“I think I saw Trug down by the river?” The second hunter points in two different directions at the same time.
“Why would he go down there now! He knows we need him.”
“I don’t know. I’ll go look for him.”
“No. Don’t do that. Then both of you will be gone, and…”
It’s too late. The second hunter has already wandered off.
I watch as Ulf sigh, hangs his head, and takes a deep swig of the brew. I wonder if that is how Krave felt trying to wrangle all of us. I wonder if he wanted to drink himself into a stupor. I wonder if he did when I didn’t know about it.
“Idiot boys,” he complains to himself. “There are monsters out there, and they drink the brew and run off to the river.”
I’ve seen enough. These men are men. Good men, but still only men. What can they possibly do for Tres that I cannot? If she lived among them, they would try to mate with her. And would they accept me? Almost certainly not. They are prepared to kill anything that moves. I move. It would be difficult for them to kill me, but I am sure they would try if they saw me.
It is time to move on.
Tres
I have been alone for too long. Vulcan ordered me to stay, but he didn’t say how long he would be gone. I am worried. For myself. For him. He is not of this world. Nor am I, really. The sun is going down. The dark is gathering, and my fears are growing by the moment. Trelok will go to the cave eventually. He will see that I am gone. He will start to look for me. Or maybe he will not. Maybe he will assume that I have gone to Hyrrm’s embrace, that I freed myself from the ropes and killed myself the caldera. The lava has always called me. The wildness of the volcano reflects the wildness inside me, the heat I’ve always had to suppress. I used to think of joining Hyrrm with glee. I would finally be free. This is the first time I have ever acknowledged to myself what that would actually entail - my death.
Am I free now? I’m not sure. I’m hiding in a cave, awash with the lust of the monster who has claimed me. I don’t know what will become of me. I don’t know where he came from - or where he is going. He does not explain himself much at all. Perhaps he will tell me more when he comes back.
If he comes back.
“Vulcan, you moron.”
I let out a scream as a sudden voice intrudes on the silence and my solitude. Someone is here. Suddenly. I spin around, looking for them, but I see nobody. Did I imagine the voice? Have I gone mad?
“Vulcan, you’re supposed to keep this communicator on you at all times,” the voice sighs. It sounds much like Vulcan does, gruff and rough and with an edge of perpetual meanness.
This time, I am sure I’m hearing it. I don't know why I understand the language of these creatures, but I do. Maybe it is something in the magic of the monster.
I start looking for the source of the voice. Vulcan was messing around near a wall before he left. Now I am thinking he might have hid something there. Something that talks. Sure enough, I shift away some smaller pebbles to see a silver rock glowing with strange light sitting on a ledge.
“Hello?” I say the word softly, wondering what is happening. Why is this rock talking?
“Who are you? What have you done with Vulcan? Did you eat him?” The silver rock asks me a series of questions, rapid-fire.
“I… didn’t eat him,” I whisper. “I don’t think I could if I wanted to.”
“Yeah. He’s a big bastard,” the silver rock says. “And he never follows orders. You recognize someone by that description?”
“I don’t think Vulcan would ever take orders from anyone,” I say with a little giggle. The idea of Vulcan doing as someone else told him is unthinkable. Since I first laid eyes on him, I have found him to be utterly dominant in every way.
“He’s supposed to, but he doesn’t,” the rock sighs. “Who are you then? Human, I take it?”
“I’m Tres. He saved my life. He wasn’t supposed to.”
“Oh, our little Vulcan has grown up to be a hero, has he?” The voice rumbles with amusement. I find myself smiling along. I think I would like to meet the monster who speaks through special soil.
“He’s the only thing standing between me and death.”
“I’d say you’re safe then,” the voice says. “He’s always been a big block in the way of…”
“I’ll take that.” Vulcan reaches over my shoulder and snatches the silver rock from me. He shoots me a flashing hot glance before his eyes flick away. “What do you want, Tyank?”