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We emerge into a much larger cavern - even with Ryle casting the light back and forth in front of him, I can’t see the opposite wall. What I can see is mushrooms. Pink, orange, yellow, covering large patches of the ground before us.
I slip around Ryle and reach out to touch one. He yanks me back, makes another scolding sound.
“I’m not going to eat them,” I say. “I’m not that crazy.” I must have lost my gloves to the river, so I pull out the bandage wrapper and fold it and unfold it in front of him. “A sample to take back. That’s all.” He scowls, but he nods, seeming to get the message. I use the wrapper to pluck an orange one from the ground, then fold it all together and stuff it into my pocket. Even if it gets bruised, we might be able to assess if it’s safe to eat or not back in the lab on the ship. Maybe. I’m no scientist. I just want to help.
Ryle grasps my wrist. His touch is gentler than it was before. He croons something soft, but there’s a stern look in his eyes. This is one bossy alien.
His touch is soothing, though. Which is super weird. I mean. I know we’re all a little touch-starved after our long training and then our long, though unconscious, spaceflight. At least us unmarrieds are.
But I haven’t been so desperate for affection that I’m feeling attraction for an alien, am I? That... no. No. I’m just relieved that I’ve survived the mudslide, and glad that I’m not here figuring this place out alone.
Still, I find myself smiling shyly as his eyes roam up and down my face. He’s certainly just searching for signs of rebellion. He doesn’t want me running off inside this cavern and getting into trouble. This alien is protecting me.
I guess it’s kind of nice.
“I’ll behave,” I say. I slip my wrist from his grip and hold his hand. God, I’m basically fun-sized next to him. His palm fully engulfs my entire hand.
He grunts and nods, finally approving. Good. Better than the annoyed huffs and puffs. I don’t know his words but his tones are super easy to interpret.
We circle the cavern, following the wall all the way around. He keeps me positioned just behind him as we walk. He shines the flashlight over the mushrooms, along the walls, along the moss-covered ceiling... How is this stuff growing with no light?
How much time has passed since we slid away? We were tumbling along in that river for a long while, but it didn’t feel like hours. Then again, I’ve only mapped a few days’ worth of our movement around the suns...
My maps! My tablet has a flashlight too. I pull it out from my front chest pocket and switch the light on. Ryle huffs with surprise. “Tablet,” I tell him, displaying the device. I bring up the sun map that I started working on. It’s possible that we’ve drifted out of the sight of one of the suns. Or both. If this cave has some crack or hole in the ceiling, it’s possible that it simply isn’t facing any sunlight. I show Ryle my screen. “See, if we’re looking that way-” I point on the image of the planet - “We can’t see this light.” I tap on the closer sun. “We’re going to need to name these things. That will help make this all clearer.”
I look up at him, and he isn’t looking at my images at all. He’s looking at my face. “What?” I ask. Those strange dark eyes reflect the light from the tablet’s screen back at me, sort of like a cat’s. He must have much better eyesight than humans.
He says something softly. Shakes his head. Then takes my hand and leads me further into the dark.
?????
I’m exhausted by the time we make a full lap around the cavern. We found one other exit, and though Ryle wants to keep exploring, I don’t think I can take another step. I’m damp and bruised and tired, and really we should check to see if the storm has passed yet. I tug him back toward our first cave.
He lets me pull him along; he interlaces his rough fingers with mine, grunts a complaint, but drifts after me with the light from our flashlights bobbing ahead of us.
I can hear the rain before we even finish squeezing out of the mushroom cavern. No need to go peer outside. The wind howls and the thunder rumbles and the storm rages on. Everything in here has remained dry, though. Hopefully that means it won’t flood? Shit, I hope our camp hasn’t flooded.
With a groan, I settle with my back against the smoothest part of the rock wall that I can find. I grimace up at Ryle. “Don’t go taking off, okay? If I fall asleep. I just need to rest for a minute.” I sigh. He makes a frustrated sound. Says something. Then settles on the ground next to me and tugs me against his side, arm wrapped around my back.
“Hey, wait a second,” I say, resisting his grip. Just who does he think he is?
He jostles me though and says something that’s probably a reprimand. “May See.” With his free hand, he presses my head down to rest against his shoulder. I guess we don’t need much shared language after all. He’s figured out what I wanted, and now he’s being bossy about it. And while I’m not loving the way he’s manhandling me into doing what he says, I have to say, this alien man pillow is much more comfortable than the rock wall. And despite the fact that we just swam through mud and then took a walk through a mushroom cave, he smells good. A human man’s smell definitely isn’t something I’ve ever noticed before, except when they forget to shower, but this alien male smells like... I don’t know what. Warmth. A hot stove in a cozy house. I have to stop myself from pressing my nose into him.
I must have hit my head or something. This is all beyond weird. Maybe a nap will help. It seems unwise. But now that I’m comfortable, I can hardly keep my eyes open.
Ryle slides the tablet out of my lap with his free hand and props it up on his knee. I try to watch what he’s doing. He zooms in closer on the planet and finds the part of the ground map that I’ve filled in. I smile. Technically, we’ve filled it out together. Ryle and I. Maybe this isn’t so strange now that I think about it that way. We’ve been passing notes since we got here. I’ve made childhood friends the exact same way.
My friends have never smelled so good, though.
?????
I wake with a start. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. How the hell long was I out?
“Maysee!” I recoil at the strange sight of the alien I’ve just napped on. He’s really going to take some getting used to. Luckily he doesn’t notice, he’s too worked up about something. A wide grin is plastered across his face.
He shoves the tablet beneath my nose.
“I need coffee before we get to work,” I mumble to myself, but I take the device.
