Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

I'm scared of the dark(Traveler and I)

Star Pupil

Star Pupil

Old soul
Joined
Apr 30, 2011
Location
Valhalla
Mmph. It was cold. Cold and dark. Her face was numb and she was shivering. The only thing she could see was the light from one of the four moons that circled this planet seeping into the small window in the pod that she had used to come to this planet. The last thing she remembered was boarding the ship of her own volition. Why? Well, she had told General Michael Brown, one of the five people that controlled the distribution of prisoners on the planet that had already been named New Earth despite them not knowing whether or not the planet was fit for their race, that she wanted to research the planet. But there was another reason too.

Her old childhood friend and first love had been sent to this strange land. She had just recently found out that he had been arrested for embezzlement and fraud. Considering he worked for the government as part of New Earth's technology development team, she found that hard to believe. He had absolutely nothing to do with their finances, and he wasn't the type to risk everything just to have more money in his pockets. Plus, they had shipped him off with the newest wave of prisoners way too soon. She doubted that he had even had a trial. Minerva knew that he had been framed for something, most likely because he had stumbled into something he shouldn't have seen. Though she couldn't let those people know that she had any attachments to him. They would have denied her.

She quickly sat up and then pulled down the hatch that would release the door and let it fall open. Immediately a wall of cold air seeped in, and she shivered. They had already dressed her in heavy clothing, but the air seemed to go through even the thickness of her coat. Slowly she climbed out of the cramped space and she nearly tripped over something. Oh, a backpack? So they had given her some supplies after all. She lifted it up and then slowly moved out into the open. She was in a clearing, but surrounded by forest. They hadn't sent her anywhere near a human colony...but why? Did the pod malfunction? It didn't really look like it was in the best of shape, but it had landed just fine apparently. More importantly, how long had she really been asleep?

She sighed and then pulled up her hood. At this temperature there should have been snow around. How strange. Squatting down, she rummaged around in her backpack and found a flashlight. From what she knew, it would just be a matter of time before she ran into a predator. Light was her only means of defense.
 
The night was cool and dark, exactly like he liked it. As he moved through the brush lithe muscles moved effortlessly and gracefully across the brush and rocks. He hated being unarmed. Unarmed, unwinged, un.. un-everything. Everything that made him a warrior of his people was taken from him so that he could blend in with these intruders.

Zagundir could have spat in disgust. If he did the cold would have probably frozen the moisture before it hit the ground. His pale blue eyes almost glowed in the dark of the months' long night. His kind saw well in the dark. The harsh light of the sun weakened them, and most native creatures lived underground during the long day to avoid the effects of the sun. His people had managed to bioengineer inner lids for his eyes. They would allow him to blend in and move about the sun like these humans, though prolonged exposure would still weaken him. If he was caught... well... the human intruders would probably kill him.

The dark was lovely but there were things in the night that were dangerous even for the children of the planet. Things that were as dangerous as the humans. Normally he'd move above all danger, flying as effortlessly as he walked. But his wings were gone now and where they once were only pain remained.

He volunteered to be grounded. His reasons seemed good at the time. He had given up his wings, had his talons altered, and swore an oath to live as a human. He'd even taken a human name - Zander Blythe. Right now, though, he was running late. He'd only been reintroduced to the settlement a month ago and this errand was only supposed to take a few hours, but when the hover pod he was in hit a bird and burned out an engine it left him on his feet for the remaining twenty mile trip.

If he had his way he'd be dressed in a light shirt and pants, but he had to blend in so he had heavy cold weather gear on. Right now his head was uncovered and it felt wonderful, but once he was around humans he'd have to cover up again.

A streak of heat crossed the sky above him. Another pod, a deep space one. He watched it touch down automatically and know that it was on auto pilot. Whoever was in it was probably just waking up from a long hibernation and would be ill-equipped to handle the dangers of the world. Picking up his pace he began to run; if he could intercept the people who had just been dropped on the surface then he'd have a legitimate reason for being out late.

He was out of the sight of other humans and so he ran fast; faster than a person should be able to. Soon he had traversed the six miles from his crash site to where the other pod landed. He slowed to a sensible pace, then to a quick walk. A small beam of light shone where someone was moving about.

"Hello?" Zander called out. He remembered his flashlight and took it out, shining the beam as if he had been scouting. "Hello there! I'm here to help you get to the compound."
 
Minerva had put down her flashlight so she could see what else they had given here. There were no rations, but there was plenty of high tech things. Some tools for her to assemble or disassemble things. A black book for her to write down her research. And what was this? She reached deep inside of the pack and pulled out what resembled a gun, though it was strange looking. Was this her means of defense? Where were the bullets? As she inspected the peculiar tool, she heard someone call out to her. Oh, so they didn't just drop her off in the wilderness to die? That was a relief. As brave as she was going to this planet in the first place, she wasn't a fighter. It was still odd though, that she didn't land with the other batch of prisoners. They had put her in a private pod so she wouldn't feel unsafe, but...now that she thought about it that really didn't make sense. Her own kind was the last of her worries..so she thought.

So she closed her backpack and hauled it onto her back, picking up the flashlight as she stood up straight. Rudely, she pointed the bright thing at the man who was running up to her to make sure he wasn't a threat. Or rather, a predator. He looked a bit strange, but she remembered hearing something about this planet being able to bring out a gene in them that had long since been inactive, the gene for them to adapt to their environment. A change in hair or skin color was common. She dropped the ray of light when he got closer, and gave him a smile. He was actually quite handsome up close. Almost eerily so. There was something truly bewitching about his appearance. "Oh wow. A personal escort. I didn't expect that." Her voice was soft and course. It had probably been quite some time since she had last spoken. She was strangely hungry, tired and exhausted.

"Thank God you came when you did," She continued as she started to get used to talking more. "I have been told females are the greatest snack for a Shadowman to have. I am new here so I really don't know how to defend myself."
 
Zander flinched when the light beam hit his face. He brought an arm up to shield his eyes as the thin, translucent inner lid covered his eyes. He was still getting used to the modification and it still took a conscious effort to do that. Once he was shielded he dropped his arm to look at the newcomer. She was alone, which was unusual, and obviously had not spoken or moved for a long time. She still had that doe-like wobbliness that he associated with recent newcomers. "Are you alone?"

He glanced around wondering if he had been discovered and this was some kind of a trick. Drawing in a breath he nodded at her comment about Shadowmen. "Indeed - you would be a good find for one of those... monsters... to find. It's a good thing I found you first." The irony in that statement was not lost on him. He'd done his fair share of bringing in human hostages to his hive. If he had not accepted the challenge to infiltrate the invaders' group she would be as good as bound and bred.

"I'm Zander. Blythe. Zander Blythe." He extended his right hand in that unusual human form of greeting. "Your pod must have been delayed from the others; we received the latest shipment of newbies a month ago." He tilted his head to the left as he looked at her. Actually he was smelling her, almost drunk on the femininity of her scent, but he tried to hide it. Even in the human settlement there was about one woman to every twenty men. The numbers were slanted to such an extreme that every woman was treated like a commodity, and they were only allowed to breed for procreation with the choicest (or strongest) of men. Recreational breeding was another thing; women were so rare that they could trade their sexual favors like money, and many did.

A howl cracked the silence, followed by a shriek. Zandar flinched. Damn. That was a Devourer!

He looked back to the human. "You don't happen to have a weapon do you?" He asked as he stepped closer to her. Had he been allowed to fight normally he could have taken it out with a sonic blast once it got close enough, but in this disguise he was helpless, and being one of the new returnees he hadn't earned the right to his own weapon yet.
 
"Minerva Striker." She took his hand and briefly shook it, then adjusted her backpack some more. So something did happen...and somehow she had gotten off course...for an entire month. In a month, anything could have happened. When she left, she didn't know if she would find her friend alive. However, it irritated her that this mishap had happened, especially if she found out he passed during the time she had been lost in space. She seemed lost in thought as he looked at her, smelled her even. He would have been able to tell just from her scent just how fertile she was, and right now she at the peak of fertility. No doubt he would find that intoxicating.

Minerva snapped to attention when she heard that horrible howl, followed by a shriek that made her bring her gloved hands to the outside of her hood. She pressed against her ears in attempts to try to drown him out. She didn't know what that was, or even where it came from. However, when Zander turned to her and asked if she had a weapon, she immediately dropped her backpack and unzipped it, pulling out the strange weapon. "Hold on, let me figure out how it works." She told him as she studied the strange device. There didn't really seem to be a compartment for bullets, but she did find a switch near the safety of the gun. She pushed it forward and a beam of light shot out of the gun. It was in the shape of a thin blade, and it was bright.

"A beam sword? Though why is attached to this gun?" As she studied it, the Devourer quickly came out of the forest and into the clearing. It was also heading straight for them. "Hmm..if this gun has the power to create a blade of light...then perhaps it doesn't need bullets like I first thought initially." She stood up, leaving her backpack on the ground. "Let's see. If I am correct then this should work." She turned off the blade and then aimed at the monster that she had only seen in pictures until just now. Pulling the trigger, a small blast of energy left the barrel of the gun and shot at it, hitting the monster in shoulder. It was enough to make it flinch and cry out in pain. "Well that doesn't seem very effective against this type...It just stung it a little." It was truly strange to see a woman this calm in the face of danger, trying to figure out how to use a weapon. She actually did know how to shoot a gun, and the fact that she was in danger hadn't immediately hit her.

"Oh!" She said as she pulled the trigger once more, seeing that nothing was coming off. "I'll just let it get closer, I think I figured it out.." She continued on as the monster once again headed right towards them, panting heavily as it charged. Minerva held the gun steady as it began to vibrate and get warm. So her theory was right. Finally, she released the trigger just before the monster had gotten within striking range, and a large beam of light shot out, going straight through its heart. It dropped dead on it's side and she cocked her head to the side a bit, looking at the gun. "They haven't given anyone these weapons before..must be experimental. I could make a few modifications to it, but overall it's pretty useful." She popped the safety back on and then looked at him, sticking out the gun sword. "Hold this."

She didn't wait for him to comply, she merely shoved it into his hand and then dug into her back pack some more, taking out the notebook and a pen. Then she closed the pack and once again picked it up by the shoulder and then opened up the book to begin a short entry on what she had just witnessed.
 
The shriek meant that the creature was hunting. Like Zander it could smell her fertile body, ripe for the planting. In the case of the Devourers they found the flesh of women delectable. No doubt it wanted to take her back to its lair and eat her slowly, relishing the taste of her sexuality mixed with her fear.

The woman was in no hurry to kill the beast. She fiddled with her weapon, her pores not emitting any scents that led Zander to believe that she was worried for her safety or her welfare. Was she crazy? Was she what they called a loo-na-tic? A worshiper of the moon? He could hear the pounding of the creature's paws against the cold ground. Then he saw it; the long tongue drooling saliva that scorched the earth where it fell. It's acidic wetness poison to all it touched.

"Kill it! Kill it now!" He stepped back as a blade of energy came from the barrel of the weapon. "What are you waiting for?" He couldn't believe the brazenness of this woman! What was she doing? Playing?

He stepped behind the human. Damn it! If she didn't kill the Devourer then he'd be forced to act. He wasn't going to let a stupid woman blow his disguise. He'd let her be killed by the charging creature, and then if it wasn't satisfied Zander would kill it, but damned if he'd risk revealing himself because some idiotic insane woman wanted to play 'push the buttons' with her weapon! "What are you waiting for? Kill it!"

He stepped back even more, just as the weapon thrummed to life and then shot out a beam that killed the beast. It skidded across the ground, coming to rest a scant body's length away from them.

Zander took the weapon and watched, incredulously, as the woman began to write notes down in a book.

"Are you crazy?" He glanced over the weapon and then stuck it in his belt. "Did they sent you here because you are some sort of suicidal megalomaniac? Why did you wait so long to kill that?" He took a few steps away from the beast in case it wasn't all the way dead, walking around Minerva Striker as if she was a display at a museum. "I don't get paid enough to escort crazy women around, especially ones without the good sense to be afraid." He could smell her; she was vaguely curious, but not afraid. Worried perhaps... but not about the Devourer. It was disconcerting.

"I don't know what you're writing in that Dear Diary of yours, but the hour is late. We have to get moving before more of these things smell you and decide that they'd like to have a Minerva Striker feast."
 
Minerva looked up from her notebook and then cocked her head to the side. He thought her to be insane? While it was true that she had handled the situation on her own time, she wasn't insane. "Oh...I'm not crazy." She said as she closed her notebook after quickly scrawling the last of her notes down. "I had a bit of military training back in the day. Well, more like a few years ago. So I'm good with a gun. I suppose I knew the weapon they sent me here with would easily kill that thing. I just had to figure it out. I killed it, didn't I?" She asked with a hurtful expression, as if she was a little offended by his words.

She then proceeded to put her note book away and followed him. She knew that she may have cut it a bit close, but if she didn't charge the gun long enough it wouldn't have killed it. "You know, if I hadn't played with it, I would have been attempting to use a knife on that thing, and it would have gotten the better of me. And anyway, you call me suicidal but you don't even have a weapon while you are out here. What is up with that?" She asked him as she took her gun back. She looked back to the carcass of that devourer. She wished she could stay to at least study it a bit, but Zander was right. She was probably going to lure even more shadow beings if she stayed out here much longer.

Besides, this cold weather was starting to wear on her body. As they walked, she could actually see some ice and snow now. That was certainly disturbing. She remained ever observant as she awaited more insults from this Zander. It probably was highly unusual that she faced that monster without a single shred of fear, but...it didn't really feel real to her. None of this seemed real, at least not yet. The only thing real was the hunger that plagued her as they walked.
 
Zander drew in a breath, trying to fathom what it was exactly that he smelled from her that was so different. In truth he had never been near someone who had just landed; his first encounter with these humans were when a group of them stumbled across a port to the underground city just as the light was giving way to the darkness. Their scent quickly gave way to fear and then to the iron of their blood as they died.

He shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts of that memory.

"Military training?" He glanced at her. What in the ten hells was 'military'? "You did kill it. I'm thankful that you did... but those things are fast and it's, uh... saliva... will burn your skin. It's toxic. Had it even licked you you'd be screaming on the ground, desperate for me to cut off your limb before the toxin crept up your arm to your body."

He shook his head more vehemently. "You don't want to chance that."

The snow was crystalline on the ground, sparkling beads of light collecting and refracting every bit of light that was present. Every beam from the stars, every ray from their flashlights... they seemed to dance in the beauty of the cold.

Oh fuck. It was cold. He was supposed to be acting like it was cold! He pulled the hood over his head and glanced at Minerva. "Are you warm enough?" He moved closer to her as they walked. "Most of - " he almost said 'you humans' but he stopped himself just in time. "Most of us find it's a lot colder here than we are used to."
 
Most of them? Any human would find these temperatures brutal. They were easily in the negatives. She shrugged it off as a slip of the tongue. Perhaps he was still nervous about the monsters. A little irritated with him not answering her previous question, she decided to let it go. "Truthfully I can't feel my hands and feet. Or my face. These elements are harsh and I can't wait to find a fire. Whenever we get to safety of course." She looked up at him as he walked closer to her, and she smiled at him. "You're an odd one. It just took you now to realize you were cold? Perhaps you have already started to adapt to these harsh conditions...you must have been here a long time."

Before she came here, she hadn't really considering observing other humans to see how living on this planet had affected them, but seeing this man made her interested. She started to eye him closely, looking at his every movement. Rudely, she just stared at him, observing the way he walked and carried himself. He wasn't shivering, but his face was just as pale as hers.

"Hmm. You're pretty handsome." She commented after the long while of her staring. She then looked up ahead and could faintly make out the outline of a settlement. Good. They were almost there. She wasn't sure how long she could go on without getting some food and water into her. Though she had to wonder if they even had enough to spare for her. Food would be scarce during the winter months. No doubt they stored it all summer. However, she was sure wildlife still existed out in the woods...along with the shadow creatures that prowled the darkness. Hunting for food would be dangerous.
 
"Ah..." What could he tell her? He didn't want to seem odd. "I've been here a long time. I was in the first group of explorers who were sent onto the surface." Was that accurate? He had to be more vague! "Maybe it was because we ate the local foods or they did something to us - but sometimes I don't notice the cold as much. I don't know why. I've, uhm, lost track of time from when I was captured."

The lie seemed to slip out easier every time he said it. Ten years would have been a long time to be isolated from his people; it would have been a long time to be under the rule of the natives. It helped that the handful of people he had 'returned' with had also changed slightly, but many of them were recognized by their friends and family.

"Those of us who have recently returned are not issued weapons. We're under, hm... under a probationary period." He hoped that she bought his explanation. It was all he had, but when your life depended on a lie you held on to it as hard as you could.

Zandar turned to look at her when she said that he was handsome. What did that mean? Did he look like he had both hands? Or maybe that was something akin to 'hand full'? Was she saying that she thought he would be a difficult one? "What do you mean by that?" He tried not to look too nervous, but they were within sight of the fortress walls and so he couldn't dispatch her if it came to that without being seen. "I assure you, I am not trying to be a difficult. I am merely answering your questions."

Hopefully they had not been 'rhetorical' questions. He had learned recently that those were not ones that the asker actually wanted people to answer. These humans were very strange.
 
"Hmmm." Minerva listened to his explanation. He didn't seem very bright the more he spoke to her. Then he said some odd things. He lost track of time when he was captured? Did he mean imprisoned and sent straight here. Something was off, but she couldn't tell what it was. The weapon thing made sense...sort of. Not everyone was given a weapon. In fact, no one was assigned a weapon at all. Weapons and ammunition were sent in crates and whoever found them first were the luckiest...until someone took them away.

She was sure that there was some sort of leader in charge of each human colony, along with subordinates. More than likely those people had the weapons. Still, it was pretty ballsy sending him out alone with just a flashlight.

Then came his confusion on her compliment. Was this guy just an idiot? She couldn't have been anymore blunt. "Not sure how to spell it out. I find your appearance attractive. Though the same can't be said about your intelligence." She mumbled that insult underneath her breath. Why were the pretty ones always so dumb? Well, at least he had led her in the right direction of where she needed to go. That was pretty much all he was good for at this point, that and knowing what types of monsters lurked out there.

Minerva started to see light emitting from the fires that were strung along the large protective walls surrounding the village. "So when we get there, what then? Do you have a place I can stay until I figure out where I need to go from here? I'm looking for someone, so if he's not there I gotta move on."
 
"Attractive." He felt the word in his mouth. What was appropriate to say? "I... find your appearance not repulsive as well." He hurried his steps along, feeling the change in the air. "But when we get to the compound you're no longer my problem. I turn you over to the Councillors and they'll help you to find your friend. Whether you move on or not is not my concern."

The air shifted and the tiny hairs on his neck stood on end. "Come on, we have to hurry."

As if on cue a foghorn sounded, low and sad and long. The sound was like a mournful cry from an ancient beast.

"Crap."

Zandar stood stock-still and looked at her. Normally he'd either fly above the coming threat or get to the ground and use his wings as a shield, but he had neither option available to him. "You don't have a portable shelter, do you not?" His chest heaved as he felt the air shifting cooler, signalling that the acid fog that occasionally wafted through would be there soon. "We cannot outrun the fog." He looked around, scanning the dark with his native eyes to find some clue to a cave opening or something that would offer them temporary shelter.
 
Minerva sighed heavily. Wow. This man was awfully rude, though she probably deserved that for commenting on his intelligence. He wasn't very friendly either. So he was just going to dump her off somewhere and go on about his life, huh? He didn't seem to like her very much.

Hurry? She couldn't move any faster than this. She was cold and tired. Why did he want to move any faster then this? Her answer came when a monstrous cry filled the air. This one sounded different from the shriek of that last monster.

"What was that?" Minerva asked softly as she stopped in her tracks. "Another monster? Should we shoot it?" When he asked her if she had portable shelter, she just shrugged and studied his face. He seemed worried about something, and he was breathing a bit hard. "Fog?" She was so confused. "I don't see any fog. Zander, what's going on?" They weren't too far off from the cliffs, and it was easy to find caverns around there.
 
"You cannot shoot a fog!" He was angry now - why didn't she understand the danger they were in? "You can't always kill the things that are dangerous to you!"

To the north a faint golden glow backlit a coming fog. It moved like a living creature, easing over the landscape and oozing around the trees. Zandar grabbed the girl by her wrist. "Run! Now!"

He began to sprint towards the cliffs and away from the glowing fog. The horn sounded again, and he knew that the city was evacuating to the safety behind sealed walls. If the fog touched flesh it would cause horrible burns on the body and in the lungs; burns that were not survivable. Had he his wings... but he didn't have them. He felt like a cornered mouse in the clutches of a psychotic cat. He had to run just like the humans did, and he felt their vulnerability for the first time since he took the assignment.
 
When he yelled at her, she wasn't sure why he was so upset. Fog was not what she spoke of when she asked if they could shoot it. Perhaps the fog was the creature that howled earlier? Is that why he was so scared. What an anomaly...living fog! Though it was obviously dangerous because her escort was freaking out.

"H-hey..." Minerva tried to protest when he grabbed her by the wrist and then started to run. He was so fast. She could barely keep up with him. No, she couldn't keep up with him. But she knew just from the way he spoke to her earlier, he would leave her for dead in a heart beat. Such was the ways of survival on this dangerous planet. She had to keep up or she'd probably die.

Where was he going, anyway? The cliffs? She heard a horn far off into the distance. Shouldn't they be running over there? She started panting hard, the cold air stinging her lungs and throat. "Zander.." She called to him breathlessly. She wasn't sure why she did that, in fact that just made her lose even more breath. She began to get lightheaded, and for the first time since arriving here she felt scared. Scared that she wouldn't be able to make it to safety, and she would get left behind.
 
Were all humans this slow? He seemed to remember that they were. Slow and soft... and they screamed when they got hurt. He nearly picked her up and carried her with him, but then he thought that it would seem too out of place so he slowed his pace enough that she could keep up. The cliffs were ahead, beckoning to them. The fog was creeping closer and reaching out to them as well. It was now a matter of what would reach them first.

He nearly skidded to a stop when they got to the edge of the cliffs. Zandar peered over the edge, quickly picking out a wind cave that wasn't too far down. The glowing fog was getting even closer. It was only about twenty seconds from reaching them.

"Can you climb? It's about ten feet down." He looked over at Minerva and noticed that she was out of breath. "We have to get underground and away from the fog. If it touches us we'll wish we were dead."
 
When they finally got to the cliffs, Minerva wondered what exactly Zander was planning now that they were here. She was breathing heavily, but she made it. Somehow. When he asked her if she could climb down, she smiled a bit. As if she had a choice. If she had to, well she'd just fall. Maybe bruise a few things in the process, but...it was the quickest way to get down there if she had to resort to that.

She started to quickly climb down the side of the cliff, much quicker than she had run. Minerva was tired, not weak. She had her military training to thank for how well she could scale walls. Once they both reached the ground, she followed Zander quickly into the cave he had picked up. How did he know this was here? He must have been over her quite often.

"I think...I'm going to...pass out now..." Minerva told him once she was sure they had reached some kind of safety.
 
Thankfully she could climb! He led her down a deer path, then hand over hand into the vertical entrance to the shallow wind cave. It was barely enough room for one body to lie flat, nearly a depression in the rock wall. "Good, lie down. Give me your pack."

He stripped off his own bag and piled it around the small opening, then he went to push Minerva onto the ground so that he could cover her body with his. The sound of shrieking birds filled their ears and flocks of nesting birds swarmed by, some of them screeching in pain as the fog overcame them. Squirrels that were not able to get back to their burrows sprinted past and some of them even flung themselves off the cliff to keep from being burned.

It didn't work.

The glow from the fog was now visible in the opening to their cave. "Get down!" He pressed himself against her and covered her exposed skin with his body and hands, protecting her from the acid that was quickly burning whatever biological surface it could touch. "Hold your breath! It won't last long."
 
Minerva did not mind lying down one bit, and so she gladly followed his order, sitting down at first while handing him her backpack. Though the rock was extremely cold to the touch and she felt even more uncomfortable than she was before if that was possible. At least she could rest, but she really did not want to completely lay on this cold rock.

It appeared she didn't have choice as he pushed her onto the ground and moved on top of her. Her face started to tingle and had she not been so cold, she probably would have blushed. He felt so warm, too. There bodies were not even touching. Her shivering body started to calm down as he warmed the top of her body. It was an odd sensation feeling both heat and cold at the same time. Hearing the cries from the wild life made Minerva realize just how dangerous this fog was.

Then the glow started to fill the cave and she realized that they had not been safe at all. Damn it...what now? She felt him press against her in attempts to protect her it would seem. It was strange that he tried, but perhaps maybe he felt like there wasn't much of a choice at this point since they trapped themselves in the cave. When he told her to hold her breath, she did the best she could. Her heart was still racing so it was demanding more oxygen, but she held out as long as she could. She closed her eyes, hoping that it would be over soon.
 
The packs helped. They blocked a lot of the fog, but the backs of his hands were still uncovered and they burned! He gritted his teeth in pain, trying not to utter a sound of distress. Thankfully the fog moved quickly, washing over the cave and seeking out their flesh before moving on. In all they were under the fog for just under a minute, but it felt like forever.

Hellfire... and all he could smell was the fertile flora of this human woman as she laid underneath his body! It nearly drove Zander crazy! Once the glow and the fog were gone he rolled off of her and onto his back. He nearly fell out of the shallow cave in doing so.

He let out the breath he had been holding and drew in a fresh lungful of air. "We're safe. For now." He turned his head and looked at her, cradling his own hands and trying to not let her see the clear yellow large blisters that covered the backs of his hands. It would take a human about a week to heal; a Shadowperson three days. If he could get her to the compound now that the fog had passed he could disappear -blend back in.

"Do you... are you strong enough to make the hike to the compound? It's about twenty minutes, aside from the short climb. You'll be more comfortable there."
 
When he rolled away from her, she figured it was safe to finally breathe. She exhaled and then sucked in as much air as she could to fill her lungs. So much that she started coughing and sputtering thanks to the sudden intake of cold air. She then went back to panting heavily, and once again her body started shivering now that he wasn't against her or over her. She wondered if he was really okay. If the fog got in for a minute did he get hurt by it?

She wanted to get up, but she really did not have the energy. When he asked her if she was able to make that twenty minute hike to safety, she sighed. It seemed like a short amount of time when he put it like that, but she was so damn tired. Twenty minutes would feel much longer in the state she was in. "I...don't really....have much of a choice." She panted before forcing herself to sit up. "Do you...have any food? I am..really hungry. I'm running off of...fumes at this point. Maybe I'll get some strength...back if I just had something to eat." She paused and looked at his hands as he cradled them. "Are you okay..?"
 
He winced when she mentioned her need for food, and sat next to her so that he could pull his pack nearer. He had no trouble picking out the little bit of light that was available and seeing what he needed to see, but her intoxicating nearness was making it difficult to think straight. "I'm fine," he answered brusquely. He pulled out soft leather gloves and pulled them on, covering the offending burns on the backs of his hands. It stung terribly which he saw as a good sign. If they didn't hurt at all he'd be concerned that his nerves had been compromised. He'd look into treating them once he got rid of this human woman.

Inside his pack were plastic-wrapped meal bars. They were dense with nutrition and made up of nuts and fruit, mostly. A bit of native honey had been added to sweeten it, but otherwise there was nothing in it that wasn't going to be familiar to her digestive system. Zander opened the pack and handed it to her. "Little bites," he cautioned. "It swells in your mouth. Chew it well before you swallow it or you might choke."

He could see that she was cold. As he waited for her to eat he pulled out a foil blanket to slide under them and to insulate them from the cold ground. Though it was thin, the blanket was engineered to create a warm barrier for the user. "We can rest here if you are tired. I read that most newcomers find it difficult to be awake more than a few hours at a time when they first arrive." He waved towards the opening of the cave. "I will... stay here with you and keep you warm until you are strong enough to finish the journey."

Then he could leave. Once she was delivered he could go, gather more information, perhaps create a map for his people to use. The more they understood these strange and dangerous intruders the more easily they could destroy them.
 
Minerva watched as he put his gloves on, or rather the outline of his shadow. She had turned her flashlight off and stuck it in her jacket pocket to conserve the energy stored within it. She'd be using it for a long time, and it would be her only defense during travel if she needed to move on to the next place. Though she wondered truly if she'd be able to survive not knowing what could kill her and what couldn't.

To her surprise and great pleasure, he did have something to eat on him. At first she was going to take a big bite, but she heeded his warning and started nibbling at it. It definitely was filling. Whatever ingredient they used for expansion was a mystery to her however. She watched him pull something out of his pack as she ate. A blanket? The material made it obvious that it would be warmer than it looked.

"That makes sense. Don't think I...stopped shivering since I came here and it progressively got worse. It's a great strain on the body to be this cold." Minerva told him as she finished the food he had given her. "Ahh. Are you sure that's okay? I can keep moving if you want, Zander." She moved closer to him to see his face better. Her scent would be stronger at this point considering exactly how close she was...close enough to wear their faces were inches apart."I mean, we almost died. Twice. Maybe we shouldn't hang around here.."
 
Zander spread the blanket out and motioned that she should scoot her hips up to allow him to slide the protective barrier under her. "I will warm you," he promised. "We don't need to keep moving yet. You should eat and sleep before we go to the compound. It will still be there when you wake." He reached around her to tuck the blanket down and came face to face with her. The alluring scent, her warm body yearning for heat, her strange alien attraction...

His eyes roamed over her face, examining this human up close. She was so different from the women he was used to. Her eyes were wider set, innocent and intelligent. The things she wore were almost exotic. Was it jewelry or something functional? He couldn't tell.

"Who is this man you are looking for? Is it your mate?" He moved closer, his body emanating heat that seemed to thrum in the cold cavern air.
 
Minerva was used to studying others but not used to being studied herself. When he stared at her, she felt like he was taking in her appearance, as if he was looking at her for the first time. The way he talked to her now was more polite. He actually seemed to care about her right now. She blushed and then looked away, focusing on the heat he provided for her..and the blanket made her feel like she wasn't sitting on a gigantic block of ice.

Suddenly he asked her a question that through her off guard. "No..he's not my mate." She answered after a long pause of silence. Her heart began to beat fast as she thought of such a thing. "He is a very long time friend, and my first love. Though we never were mates. You have a strange way of talking. Maybe all this time here has made you forget your humanity." She lifted up her hand and gently pressed her gloved fingers on his forehead. "Or maybe you didn't have much in there in the first place." She giggled, though she realized that he was giving off so much heat even her fingers were starting to warm up. "Oh gosh, you are a human furnace." She said as she placed both her hands on his chest. "You really do feel good."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom