nearby rock away from the others. Once we were seated, she shot me a solid stare.
“I assume you had a great ride then?” She asked with a judging stare.
I just smiled and laughed softly. She turned away from me. I breathed in deeply and smelled the freshness of the banana seed loaf. Clumsily, I took a bite and silently swore as it crumbled in my hands.
“Like this… see?” Maya demonstrated as she adjusted my grip around the thick slice. I took a bite, chewed and swallowed. As I kept an unnerving eye at the crumbs falling into my lap, Enoch approached with something that looked like a flask. It was hard to tell as our technology was way ahead of theirs. He was clasping the flash with such force that his knuckles had turned white. Was he nervous around me? The thick leather-bound tip of the bow strapped across his back peeked over his shoulder. Behind him stood Willard, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
“You think you have enough weapons between the four of you?” I asked, catching a glimpse of the dagger wedged inside of Maya’s boot. Then my eyes fell to Tatos where he stood between Enoch and Willard, sharpening the tip of an arrow as he looked into the distance, scanning the scenery behind us. Inside his brown sheath made up of what could only be real leather, a dozen more arrows taunted me. I hated weapons.
“One can never be too sure in unmarked territory,” he said.
Enoch smiled faintly as he held out the flask for me to take. I looked down at my hands where the bread was balanced perfectly between my fingers. The crumbs stuck to the exterior of my gloves. Maya took the flask from him and shooed them away with a wave of her free hand. Her cheeks stuffed with bread, she tried to smile; crumbs fell from the corners of her mouth. Laughing out loudly, I kept my eyes on Maya’s amused face trying hard not to squash what was left of my slice. Eating so much food in one day was uncustomary for our kind. One meal a day was all we needed to keep up our strength and our bodily survival. But, when push came to shove, we could survive weeks without real food – that was our design. She spat out the remainder of the crumbs as she too burst out laughing. Her laughter rang throughout the small valley and I found myself following the sound with my eyes. A few steps away, the bushes parted where a small stream leaked into the ocean. Lush, dark green ferns hid what might have been a beautiful river. I squinted up at the sky. It must have been midday but it was hard to tell as the sun was hidden behind chunky, dark, gray clouds once again. Swallowing the last bite of my bread, I unlaced my boots, set them aside and lay back on the flat surface of the rock feeling the cold tickle of the breeze on my toes. It reminded me that I was still some part mortal. The way my mother described our existence in her journals, made me think otherwise.
“Enoch is obviously trying his best to make up for his behavior yesterday,” Maya said.
“Well, I think he might not be so scared of a human girl anymore,” I replied chuckling, but I found that I was the only one laughing.
Slowly opening one eye, I looked in the direction of Maya who was sitting on the rock peering down at me, her arms hugging her knees, and I studied her face. She wore a look I couldn’t quite decipher, the same look she gave me earlier that morning before Arriana had interrupted us.
“You don’t know about…” she began, but once again we were interrupted, this time by a loud whistle coming from somewhere behind us. She looked over her shoulder and signaled something to Enoch who whistled back in response. Moving swiftly to her side, I watched as a couple of dark figures emerged from the rock-face in the distance. Tatos signaled for us to return.
“I need to release,” Maya said when she stood.
“Release?” I frowned.
“Yes.” She answered, squeezing her hands over her crotch to demonstrate what she meant.
“Oh!” I said, gently
“I assume you had a great ride then?” She asked with a judging stare.
I just smiled and laughed softly. She turned away from me. I breathed in deeply and smelled the freshness of the banana seed loaf. Clumsily, I took a bite and silently swore as it crumbled in my hands.
“Like this… see?” Maya demonstrated as she adjusted my grip around the thick slice. I took a bite, chewed and swallowed. As I kept an unnerving eye at the crumbs falling into my lap, Enoch approached with something that looked like a flask. It was hard to tell as our technology was way ahead of theirs. He was clasping the flash with such force that his knuckles had turned white. Was he nervous around me? The thick leather-bound tip of the bow strapped across his back peeked over his shoulder. Behind him stood Willard, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
“You think you have enough weapons between the four of you?” I asked, catching a glimpse of the dagger wedged inside of Maya’s boot. Then my eyes fell to Tatos where he stood between Enoch and Willard, sharpening the tip of an arrow as he looked into the distance, scanning the scenery behind us. Inside his brown sheath made up of what could only be real leather, a dozen more arrows taunted me. I hated weapons.
“One can never be too sure in unmarked territory,” he said.
Enoch smiled faintly as he held out the flask for me to take. I looked down at my hands where the bread was balanced perfectly between my fingers. The crumbs stuck to the exterior of my gloves. Maya took the flask from him and shooed them away with a wave of her free hand. Her cheeks stuffed with bread, she tried to smile; crumbs fell from the corners of her mouth. Laughing out loudly, I kept my eyes on Maya’s amused face trying hard not to squash what was left of my slice. Eating so much food in one day was uncustomary for our kind. One meal a day was all we needed to keep up our strength and our bodily survival. But, when push came to shove, we could survive weeks without real food – that was our design. She spat out the remainder of the crumbs as she too burst out laughing. Her laughter rang throughout the small valley and I found myself following the sound with my eyes. A few steps away, the bushes parted where a small stream leaked into the ocean. Lush, dark green ferns hid what might have been a beautiful river. I squinted up at the sky. It must have been midday but it was hard to tell as the sun was hidden behind chunky, dark, gray clouds once again. Swallowing the last bite of my bread, I unlaced my boots, set them aside and lay back on the flat surface of the rock feeling the cold tickle of the breeze on my toes. It reminded me that I was still some part mortal. The way my mother described our existence in her journals, made me think otherwise.
“Enoch is obviously trying his best to make up for his behavior yesterday,” Maya said.
“Well, I think he might not be so scared of a human girl anymore,” I replied chuckling, but I found that I was the only one laughing.
Slowly opening one eye, I looked in the direction of Maya who was sitting on the rock peering down at me, her arms hugging her knees, and I studied her face. She wore a look I couldn’t quite decipher, the same look she gave me earlier that morning before Arriana had interrupted us.
“You don’t know about…” she began, but once again we were interrupted, this time by a loud whistle coming from somewhere behind us. She looked over her shoulder and signaled something to Enoch who whistled back in response. Moving swiftly to her side, I watched as a couple of dark figures emerged from the rock-face in the distance. Tatos signaled for us to return.
“I need to release,” Maya said when she stood.
“Release?” I frowned.
“Yes.” She answered, squeezing her hands over her crotch to demonstrate what she meant.
“Oh!” I said, gently
Similar Books
