Page 23 of Entangled in the Woods
“There is something we can do, but I don’t think you guys will go for it.” I looked at her and then back at Gavrill, who had beenstanding by us the entire time we had been working, quiet with his arms crossed.
“Lay it on me.” Kleio stood up, brushing the dirt from her hands. Her claws retracted beneath her skin.
“Well, I’ve read about fertilizing a plant with…blood.” Neither of them said anything, and I couldn’t gauge their reactions. “Blood has potassium in it, among other nutrients that are good for root development.”
Kleio looked at me and smiled. “I know whose blood would work great!” She turned to Gavrill; a startled look covered his face.
“Nope, not happening,” he said, shaking his head at her.
“Come on, Gavrill. You’ve been standing there his whole time while Elise and I have been hard at work saving a life. It’s the least you could do.”
Kleio walked over to him, making big doe eyes at him. He stood there, avoiding eye contact with her on purpose.
“Elise and I are covered in dirt. It would be just a little bit of blood, right?” She turned to me for reassurance.
“Yeah, just a little bit,” I said.
“See, Gavrill, just a little blood and you can save a life today!”
Gavrill looked at me before he made the mistake of finally looking Kleio in the eye. I could see his willpower breaking as his face went slack. Kleio was hard to say no to.
“Fine—only a little blood,” Gavrill said.
“Yay!” Kleio clapped her hands together before looking to me for direction.
“We need to dilute the blood with water,” I said.
Gavrill took off his backpack and reached inside, pulling out a bottle of water. He handed it to me, and I opened the cap. He brought his left index finger to his mouth, pushing the pad into one of his sharp canines. Blood immediately pooled around the wound when he removed it from his mouth. I held out the bottleas he squeezed his finger. The blood dripped, then expanded as soon as it hit the water, creating billowing red clouds that disappeared, turning the water an opaque red color.
“That’s enough,” I said. I closed the cap and shook the bottle, mixing the homemade fertilizer. Gavrill brought his finger to his mouth, sucking on his finger to end the bleeding.
I extended the shaken bottle to Kleio. “You do the honors.” She brought it close to the trunk of the tree, sprinkling the mixture gently over the dirt.
“Wow, that felt good. Let’s save another tree!” she exclaimed.
I laughed at her enthusiasm. It was always a good thing to have another plant person in the world.
“We’d best head back—it’s getting late,” said our babysitter.
Kleio and I looked down at our hands and arms, both blackened with the rich soil of the forest. She winked at me before leaping onto Gavrill, hugging him with her dirty arms. “Oh, Gavrill, thank you for saving the tree with your blood!”
“Ugh, Kleio get off me.” Gavrill pushed her off him. He did his best to brush the dirt off his own arms and shirt, but he was unsuccessful.
“Maybe next time we go scavenging, you’ll think twice before chaperoning us. You’ve been a grump all weekend.” Kleio playfully stuck her tongue out at him.
Gavrill didn’t respond to the juvenile behavior. He turned around and led the way out of the forest and back to Camp. Kleio linked her arm in the crook of my elbow, and we walked arm in arm out of the forest.
“Just in time,” Kostas said as he greeted us inside the main tent, where he had been hard at work making dinner—more meat and vegetables. This seemed to be the shifters’ diet. I wasn’t complaining as I sat down and loaded my plate with medium-rare steak and green beans.
The tent flaps flew open, blowing in a breeze that smelled like sweat and blood. We all looked up from the table to see Everett and Wilder enter the tent. They both looked exhausted. Dark bags rimmed under their eyes, and their brown hair was wild and unkept.
“How’d it go today?” Gavrill asked Everett as he made a plate of food for him.
“We caught ten more. Up to thirteen.” Everett dropped into his chair and didn’t pause before he started shoveling food into his mouth. I doubted he had eaten yet today.
Wilder sat next to him with a plate of food that Gavrill had also dished up. I found myself staring at Everett, mesmerized by how fast he was eating. Did he chew his food? He caught me staring, and I quickly found a bean on my plate that was very interesting.
“That’s good,” Gavrill said. “We’re on track. Are any of the other teams giving you trouble?” He had a concerned look on his face. I remembered Kostas shaking his head knowingly when the True Alpha had spoken about following the tournament rules.
