz’s food. And there are fruit trees not far away.
I notice that there’s a new spear among the old ones. Kenz’ox must have fastened the sharp iron head on a new shaft, so that I don’t have to use one that only has a sharpened point hardened with fire. I grab a leather pouch and set off.
The jungle swallows me fast. It’s roaring and restless, constantly brushing my ankles. I spot a tree heavy with red fruits, then Morgan’s favorite berries, then a ring of saplings holding my favorite nuts. They’re further in than I’ve ever gone alone, but worth it.
Shifting my grip on the pouch, I stand still to listen. Apparently it’s not a good sign if the jungle is too quiet, but it also shouldn’t be too noisy. If I were to judge right now, it sounds quieter than before. “But maybe that’s better than loud?” I mutter.
I scratch my chin. I would love some of those nuts. They go soft when roasted, and then their big kernels can be scooped out of their shells. They have a coconut-like texture to them, but they’re not as sweet. They taste like hazelnuts with a hint ofvanilla, and I’d really love to bring some back. Maybe Kenz’ox doesn’t know how good they taste with salt, and soaked in the juice of the alien pears.
I tiptoe on, making sure not to step on sticks or dry leaves. It means going slowly, but there’s no rush with this.
When I reach the saplings, I quickly pick a dozen nuts, noting that these are bigger than any I’ve had before. And from experience, the bigger they are, the better the flavor when roasted.
The pouch full, I sling it around my back and keep the spear ready as I make my way back. But I can’t really remember which way I came. The bush with the berries is nowhere to be seen, and when I turn around, I can’t see the bush with the nuts either. The greenery all around me is so dense that one direction looks much like another.
I turn around and walk straight back the way I came. But the nut bush isn’t where I thought it had to be. I can’t hear the sound of the ocean either.
“Seriously?” I hiss. “My first time in the jungle alone, and I get lost twenty feet in?!”
Everything goes quiet. And I suddenly realize what too quiet means in the jungle. This is it.
