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“There’s a small pond outside. Tomorrow you can use it to wash up some more if you’d like. I’ll guard it while you do so.”
“What about food?”
“We’ll find you some of that, too.”
“No, I mean right now.”
“You’ll have to wait until morning, unless you think you won’t last until then.”
“No, I can. But where will I sleep?”
I stand up and grab my pack, handing it to her.
“Use this as a pillow. No bed or blanket, I’m afraid.”
“That’s fine… Thank you for this.”
I grunt, not wanting to actually acknowledge the fact that I’m being nice to her. I still don’t even understand why I’m doing it.
Annette settles against the wall, placing her head on my pack. I wave my hand over the fire, making it disappear. No need to call attention to the cave all night, even if no one can get in.
“We’ll find a more suitable place to stay tomorrow.”
She doesn’t answer. I lie down near the pathway that leads out of the cave, putting myself between her and the opening. Within minutes, I hear her breathing slow down as she falls asleep.
I find myself turning to look at her, watching her. I’ve been a solitary being my whole life, and I’ve never regretted it. But something about this strange human makes me question that for the first time. The feeling makes my skin crawl.
Being alone only turns into loneliness when you want a companion. Do I really want that, and can someone like me even have it?
11
ANNETTE
When I wake up in the morning, Rukh is not there. I panic for a moment before realizing that even if he did leave me all alone, I’ll be fine. It’s not like I haven’t been alone my entire life.
But before I can even stand up, I hear footsteps. I jump up, throwing my hands up to defend myself.
“Put your hands down, it’s just me. Not that you could do much damage.”
“I thought you left me,” I say, ignoring the insult. He’s wrong, anyways. I could do a lot of damage. At least, enough to allow myself some time to run away.
“I went out to get you something to eat before our journey,” he grunts, handing me two tizrets. “This is all I could find. Later we can look for more.”
“Thank you,” I say, taking the fruits from him.
“While you eat, I’m going to do a quick sweep of the area. If no one is near, then you can take a quick bath in the pond outside before you change into these clothes.”
He tosses me a pair of brown pants and a black long-sleeved shirt. Unable to help myself, I’m immediately wary.
“Whose dead body did you take these off of?” I ask. He chuckles, making my cheeks heat up with anger.
“What makes you think I killed someone for them?”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you.”
