17 Bullets: becoming the Werewolf Queen

Chapter 22: Missed

35 BULLETS

We walked until the sun was high in the sky and I was all but limping. Something about trying to hold my back still, balanced out on my legs and made the opposite leg scream with raging coals.

At a small clearing, I slumped against a large boulder. "Thann. I can't. I can't go any further. My leg. Hurts." I rubbed over my thigh, maybe my sciatic nerve.

He came and bent down before me. His hands moved over my leg, watching my grimace. "Hurt."

I nodded and leaned back into the boulder. "Can you carry me? You did yesterday." I signed baby and then reached around his shoulders.

He stood and my grip was secure enough that I went with him. I wrapped my legs around his front and giggled even through the hurt. "Okay. Now you can go."

"Cha!" He yelled. "No El. No Thann." He disentangled my limbs from him and set me back on the rock.

I pouted.

He bent down to eye level, getting serious. "No El, no Thann. Yes El, yes Maza."

"No Maza," I protested.

"Yes Maza."

"MazaMazaMaza," I grumbled rolling my eyes.

He nodded like I had agreed and pulled his basket off his back and rummaged through it. He handed me one of the oniony apples.

I sighed and took the offering. "Thanks. Guess lunch would be nice."

He handed me a strip of dried dragon and began eating through some jerky of his own. He sat down a reasonable distance away from me.

"Really?" I asked him. I was getting very irritated with his lack of contact. "You can't even sit by me now? Am I really that ugly? You saw me half naked and now won't touch me?" But I grinned knowing that that was surely not the case. "Let's see how ugly I am, shall we?"

Quickly, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the ground.

I kept my eyes on my apple, like it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen and kept munching.

"Wokuduma?"

"Hmm?" I answered politely and brought my hair over my shoulder.

"El."

"Yes?" I finally looked at him.

He pointed to the shirt and lowered his eyebrows in warning.

"Something wrong, Dear?" I asked in a honey sweet voice and then looked over my shoulder down my back. "This wound just hurts so much with that shirt on! I figured I'd air it out a minute. You don't mind, right? I mean you walk around shirtless."

He stood and grabbed the shirt, tossing it in my lap.

I got a little playful. "What are you suggesting there, Thann? I just can't understand you when we don't speak the same language." I leaned back on the rock but puffed out my chest as I finished my apple in delight.

I almost wanted to take my bra off.

No.

No, I didn't.

Thann huffed and turned away from me, finishing his jerky. "Eat. Wheelbarrow."

"I can't eat a wheelbarrow." I then sat up, all playfulness waning. "I really can't Thann. All this walking hurts." I looked at the sun high in the sky. It was going to waste a whole day, and I was down to ten bullets in my pouch. We needed to get back to my supplies asap.