Primal

Chapter Ten

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Chapter Ten

 

Tell all the truth but tell it slant. ~Emily Dickinson

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When Aeron woke up to the sun shining down on his dirty face, Noor was still comfortably curled up on his chest. He could see a faded scar gently stretching out of her hairline, sneaking itself out along the side of her forehead before dodging back behind her ear. He found himself wondering how it found its place on her skin, his finger gently brushing along the pale pink skin. She woke up to his touch, her glazed eyes becoming wide as she realized where she was, rolling off of his body. “What were you doing?” She said, standing up and brushing off her dusty skin.

 

He didn’t have an answer for her, just looking up at her with squinted eyes before he stood up as well. “We should get going again, don’t you agree? We’re still a few days away at this pace, and we really don’t have enough time for this.” He said, starting to move forward. Her hand grabbed his arm, pulling his body to a stop.

 

She shook his head at him, letting her hand drop from his skin. “I think we should…Let’s just wait here for another day. You said…Tilly couldn’t be too far behind.” She whispered, and he could see how uncomfortable she was asking such a thing. If she said it, it must have meant something to her. He wasn’t going to deny her something that she seemed to want.

 

He nodded in agreement, and gestured for her to sit back down on the ground. “I’ll gather some food and wood. We can start a fire and fill our stomachs.” He offered, and she only shrugged her shoulders. He turned, walking away from her and leaving her underneath that rock.

 

Their whole situation was odd. The night before he hadn’t dreamt of her dying, but leaving her alone now felt like he had put her inside of her own grave. He couldn’t turn around; he’d both look like a fool and risk them the chance of going another day without a meal. And so he pushed on, beginning to climb up the steep slope of the valley’s edge. If he could only make it towards the forest, he knew he could hunt something worth their time. His fingers grabbed at the rocks, steadying his body as he moved upwards.

 

Birds circled ahead, scavengers searching for any kind of dead carcass. They were almost as pitiful as Aeron had been alongside Tilly, starving, willing to eat anything as long as they could fit it inside of their mouths.  He shook his head, continuing on his upwards climb. The rocks were aligned almost perfectly, his hands and heels finding the perfect ledges to pull his body up on.

 

He finally reached the top, pulling himself over the final stretch of climb. The wildlife around him was abundant, birds swirling in the air as smaller mammals crawled across the forest floor. For the first time in months he was able to focus completely on the hunt, his body prowling across the ground as he tried to catch the scent of anything edible. There was a bear somewhere nearby, its dirty smell filling the air. It was moving east at a slow, leisurely pace, its distinct perfume swirling through the air back towards Aeron.

 

A smirk filed his face, his body automatically moving without any thought. This was what came naturally to him, and at once his body became at ease. Slithering through the trees, he could feel his body growing near his prey. He could already imagine the warm body, the soft brown fur that he could turn into a blanket for protection against the bitter nights, the food. Neither of them had eaten in many nights, and his stomach growled instinctively as the smell grew stronger.