Chapter 95: But First, Breakfast
Vraev’ox exchanged a glance with the other males before following Au’dtair into his tent. "You know we are only worried," said the male as he watched Au’dtair take particular care of his furs. "Do you need more furs?" he continued, surprised. Their armor kept them adjusted to the perfect temperature, so there was no need to worry about furs.
They were more a byproduct of the hunts, and as such, most hunters didn’t especially care about them.
"If you need more furs, I have some," he offered. He didn’t know what was going on with his friend, but he would be there to help and support him as best he could.
Au’dtair froze for a second and thought about the other male’s offer. It would add to his furs, but could he really accept something that smelled like the other male? Well, it wasn’t like his pet could really smell that well, so it should be okay.
"Thank you," he grunted, his outer mandibles clicking together that he didn’t have enough to supply his pet and needed to rely on the other male for help. "You can take whatever furs you want of mine from the ship to replace the ones I will be taking."
"No need to concern yourself about that," said Vraev’ox, shaking his head. "It is nothing more than a few furs."
Au’dtair snorted at the other male’s statement. He didn’t understand that it was more than just a few useless furs, but he would not be the one to enlighten him on the matter.
"We have some furs too if you want them," said Cruz’uts from where he and Tha’juen stood at the entrance to Au’dtair’s tent. Their friend seemed almost back to normal, if not a lot bigger than before. Maybe it wasn’t The Madness; maybe something else had set him off.
And if furs could bring him back to normal, then they would give him all the ones that they had on hand.
Once again, Au’dtair grunted in appreciation. If all three males were willing to give him furs for his pet, then she should have enough to keep her happy. Cruz’uts and Tha’juen turned around to collect their furs while Vraev’ox remained inside the tent.
"What about the hunt for stolen technology?" asked Vraev’ox as Au’dtair continued to take apart his tent.
"Ye’tab seems to have a good grasp on where to go next," shrugged Au’dtair, not at all concerned. He was only 80% convinced that his pet was the one with the stolen technology. And that was too low of a percentage to have them chasing after something that wasn’t sure.
"It would work much better if you were involved too. There is a reason why I picked you for this hunt," said Vraev’ox with a sigh, giving up on convincing the other male. If there was one thing every male in their species was stubborn about, it was hunts and elusive prey.
"I know," acknowledged Au’dtair with a nod of his head. "And I appreciate it. I will not be gone for long. You can keep in contact whenever you need me."
"Understood. Happy hunting."
"Happy hunting, my friend," replied Au’dtair as the two males exited the now empty tent, and Au’dtair quickly took it apart. He didn’t know what his future held, but he would be prepared for it.
----
I opened my eyes the next morning to disappointment. There was no Nightmare sleeping on my chest, and there was no guardian angel holding me. The fact that last night was the fastest I had ever fallen asleep and stayed asleep in my whole life was nothing to take for granted.
I engaged my armor and quickly took down my hammock, and slowly lowered myself to the ground. I was now getting better and better with the anti-gravitational settings, but I wanted to continue to practice. I definitely did not want to be shot out into space again if I could help it.
I dissolved my armor as soon as my feet touched the ground, wanting to enjoy the last few minutes of air before I went back to Jun Li. I looked around my tree to make sure that I wasn’t forgetting anything, and a smile appeared on my face.
My bad mood was quickly reversed when I saw some meat being roasted over top of the campfire and a giant pile of furs just off to the side. I was not proud of the next thing I did, but honestly, fuck it. I sprinted to the pile of furs and jumped on top of them, letting the softness cushion my fall.
I did mention an unhealthy obsession with furs, right? I was a very good human and only got the fake stuff or extra fuzzy blankets while on Earth. But this wasn’t Earth. And I could have as many furs as I wanted!!
My guardian angel was really coming through for me in that regard.
"Thank you!" I said as I rolled over onto my back and looked over at the split that was turning itself. "You are the best!" I was almost reluctant to leave the planet of death simply because I was getting used to getting looked after. But life moves on, and so do I. And since there are no civilizations anymore on this planet, I was sure that my guardian angel would be moving on at some point in time.
However, if he thought I was going to give back these furs, he had another thing coming. They were mine, and I was keeping them.
A plate of sliced meat and berries ’floated’ over to me, and I took it out of his hands. "Thanks for breakfast," I said with another smile. The only thing dragging me down right now was that Night wasn’t around. I really wanted to say goodbye to him.
Sitting in a pile of furs that was about half as tall as I was, I ate my breakfast.
"Are you ready to leave?" asked Jun Li through the earpiece, and I wrinkled my nose in displeasure.
"Do I have a choice?" I asked, raising my gaze to the sky. "Send down the X94. I’ll be up when I am good and ready. Breakfast comes first. It is the most important meal of the day."
"You know, even a day ago, you wanted to leave the planet as soon as possible. What changed?" asked Jun Li, curious.
