Tilted Axis

Chapter:38

     Early the following morning, I quietly watch Alice make her rounds in the truck. Simply walking around with no goal it seemed. Eventually she stopped near the top of Killua's head. She sat quietly before lifting a paw and gently swatting his forehead. "Come now, Alice. Let 'im sleep. Went through a lot of trouble last night." I scolded her.

   She keeps her paw lifted and looks at me for a second . She turned her attention back to Killua and swatted his forehead again. "Ok. Now that one was to spite me wasn't it you lil stinker. Come 'ere."

   She meows before hopping up swiftly and trotting across the sleeping males chest. I lift her up facing me. "Now look, Alice. You can't just go smacking people when they sleep. How would you like it if I did it to you, huh? Betcha wouldn't like it." She purrs in response and I roll my eyes. I look at Killua and notice a faint smile playing at his lips. I lowered her to my lap.

   "Ah, it seems I'm too late to keep her from waking you. Sorry about that." I said to him, he props himself up on an elbow and opens his eyes slowly. His mouth stretches open in a yawn. He jerks his head slightly and I hear his neck pop.

    "What time is it?" He asks.

    "Not sure. I'd wager around 0800. I'm glad we are hidden under all this foliage. I heard aircraft in the early hours. I popped my head out to take a look. Seemed to be some bombers with fighter escort. Headed west." I jerk my thumb behind me. I inspect the white haired male before grinning. "Ya comfy?" I ask as I realize the jacket he's holding across his chest is my British uniform.

     He looks at me in question before looking down at himself. He looks at his right hand that holds one of the arms tightly. As if he held onto it like a safety blanket. "Did you cover me with this?"

    I shake my head. "I believe you did that yourself. I had been keeping watch all night." I say. The last part is technically a lie. I simply couldn't sleep. I also may have dozed off at some point however. I closed my eyes for a moment and the next I saw a tangled piece of clothing on him. Didn't think much of it till now. It's nearly inside out, so I had figured it was one of the clothes he grabbed from the civilian's home.

    He continues to stare at the material for a moment. "How's your head? Feel like I got everything out?" I ask. He runs a hand through his hair.

   "Feels fine. Thanks." He answers. He then turns his attention to the cat. "So. Alice. That's what you decided on? Pretty English sounding name isn't it?"

    I shrug. "Don't look at me. She's the one who chose it. I asked her a few and she settled on this one."

    Killua shrugs at this and lays my coat to the side. He sits up and reaches his arms above his head. I turn my head away to keep myself from acting like a fool. I can already feel heat in my cheeks. If my actions last night didn't show my feelings to him I don't know what will. Perhaps he truly does think it's just comradery. Somehow I find myself struggling to believe that.

    I try to focus my gaze elsewhere until the embarrassment subsides. Then I spotted a small fluffy red creature in the distance. Its tail flicked slightly. A squirrel foraging for some food. However I think Alice noticed it as well. I could feel her tense up under my hand. "Alice, you have brought us enough gifts. Don't you do it."

    I can't tell if she even hears me. Her eyes are locked on target. "Gifts? What gifts?" I hear Killua ask behind me.

    "Well, I may have dozed off once or twice last night. I only figured that one moment it was me and her, the next it was me, her, and a dead blue bird. Probably some others around here." I answer. I put my hand in front of her face and she shifts her head to see past it each time.