Kur’tokdidmention he was hungry. I hadn’t seen him eat since he trapped me in his snare. Maybe he was just hangry? Still, that didn’t excuse his asshole-ish behavior.
I wondered if I should follow him, but there was no way I could catch up to a Maeleon, especially not in the dark. On top of that, the day’s fatigue finally caught up with me. As the adrenaline of our argument wore off, exhaustion turned my body to stone.
I fell asleep feeling cold and unsatisfied, wondering when Kur’tok would come back.
“Is it still alive?”
“I do not know. We should poke it with a stick.”
Something jabbed my shoulder. I groaned heavily as I returned to the land of the conscious. I roused, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
“Yo, cut that out,” I mumbled.
Haz’rull and Arr’tow loomed curiously over me. As I woke, the two Maeleons slanted back, giving me space. They must’ve returned from hunting while I was passed out. I didn’t smell any meat, so I figured they came back empty-handed.
Then my heart tightened as I remembered what happened last night—my big argument with Kur’tok.
“Is Kur’tok back, too?” I asked hopefully.
“No,” Arr’tow said.
I slumped into the blanket. “Oh.”
The pair exchanged a perplexed glance, their feelers shimmering with teal. No doubt they thought it was weird that I was worried about Kur’tok. After all, hewasadouchebag that treated them like crap.
I sighed. “I know, I know. It makes no sense that I like him.”
Arr’tow turned towards me curiously. “You do?”
“Yeah. I know you don’t, but—”
Arr’tow lifted their tentacles, cutting me off. “That’s not it. We like Kur’tok, too.”
I gawked. “What?” After an incredulous pause, I asked, “Why?”
Arr’tow drooped like a wilting plant. “I realize it must seem strange. Kur’tok won’t admit it, but we used to be close.”
My jaw hung open in disbelief. I couldn’t imagine the Kur’tok I knew being friendly with Haz’rull and Arr’tow. In every interaction I’d seen, he was a total dickhead to them. Hell, IlikedKur’tok—maybe even more than I wanted to admit—but the way he treated this pair wasn’t acceptable.
“What happened?” I asked.
Arr’tow glanced over their shoulder, as if Kur’tok would teleport into the den and explode with rage.
“It’s a long story,” Arr’tow said. “Take something to eat. We’ll talk outside in the sun.”
My pulse quickened with curiosity. Finally, someone was willing to talk like a normal person. As the two Maeleons exited the den, I grabbed a couple fruits from the pile. When I caught up with Arr’tow and Haz’rull, they were basking peacefully on the ledge outside the den.
It was then that a question slammed into me like a basketball to the head.
“Wait a second,” I said. “Maeleons can photosynthesize, can’t they?”
“That’s right,” Arr’tow replied.
Annoyance flared within me. “Then why is Kur’tok so obsessed with eating meat? He didn’tneedto go hunt! He could’ve stayed with me all night.”
“That’s part of why we wanted to talk to you,” Arr’tow murmured. “We’ve been friends with Kur’tok since we were young. He wasn’t always like this.”
I was bewildered. “What?”
