44. Rin

44

Rin

I decide to walk to meet him, my body aching with exhaustion, but guilt driving me. A moment later, I see him. I see him running toward me, his energy seemingly endless.

"We should go look for Olivia again," I call out as he approaches.

He points behind me. "We can't. There is a storm coming."

I start to reply, but he veers away without waiting for my response, heading back toward the argila. So much for searching for Olivia. He slows down, but his pace, is still too fast for me to talk or argue. I feel hopeful that we will find some clues about Olivia's whereabouts soon, though not if we don't start right away. Not that I'm sure how, but I avoid the thought that finding her is a lifeline amid everything being so uncertain.

Especially when it comes to the growing tension between Kuret and me.

As we approach the cave, I hear a low bellow that is undoubtedly a sound of pain from an argila, and I break into an even faster run somehow, dodging rocks amid the long grass, not even sure how I see them, worried whether they are okay.

My mind races, spinning through all the possible scenarios, every way things could have gone wrong. The worst case? The genali hunters circling back and harming Roshan and Darya. But anything—literally anything—could be happening.

A fleeting thought enters my mind. This must be how Kuret felt each time he came running to my rescue.

I sprint into the shallow cave and freeze. Darya is crouched, her legs folded under her, eyes squeezed shut as another long, agonized bellow escapes her. Roshan stands beside her, licking her face with gentle care. He is mopping her face with his tongue when his eyes meet mine, but he doesn't leave her side, bleating quietly at her in encouragement.

I immediately understand. The realization hits just before her next heaving cry.

A moment later a small wet creature is wriggling under Darya when Kuret comes in behind me. "Are they under attack? We need to—"

I don't let him finish as I pull him into a hug. "No, Darya just had a baby argila!" I exclaim, my voice breaking with joy.

Darya is lying down and licking her newborn while Roshan brays happily as he runs up to us.

I release Kuret for a moment and reach out to scratch Roshan's head. "Well done, my darling. You handled everything so well without us," I tell him and even though I know that he can't understand me, his bright yellow eyes are filled with appreciation when he looks at me.

All this time, I assumed she was just naturally that much bigger than Roshan, but she was pregnant. She's been running around at the end of her pregnancy.

I feel a moment of shame that I hooked her to a cart, but then realize they all look settled now. She doesn't look like she's extremely distressed. She looks proud.

Roshan leaves to join his new little family, just as proud as any father, though it seemed like they had just met, despite being clearly happy to see the other.

I turn back to Kuret again, just in time for him to sweep me up into his arms, a large grin spread across his face.

For someone who once seemed unfamiliar with the concept of pets, he's gotten attached quickly. Maybe I made an assumption. I'll have to ask him later.

He joins in my joy and walks over to see the new baby and pet the parents, murmuring something I can't hear. When he makes his way back to me, I cannot help but jump on him, hugging him close as the new-baby giddiness pumps through me.

There's a howling outside and with this new development, I decide that Kuret's right about staying here for now. "Let's get them settled in better," I urge him, and he moves to help me.

We change the grasses surrounding them, taking the time to wash up again at the stream again afterward, though the wind is whipping through the valley now.

The rain begins to fall as we run back, laughing as we each clutch armfuls of grass against our chests. We lay it out thickly to form our own surprisingly comfortable sleeping area in another section of the relatively shallow cave and then lay down, Kuret pulling me against his chest and stroking his hands down my side.

"Is it really possible for your people to stop pregnancy?" he asks me after the argila all fall asleep.

"Yes. On Earth, it's called birth control, and there are several forms of it. Not many people get access to it, though. Not where I live."

He doesn't seem to hear the last part of my sentence. "The women on my home planet would benefit greatly from something like that. They would not have to live in fear. It would change everything for them."

I try to imagine what life on Earth would be without any form of birth control, but the thought feels too distant, too impossible to grasp.

There is a dreamy look in his eyes when I tilt my head back to look at him, and I cannot help the smile that dances on the edge of my lips. He reaches his hands down and grabs both my hands in his.

"I enjoy learning from you, Nasrin," he says softly as he brings up a pair of our hands to rub at the side of my face.

I start to look away, but he stops me, his smile growing to match mine. "I am being serious."

There is an intensity in his gaze that I can't deny. It makes me shift my body so I can plant a kiss on his lips.

I think I might have convinced him of something, but I don't want to scare him away.

"I know, Kuret. We are friends and friends enjoy learning from each other."

He opens his mouth to speak, but I go first.

"And as friends, you should call me Rin instead of Nasrin."

He mulls over my name, the sweet whistling sound he makes now shorter. I don't know which I like better. "I never thought I would be friends with a female. Can your friends still call you Nasrin? Because I enjoy how it sounds when I say it."

My face splits into a smile. "I really like how you say my name."

He chuckles. "I can say it all day, if you'll let me."