Chapter Seventeen

During the day there was enough distractions to keep her mind off of what happened with Cyro. But at night was the real problem. Cyro probably didn't realize she could feel them. Everytime they would lay down and go to sleep, she would wake up with them poking her. She didn't know what to do as she laid there now. Last time she just landed there frozen till exhaustion forced her to sleep. She grew flustered as she tried to scoot away. Instead, Cyro unconsciously pulled her closer. She didn't know how much more her face could take, with the blushing and turning red. She instead tried to focus on Alzies breathing. As long as he stayed breathing they would be fine. The sound of a loud screeching howl echoed around them. Cyro was right, those creatures were hunting them. This was the first time she was thankful for the ruins. Tomorrow she'll find a good stick or branch to turn into a spear. She stared into the fire just listening to the sounds of the night. She looked back to Alzie and noticed an unnerving stillness. She shot out of Cyros arms and started cpr. Cyro groaning unaware of what was happening. She panicked and yelled at Cyro to wake up.

"Shit!" He scrambled to her aid, pulling out a bottle of some sort.

"I'm sorry," She hadn't noticed she was crying. The tears falling onto her hands.

"No, this isn't you." His voice was harsh as he hurriedly poured the liquid into Alzies mouth. "This was expected, however, I was late due to the fact that you delayed it by a few hours."

She sighed in relief, her fear and guilt leaving. She had been afraid that she caused it. She stopped the chest compression as Alzies breathing came back. She made a silent thank you to the universe as she sat back. The whole time here she has been in survival mode. She would just like to for once be able to relax. No wonder they needed to make it to the tangerine tribe as quickly as possible. She hopped they could make it tomorrow, if not hopefully he has a spare bottle.

"So do yall just carry those around?" She pointed to the now empty bottle.

"Yeah, Sklai made it mandatory after..." He trailed off as he made eye contact with Alzie.

"Did something happen? With Alzie?" She wanted to know why he stopped.

"It's not my story to tell," He said it keep direct eye contact and not looking at her. "However, I'm sure he has an extra bottle on as well."

She felt she had brought up a touchy subject and sat quietly by the fire. Cyro continued to move Alzie onto the vine bed and pack everything up. She knew they wouldn't be sleeping again and needed to get moving. Tomorrow will be torture due to needing to move faster. She got up and groaned as they began to move. An hour has pasted with them walking, and the sun just began peeking up. She wondered why the creatures stayed away from the ruins. They could have easily killed them if they wanted too. She had found a decent thin brach she could use for a spear. Luckily Cyro could use his claws to sharpen it for her. She had already preped the Lily of the Valley and was now rubbing it onto the spear. She used yest another piece of her skirt to do this seeing as she didn't want to risk touching it. It was hard for her to keep up with Cyro. She had to half walk and half jog. She could already feel her chest begun to protest as small sharp pains began. Having a murmur was not fun, but worse when it decided to act up. Her murmur has caused her to have to leave in the middle of work due to severe an sudden chest pain. When that happened it usually ment she was moving to fast. When moving fast your breathing and heart quicken, and if you have a murmur it can skip a beat during that time. Causing quiet a bit of chest pain.

She didn't complain, nor slow down. She knew Alzie needed help as soon as possible. It would be selfish for her to cause them delay just because of a bit of discomfort. The heat wasn't the biggest problem. It was the humidity. The air was sticky and hot. She was drenched with sweat within thirty minutes of the sun being up. She did find the ruined New York to be quiet beautiful though. It sparked a lot of creative ideas in her head. On their way back they would have to make stopped so she could paint some of it. She did find some berries. But she wasn't given a lot of time to collect them. They hadn't really had any food with them when they ran into the creatures. So any food she could find on the spot was good enough for her. Of course Cyro would test the food before letting her eat it. She was using the spear now as a walking stick. The day going by fast. She was sure she stunk as well, unable to stop to bath. She used the water for Alzie and Cyros wounds instead. The day seemed to go by so slow. Her sides hurt with sharp jabs of pain, and her feet ached. Inwardly she begged for them to stop. Outwardly she didn't make a single sound of protest. They reached the edge of the ruins as the sun began to set.

"We should camp here," Cyro looked to the building nest to them. "We may be at the edge but they won't dare enter."

She accidentally let out a loud sign of relief, her face turning red as he turned to her. She gave him a small smile and went inside. She lost track of how many builds they had passed. All of them looking the same. Half way torn down, covered in vines. The insides barely having anything in them. She sat down in the center of the room and pulled the left over branches from her bag. She learned to make fire watching Cyro these past two nights. She started preping the herbs again, making sure to do everything the exact same way as last time. She wasn't planning to make mistakes any time soon. Especially since they were almost there. She realized she hadn't been paying much attention when Cyro handed her the bota bag. He has also quickly moved Alzie inside and sat down. He didn't look worn out like her, but his breathing was a bit heavier. She had his help with changing Alzies bandages and cleaning the wound. She carefully applied the new bandage. His wound seemed to be healing nicely, no sign of infection. Once finished she moved to Cyro. He had already removed his bandage and was patiently waiting for her. She gave him a knowing smile, and began gently cleaning. She caught him a few times looking at her hips. He would just look away and pretend to be starting at the fire next to them.

She felt his hands slowly move to her legs as she straddle him. She tried to keep her heart beat steady. Each time she wrapped the cloth around his wound, his hands slid higher. By the time she had finished his hands were now on her bottom. Her heart felt like it would come out of her chest. She didn't know how much more of his teasing she could take. She gave him a wiry look as she tried to move off of him.

"I would like to ask you something," he pulled her flush against him. "If you don't mind."

"Uh, sure." She shivered as he made little bites down her neck. Each bite felt tantalizing as they pulled at her more primitive side.

"I would like to know," he hooked a claw in her top and slowly pulled. "If you have any attraction to me."

Before she could answer his teeth were already grazing the skin of her breast. She let out a gasp at the sensation as he gently closed on her nipple. She want to say yes, but she could think with his teeth pulling at her skin. She could feel his excitement against her cheeks. His hands pulling at the string that tied the skirt around her waist. She felt one of hid claws graze against her skin, exciting her more.

"Well," he abruptly stopped what he was doing and looked at her expectantly.

She didn't know what to do or say as he sat waiting for her answer. She so desperately wanted him to continue what he had started. But was quickly reminded of his size, and the fact that there was two, as she felt him twitch beneath her.