Page 34 of Diamond

That is something we both agree on, but I refuse to admit it to him. I inspect the wound he just stitched and appreciate his neat work, then scoff. A skill learned from a life of violence, no doubt.

"Will these have to be removed by hand when the wound heals?" I ask, my tone still stiff.

He crouches to look under Roshan, but the animal is not having it, shifting his body and snapping out at the alien.

"They will disappear."

The alien hisses, and we struggle for a few more long minutes until he can get a few stitches in.

"That will have to be good enough," the large male grunts out and the aching in my body once again agrees with him.

My mind seethes at the mere thought of that agreement, but holding a grudge never helped anyone, as mymamanalways said. I nod my head and kiss Roshan's nose.

"Thank you," I say hesitantly.

I know that I don't have to, but I do it anyway because my parents raised me right, which is more than I can say for him.

19

Kuret

I wouldn't have imagined her ever thanking me for anything, especially not after how our interactions have gone so far. Judging from the look on her face, she didn't expect it either.

I do not know if it is the lack of disgust on her face or her thanks, but I feel like a bit of my honor has been restored. She might trust me a bit more after this.

It will definitely be a different story with the animal, though. I can see its yellow eyes still filled with distrust and anger, staring daggers straight at me. I ignore it. My priority is the female and her safety.

As if to mar the calm sands between us, she turns away from me. "Do you go around wounding innocent people and animals just so you can fix them up and earn their trust?"

I frown and turn to her to insist that I would never do anything like that again, but the look on her face tells me that it is no use trying to change her mind… for now.

A surge of loneliness and regret rises. I have lost everyone I care about. All my friends are gone, just like that. Now, I am left with a female I'm supposed to protect, but I have a feeling she is going to make it very difficult.

My mind's on fire, aching for someone to talk all this through with. Samke's face with those big ears, keeps popping into my mind, then that large manticorid. I need another male to help me make sense of this female. I have so many thoughts in my mind about this place, but I must maintain the proper boundaries as her guard.

It will be a long journey back before I can talk with Thivoll about them. Even then, there is no guarantee he would welcome my friendship, and it hurts my hearts to have yet another reminder of the bonds I have lost.

I realize she is still looking at me with distaste, wondering about my motivations. "No," I reply. "It is a tool I reclaimed from the hunters I killed. I learned how to use it from Ree, a woman like you."

"Yes, you said that. Tell me more about her."

The animal pushes into her a little, causing her to lose her footing.

I reach out a hand to steady her, placing it at the small of her back so she falls on it instead of the ground.

Her protective companion lunges at me, but I dodge it., It snaps at the air and then bare its strange teeth at me.

It doesn't stop snarling at me, even when the woman tries to keep it calm, so I take a step back and start to make a clicking sound, hoping that will work. The same one we use to help calm young males who have just been pushed out of the cloister.

"He has a name," she says, supporting herself with a boulder now instead of the animal.

I can't blame the animal for its attitude, but it needs to stop or she is going to get injured… more injured.

Is it the animal's language she was just speaking? It would explain the loyalty I have seen from this animal, which should be as alien to her as it is to me.

"A name. He told you this?"

"Of course not," she says with a huff in her voice. "I can't talk to animals. I named him."

---