Chapter 93: Dinner and a Show
"Good," I said with a smile. I was feeling more than a little territorial over something or someone that I hadn’t even seen yet, but I was not one to repress my natural inclinations. "Now, what do you say to feeding me?"
I looked around and saw that my guardian angel had built a much better version of a campfire than I ever could have dreamed of. Over top was a split where the meat was slowly being cooked. There was a handle to rotate the meat, but seeing as his two hands were wrapped around me right now, one side of dinner was definitely being better cooked than the other side.
But in this case, it was the thought that counts. "Thank you," I said, looking up to where I imagined his head to be. Nowhere in Jun Li’s extensive library was there a picture of a Saalistaja, so I had nothing that I could visualize, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have a very active imagination.
"But I think the meat is going to burn if it stays like that," I chuckled. I was slowly lowered to the ground, and I felt an arm remain behind me until I was stead. It was really a sweet feeling. After reassuring himself that I was okay, I felt his arm slowly slide off my back, and within seconds, I saw the split being turned.
I went over to a log that wasn’t there before and sat down in front of the fire. The jungle nights were a lot colder than I thought they would be, and without my armor regulating my body temperature, I started to shiver.
I felt his gaze turning to me when my teeth started to chatter. Despite being in front of the fire, it didn’t keep the rest of my body warm. "Sorry," I said, a strained smile on my face. I was not going to miss this interaction with a half-decent alien simply because I couldn’t keep my teeth from chattering. "I’m cold," I continued. I was about to reach up to my choker and activate my armor when I felt something stop me.
I looked up to see a snow-white fur fluttering in the breeze as it was swept around me. Grabbing the edges, I sunk down into the softness and warmth. "It’s a beautiful fur," I said as I caressed the softness. I had always had an unnatural obsession with fur. "On my planet, the animals with the most desirable fur were hunted to almost extinction. It was decided that to regrow the population, furs would be... not banned, but not socially acceptable."
I continued to stroke the fur wrapped around me, wondering what it would feel like to sleep in a bed of furs. Like I said, an unhealthy obsession.
"Many... furs." Once again, the words were repeated in my own voice, but I didn’t mind that.
"I suppose you would have many furs. I had heard that your species are hunters. Or am I wrong?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. Since the handle and the split were still turning, I could only assume that he was sitting around the handle.
"Hunters," my voice said back to me. "Many, many furs."
I chuckled at his words, while deep down, I was impressed that he was actually trying to communicate with me. "When I earn money, I will buy some furs from you. But I warn you; I will need a lot."
There was an answering clattering of what sounded like teeth coming from the direction of the fire. "Are you laughing at me?" I asked with a smile.
"Laughing at you," I agreed back. Rolling my eyes, I stuck my tongue out in the general direction where I thought my guardian angel was. "You won’t be laughing when I take all of your furs from you," I warned him. I wasn’t actually planning on it, but there was no way he was getting this white fur back any time soon.
And by that, I meant that he would have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.
"Take them all. I hunt more." Instead of my own words being remixed back to me, this was said in a low, guttural, male voice. The pronunciation was not correct, but I had to give it to him for a species with no lips: he did a good job.
"You say that now," I replied with a shake of my head. "But at some point in time, you will be pissed for giving me all your furs."
"Pissed?" he hissed out, the double ’s’s easier on him than most other words.
"Mad, upset, not happy," I answered with a shrug. "But the food is done," I continued wanting to change the subject. I was planning out a future in my head in which he gave me all the fur that I could possibly want until I could build a nest of furs and sleep there every night.
Whatever was going through my head was never something that had ever entered my mind before. I really didn’t know if I should be happy or concerned that my psychopathic tendencies seemed to be mellowing out into allowing other emotions.
A knife appeared seemingly out of thin air and started to slice the meat right off the split. "Konjin," came a grunted word, and I almost couldn’t make out what he was trying to say. "Konjin," he repeated, and the plate of food lifted higher for a second before being handed to me.
"Konjin," I repeated as best I could with my limited ability. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to say meat or the particular meat that this was, but either way, it didn’t really matter. "Konjin," I said again as I bit into the offering.
This time, the meat was even juicier and more succulent than it was this morning, and I moaned in approval. "Konjin is delicious," I said with a very satisfied smile.
"Eat," came a growled word. The ’t’ ended with a very strong dental fricative, and I assume that it has less to do with his tongue and more to do with the tusks on his outer mandible.
"Aren’t you going to eat?" I asked, confused. There was a lot more food around here than I could eat alone.
"Show."
