“Let me down, Dargo,” Taz ordered, wiggling impatiently on his shoulders.“I can’t check out the fresh meat from way up here.”
Dargo lifted his arms, grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her off his shoulders in a smooth, and slightly acrobatic move that plopped her neatly in front of me.
“Hey,” she said, brushing her dark jeans off and sticking out a hand.“I’m Taz, my mate is Dargo.”
“Jessa,” I squeaked out, shaking her hand and feeling all the callouses on her fingers.This was a woman who worked hard, clearly.Taz cocked her head to the side and blatantly looked me up and down.
“You look...”
“Lost?”I interjected, knowing it was true.The world had ended months ago, and I didn’t even have a proper tan yet.Anyone with a brain would be able to tell I hadn’t been roughing it long term.
Taz barked out a laugh.“I was going to say you’re in good shape, not missing any fingers or too banged up.If you guys ran into sytos, I’m sure there was a fight.”
“A lot of fighting,” I agreed.“And running, and walking.Honestly, it was miserable.”
Sal poked his head out of his carrier and honked up at me.Every turoch in the vicinity flinched and what felt like a hundred eyes turned toward me.
“Whatisthat?”Taz asked, leaning forward and boldly reaching out to touch his head.
“Um, a baby percer?”I said, hesitantly.“A male,” I hurried to point out when a lot of ears pinned back and tails flicked.I’d gotten used to Tovis’ alien features but having so many extra appendages around was weird.Obviously, body language was a thing, but if possible, turochs had a much louder version of it.
“Really?”Her face lit up, and she smacked Dargo’s stomach.“War beasts, babe.Let's go get more.”
27 Tovis
My talk with Adak hadlasted hours.He wanted to know everything; how many sytos I’d seen, the state of their camp, the Kwin’s plans.I gave him as many details as I could remember.His pregnant mate sat beside him, furiously scribbling everything in a notebook so we wouldn’t forget anything.
Turochs didn’t have a written language, but Penny was determined to record every possible snippet of information, just in case it gave us an advantage.Adak had set up a large map on a table, bright colors marked the streets and buildings we’d scavenged from, small metal pins showed places we’d encountered percers, and now a cluster of blue tipped pins showed roughly where the syto camp lay.
Looking at the map, I was glad I wasn’t Adak.He’d taken on the role of chief with a grim determination I respected.But it was responsibility I didn’t envy.His mate was pregnant, and nearing her time, and with Amy’s coming son, the sytos were even more of a threat.
“Uriish has been asking for jobs,” Penny murmured, her pen tapping thoughtfully against her lip.“He could take the shuttle out and scout from above.”
“They’ll recognize the shuttle,” Adak pointed out, his hands on his hips, his one good eye fixed on the cluster of blue pins.
“Sweetie, they know we’re here,” his mate said gently.“It’s only a matter of time before they find us.”
