Lavender & Ice

10. Roles Reversed

"There you are." Kietnan said with satisfaction. It had taken him the better part of the day, and he had several cuts and bruises on his body to show for his efforts. But he had found his prize. He had to give the designers of the challenge his respect. Today was a difficult trial.

He retrieved his token and put it in the small pouch along his belt that hung around his body. It took him another two hours to work his way back out of the rocky cliffs and mountains and down into the marshlands. When he returned to that third checkpoint, he drank two vials of nutrients and did not stop to take a breath as he continued. He would need to hurry at this point to make good time. He only hoped that many of the other successful competitors had taken as long as he had. Eventually, he reached the point where he began his mix between swimming and running along the lake. He was taking long and deep breaths, preparing himself for his next dive, when another participant jumped out of a nearby marsh and tried to grab his belt.

"What are you doing?" Kietnan yelled as he jumped back in defense.

"Give me your token!"

"Were you not able to find yours on your own? Go back and live in the shame you have earned."

"I will go back with your token, and no one will be the wiser, because you will not make it back to tell anyone!"

Kietnan felt like rolling his eyes but didn't take them off of the threat in front of him. "You fool. Each participant's token is different for this exact reason. They will know that mine does not belong to you. And they will know exactly who you stole it from."

"That is for me to figure out." The other man yelled as he lunged for Kietnan. He dodged the attack easily and quickly steadied his feet on the slick rocks. The man snarled and lunged again. Kietnan managed to evade him again, but at the last moment the man's hand grabbed around Kietnan's ankle and pulled him down. They wrestled as Kietnan tried to get free while the man kept trying to grab at his belt.

"Stop this! We will both fall into the currents!" Kietnan yelled but the man ignored him.

Managing to get free, Kietnan stood and prepared to dive into the lake water to swim away. But as he did so the man lunged at him again, causing them to barrel down an embankment and right into the river, quickly being sucked down under the current.

~~~~~~~

Ashima was getting worried. She wasn't sure how much time had passed since darkness fell over the skylight in the tent, but she was confident it had been hours.

Kietnan had been leaving her in the tent for six days now, and he was always home by now. She had already wondered what he did when he left for the day, but when he returned injured yesterday, an entirely new list of possibilities entered her mind and she couldn't help but worry.

What if he never returned? She could remain in the tent a couple more days based on the ration of meat he had left. But what then? She was never one to fear exploration, not until she crash landed into a frozen mountainside and plunged into an ice cold lake surrounded by terrain that made the alps look like hills.

But what had her more nervous were the very unfriendly natives that surrounded her. Earlier, she had stayed hidden in the chest until her bones and muscles ached too much to ignore any longer. She had checked the lock on the door several times throughout the day, in case they decided to check tents looking for the strange alien woman.

Thinking of the dried meat she had been eating exclusively for days, her stomach twisted. She needed to have other sustenance or she would have problems very soon. If only she could have some bread and vegetable soup! Her stomach growled at the thought, her mouth watering. She sighed as she came to the conclusion that she would simply have to start trying the dried vegetables available to her. One at a time, so she could determine which she had a reaction to, if any. She just hoped none would be fatal to her. She should have already started doing that while Kathleen was home so she wasn't alone. He would help her if she had a reaction, right? She thought so.

She looked toward the door again and her shoulders sagged as it remained closed. 

She had started hearing voices and commotion around the tent hours ago. She knew many others had returned back to their homes. Now all was quiet again and she assumed everyone had retired for the night. Where could he be? He should have at least tried to warn her that he wouldn't be home on time tonight. She knew it wasn't rational, how would he tell her that? But she couldn't help but be frustrated anyway.

She let out a dry laugh as she realized she was acting like the worried housewife waiting for her husband to come home from a long day at work.

But as soon as that thought crossed her mind, the memory of her standing between his legs, practically against his body, pushed to the forefront of her mind and she felt her skin flush in embarrassment again. She still couldn't believe she had done that. What did he think? Did he think she was trying to seduce him? What were their customs like on this planet? She didn't seem to have offended him in any way, but she also wasn't trying to give off any ideas to him, either. Thankfully, he had been the perfect gentleman on that front. She recognized her situation could be much worse.

She decided to pass the time and some of her pent up energy by thoroughly cleaning the tent. At least she could thank him in that way. Beyond her usual tidying she'd been doing during the day, she decided to start by giving the place a thorough dusting.  

~~~~~~~

Ashima woke with a start when she heard voices nearby. She grabbed her head as it protested at the action. She hadn't gotten much sleep, her mind filled with possibilities of what might be keeping Kietnan away and what would happen to her if he never returned. So she wasn't too surprised when she looked up at the skylight to see it was already morning.

If he did return, she had made herself a promise that she would do whatever it took to get him to work with her on learning to communicate with him. Any attempt she had made previously was in vain, him always wanting to study over papers at his desk, but she would not let him refuse her after this. Not after that woman chased her today and she was being faced with what to do should he never return and she was on her own again. She grimaced at the thought of how she was so reliant on him.

She stood and quietly walked to the doorway of the tent, listening at the commotion. When the voices sounded as if they were right outside her door, she rushed back and practically jumped into the chest, covering it just in time. She heard several pairs of feet entering the tent and her heart pounded. She forced her breathing to remain slow. Several minutes later she heard them leave but she remained still and quiet, just in case.

A few minutes later she heard footsteps shuffling within the tent and a man murmuring. The voice grew louder and seemed a bit frantic.

"Shima!" Her heart rate spiked at the sound of Kietnan calling her name with his thick accent. She pushed the chest lid open and immediately climbed out, searching the tent for him.

"You're back?! What happened?" She exclaimed but her voice stopped when her eyes found him. His left hand was clutching to his desk for support, his lavender skin looked practically white, he was covered in scrapes and bruises, and he was panting as if he'd collapse any moment. 

She rushed forward and stopped just in front of him, looking over each part of him. "What happened? Do you need that cream?" She looked up into his eyes. "What's wrong, what can I do?" He looked at her for a moment before turning and taking a step toward the bed, only for his knee to buckle causing him to fall to the floor onto it. His hand pushed onto his other knee, which was bent. Trying to push himself up to a standing position again, but not finding the strength.

She rushed to him and took his arm, trying to help him up. He pushed her off, but she persisted. "Let me help you!" He groaned and pushed her away again. "Kietnan." She said firmly. "Let me help you to the bed."

She moved to the bed and pulled the covers back before turning to him again and reaching for his arm, pulling on it. He growled but didn't push her away as she helped him stand and make his way to the bed, shakily. When he collapsed onto it, she reached over and put the covers on top of him before reaching up and feeling his forehead. She had no way of knowing if they got fevers or not, but she checked anyway. The fact that he didn't protest concerned her.

"What happened, Kietnan?" She asked softly. "What can I do to help?" But when she looked back down, she saw that he was already asleep.