AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes,” I say. “But…”
I set down my knife and the skin I have mostly removed from the merka beast, looking around me for some stones to collect. It reminds me of the game I used to play with Sam, trying to find the prettiest stones in the river. Will my linasha like pretty things this way? Whether or not she does, beauty is not what is required right now.
I set three stones down, one by the pile of leaves and sticks that represents my tribe sisters, the other two an equal distance away from it, and each other.
“Village,” I say, pointing to the stone with my sisters beside it. Then indicate one of the other stones. “Mercenia.”
“Yoomeenthebayse?” my Brooks says, but nods as if she is following me so far.
I point to the final stone. “Maldek, Brooks.”
She nods again. I gesture to the village, picking up one of the leaves and walking it towards the Mercenia hut stone.
“Your sisters already travel towards us,” I say, holding the leaf up to her. “Liv. LivwalkMercenia.”
I wish again that I had more than the few words I learned for Sam, but they are enough. I see the light of understanding shine in my linasha’s eyes.
“Thairalredyonthereway,” she says to herself, nodding. “Good.”
“Good?” I say, giving her the good gesture, pointing my thumb towards the sky.
Her lips curl with some amusement once more, and I think the way she shakes her head at me is almost with some fondness.
She does not know you, not the truth of you.
I resist the urge to grit my teeth.
“Howlongtilthayarrive?” my Brooks says, and I can only shrug my shoulders. She rolls her eyes, but it is not with any anger, just the same frustration I feel.
“Thisudbeeesierifwecudspeek,” she huffs, then straightens, her brow softening as an idea comes into her headspace. She turns to me, then makes a rapid series of gestures.
Me. Her. Hands beside her head, eyes closed. Her two hands angled towards each other, fingers and thumb opening and closing repeatedly. Like a mouth speaking.
“Ifweegotuhsleepcanweetork?”
“You are wishing to join in dreams so we can speak?” I say at the same time.
Another barest beginning of a smile. Then she puts her hands beside her head once more.
“Sleep?” she says.
I do not know this word, but I can guess the meaning.
“Sleep yes.” I say, but then gesture to the merka beast. “After.”
“Aftaweecookthathingrite?” my linasha says, nodding.
She reaches past the creature to her shoes. I had not even noticed her bare feet. She pulls the heavy boots on, then gets up, dusting herself off. Nothing in her manner says that she is about to flee, but I watch her closely for a moment all the same.
She stands with hands on her hips, surveying the space we have found ourselves in. It is not as nice as the clearing where she camped last night, less open space. But she picks her way to the trees, crouching down at the base of them and scooping up fallen leaves, twigs. She brings them back to where we are, and I realise as she works that she is building a fire.
It is not a skill the other females had, and I feel a surge of pride in my female that she has this cleverness in her headspace. I reach into one of the pouches on my belt, pulling out my flint stones for lighting fires. She looks at me for a moment before taking them, careful not to touch my skin anywhere. It aches at my heartspace a little, but it is nothing more than any of my mated brothers have felt when finding their way to their linasha’s affections.
They were not failures like you, the voice says.
The blow lands hard against my heartspace, but I straighten my back, determined not to let it dispirit me. Despite the distance that exists between my Brooks’ headspace and mine right now, I feel a deep sense of contentment as I pick my knife up once more and settle in to work alongside her.
CHAPTERNINE
