Zuberi moved down from the windswept ridge, testing each step on the loose, shifting scree. His bruised legs ached with every foothold, and he used his spear to probe the slope, treating it like an unstable path that could betray him at any moment. Small rocks tumbled ahead, echoing in the growing dusk.
Lisa followed close behind, her steps light and deliberate. She sidestepped fresh tracks, choosing safer routes to avoid hidden gaps in the shale. At intervals, Zuberi turned and watched her work, noting how she seemed to sense the terrain's weaknesses, pausing to trace a ledge with her fingers before continuing.
Hanz trailed at a distance, shoulders locked in permanent tension. The shadow-weapon's new position caught Zuberi's eye, no longer shoulder-strapped but thigh-mounted, its holster gone from maroon to pitch black. When the wind stilled, he caught its thrumming pulse, synchronized counterpoint to the ever-present background drone. Twilight's indigo bled to bruised purple, stars smothered by dust-laden winds that carried iron and damp earth.
The descent on the other side, though not much steeper than the ascending path, was made harder by the unstable rocks strewn around the flat hillside. Zuberi had the feeling this was a single, giant, slab of stone, which the wind had smoothed to a slick surface. He dared not imagine how they would have gotten down, without adding days to their travel, if it had rained. Then again, if rain water proved drinkable, getting down would have been less urgent.
Unfortunately, they reached the valley below only to find a long dried up riverbed. The hard descent had taken its toll on morale and conversation had ceased soon after they had started down. Zuberi stood in the middle of where the water would flow, looking uphill, towards the source. Should they turn, follow the river in the hopes of coming up on a dam or blockage upstream, or keep going, over the rolling hills ahead. The decision was made for him when Lisa passed him, sparing him a small smile, and marching forward, as if their destination was never in doubt. He considered asking her why, but refrained. He thought she was working on instinct and feared that asking her would push her to doubt herself.
Zuberi was not certain anyone in the group knew the meaning of the trench-like depressions in the earth, but if someone did, they did not say. Soon, after having crossed three dried up rivers or streams, the party reached a shallow depression in the side of the third hill. Zuberi spotted a natural cave entrance tucked among the rocks. The walls felt damp, hinting at a nearby stream, while shrubs clung to the edges and flint scattered the ground. It wasn't perfect, but it offered good protection and a chance for water. Besides, if the cave system went deep enough, they may experience true darkness since coming to this world.
"Will this do?" Lisa's voice came out hoarse, her eyes scanning the cave.
Zuberi ran his hand along the cave's damp wall, fingers coming away glistening. "Good drainage in the stone," he murmured, more to himself than in response to Lisa. "The rocky terrain should not be prone to collapses." He kicked a piece of flint that skittered across the uneven floor. "The dry stream bed outside means if there's water underground, it shouldn't be far down. No scat or fresh tracks," He crouched to examine the dirt, "means nothing has claimed this den recently." He let a tired smile on his face. "At least nothing that breathes, eats, and…" He decided not to finish his thought aloud.
Zuberi debated continuing the search. There were dangers to a cave, especially if he was wrong about it having a prior occupant, but based on his fatigue, let alone his companions' state, this had to be it. With a sigh, he untied the last bundle containing the moon-fur rabbit and watched as Shifty's eyes tracked it with unmasked hunger.
"Hanz," Zuberi called, waiting for his first companion's eyes to focus on him. "Your shadow-weapon handled silverbacks. Do you think it can help you hunt rock-runners?" Even with fatigue hazing his focus, he noted how he no longer blinked when words he'd never learned, never used before, made their way out of his mouth as if they'd always been part of him. Saying their name conjured an image of the quick little creatures, furred lizards that darted between rocks at incredible speed, abundant in these rocky hills.
"I don't see why not," Hanz said. The fact he did not complain once said enough about his fatigue. "There's enough of them I shouldn't have a problem."
Zuberi nodded with a smile. "Hunt what you can." He hesitated before his next words. He had known many a hunter who would take offense at unsolicited advice. Despite the wrong first impression Zuberi had made of the young man, he had proved reasonable and helpful on more than one occasion. "Make sure to sprinkle these on your way out," he said, peeling sheets of a glassy mineral that grew against the cave walls. He crumbled the brittle, fragile rock in one fist until he was left with a single slab the size of his finger. "It'll give us ample warning if anything follows us in." He snapped the slab, the glassy echo punctuating his point.
Hanz's weapon shimmered with darkness as he hefted it, its hum dropping to subsonic, vibrating pulses. A curt nod, then he disappeared behind two nearby boulders.
Zuberi turned to Lisa. "Gather dry brush and branches for a fire. Nothing green. And check the perimeter as you go. If you see anything off, come back or call if you are in trouble." He wanted to add more, to emphasize that she was not a warrior, that unlike her brother she had no offensive range weapons, but he chose to hold his tongue once more. He eyed the machete, which she had now strapped around her own waist, nodded once, and left it at that.
Lisa responded with a toothy grin, the silver specks in her emerald eyes flashing once as if to enhance the smile, which they did. She returned his nod and started her search along the cliff, her figure blending with the shadows as she moved in quiet focus.
Zuberi faced Eli, who had gotten off Shifty's back at the base of this hill. He noted how the boy stood straighter despite his weariness. "We'll need to scout deeper once Hanz returns. This cave system could—"
"I'll go with you," Eli interrupted, his voice steady, large brown eyes holding Zuberi. Shifty chuffed softly, her frills pulsing with determined gold. The boy nodded to his friend. "She says there's water and fruits not far, deeper." He pointed a shaky finger towards the darkness deeper in the cave. "We can help."
It took Zuberi a moment to process what the boy had said. Then he smiled, glad to hear that his instincts as a tracker, survivor, at least, were intact.
"Good," he said, offering the boy a smile. "Look for water first. Do you know how to tell if it's safe to drink?"
Zuberi expected the boy to answer in the negative. Instead, he glanced at Shifty.
"It's safe," Eli said.
Zuberi took longer to respond, wondering if he should push for more information, but remembering Lisa's earlier warning, he took the boy's word for it. "Here," he said, taking one of the iron shells he had harvested off those damnable snails.
On second thought, he unfastened his sash from his waist, feeling a tinge of regret at parting from the red fabric, even for a moment. He'd tied a knot around each shell, to keep them separate and avoid them clanging together as he moved.
He retied the sash, making a loop out of it, and approached Shifty. To his surprise, she lowered her head at his approach, as if she'd guessed his intent.
"When you have filled all six, come back, then you can forage for those fruits."
Zuberi followed the boy and his friend, wondering if he should be more scared, panicked, than he felt. He had just tasked a child and what he could best describe as a monkey, chameleon, and bird hybrid with fetching water.
He chuckled as they disappeared. Closing his eyes, he absorbed the cave's sounds and scents, rodent musk, insect chirps, scraping scales, all signs of life, but nothing large. Instinctively, he clicked his tongue three times. The echoes, past the boy and Shifty, through branching tunnels, from a vast chamber, returned, mapping the cave. Zuberi opened his eyes and marched purposefully to the designated campsite, no longer questioning the how or why.
He reached a bend in the path leading deeper into the cave, where two rocks formed a hut-like structure with a corner opening and a narrow entrance requiring him to squeeze through. Perfect to watch and defend. The interior was spacious enough for twice their number. Grinning, Zuberi cleared a central area, rolling stones into a rough circle. He kicked debris from the darkest corner, designated for sleeping. Then he rolled smaller stones to the corner nearest the entrance, where the rocks met, plugging the only other gap. He arranged these stones into a fire pit. Unpacking the meat from the leaves, he noted its smell. A faint hint of spoilage was present, but Zuberi, having eaten worse, doubted the others, with their presumably normal senses, would notice. He worked with quick, practiced motions, suppressing memories of past camps.
Lisa returned first, calling out to the empty entrance. Zuberi rushed to her, hearing panic in her voice. He took her armload of dry scrub and branches, waiting as she fetched a second load from the cave entrance. Her arms were covered in scratches, but true to form, she didn't complain. The sparse vegetation made each piece precious, rendering her bounty all the more impressive.
Eli and Shifty returned next, silent. Arriving moments after Lisa, Zuberi ushered them and Lisa into the refuge. While assembling the fire, he noted their awed survey of the site. Satisfied, he offered Eli and Shifty a shell; both declined.
"We drank there," Eli said, apologetic, though his eyes scintillated with excitement. "There's this huge underground lake," he said. "Its ceiling is too high to see, and there's a waterfall. Shifty said to drink from the waterfall, not the lake." This was the longest Zuberi had heard him speak uninterrupted.
Zuberi considered pressing for caution, but it was pointless; they'd already drunk the water. He met Shifty's gaze. Her eyes darted to a shell, then back to him. Zuberi frowned. Was she asking him to drink? Images flashed, unprompted, in his mind. His hand on her flank, his command to sleep, her perspective as her lids closed. Was this her communication? His thoughts or hers? Shifty still watched him. Lisa stared too, the specks in her eyes swirling, their silver glow intensified by the cave's darkness.
Without hesitation, Zuberi grabbed the nearest shell, untied it, and drank half in one gulp. Reflexively, he handed it to Lisa, who emptied the rest.
Shifty still gazed at him. No images flashed this time. Instead, contentment permeated him, subtler than satiety after fasting, purer than postcoital bliss, akin to the warmth of dawn.
After the two friends left for the second part of their task, Zuberi exchanged a confused look with Lisa. "Did you feel that too?" He asked.
"I did," she said, though she looked more pleased than puzzled. "Help you with something else?"
Zuberi shook his head, reaching out, absent-mindedly placing his hand over the twigs he'd piled in the stone circle. He barely felt the tingle, a wave of heat rushing from his core to his fingertips.
The tinder ignited instantly. Zuberi turned, unsurprised by the fire or its origin. His shock lay in his swift adaptation to these powers, his instincts now overriding his reliance on tools. This easy dependency could be dangerous. Flames climbed through dry scrub. Lisa stacked thicker branches until Zuberi laid a hand on her arm.
"That's enough," he said. "We don't know how cold it gets here."
They watched the fire in companionable silence until it died down to glowing coals.
"Pour some water from the other shells into that one?" Zuberi gestured with his chin to the shell in Lisa's lap.
"Sure." She sighed, rose, untied the shells from the sash, handed it to Zuberi, and poured. "You came prepared," she added, admiring a shell's iridescence in the firelight.
Zuberi chuckled. "Not at all. Those are local snail shells."
Lisa's eyebrows rose. "Really?" She eyed the shell again. "Any good?"
Zuberi snorted. "You have no idea." He paused, horrified she might try it if she came across one. "I'd rather eat ten azure berries than those horrors."
Lisa giggled, surprising Zuberi. She covered her mouth, as surprised by the sound as he was.
Before they could speak further, Eli and Shifty returned. Eli cradled tangled roots while Shifty, on hind legs, held assorted fruits. Their similar height, arched backs, protruding bellies, and shuffling gait with impractical cargo struck Zuberi and Lisa as comical. After a moment, they burst out laughing at the unamused child and creature.
Shifty set down her cargo, an array of fruit spilling to the ground, of which plump, orange-sized bluish berries were the bulk. Color drained from Lisa's face.
"You didn't eat any, did you?" she half-screamed, startling Eli, who dropped his roots.
Lisa was instantly beside him. Eli stared back, eyes wide with terror.
"N—No," he said in a stammer, lip quivering. "But there's more. We can—"
"Honey, no," Lisa said, her tension easing. "I'm not upset with you, but for you." She reached out. Eli flinched, gaze darting to Shifty. Unfazed, Lisa slowed her hand, gently resting it on his cheek. "Those berries are—"
"Not azure berries," Eli finished, relaxing into her touch. The subtle lean, almost imperceptible, revealed a heartbreaking need. "Those are cerulean berries," he continued, pride in his voice. "Shifty says it's an easy mistake to make."
A subtle dimming of light, hard to notice in the smoky refuge, alerted Zuberi. He rose fluidly, moved past Lisa, and grabbed his spear an instant before a voice sounded.
Hanz, entering the passage, froze mid-crouch, eying Zuberi. "You all right, tribal king?" He glanced at Lisa, who, embracing Eli, missed his transgression.
"You surprised me," Zuberi said, refraining from commenting on Hanz's improved stealth, though he deserved praise. "We thought Eli or Shifty ate azure berries," he added. Reaching past Lisa for the fullest water shell, he offered it to Hanz. "Turns out, they're cerulean berries. Drink?" Hanz eyed him, gauging his sincerity.
Hanz took the shell, sniffed, and took a long pull. "Who the fuck names fruits around here?" He took another. "Pardon my French," he added, meeting his sister's glare.
Hanz handed Zuberi two vines, each strung with six rock-runners, their necks marked by precise shadow-bolt burns. Zuberi began his preparations. The five remaining shells were still over half full; he used some of this water to wash the roots, dried them with his damp sash, and nestled them under the coals.
"Eli," Zuberi called, waiting until he felt the boy's attention. "Ask Shifty if she prefers her food cooked or raw."
"She'd like to try cooked, please," Eli replied, a smile in his voice.
Zuberi pressed Hanz to drain his shell, then used it to gather the water from the other five. He approached the even-sized stones he'd selected, propping them on the coals in groups of three, then rested a shell on each trio. He quickly skinned and cleaned the rock-runners, pleased by the generous fat between skin and muscle.
Zuberi rendered some fat, hoping the unknown flavor wouldn't turn out to be too strong and ruin the stew. Soon, the aroma of cooking meat filled the air, stirring their hunger. The enticing smell convinced Zuberi to risk some precious salt, mixing it with spices to rub on the rock-runners before skewering them on his remaining arrows.
The fire crackled, casting dancing shadows on the cave walls. Zuberi stirred the rabbit stew, its aroma of meat and wild herbs filling the air. He then turned the rock-runner meat, fat sizzling onto the coals. Periodically, he probed a root in the embers with a stick, guessing it resembled tapioca or sweet potato. When the first seemed ready, he pulled it from the coals. After it cooled on a stone, he cut into its purple and orange, flaky flesh, its earthy scent mingling with the savory stew.
Zuberi then tasted the stew, added a dash of salt, and announced, "Ready."
He tasked Lisa with peeling and cutting the earth-worm roots, the name striking him as odd as soon as it revealed itself to him.
On a whim, he reached for a shell on its rocky seat. He grasped it, expecting searing pain and the sizzle of his flesh, but felt nothing.
He held the first shell before a wide-eyed Lisa, probing her for the squares of earth-worm root, before he placed it in front of Eli.
Before he spoke to the boy, affecting his most deadpan expression, he caught and held Hanz's eye. "Eat slowly," he said. "It's hot."