Lavender & Ice

6. A Rough Start

The tall man let out a few words she imagined weren't very friendly and swiftly let her drop the remaining distance to the floor. As her butt hit the floor, he was grabbing cloths and trying to dab up the mess. She sat in shock, with wide eyes and mouth open, just staring at him. He grumbled and looked up at her, his hands giving up the fight against the liquid. She eventually lowered her eyes and spoke softly. "I'm so sorry. It was an accident." He got up and swiftly walked out of the tent.

Ashima let out a sigh and looked at the mess that was made. She wasn't sure if he was upset about the loss of the liquids or the stains on the rug, or possibly both. She stood and her eyes fell on the table where she was just realizing what he had sat on the table that had startled her in the first place.

A pitcher with clear liquid. She leaned forward and smelled from the open top. Water. He had figured out what she was looking for and brought it to her. Great. Now she felt even more guilty about the mess.

She looked around the tent until she found something that would work as a makeshift wash basin. She wrung out the liquid from the towel, and soaked up more of the liquid before wringing it out again and repeating until the towel wouldn't soak up any more. She proceeded to look through the cabinets and crates to try and find another towel. He hadn't moved far when he'd retrieved it so they must be close.

~~~~~~~~~

Insufferable.

That was all Kietnan could think of to describe this entire situation. He should be spending all of his time studying details of the upcoming trials, going out to explore the land, familiarizing himself with it as much as possible. Instead he was taking care of a helpless foreigner. She was like a child, he thought. Small, weak, helpless, curious, and clumsy.

He walked a few brisk laps around the zone in which he was assigned a dwelling during the competition, filling his lungs with cold air and attempting to clear his mind. With a grunt of frustration, he walked briskly back toward his tent, not trusting to leave the foreigner there alone for long.

As he approached his tent and raised his arm to open the door, it flung open and the aforementioned weakling ran right into him. After a moment of shock, he realized he was soaking wet. He slowly looked down to find his clothes stained from his waist to his upper thighs.

He grumbled as she quickly spouted off words in her foreign tongue. He wasn't sure if not understanding her ramblings was a curse or a blessing. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath through his nostrils, trying to calm himself... again. At the feeling of pressure on his abdomen, he swiftly opened his eyes. Was this thing trying to clean him?

He reached forward and grabbed her wrists to stop her from touching him. He was startled at how small they were. He pulled her inside the tent and swiftly picked her up to sit her on his bed so she would be out of his way before turning his back and pulling off his shirt.

"Wh... what are you doing?"

He didn't know the words but he recognized the tremble of her voice. "Do not be afraid. I am angry but I will not harm you." He said as he wadded up his shirt and threw it in a basket at the foot of his bed. He walked to his chest to pull out a pair of sleep pants and top. He swiftly pulled off his pants, dried himself off with a different dirty shirt from the basket, and proceeded to dress in his sleep clothes.

When he turned to check on the female, he was alarmed to see that her face coloring had changed. Is she sick now? I can't afford for her to need even more attention and care. He leaned over the bed and looked closer at her skin and into her eyes. He put a hand on top of her head and turned it from side to side so he could look in her ears.

He quickly removed his hand and looked at the skin on her face again. The color was a bit closer to what it was before. Perhaps she has the ability to change skin color easily. He shrugged and left her on the bed, returning to his desk to study. He had wasted enough time.

A few minutes later, he heard a funny noise and his head shot up, his muscles tending. What was that?

He glanced at the female and saw she was still just sitting there, looking at him. He started to look away when he heard the noise again and saw her hands clench against her stomach as if she was trying to hide it.

He stood and rushed to her. "What is it you are doing?" He motioned to her abdomen. "What are you hiding? Is something wrong with you?"

Again, ramblings he didn't understand. "Ugh!" He groaned out in frustration. "Is this why your skin coloring changed?" He didn't understand this strange creature.

She stood up from the bed and he took a step back in defense. She rambled again and he growled, rubbing his hand across his face before returning his gaze to her.

She pressed her lips together and let out a long sigh. Suddenly, her face lit up as if excited and then she raised her hands and began making motions.

"What is this you are doing?"

She walked forward and past him, to the table. She sat and made a circle with her hands and then... "Oh! You are hungry?" He asked, taking a step closer to her.

She continued her motions and he opened a crate to look for something to satisfy her vocal stomach so he could continue with his studies. He pushed the crate with the sustenance and nutrient beverages aside, knowing she didn't want those earlier. He held up a stack of dried lontu leaves and she shook her head. He grumbled as he continued looking. She denied root vegetables, herbs, beans, and even dried fruit. His irritation was building as he held up the last item he had to offer.

Her eyes lit up and she grabbed the dried meat from him eagerly. He watched curiously as she brought the food up to her nose and smelled it. She squeezed it, licked it, did everything you can think of to examine the meat before finally putting it in between her teeth and biting off a small piece.

"Satisfied?" He asked dryly.

She swallowed the meat and eagerly took another bite.

"So you are a carnivorous species? I would not have guessed that with your flat teeth and weak stature." He examined her as she ate. Of course she'd only eat the one item that was hardest to come by out here. He would have to make her ration his supply. He sat out one more small piece and then closed the container to put it away.

She rumbled something and he looked up to see her watching him quietly as she chewed. She smiled and held up the meat in front of her, nodding at him before taking another bite. Was she thanking him? He couldn't be sure but nodded in response anyway.

He turned and put away all the crates and boxes he had rummaged through, turning to head to his desk when he realized something. Or rather a lack of something.... He looked down at the rug beneath his feet and did a turn to look at the surrounding area on the floor. There was the stain from earlier but it was much less noticeable and it was simply damp now instead of soaked. He had forgotten all about the mess when she had soaked him in the doorway.

He looked up to find her staring at him, seemingly nervous. He sighed and nodded his head. She smiled and he wasn't sure what to make of this. Why was she smiling so often? Over such trivial things? It was unsettling.

Thankfully she stopped soon and pointed toward the door. Another round of her useless muttering but he saw what she was getting at. A bin and wet towels were on the floor, where she had dropped them when they collided. She was taking them out after cleaning the floor. He hadn't expected her to clean the mess. Maybe she wouldn't be entirely helpless after all.