Page 65 of Ruby
Finding nothing out of the ordinary, I relax and turn to face Ani. I’m pleasantly surprised when the black clothing on her body starts to recede until it becomes a thin belt around her midsection.
I look over her cloud skin and the curves of her back until the point where it separates into two round globes. Her hair cascades down her back in a bright waterfall of shocking red and I am intrigued to see the hair lightly dusting the mound between her thighs, which is the same flaming color.
My eyes catch a glimpse of the raised, yellow skin on her arms and it makes my heart race. I almost don’t see her turning around before I can avert my gaze. Unfortunately, she catches me and lets out a quiet chortle as she makes her way into the stream.
She asks me to join her but I am too afraid of letting my guard down around her again. Even though I’ve scanned the area, danger could lurk behind any tree and I’ll be damned if I let anything separate us again or if she comes to any harm, at least until I can get her back to safety with Ree.
“More for me,” she says, and I let out a hum of amusement.
It might be impossible, but I would get her a whole planet if she asked for it.
Ani gently wades into the shallow end of the water, submerges herself in the stream a few times and then starts paddling around. It is endearing to watch, calming even, and I allow myself to get lost in it, catching a twinkle in her pitch-black eye whenever she throws a glance my way. I watch as she makes slow laps against the flow and basks in the glow of her peace. She is totally relaxed. My chest swells at the thought. I know she can only drop her guard this much because I am here standing guard.
After her swim, she sits beside me on a boulder by the edge of the water and basks in the sun, sharing conversation. I make a joke and she chortles, turning to look at me and blinking her eyes. I hold her gaze and a question pops into my mind.
“How did the change feel?” I ask her and she sighs.
She turns her head to face the sun and shuts her eyes. Her black clothing has been shortened so that her arms show, stopping around the middle of her thighs. I realized, just before she was captured, that the clothing works according to whatever she wants.
In my opinion, it is the only advantage the hunters could add. It barely counts with all the disadvantages they brought to her life.
“Painful, of course, and strange. My body feels the same, but strange.” She turns to me again and stretches her hand out between us, showing me her claws. “It’s not all bad.”
“If you like it, I do.” I tell her and she shows me her teeth, another sweet yet mildly confusing thing that she does. We waste some time sunbathing until Ani mentions something about getting burned by the sun and we head back toward our enclosure.
It feels cozy, just the two of us here, like it was meant to be.
We compliment each other in a strange way; two beings who have had something taken from them finding a way to exist together as a more complete version. Even if something were to happen and we separated, I will never forget the time when Ani was the only thing that held me together.
26
Ani
It’s peaceful.
The last time I was in a stream, I was scared for my life. Now, I can drift peacefully with a careful pair of eyes watching me. I smile at him and he coos back, a pleased expression on his face.
I didn’t know that I could grow to need someone on a level this deep before any of these events played out. Flashes of my dating life come to me as I grimace, thinking of how it was simply a game of using each other. Leeching off of people in that way has a way of wearing out your soul on the inside.
My relationship with Szhe’ka thus far has been nothing like that; it hasn’t been transactional in any way. Even though it had started off rocky and hostile, it had blossomed into something… genuine.
It makes me feel unsettled and calm at the same time, and I don’t know how the two can coexist.
This planet has done nothing but harm me and change me in the most intimate of ways and somehow, through it all, Szhe’ka has been the only constant song worth singing to me. The only thing keeping me from climbing a really tall tree and plummeting to my death. That and the fact that I realistically can’t climb a tree.
Still, I cannot wait to get out of here.
I climb out of the stream and on to the banks, waiting to dry off while Szhe’ka is at the stream, hunched over drinking water with his eyes glued to his surroundings. A stray thought flits through my mind as I watch him.
I really wish he’d at least taken a dip in the stream with me but I understand why he didn’t.
After a while, I realize I’m inviting a sunburn and suggest we return to our little camp. We barely start back before Szhe’ka stiffens, turning to face where he must have heard something. I brace myself for a fight, no matter how futile, when a familiar brown and white zips into my view.
“Azoeul.” I hiss out, placing a hand on my chest. “You scared me.”
“I was looking for both of you all over” he says and pushes aside the stick I hadn’t realized I had picked up in an attempt at self defense.
I relax my stance. “Sorry. We needed a drink and I needed just a little bit more than that.”
