Chapter 19

Veda woke up the next morning with a vitality she hadn't felt in years. It was like she was never even hurt. The healing sands worked some kind of magic, and she was still immensely proud that she discovered they could be injected.

Though she didn't think it was helping her relationship with Aldohr. Veda making this discovery only seemed to heighten his resentment toward her, and in a small way, she could understand that. It must be difficult to have a scientist from an entirely different species come in and make a discovery you couldn't make.

But that wasn't Veda's fault, and her discovery could revolutionize the way the Aterans used the healing sands. She had never disliked Aldohr more after hearing him advocate for leaving her behind. She had a lot of resentment toward him, and when she finished with this trip, she hoped she would never have to see him again.

Veda wondered if Traze would indulge her in that if she asked him. Would he be on her side if she asked him to make sure Aldohr could never be in her presence again? Or would he defend his seer?

Veda already knew the answer to this, though. Of course he would defend her. Hadn't he proven over and over again he was willing to do that?

The real question for Veda was… why? Why was he so willing to defend her?

Whether or not Veda was his kode still lingered in her mind. It was something she was still too afraid to ask while on this expedition. But the more she thought about it, the more she thought it would explain his dedication to her.

On the other hand, it would not exactly explain his distance. Until the expedition, he had not even asked to sleep in the same room as her. Surely a connection to one's kode would result in a lot stronger of a tie than the one Traze had shown.

Either way, she was enjoying her time with him, despite how tumultuous things had proven to be. Getting bitten by an Atera snake wasn't exactly in Veda's plans for this trip.

But she did appreciate how protective Traze had been last night after she'd healed. He slept right next to her, though they did not touch, and woke several times in the night to check on her. It was sweet. Veda felt truly cared for.

However, in the cold light of morning, his focus on her had become a little more annoying. Traze was watching her like a hawk. He and his lawe had not left her side for even a second. He even had her walk with him over to the food pack to get their breakfast. It was a little ridiculous.

As Veda finished eating, she turned to Traze. "What time will we be leaving?" she asked him.

"Not until midday," he responded.

She scoffed. "Midday? Really? I mean, is that really necessary? I'm feeling good, you know. I'm feeling great, in fact! I'm totally ready to start traveling now."

Traze shook his head. "I want to see how you do just being awake first before we get back on my lawe."

Veda still hated the way he called him his lawe. She had come to love the creature who was constantly nuzzling up to her, laying his head in her lap and showing her affection.

"You can't keep calling him that, you know," Veda said very matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean?" Traze asked.

"Well, he's your animal. You need to give him a special name, not just call him lawe like all the other lawes."

Traze really didn't seem to understand. "But why?"

Veda sighed. "Because… It's just a tradition we have back on Earth. We name all of our pets. It shows our appreciation for them."

Traze thought on this. "Well, I do appreciate him…"

"Exactly! So make calling him a little more personal."

Traze looked at her curiously. "Will this make you happy? To name my lawe?"

"Yes, very happy." Veda grinned at him.

"Okay, then you can be the one to name him."

The lawe looked at her curiously, and Veda smiled.

"How about Batair?"

"Batair?" Traze repeated. "Why that?"

"Well, it was what I named my first cat. Well, I mean, he was only barely my cat… I grew up in foster homes, so I only got to spend a year with him. But my foster family did let me name him. And your lawe reminds me of him. He was a small black cat."

"Cat?" Traze asked.

"Yeah, it's an animal on Earth that humans keep as pets. They look kind of like lawes, except they don't have those protruding teeth and they're much, much smaller. Oh, and they only have four legs."

Traze chuckled to himself. "A small lawe with four legs? What a funny-looking creature that would be." He continued to laugh to himself. "But if calling him Batair makes you happy, you can name him that."

Veda spoke directly to the lawe now. "Well, what do you say? Do you like the name Batair?" He nuzzled her neck, and Veda took this as a yes. "Batair it is," she said, and then she stood up and started walking away. "Come on, Batair, let's go give you a bath."

This caused Traze to shoot right up. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"To that pond over there!" Veda said.

"You have to warn me before you choose to leave!" Traze called out as he followed her.

Veda scoffed. "I'm not going to warn you any time I'm so much as ten feet away, Traze. Now, I know you're a little traumatized by what happened, but I think you need to relax. You're not going to be able to protect me every minute of every day," she said as she continued walking.

"Of course I can! I can be with you every second."

Veda sighed and turned around. When he reached her, she put both of her hands on his face. "No, you really can't," she said. "And you need to trust that I can handle some things on my own. I'm just going to take a quick rinse with Batair. Okay? I want to get this sticky blood off me and the shuraa blood off Batair. It's going to be fine."

But Veda could see on Traze's face that he didn't agree. He was worrying about her greatly.

He would have to learn to cope with it, though, because Veda had no intention of warning him every time she walked away. She was an independent person, who didn't want to be treated like she was fragile.

She stripped down a bit when she was out of sight of the other Aterans and got into the water with Batair. He swam very naturally and enjoyed it when Veda rubbed his fur vigorously to try and get him clean.

Once Veda thought she had washed Batair sufficiently, she started rubbing her own skin down. She really wished she had some soap, but she would have to make do with just water. It was certainly better than nothing.

Part of her liked how rugged the expedition was, though. She had always wished as a child that she could go camping but never had the opportunity. That was kind of what this expedition felt like—one big adventure.

Traze was watching intently from nearby, worry on his face.

Veda hated seeing him this way, but she totally understood his emotions. She would probably have been very worried too if she had experienced the same thing he did. But she wanted him to relax. What had happened was traumatic, but she wanted to move forward and didn't want to see Traze constantly stressed because of it.

"Come on!" Veda hollered at him. "Why don't you get in the water with us?"

Traze shook his head wildly. "No, I do not think so."

Veda sighed. "Traze, please? You need to have some fun. I promise you'll enjoy it… and so will I!"

Traze paused for a moment. "It will bring you joy if I get in?"

"Yes," Veda said definitively.

She was beginning to notice a pattern between her and Traze. Every time he seemed hesitant to fold to her demands, he would ask if the action would bring her happiness. And after she confirmed it would, he did what she wanted.

But why did he care so much if something brought her happiness?

Traze began to walk into the pond, and as soon as he did, Veda splashed him.

Traze looked at her in confusion. "Why did you do that?"

Veda kept finding herself doing these typical things she'd do back on Earth and then having to explain even the most basic of games or traditions to Traze.

"It's just like… a fun game. You just… splash each other." But the more Veda had to explain her actions, the weirder they became.

Thankfully, Traze seemed to roll with it. He paused for a moment and then splashed Veda back in a very mechanical way. He brought his arm all the way above his head and then slapped it straight down in front of Veda.

This caused her to not just get even wetter but to roll into a laughing fit. The way he had splashed her looked so awkward and unnatural that she couldn't help but laugh. Then she splashed him back, and they started splashing each other wildly. Even Batair got in on the fun.

Veda enjoyed every moment she spent with Traze so much. She hoped it never had to come to an end.

But she knew if she was not his kode, it inevitably would.