My stomach growls with satisfaction as I greedily devour the food, surprising myself with my ravenous appetite. Dracoth continues to offer me more morsels, using his claws like giant multi-pronged shish kabobs. I don’t stop until I notice Todd uncurling his cute little segmented body, skittering along the firepit toward me.
“You want some, little guy?” I ask, holding out a piece of meat. Todd’s single black eye reflects my own beaming face as his mandibles softly tap against the food.
“Go on,” I encourage, but my pet cyloillar hesitates, turning back toward the firepit instead, filling me with concern.
“Aww,” I mutter, disappointed.
“They’re vegetarian,” Dracoth grunts, slicing through the stinky turtle mutant’s carcass with his claws.
“Vegetarian?” I echo, frowning. “That prick Ignixis said they’d devour a gorack in minutes,” I add, shivering—though more from the terrifying memory than the frigid air.
“Borack,” Dracoth corrects, surprising me with a faint smile tugging at his lips as he shakes his head. “That old gas-cloud,” he mutters under his breath.
“Wait, what’s Todd going to eat?” I ask, growing concerned as I glance around the cave, realizing there’s no trace of vegetation in sight. Although, studying his bloated, black-red segmented body gives me some relief. “Ack, you’re quite the plumper, aren’t you, Todd?”
“It wishes to be devoured,” Dracoth grunts, jabbing a meat-laden claw toward the curled-up Todd. “Look how it cooks itself.”
“Don’t listen to Daddy Dracoth!” I gasp, scooping Todd up from the edge of the firepit. He burrows deep into my leathers, settling against my stomach. I smile down at him as his single eye glares lazily, mandibles clacking. “You’re not trying to bake yourself, are you? Just keeping warm.” I could swear he nods in agreement with me.
“But seriously, what are we going to feed him?” I ask, brushing a hand along his rubbery, segmented skin.
“Today we’ll reach Draxxi lands,” Dracoth mutters, his eyes fixed on the sizzling meat dangling over the roaring fire. “There, it can gorge itself.”
“You hear that, Todd?” I exclaim, feeling a rush of excitement. “You’ll be the biggest, fattest one of you guys ever!” Todd responds to this joyous news by curling into a tight ball.
Dracoth draws my attention, offering me another piece of freshly cooked meat, which I happily devour. I study his stern face, my chest growing tighter, knowing I should address the madness from yesterday... We can’t just leave it, can we? Dracoth probably would. Nothing seems to faze him for long.
“Dracoth... about what happened—”
“I sense your regret, female,” Dracoth interrupts, holding out another long, thin strip of meat.
A surge of panic threatens to lash out again—that worrying, primal instinct to push him away flaring up once more. He’s in my mind, knows too much. He’s getting too close. The dark mist in my core thickens.
I am the toilet.
No. I need to stop this! Dracoth won’t abandon me. He already knows me—the real me. He feels it in our bond, felt it in our crazy fight—heknowsme. I steady myself, taking a deep breath. I won’t push him away.
“No, I still want to say it,” I mutter, locking my gaze onto his, determined to show my sincerity. “I’m sorry, Dracoth. Those things I said... I know they weren’t true. I was just trying to hurt you, to push you away.”
The silence between us feels heavy, only broken by the crackling fire and Todd’s soft clacking snores. Dracoth remains maddeningly unreadable, his crimson eyes fixed on me. Then—without a word—he thrusts more sizzling meat toward me.
“No, thank you!” I snap, frustration bubbling to the surface as I grimace. “Aren’t you at least going to say something?”
He abruptly stands, dominating the cave with his massive frame. “Actions speak louder than words,” he growls, tearing a strip from a fur and using it to wrap chunks of meat. “Here.” The furry satchel is shoved into my hands as I stare at him, dumbfounded. “We leave now.”
Such a rude prick!
My jaw tightens, my frustration simmering beneath the surface. After I have the serene grace to apologize, he just throws it in my face! Ugh, seriously... but fine, whatever. If that’s what it takes.
“I’ll find a way to show you,” I say with more confidence than I feel. Knowing him, nothing less than wrestling a gorilla while naked would impress him.
“Good.” Dracoth whirls sharply, cracking the ice under his immense stomping boots as he moves to exit the icy cave. His face is expressionless, but I grin, catching it—a spark of joy through our bond, faint but undeniable.
We emerge into the frozen tundra, and the bitter wind slices through me, pulling at my long blonde hair like icy fingers. The landscape stretches endlessly—an ocean of snow and jagged ice formations jutting from the ground like the fangs of ancient beasts. Life seems extinct here, swallowed by the white abyss.
I clutch my furs tighter, glancing at Dracoth, watching the mist rise from his enormous frame like he’s a freshly baked cinnamon roll escaping the oven.
I wonder if he’ll carry me again—that felt nice, not to mention a lot easier on my feet.
