21
ROBBIE
The next few days were rather confusing. Instead of our previous routine returning, now Gree-Gree was taking me around the village, pushing a sort of 4 wheeled barrow he picked up at the market, and which seemed to be simply free to use. One day, we went, and he loaded up on the heavy fur cloaks my size, the ones like he’d worn outside. Not just one or two, but several. And some furry pants and heavy woven shirts, too. Which again, had me wondering where they got the fibers for the yarn, but I still wasn’t proficient enough in his language to ask, and my gesturing attempts at sign language were rudimentary at best. Another day, he took me to a large inner cave where he and a couple of the other guys I’d seen before loaded up on packs as well as baskets filled with more of that dried meat stuff. When we went out afterwards, he picked up a pair of fur lined boots for me, and not just for me either, as there were also pairs in both smaller and larger sizes going in one of the other guys’ barrow. The penny dropped. We were packing for a trip, and I was willing to bet my bottom dollar that all of us humans were going.
This was confirmed when he spent that evening filling the packs with some of the jerky, a pair of pants, a shirt, and a small pot of what appeared to be grease, when I took the lid off of one, after we were done going over my words. He bundled each of the packs inside a cloak, bar one, and stacked them neatly in his barrow parked outside the house. The next morning, he handed me the heavy shirt to put on and the lined pants, huffing in satisfaction when the drawstring held them up and the boots didn’t slide around my feet. Then he took the cloak and last pack and placed them on top of the barrow, along with his heavy cloak and a much larger pack filled with more of the same, plus some tea and other bits and bobs. He was wearing the same things as the day he rescued me, including his sharp weapons. Was he taking us all hunting?
I hoped not. I can’t even watch Bambi without needing to hug a pillow for comfort when his mom dies. Don’t get me wrong, I love to eat meat, but that didn’t stop me from sending mental apologies to cows I saw in fields as I drove along the highway, and if Charlotte’s Web came on TV and I watched it? No bacon for at least a week. I might have started ordering those plant based burgers at fast food places, too. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, or watching old animated family specials. Families include adults, and not all families have children, after all, and what…oh yeah. Possibly going on a hunting trip.
I trudged out after him, watching as he flashed one of his guarded smiles at me before stuffing my primer in the pack I now suspected was mine. Then we set off, and I was not in the least surprised when we arrived outside of what passed for their hospital. The same guys who’d been getting stuff at the same time as we had, were waiting there with their barrows. One of them, the one who had sat with Beth the day I’d visited, took a few parceled up cloaks and three pairs of boots and went inside. He came back out moments later and grabbed more, leaving the barrow empty. This time, when he emerged, it was with my friends, all bundled up.
“Looks like we’re going on a trip,” Sam said drily. “Any idea where we’re going? Not back to the ship, I hope.”
“Oh, God!” Carol exclaimed. “Why would they send us back to the wreck?”
“Yeah, true,” Sam allowed. “Unless they think we can help with salvage or some shit like that. Make us earn our keep and all that.”
“I don’t know either,” I admitted. “But given the weapons, I think we’re going hunting. I mean, they don’t seem to be at war with anyone.”
”Hunting?” Beth screwed up her face. “Yuck! They want us to skin and gut dead animals?”
“I think, given the general lack of meat processing plants, we might have to get over that,” Patrick said.
Gree-Gree was in conversation of his own with the other hunters, but now turned his attention to me, having apparently finished. He handed me the thick cloak, which I put on, not having put on the thinner one he’d had me wearing in anticipation of this. I held out my hand for my pack, but he shook his head, tying it to his own and slinging it over his shoulder under the cloak. ”I can carry it myself, you know,” I told him, my hands on my hips. ”I think he’s sweet on you,” Carol said. “He’s being a gentleman.”
“But you’re all carrying your own,” I pointed out.
“I’m not,” Beth said, blushing.
“But-”
“Just let him, dude. If someone wanted to carry mine, I’d be all over it. I’m sure after a while, this is going to feel heavier than it is,” Patrick sniped. Gree-Gree simply stared at me for a moment, and I gave him a small nod of acceptance. He could carry it for now, but if he started killing things, I’d take both packs, and he could carry the carcasses, and that was my final word. He made a small grunt, an unmistakable gleam of satisfaction in his eyes at my capitulation. And damn, if I didn’t have to admit to myself that his being so, well, dominant, didn’t make me feel a bit warm and tingly all over. Yep, I definitely had it bad for him, and he seemed to rather like me, too. So why was he holding back? Was there a taboo I didn’t know about? Was he promised to another?
As he turned to grip the barrow’s handle and trundle down the path back towards the market, I puzzled over the hot and cold nature of the relationship between us. We were definitely friends, and both of us seemed attracted to each other. Whatever our stumbling block was, we could surely overcome it. I just had to figure out how, because damn it, I might be crushing on him as he was the first hot damn alien I’d seen, he’d saved me from turning into a corpsicle, and yes, I might be latching on to him in hopes of anchoring myself and finding a safety net, but I’d very much already caught feelings. Real feelings, and I damned well knew the difference, didn’t I?
I fell into step beside him, our little procession arriving at the market only to leave the barrows for others to use and moving on. I licked my lips, noticing the walls becoming rougher and the air colder as we headed towards the outside. Then we were at the mouth of the entrance we’d come through, and guards called out friendly greetings to Gree-Gree and his friends. We answered back, keeping it brief as they herded us out into the blindingly bright snow. I blinked against the glare, wishing desperately for a pair of sunglasses or ski goggles. Gree-Gree turned to me, tugging my hood forward, so I had more overhang to shield my eyes.
“Thanks,” I murmured, smiling at him wanly as I blinked water from my eyes, not wanting it to freeze in my lashes because damn, it felt that cold, and I remembered how that had happened before. Not an experience I was willing to forget or repeat, thank you very much.
We began to trudge, and it occurred to me that we hadn’t brought any tents or anything. Hopefully, this meant it was a short trip. My mood picked up considerably, already thinking how the supplies were probably for our lunch and maybe a quick dinner before returning home with whatever the hunters could carry. Braces of alien arctic rabbits, maybe. That wouldn’t be too bad, surely.
22
GHRIGRI
Hroarsh huffed as the tiny female called Behff sank knee deep in yet another snow drift. He shook his head, glancing up at the sky. The pace was excruciatingly slow thanks to our traveling companions' short legs and lack of general snow sense.
He picked her up and she mumbled, “Sah-ree. Ahm naht yoosd tu ssnoh.”
I eyed the rest of them. Pah-trekh and the others had figured out that walking in our footsteps made easier going, with Rah-bee sticking close to me and making use of mine. Behff, however, had kept trying to hurry in a futile attempt to keep pace next to Hroarsh. Now that she was otherwise accommodated, we could pick up the pace.
“There, just beyond the ridge,” Rimbet said, pointing.
I peered towards where he gestured. A storage cave was up ahead, its opening barely visible at this distance. It was not far for a hunter, but the climb would be difficult for our smaller companions.
“We will need to carry them up,” I said.
Rimbet grinned. “If memory serves me correctly, that one has a hoist as it was enlarged at the end of last season to store some sledges.”
