Anokhian: Invasion

27

We approached camp and the members of the Archanum were immediately on alert. My guess is they sensed the blood and saw their leader covered in the carcass of some foreign creature. They looked around warily and I heard one whisper, “What is it?” I tried not to smile as I watched them scramble over to Radeon to get a closer look, but couldn’t help myself.

I was happy. I finally showed them something new. Something they had never seen before. I wondered if they would stop treating me like an outsider now, maybe they would look at me with a newfound respect just like Radeon seemed to.

I could tell the Archanum had been watching our arrival since before we even got within sight. They were staring intently and some were grinning ear to ear while others held on to their weapons ready to attack if necessary.

I wondered how they felt about it? Were they angry or excited? Did they want to know what we found or was there another reason for their excitement? Why was a good hunt something impressive to them? I wondered about what kind of customs they had on anok. I found myself becoming more and more curious about this new place.

I threw a strap over the wing of the transport ship and fixed it to the hind legs of the deer, heaving it up until its horns laid gingerly against the grassy turf.

I turned to face it so I could get to work. The Archanum closed in so they could inspect it better, and found their gazes focused on the animal. They must've been wondering what it was, or maybe what it tastes like. I could understand that.

I used Radeon'sblade to slice the skin away from the muscle inside the pocket of elastic-like cartilage. It came loose easily and I dropped to my knees and started working my way across the front, making sure my knife didn't hit any tender spots.

It felt amazing. The smell wafted through the trees and my senses were heightened by it. By blood.. I wondered why, the idea of it had my eyebrows knitting together.

I breathed deeply and smiled at the sweet aroma floating past my nose.
There, I thought. That should be enough meat for tonight. And if they wanted more they were welcome to go ahead and help themselves.

Somewhere along the way, Radeon disappeared and I wondered where he had gone. I knew his absence bothered me. I had missed him after our moment by the fire and I wanted to feel his touch again, even if it was just a hand on my knee.

I sighed and went back to the deer. It was dead and well-roasted. My stomach rumbled in response as I stared into its lifeless eyes. They were a beautiful shade of brown, almost amber. Its fur wasn't exactly silky but was soft and wavy, a little wirey. I ran my fingers through it a little absentmindedly.

I heard rustling behind me and turned to see my companion approaching silently and standing over me.

“Are you ready to eat?" Radeon asked. I nodded absently, trying to keep myself focused, but I was still hungry.
He grinned down at me, a smirk playing at his lips, “Then let's eat."

He reached down to pick up a piece of flesh. He put it up to his mouth and sunk his teeth into it. I watched him chew with an interested look.
When he was finished he handed it over to me, “Eat." He instructed. "it tastes good.”

I took it, smiling slightly. "Humans don't really eat raw meat." I admitted.

He raised an eyebrow in question. “It is too…raw?" he laughed heartily.

“We cook most meats," I continued.

"The Anokhian prefer raw meat to cooked, though we do cook some meat in metal containers that infuse the meat with flavors on special occasions" he explained. I felt intrigued by this small bit of information and hoped that he would show me one day.

I sharpened the end of a stick and speared the meat, hanging the flesh over the coals that lay along the bottom of the fire pit. It dropped its juices into the coals and I relished the sound as I turned the meat. My stomach grumbled as I pulled the meat toward me preparing to taste it.

I bit into the meat, it tasted just as I imagined. The texture was tough but flavorful, the meat had a nice crispness to it, the flavor was salty but not overly so. I hummed happily and licked my lips.

He chuckled. “You’re very expressive.” He noted. “You humans express your feelings quite differently than us.” he continued. "how can you tell when someone is expressing their feeling? You only have five senses, how can you read each person's mood?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged. “Sometimes it’s difficult,” I paused, thinking. “and sometimes I don’t really care. But it’s fun to try and figure everything out, to find things that people don't normally show.”

“like me.”He said.

I nodded and smiled up at him. “Can you tell me something about yourself?” I asked him.

He tilted his head and frowned. “About myself?” he repeated.

I nodded. “Yeah, why did you come down here? Why did you want to help me after I shot you."

He hesitated, thinking.

“I am a prince.” He answered at length. “and because I was bored I decided to make friends, I wanted to know more about you." he replied matter of factly.

“And you were bored, that explains it.” I chuckled.

“No, no,” he shook his head and grinned.

"Do all royal Anokhian princes behave this way?" I shot back annoyed.

He growled, his deep red markings highlighted under his skin. "don't compare me to Phaèryon." he warned. My cheeks reddened out of embarrassment. I'd never seen Radeon like this.

“sorry." I apologized quickly.

He nodded once and we fell silent. I ate my meat, noticing that my hands were still covered in blood, though it didn't bother me much. He then stood to leave.

I stopped him. “Where are you going?” I asked.

“to bed." He replied, giving me a half smile.

“do you sleep?” I queried. he nodded. “Goodnight then,” I said.

He turned back to look at me. "I hope you enjoyed the food" he commented.

He walked away without waiting for a reply.

I sat in silence for a few minutes and contemplated what just happened. I glanced at the rest of the group and saw them talking among themselves. A few minutes later I left and joined them.

The conversation quickly quieted down the moment I joined them. I saw one of the guys staring at me intently. I glared at him and he quickly averted his gaze.

“Why is everyone looking at me like that?” I asked confused.

The guy beside me snorted. “Like what?” he questioned.

I rolled my eyes, “You know exactly what I mean.”

He shrugged, “We just think it’s interesting. we haven’t met a human yet.” one offered.

"yet, even you aren't quite human, are you?" another said.

"that's enough." Radeon grabbed my wrist, pulling me back toward his shelter.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"You need to learn to control your emotions," he replied.

I huffed, "I didn't do anything!" I protested.

"Exactly. you didn't DO anything." he held my arm, showing me the red hue that radiated from my skin. "they're confused by this. you shouldn't possess our power."

I shook my head. "I'm just as confused as everyone else,"I told him.

I've been trying to keep my chapters around 1k words, so I had to stop here. More coming soon!