Thinking of jaws gives me a flash of the creature's mouth as it tried to bite me last night. I won't forget that any time soon.
It was about the size of a black bear, though it moved nothing like one. It had a diseased mouth. Hmm. A Komodo Bear, for sure.
"Do you think there are more of those scary creatures? The Komodo Bear?"
"I don't know." He growls, then shakes out his mane. "I doubt they introduced many or we'd all be dead. Including the hunters."
I shudder. "I'd rather deal with genali."
"I agree. But, wait . . . a bear? As in teddy bearing? I've had that very wrong in my mind if . . ."
"No. No. Well, somewhat related . . . But it's very different. There are bears,the animal. Then there are teddy bears, the stuffed animal."
"That sounds even worse!"
"What? Why?"
"Stuffed? That's barbaric."
"It's not a real animal. It's . . . You know what? This isn't important right now."
"It is! I'll never be able to teddy bear you the same again."
"Thivoll! It means what you think it means. No animals are harmed if you cuddle me."
He starts chuffing and I realize he's been messing with me, though at the start he seemed genuinely horrified.
I growl at him. "Fluff Brain."
"Animal stuffer."
"I've never . . ."
Damn. He got me.
I don't let him know that, of course, and simply scowl at him and then take the offer of his outstretched arm to help me climb onto his back.
After that, we spend many hours searching for hunters.
Each time Thivoll leaves me to fight is just as terrifying as the last, especially when I periodically hear gunshots.
I've yet to see any other species aside from the genali, and by some unspoken agreement we avoid talking about exactly what happens when he is away.
When he brings a pack and bedding that isn't covered in their slime I know he must've been fighting an array of species.
It makes me sick to think that there's that many people evil enough to want to come here.
The items he brings are from radically different cultures and manufacturing methods. We have to take several trips back to the cave to stash the bedding, rations, knives, handguns, medical supplies, and other items.
We even find some sort of lighting that Thivoll says is a type of bioluminescence in stasis.
My curiosity is still burning over that one, but mostly, aside from some whispered words here and there, we've been as silent as possible.
What we don't find is a rope.
By the time the sun is coming up we are both at our limit, possibly me more than him which is embarrassing considering he's been doing almost all the work.
We agree it's time to rest, but our body language betrays how disappointed we are and guilty we feel that we haven't put Silver in a safe place.
