An Empty World

Practice Makes Perfect (6)

Day 40

   Mmmm toast with honey. I savoured the taste of the last piece of bread that I had left. 

   "What's that?" Trondark asked curiously. He sat at the other side of the table gazing at the gleaming golden honey that dripped off my bread. 

   "You mean honey?" I asked in surprise. 

   "Honey?" he reached out to touch the gooey food on my plate and I smacked his hand out of the way. He looked at me feeling hurt that I would do that. 

   "Here." I slid the honey jar across the table towards him and took out a spoon to go with it.  First he sniffed at it then put his eye right up close to it observing carefully. He then poked the honey and shook his his hand around frantically, trying to get the sticky liquid off when it stuck to his finger. He gasped when it wouldn't come off. 

    "Christaaa?!"  I rolled my eyes at him. At least he was calling me by my name now. 

   "Just lick  your finger," I told him. He looked suspiciously at me then pulled his finger closer to his face and poked his tongue out, quickly licking up the honey.  For a moment he paused, deciding whether he liked it or not.  A pleased looked crossed his face as he had clearly come to the conclusion that he did. 

   "Ooo, Trondark likes that," he spoke in third person and reached over, grabbed the honey jar and drank it down like a glass of water. "What's wrong Christa," he asked me while licking his lips. 

   "You... Just had the what was left of my honey..." I replied in shock. He looked up from the honey jar which he was now scraping out the remainders of. It was a look of horror. 

    "There's no more?"  I shook my head in response to his question and he gave me a sad expression.  "Don't worry Christa I will find more for us," he assured me seriously. I couldn't help but laugh.  He glanced at me in astonishment knowing that I don't laugh very often. 

   "We don't have food like this where I come from. Where I lived, my people ate fly's and worms," he told me.  I cringed. 

   "Where did you live?" he had made me curious now. 

    "Hmmm, somewhere dark and cool," he licked his fingers still attempting to get the sticky honey off them. "I like it better here though. I think I'll stay," he smiled warmly at me. 

   "Dark as in evil dark? Or night time dark?" I asked. 

   "Underground kind of dark. Anyway what are we doing today?"  he pushed the jar to the side and his eyes lit up with enthusiasm.  

    "I need to practice using my throwing knives and bow and arrow."   

    "Oh goody!" Trondark jumped up from the table and walked after me while I got my bow and arrow out of my bedroom.

   He watched me attach the bow string to the long bow that I owned. It had been a birthday present from my father  when I was young and I had gotten pretty good at using it after hours of practice, however had become slack since things changed. I decided that presently being at my best ability was a good idea seeing I was good at making enemy's. The closest thing to a real friend that I had, appeared to be this strange creature that always hovered around me and watched everything I did. Trusting people wasn't something I did easily but he had saved my life so I felt a little safer around him. 

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    I took a deep breath, relaxed my shoulders, pulled the bow string back to meet my lips, aimed and released. The arrow whooshed past my ear and sliced through the air speedily. It went too high to even hit the target.  I picked up another and tried again. This time it hit a little closer but still missed.  Once more I attempted but still failed. This was beginning to annoy me. Why couldn't I shoot as well anymore?