TWELVE

- sedona -

"What the fuck is that?" Renata scrambles back, pressing herself against the far side of the pod, her eyes trained fearfully on Kuvier. Her voice trembles, and I can see the panic setting in.

So, Renata's wake up is going well.

"Renata, it's okay," I say quickly, stepping out of Kuvier's arms and between them. "This is Kuvier. He's... he's not going to hurt us." I can't think of exactly what he is. A friend? Our rescuer? I don't know, but based on the looks he gives me, I feel like his answer would be less PG than mine.

Kuvier stays still, his imposing figure casting a long shadow in the dim light. His goat-lion features, with those intense eyes and powerful build, would be intimidating to anyone waking up in a strange place. But I know he means well. He's been nothing but protective since the crash.

Renata's eyes dart between Kuvier and me. "Are you sure? How do you know we can trust him?"

"I know it's a lot to take in," I soothe, trying to keep my voice calm and reassuring. "But he saved me from freezing to death, and he's helped me to survive while I've been trying to figure out what to do next."

She takes a deep breath, her eyes still locked on Kuvier. Slowly, she nods, though the tension in her body doesn't fully ease. "Alright, if you trust him, I'll try to trust him, too."

"We need the help, you have no idea." My words just vomit out between us. "We crashed. I don't know where we are, just that we are in a valley, and it's damn cold. You and I need to figure out what the fuck to do, and there's no way we can do it without him."

Renata stares at me for a long moment before she climbs out of the pod, still wary but no longer outright fearful. Kuvier steps back, giving her space.

"Okay," she finally croaks, as she awkwardly side steps around Kuvier and closer to the exit. "I missed most of that. Give me the skinny."

I gesture as I talk. "Ship. Crash. Planet. Frozen. Wake others?"

Her ebony face breaks into a wry smile. "Thanks, perfect, and hell no. My vote is the same as it was before. If we are all going to die, might as well let them die peacefully."

"Okay, but we might not all die." I crook a thumb at Kuvier and say, "He's been pretty good about doing things that will keep me alive."

"Yeah, but how do we know it's for a good reason?" It's a good point, one I'd thought of myself already. While most of Kuvier's actions have been nice, he does have a hunger in his eyes that I don't think equates to him wanting to eat me. Not literally anyway. But, despite knowing that all of his intentions aren't platonic, something makes me confident that they are all good.

"Fair, but what choice do we have otherwise? You haven't seen outside yet." I wave my hand in a ‘go ahead' motion, encouraging her to check out our situation for herself. Cautiously, she walks out of the storage unit and passes the makeshift shelter and fire pit Kuvier put together.

Renata's eyes widen as she takes in our surroundings, the cold, harsh landscape of the frozen tundra that stretches out before us. "What in the…"

She looks back at me with vulnerable eyes, her gaze darting between Kuvier and me as she realizes that we may actually be all out of other options. Either we trust him, or we…die.

"After the crash, I woke up first. Everything was in pieces, and it was clear we were stranded." I swallow thickly. "I don't know where the main pieces of the ship crashed, but I scavenged in the debris around here and found nearly nothing. There was no way to make fire and there were no plants as far as I could see."

Renata pauses, processing the information. "And Kuvier? How did he come into the picture?"

"Well, I found a flare gun while scavenging and shot it off. That's when Kuvier found me," I explain. "At first, I was terrified, but he didn't attack or anything. He's been helping me."

Renata glances at Kuvier, who's watching us with those intense, unreadable eyes. "How have you been able to communicate with him?"

I shrug my shoulders. "It hasn't been easy. He doesn't speak our language. We've been miming things to each other and learning a few words here and there."

Renata raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, that sounds like a conversation full of clarity."

"It's not the best, but he's helpful. We've managed to get by so far."

She sighs, looking back at Kuvier with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. "Alright. If he's willing to help, then we'll make it work. We don't have much of a choice, do we?"

"No," I say, feeling dejected, "we don't."

We walk back under the awning of the shelter and have a seat near the fire. Kuvier hangs back, close to me but clearly trying to give Renata some space. I can't help but give him a small smile, one that he returns. I notice that he's started keeping his mouth closed when he smiles again. I almost wish he wouldn't; I've grown to like his feral smile and the glimpse I get of those double canines.

I settle, holding my hands out to the fire and she does the same. I look at Renata and realize that while I'm covered in fur, she is still freezing in her yellow outfit. Both blankets have been monopolized for the awning.

"Shit, you've got to be freezing. Do you want to see if he has another cloak?" She hesitates for a moment. "It's super warm." That decides it and she gives a quick nod of her head.

Looking over at Kuvier, I frown on purpose. He perks up, as if immediately looking for a way to make me happy again. After a few gestures to my cloak and her, I say, "She's cold." He understands what I'm asking, but gives a shake of his head. He doesn't have any more.

I make a move to take my cloak off, but freeze when I hear a growl come from him. One hand already over my head, I peak out between the layers and see him shake his head. I make a move to keep going and he growls again, flashing his teeth in warning this time. Funnily enough, I'm not scared at all. In fact, I'm the very opposite of scared. Part of me wants to play, just to see what happens if I keep going, but when I glance at Renata she looks terrified. So, instead, I choose to be a good leader.

With an easy, albeit faked laugh, I pull the cloak back down. "Well, I guess he's determined I will have to keep it."

"That's fine," she squeaks. "No need to make him upset."

"Don't stress. I promise he's not actually angry." I give her a comforting pat and don't bother explaining how I know. He's growled at me a few times now, always when I try to do something that will put me in harm's way or make me uncomfortable. But, those growls were more stern than these playful warnings, and part of me wishes that Renata hadn't woken up after all. I want the privacy to keep exploring Kuvier's more playful side.

"Actually, duh, you can have the furs I used to sleep." I get them for her, despite the fact that Kuvier's lips turn down at the sight of me deconstructing my sleeping area, but soon she's draped in multiple large scraps of fur.

I look back at Kuvier as I sit back down and see him looking between Renata and I with a pondering frown. He makes eye contact with me and his gaze softens for a moment before he goes right back to looking concerned. Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, I wish we spoke the same language.

Renata's eyes narrow thoughtfully as she takes in our surroundings, avidly avoiding looking at Kuvier. "So, what's the plan, Sedona? What do we do now?"

"Honestly, I don't know yet. It's been hard to think beyond the present moment. But...I have to tell you truthfully, I worry there might be no way home."

"Why?"

I gesture to Kuvier, indicating his rugged appearance and primitive attire. "Look at him. He looks like he's from the Stone Age. If his people are all like him, they most likely will not have the technology we need to get back to Earth."

A sinking expression appears on her face as realization dawns on her. "I see what you're saying."

I glance at the other stasis pods, each one containing one of our sleeping companions. "What about the others? Are you sure we shouldn't wake them? You know Sabrina will be pissed."

Renata considers this for a moment, then shakes her head. "Not yet. We need to get a handle on things first. It wouldn't be fair to wake them up to this mess. Sabrina will be mad as hell when she wakes up, but it's better than waking her up now when we don't have a plan and we'd all just be scrambling around."

"Okay, so we focus on the big things. We need to get some better clothing for you."

Renata looks around, her gaze sharp and assessing. "We should also try to learn more about Kuvier and his people. If he has any kind of community, they might have resources or knowledge that can help us. And, we need to sus out if they are all as…friendly as he is."

"Good point," I agree.

"Alright, can we start with the food part of this whole thing because I am starving?"

"Kuvier has that covered. Just ask him." I try to gently encourage communication between the two, hoping that maybe it will show Renata she doesn't have to be concerned about him.

Renata looks toward Kuvier hesitantly before she starts gesturing, trying to communicate with him. She gestures to herself, then to her mouth, mimicking eating. Kuvier's attention, however, remains fixed on me. His eyes are flicking back to me constantly and missing most of the message she's trying to convey. When she finishes, he stares at her for a moment before he looks at me expectantly, as if I decide if he helps or not.

"He knows the words for food and hungry," I inform her, holding back a laugh at her exaggerated movements.

"Are you hungry?" Kuvier immediately asks, looking at me and me only.

Renata raises an eyebrow. "Looks like you've got an alien dude wrapped around your finger already, Sedona."

I roll my eyes, a small smile tugging at my lips. "Haha, very funny. It's not like that." But part of me can't help but hope that it is. My brain flashes back to the need in his eyes earlier when he saw me bathing.

"You ask him, then. See if he cooperates."

"We're hungry," I say, pointing between me and Renata.

Kuvier's eyes light up with understanding. "Sedona is hungry."

"Yes! Sedona," I gesture to me, then to Renata, "Renata. Both of us are hungry."

He spares Renata one quick glance and then looks back at me. "Sedona is hungry." Man, this dude has a one track mind. It's like Renata exists only as an extension of me.

He points at the fire where he'd started cooking and gives me a signal to wait. As he moves about, preparing our food, I give Sedona some drinking water. When Kuvier is done fixing our food for us, it looks like a backwoods taco and he hands it right to me. I immediately hand it to Renata. Kuvier flashes his teeth at this before he makes another mala taco and thrusts it at me, giving me a pointed look.

"Sedona eat. Now." I repress a giggle at his stern tone, but take a bite to appease him. I actually am pretty hungry.

I look at Renata who is still staring at her portion cautiously. "Don't worry about it sitting well. I ate a ton already and I'm fine."

She relaxes a bit, clearly having been worried about that. Then she bites hers with her front teeth, very gingerly, and I almost laugh out loud. But, after the first bite seems to go down well for her, her next bite is much bigger.

"I don't know if I'm just hungry, but this is weirdly good."

"Agreed. The meat is yummy. It's called ‘xiixii' and the flatbread is ‘mala.'"

"I like that a little less." Renata declares this after she takes a bite of the flatbread separately. "It tastes like a sweet croissant but has the texture of ground corn. It's a weird combo."

I nod in agreement at her assessment, but I kind of like it anyway. I look at Kuvier and give him a soft smile and he preens under my gaze. Slowly he steps forward. Renata makes a small sound of distress, but doesn't move, and I'm not focused on her anyway.

My entire attention is on Kuvier as he settles right next to me. He reaches around me and gently takes the food from both of my hands. He pulls off a piece and wraps the mala around the bite of meat. I expect him to pass it to me, but instead he holds it expectantly in front of my lips. I hesitate for a second before taking a bite.

"Well," Renata clears her throat and I lean sheepishly away from Kuvier, "you guys have certainly gotten to know each other."

My ears go hot but I choose not to answer, chewing slower to give me an excuse for my silence. I can't help the pool of heat that gathers in the pit of my stomach. Kuvier's nostrils flare, and the look he gives me is so heated it makes me nervous.

I look away shyly and carefully smooth down my cornrowed ponytail, only to be reminded of the way he had gently detangled it for me with his claws days ago. The soft scratches and tugs felt amazing, both relaxing and somehow sensual. Despite the fact that I managed to tame it, with help, I still wish that the bug aliens hadn't taken out my protective style. Not only was that expensive as hell and took literally forever, but it also would have been nice not to worry about my hair at all for like two months. Plus, I looked hot.

My eyes flicker to Kuvier of their own volition. Not that I have anyone to look hot for while stranded on an alien planet. Right? The look on his face makes me gulp and feel even less certain of that statement.

A loud crash sounds from outside, making us humans gasp and jump. Lightning flashes across the sky and I turn my gaze right back to Kuvier, looking to him to see if I should be worried. A flicker of concern passes over his face, and I immediately feel the worry set in for me as well.

He starts looking around the ship crate we're in, before he gets up and walks around us and the fire to step partially outside. His eyes scan the remnants of our crash and the valley we've found ourselves in. I can tell by the tension in his shoulders that he is not happy with his appraisal of our situation.

Several minutes later, Kuvier sets to work, his hands moving deftly as he reinforces the shelter, making it sturdier, slightly wider, and more weather-resistant. He gathers more supplies from his pack, and soon, our small fire crackles to life, blazing larger than before, the warmth becoming almost oppressive for me underneath the already hot cloak.

Renata and I exchange glances, both of us silently wondering at his nesting. Once the fire is going strong, he takes out all of the items in his pack, sitting criss-cross just two feet from me. After a moment of sorting the items in his pack, he ends up with two small piles, one pile of food, and one pile of the red-colored reeds that I recognize as what he has been tossing in the fire. His organizing apparently done, Kuvier stands and deftly pulls a long curved scythe from somewhere in his utility belt. Renata scrambles away as he approaches us, but I oddly have no worries for my safety as this hulking, nearly seven foot alien holds the weapon, handle first, out to me. I carefully take the thing from him, and he says some words I don't understand in his language.

I shake my head, telling him that I don't understand. He sighs and then Kuvier tries to convey something to me. He points to the fire, then to himself, and then gestures outward into the distance, making sounds and saying one or two words in his language. I furrow my brow, struggling to grasp his meaning. He repeats the gestures, a hint of frustration in his eyes. Despite my best efforts, I can't quite piece together what he's trying to say.

Finally, Kuvier lets out a small huff and steps closer. He wraps me in a hug, his warmth and strength enveloping me. It takes me by surprise, but I hug him back instinctually, wrapping my arms around his wide middle, feeling a strange but welcome sense of safety in his embrace. Then, he pulls away, and without another word, Kuvier disappears into the cold, harsh landscape, leaving Renata and me staring after him in shock.

Renata nudges me gently. "Well, he was something else, wasn't he? You think he'll be back?"

I answer slowly, still feeling the warmth of his hug. "I think so. He left behind all of his rations, and furs, and those kindling reeds. He also seems determined to help us. I just wish I knew what he was trying to say." And I'm hoping beyond measure that I'm right and he'll come back.

"Me too," Renata says, settling back down by the fire. "But for now, let's take advantage of what he's given us. We need to get through tonight."

I sit beside her, setting the weapon down next to me. The fire's warmth soothes my frayed nerves. As the flames dance and flicker, I can't help but wonder where Kuvier has gone and what he plans to do next. Despite the uncertainty, I'm weirdly not as stressed about this whole thing as I should be. We might be stranded on an alien planet, but with Kuvier, we have a fighting chance.

And that's more than I could have hoped for just a few days ago.