Page 20 of Resisting the Alien Rider

“When you’re finished with her tent,” I said in a low voice to Killian, holding out my bedroll “put this inside it.”

I need not have made such an effort to keep my voice down. Magnolia did not so much as turn around. Human hearing truly was pathetic. But as much as I wanted to feel a snarly sort of smugness at that, all I felt was the constriction of foreboding in my guts. Poor hearing could be dangerous out here.

Poor hearing could be dangerous anywhere.

Oaken had good hearing, of course. But he was also injured and would need time to heal. Would he be able to take proper care of her?

I shoved that thought from my mind when I realized that Killian had not taken the bedroll.

“Killian,” I grunted. I frowned. It was not unusual for Killian to ignore me, but I doubted he would when it came to something that would benefit Magnolia. No, he was acting as if he hadn’t heard me at all.

I hoisted the packed bedroll up and tapped him on the top of the head with the bundle. He’d already removed his hat and the leather made contact with his right ear. I’d made sure to tap him only lightly, a way to both gently reprimand him and get his attention, but he violently flinched and then bared his fangs in avicious hiss as if I’d hit him the way my father would have.

And my father would have hit him hard.

“What is it?” I asked, leaning towards him with narrowed eyes as he rubbed viciously at the base of his right ear. There did not seem to be any outer damage to it, no sunburn or cuts, nothing that would have warranted such a reaction. Our ears were sensitive, but I’d barely touched him with the soft, worn leather.

“Nothing,” he snapped. He gave his ear a sharp tug and then shook his head so vigorously it was a wonder his brain wasn’t bruised by the end of it.

“You didn’t answer me,” I said, still eyeing him warily. Killian startled easily. Maybe that was it. “I want you to put this bedroll in Magnolia’s tent when you’re finished.”

“That one?” Killian’s big white eyes landed on the bedroll. “Isn’t that yours?”

“Keep your voice down,” I muttered, glancing back to see if Magnolia had noticed our exchange yet. She hadn’t. It had already been enough of a fight to get her to take my tent. I didn’t need to waste my breath going in circles explaining why she should take my bedroll, too. “Yes, it’s mine. She doesn’t have one.”

Killian finished securing the poles and hides for Magnolia’s tent with his hands, his tail wrapping around the bedroll to take it from my claws. With his tail, he tossed the bedroll into the tent. Good. Now it would be ready for her when she entered the tent. If she had an argument to make about it later, I’d justpretend to be asleep so that I did not have to acknowledge it.

“Is there somewhere we can go clean up?”

Magnolia had found whatever she’d wanted. She was standing and facing us now, holding a much smaller bag.

“Clean what?” I grunted at her as I went to get the collapsible troughs for filling. I grasped one with my tail and pulled it up into my hands.

“Like, my clothes,” she responded. Then, more quietly. “And my body.”

I dropped the trough.

“What are you doing?” Killian asked me, cocking his head in confusion at my uncharacteristic clumsiness.

Oh, nothing. Just casually losing my mind.

For a moment, it was very difficult to form words. Had I ever learned to speak? It somehow seemed unlikely.

“There’s water,” I finally managed to croak. “So… use it.”

“Great!” Magnolia replied. “I’ll be quick. I have to imagine it’ll be pretty cold in the water at night. But I don’t want to slow us down tomorrow when it’s sunny.”

Something inside me went sideways. Made me feel awfully uncentered.

I did not want her to be cold.

“If you get up early tomorrow and get packed and ready,” I told her, “we can wait until the sun’s up so it’s warmer for you.”

Killian gawked at me, no doubt knowing I would not have made an allowance such as this for anyone else. Magnolia smiled warmly in response. The thrown-sideways feeling intensified until I had to stop looking at her simply to make sure both my boots were still on my feet and that my feet were still on the ground.

“Thank you!” she breathed, hugging her little bag closer to her chest. “But it’s alright. I’d really like to have a quick wash now before bed. And give some of my clothes a rinse so I can hang them up overnight.”

I ripped off my hat and rubbed at the back of my neck vigorously, wondering how to coordinate Magnolia’s hygiene on our travels. She could not be in the water alone, that was certain. And I could not be with her while she was naked. That was even more certain.

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