A few weeks had passed. Well, what Lindsay called weeks. A seven day division seemed foreign to the Bonat. Everything about the way they numbered weeks and months was. Even the days were longer by at least four hours. She tried to learn it but often found herself falling back to her Earth ways. She'd scratched a crude calendar into the dirt. It wouldn't be accurate - she wasn't even sure what day she'd been tossed here - but it was something.
Most days she wandered aimlessly around the camp while Donil was busy at the hospital. She'd sometimes catch Nol early in the morning, sitting on the logs by the fire after a long shift. Nol never spoke much, but it was nice to have someone she knew around.
One morning, Lindsay was sitting with Nol when she watched a woman go into Sirix tent. A few minutes later she could hear grunting from within. "Ugh, that's the second one today!" Lindsay said in disgust.
"Yeah," Nol said, leaning back. "He's pretty popular with the women here. He could charm a boat out of the mouth of a Desni. You'd better be careful or he'll have you charmed, too."
"Not likely."
Nol threw her head back and laughed. "You watch, Earth girl! He'll have you eating out of his hand."
Lindsay was alarmed. "Well, what about you? You see through him."
"Hey, I said he was charming, but I'm not going to say no to a good morning with him when I need one. Besides, he's the Bona Serat Corsar." She shrugged as if that was enough of an explanation.
Of course, a charming man in power could have any woman he wished and no one would bat an eye. Like so many men, just using women for their own amusement! A fun distraction to start the day. And they didn't mind because it was an honor or something to be with him. "Wait... Is he Finlan's father?" Lindsay asked.
Nol laughed again. "Nah, that's Dolan."
"Which one is Dolan?"
"You know the one with the squarish face and the shoulders that are almost as broad as a door? Skinny, though. Real tall. Never shaves his head, only has it cut short?"
Lindsay thought she remembered. "Yeah?"
"Yeah, he's the one." Nol was smiling, not in her usual way, more sweetly, glowing.
Lindsay grinned. "He's the one or he's the one?"
"Let me be the first to tell you, don't fall in love during a war, Earth girl. Don't even think about it. It makes it harder when they die. But yeah, if we weren't at war, I think I'd want to keep with him."
"You'd give up on Sirix?"
"Nah! Why would I? It's not like Dolan would mind."
Lindsay couldn't think of a reason which irritated her all the more. The only thing worse than a pig was a pig nobody cared was a pig because they could get away with anything, like those rich frat boys at her college who were always getting out of treating girls badly because they were rich. She was glad she'd made her mistakes with them early and those hadn't followed her, unlike her friend across the hall, Leslie, who ended up dropping out her first year because she had a baby. She was still suing for a paternity test!
Over the next week, Lindsay watched a revolving door of women going into and out of Sirix's tent. One afternoon, as she walked past, she saw Donil slip in to the tent. She hoped it was just to deliver a report but, in a few minutes, she heard Donil's happy screams above Sirix's low moans. So Donil was a screamer, just like she was.
She pictured them in there, Sirix on top of Donil, her beautiful long legs wrapped around his waist as he held himself up with those muscular arms she'd glimpsed when he left the tent without his coat. His tight butt shaking as he thrust inside of her, her eyes cloudy with orgasm as her lips opened to release her wails of ecstasy. That scar on his lip shaking as his eyes widened when he grunted as he came. She walked away in disgust, but couldn't help but notice she had grown a good deal wetter.
After almost a month of aimless roaming, she finally approached Donil about something to do. "You'll have to ask Sirix. He takes care of the assignments."
Ugh. She didn't want to ask Sirix. She'd rather not talk to him if she could avoid it, and it wasn't as if he made much of an effort to seek her out. But she was also bored out of her mind. There were only so many laps she could jog around the camp, only so many flaxa fruits she could practice spiking into the woods.
That night she found Sirix sitting alone by the fire, as he often did, staring at the moons. "So you finally got bored," he said, gruffly, as she approached from behind.
She stopped dead in her tracks. "How did you know it was me?" she asked.
"Your shoes, and you shuffle on your left heel when you walk. Well, sit down."
Lindsay sat. "Fine, you're right, I'm bored. Is there anything I can do around here to help out?"
"Hmmm..." he said. One of those horrible creatures that had been drinking her blood scurried through. Sirix grabbed it and bit off its head, tearing the ligaments with his teeth as purple blood spurted out, he chewed thoughtfully as its legs twitched against his large fingers.
"That's disgusting!" Lindsay cried, standing.
"It's just tiktik. What some? Donil tells me you like it."
"That's what a tiktik is? Now I don't!"
"What did you think it was?"
"I don't know... some kind of bird?"
"And that would bother you less?"
"Of course!"
"Why?" He didn't sound at all like he was curious to know why, but as though he were leading her to a point. But Lindsay wasn't sure what point he was trying to make to stop him from winning.
"Because... because we eat birds where I'm from."
"And here we eat tiktiks." He tore the remaining bit of the creature in half at its middle. Its bones crunched as he chewed.
"But they were drinking my blood!"
"All the more reason for revenge. You want the rest?"
"Ew! No!"
"Here, I'll make it easier for you." He took a stick and speared the hind end of the creature, then stuck it over the fire. "I think raw tastes better, but maybe you'd prefer it cooked."
"I'd prefer not to eat it at all," she said as she watched the skin slowly crisp over the fire.
"You can't tell me you're afraid to eat something you've been eating for a month just because you know what it looks like? I thought you were made of stronger stuff than that, Earth girl."
"My name is Lindsay."
"Ah, I see, only certain people are allowed to call you Earth girl. Fair enough. Here, Indsayee." He held out the stick to her.
She sat back down again, taking the stick and examining the crispy critter skewered on the end. "Why do you even care if I eat it or not?"
"Because you need to eat meat to keep your strength up and a lot of the time tiktik is all we have so I can't have you deciding you don't want to eat it just because it disgusts you. It makes you a liability. And if you're going to be a liability, I'd just as soon have you stay over with Donil where she can care for you like one of her pets."
A pet! Lindsay could barely contain her rage. This guy was supposed to be charming?! Maybe to Nol! But ugh! She took the stick and took a big bite out of the creature's hindquarter, chewing it quickly. Then slower. Actually, it wasn't half bad. She swallowed and then took another bite. It was a bit like eating a softshell crab made of duck.
"See, it's not so bad," Sirix said with a smile.
"I still don't see how anyone could say you were charming," Lindsay said through her mouthful of tiktik.
"Who accused me of that?"
"Nol."
"That was nice of her."
"Well, maybe she can find you charming."
"I'm not trying to be charming, Indsayee, I'm trying to save my people. And you, if you'll let me."
"You make it sound like I'm some sort of burden for you to carry."
He stirred the fire. "Show me you're not. The pipes for the hospital are ready, I'd like you to help put them in. That way if anything goes wrong Donil will be there to help."
"She won't need to."
"Big words, but let's see what you can do."
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"Let's see what you can do," Lindsay muttered sarcastically to herself as she lifted a thick wooden pipe to one of the builders. "I'll show him what I can do! Woah!" Her damaged arm faltered under the weight.
"You good down there?" the woman above called.
"Fine!" She clenched her teeth and focused on her arms, reminding them she was the boss and they would do as she wanted regardless of how tired they were. "My hand just slipped." Her arms weren't ready for this, her body wasn't ready for this, her brain kept reminding her. She'd had a spear put through her a month ago! How could she expect herself to do anything?
Because she was Lindsay Weaver. And if there was one thing she had learned over years of hard work and training, it was that her brain didn't know how far her body could go. When it told her to stop because she was tired, she still had a whole other gear. And this? This was nothing.
Her arm would get stronger, her body would get stronger, but only if she kept going. And she wasn't about to let Sirix have the satisfaction of being right, that she was a burden to be taken care of, like a pet. No matter how tired she got, the thought of a smug smile on those scarred lips made her push through until the hour was done. And then the day. And then the next day. And the next. Until the log pipes became easier to move and carry and she grew more competent in attaching them. Until she had become a part of the team.
"It's amazing!" Donil said. "Thank you all for getting it done so fast!"
