**I had a reader ask if this would be the last chapter. There are six chapters to INCENDIARY, all written and given a once-over by my editor. I am simply in the process of uploading them here. In general, you can be sure that if I upload a "first chapter" of a work, it is a completed draft - and I will upload it piece by piece.**
When Clay awoke, it was to the distinct and mouthwatering smell of roasted meat. The dreams -- full of choppy waves and ice that closed in over his head as he struggled to get to the surface -- dissipated as he felt himself smacking his lips in confused hunger, even before his eyes opened. When his eyes finally did open, the sight that greeted him baffled him further.
Juniper poked at a slab of expertly skinned and prepared Aterian long-eared rabbit. The creature was similar to the rabbits and hares of the southern and desert regions of the kingdom, but its body was more compact and, this time of year, full of fatty meat that it used to hibernate in the harsh winter climes. From the delicious aroma, this rabbit was a fresh kill, and seasoned with...
"Corinia pepper?" asked Clay blearily.
"Oh! You're awake. Did you say corinia pepper? That's close -- it's Salamandrine rock pepper. I always carry some with me when I travel. Makes even the most lean meat taste bearable. Less gamey. Are you hungry?"
He nodded, still re-adjusting to his surroundings, and blinked again and again as he looked around. He didn't quite know what he was looking for until he saw his pack and weapons. She had cleaned them, and stacked them neatly next to the long wall. Next to her own weapons, and her clothing, still drying from the morning's hunt, the sight was exceptionally domestic -- a thought that gave Clay's heart a bittersweet twinge.
Juniper brought Clay a skewer of the rabbit meat and a piece of waxy paper to act as a plate as the meat dripped. She was wearing only the black panties and her silky undershirt. He realized then that the panties had knots on either side because of her tail -- the design was purposeful, rather than fashionable. She looked just as delectable as the meat. He forced himself away from such thoughts, even as her hand grazed his shoulder. She held the meat out to him, and he thanked her.
"You had all these cooking supplies in your jacket? Wait, how? Did you fit a whole kitchen in that cape of yours?" Clay asked in confusion, looking from the skewers to the makeshift cutlery, then back again.
"No," she laughed, "But many Salamandrine inventions have double, or even triple uses. My hunting arrows are made of a sort of reinforced wood that is local to my kingdom, and each of the arrowheads are removable." Clay glanced down and gaped anew at the slender skewers: he would be eating the meat off of the arrow that could have killed the animal. Perhaps he should have been horrified, but more than anything he was impressed by the inventiveness of her people.
"And the paper?" he pressed.
"Oh. I stole that out of your backpack. It was in with the medical kit -- I guess as some sort of wrap for a wound. I hope you don't mind, but if you're mad... well, wait. Take a bite before you decide to be mad."
At her insistence, Clay took a bite. The meat was beyond delicious. It melted in his mouth as if she had tenderized each succulent morsel. The pepper she'd mentioned added a depth of flavor and spice without burning his tongue. It was spicy -- very spicy, by human standards -- but it wasn't painfully spicy, and the natural fatty flavors of the meat shone through.
It should be said, the meat was also perfectly cooked. There was a crisp on the outside, a char, but that must've come from the spice blend, because it wasn't burned -- rather, it was so juicy that Clay found himself drooling, even as he chewed through the decadent bite.
He decided he wasn't mad. He nodded and tried mumbling his thanks -- she laughed at him when it came out more like a moan of pleasure -- and then walked back to get her own "plate" of food.
"This pepper is very famous in Salaman," she said, eating quickly. "Like I said, we often have multiple uses for an invention. We do use this pepper to season our food, but it is also an incredible weapon of self-defense. Creatures with wet or delicate vision, for example, cannot bear to get its powder in their eyes."
"Ah. Yes, I have heard of this," Clay said drily, taking another bite, "Though I have never been the unfortunate recipient of such a spicy attack."
"Here is one you may not have heard of," Juniper said with a grin, nudging his shoulder, "It is also used in holiday celebrations, seasonal mating dances, and religious ceremonies."
"Really?"
"Yes -- it can give any Salamandrine who eats it the power to breathe fire!" she licked her lips with her forked tongue, as if savoring the look of awed shock on his face as much as she'd savored the rabbit meat.
He gaped at her, but only one thing came to mind first, and he blurted it out: "You can breathe fire?!"
"Not me," she said, and he watched as -- just as before he'd left to get the snow -- her joy slowly crept away, hiding itself behind the other harsh emotions she chose to display more clearly. Her shoulders crept up to her ears and she slouched slightly, as if she was trying to hide inside her own body. But this time, he was not so content to leave it be.
"Why not? You just said -- "
"It is for Ladies of the Court, and priestesses only," she said primly. "It would not be honorable for me to try to use it. Not as self-defense, not as a show of power, and certainly not to prove a point."
"... but, honor aside, weren't you a lady of the court?" Clay asked in confusion.
