53. Thivoll

53

Thivoll

Once she grabs my hand, hundreds of tense muscles relax all at once.

I'm glad I didn't let my fear rule me. I'm hopeful she will be more careful, but if she isn't, I'll just have to do what I can to protect her.

Us not rushing off the moment I mentioned the prey male is a promising sign, though it might be a temporary lull in how hard she drives herself.

I suppose the best way to know is to ask.

"What do you want to do?"

She takes a deep breath, but doesn't answer right away. I take it as an excellent sign and keep myself still, careful to not rush her.

"Do you think you could get us close and scale a tree as I call out to them?"

"Sure."

"How about I take some supplies and offer them? I don't want to tell them where our cave is yet, though. I'd rather talk with them a couple times at least. Maybe even do a raid together first."

Apparently I had even more tense muscles than I thought because they loosen, too.

I approve of her new levels of caution.

"I think that is an excellent plan."

It doesn't take long to gather some items and soon we are galloping through the trees again.

Except this time it's as a team.

My fur puffs out thinking of that long run back and how much more terrifying it was when she lay limp against me, even though I had been pleading with her to be quiet.

I'd much rather be in our cave teddy bearing , but I think what's eating at Ree will just get worse from inaction.

I take a detour to check on the clearing Szhe'ka said he would return to. There's no sign of anyone there or evidence he has returned. I don't share this with Ree just yet.

Right now she needs good news.

I veer back toward the ridgeline, picking back up the trail of the male I detected earlier. He smells like exotic spices and something acrid, neither of which reveal anything much about his species or temperament, of course, but it's a pleasant scent that I hope translates to an equally pleasant ally.

He must be a quick one because we run longer than I expect, pushing farther into the mountains than ever before.

"Climb," Ree tells me and I don't hesitate to follow her order, though I don't hear or smell anything to prompt it.

I shift her around and start my hopping process to not leave any trace, but she interrupts me.

"No. Fast."

My throat constricts as I tear my claws into the tree, my tail whipping out to keep us balanced.

"What is it?"

She tenses in my arms, making the small sound of pain I recognize as a language shift. As I settle her against the trunk of a tree, caging her with my body so she is protected, I can see her throat and mouth moving, but I can't hear anything.

"Ree?"

She shakes her head at me, her eyes wide, and continues to move her mouth. She keeps talking in a language I can't hear, her body getting more and more tense.

"What's going on?"

Her mouth just keeps moving faster, and she tunes me out. A light scraping sound draws my attention and my ears sweep behind me. Then a branch snaps, this time even closer.

His heavy spice scent is dominant now, permeating the air. There's another snap and I open my mouth to demand answers, but she speaks before I can.

"He's coming to kill me."

I snarl and all of my claws extend. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

There's no doubt in her voice. The sound of claws tearing into the bark below us startles me. How did he get close so fast without me hearing him?

I make sure she is secure and scramble down the tree to meet him head on.

I barely get down past the branch she is clinging to when I run into the male. He is covered in thick white fur, most of it stained with gore that I still can't smell over his heady scent.

I don't react in time to avoid the raking claws that swipe across my chest and down one arm.

I let out a groan and swing my tail around.

He flattens himself against the tree and I miss. It pulls me out of balance just enough that when he scrambles up higher and rams into me I'm not able to dig deeper into the bark of the tree to keep myself from losing my grip.

Headfirst was never an ideal way to climb down, and this is why. Instead of trying to cling to the tree I throw out one arm and dig my claws into the fur of the male.

He can't get to her, even for a moment.

He lets out a scream so high I can barely hear it. My ears throb in protest as I use my tenuous purchase on his hide to grab on with another hand.

Then I'm climbing up his broad back so I can start shredding him with my back claws.

I'm just about to clamp down on him with my mouth when he lets go of the tree and we hurtle backwards into the night.

I have just enough time to whip my tail around and deliver a load of venom before we hit the ground. A flare of pain across my back is quickly followed by the crushing weight of the male on top of me.

My ears are still throbbing from his screams as my mind tries to process all the layers of pain before they are thankfully muted by my nanites.

I'm still working on collecting myself, venom bliss and pain a nauseating mix, when his death throes end.

"Thivoll! Oh my god . Thivoll!"

I don't have enough air back in my lungs yet to answer her. She's making her eye leaking sounds.

I take a ragged breath in, then I see what parts of me are still working.

Everything, it seems, though painfully.

I wriggle and kick out until I'm able to get my head out from underneath the stinking hulk of fur.

"I'm alright," I tell her, though my voice betrays me.

"I c-can't get to you," she tells me with a hitch in her panicked voice.

"Just give me a bit. I'll come for you soon."

I'm not yet positive I can follow through with that promise, but continue to move out from underneath the dead male.

He's huge, with multiple sets of limbs tipped with jagged claws. I can't make out a head, then stop trying to make sense of the bundle of fur.

I'll recognize one if I see it again, and that's all that's really important.

My tail's stuck under him and I'm not as gentle with it as I should be in my need to no longer be trapped.

I can feel my instinctual response building up quickly. The last thing we need right now is for me to enrage.

I yank it out and tumble backwards into more of the bushes with a groan. One of them broke my fall from the tree. The puncture wounds seeping blood down my back are a small price for an intact spine.

In fact, when I shakily get back to my paws and fists I know I've been incredibly fortunate to come through that fight with no broken bones or missing body parts.

I realize Ree's talking again and I shake my head to clear it.

". . . damn fucking liars. So much for blocks against hurting each other. Fuck!"

Despite it all, my whiskers jut forward. I love her fire.

I decide to give my nanites some time to catch up before I climb, which just leaves my usual burning curiosity.

"Why did he attack?"

She sniffs and lets out a huff of breath.

"He was completely deranged. Or that's just how his species is. I don't know. He was talking about feet when I first heard him. So I called out a greeting. Nicely, I thought. Then he was talking about how mine would taste. Over and over. I tried to reason with him, but by the time he started talking about cracking open my bones I knew there wasn't any hope."

"But he smelled nice."

I realize how stupid it sounds right after I say it.

A beat later both of us are chuffing, hers in her usual dulcet tones that soothe the last part of my rage.

"Do you think the slimes lied about prey not being able to hurt each other?"

I consider her question. "No. I think there's just some of us it won't work on. Unfortunately, we found one with a paw fetish."

We're chuffing again, this time with a manic edge to it. I decide that if I'm well enough to chuff, I'm well enough to climb, so I go retrieve her.

She doesn't balk for even a moment at the blood and grime coating me and starts running her hands over my chest and mane as soon as I'm within range.

Then she pulls herself to me in a tight hug.

"I'm so, so glad you're alright. When I heard you hit the ground, I thought my heart was going to break."