The smell of the soup was fantastic, and I was getting really impatient waiting for him to finally say it was done. He brought me snacks in the form of berries and they were good; I wanted the soup and wanted it about two hours ago. He had it out of the coals now, to slow cook or something like that. I knew I was pestering him when he placed himself between me and the fire, so I couldn't check on the pot. This frustrated me, but I stayed on the other side of the hut.
"Relax, it will be done soon."
"When is soon?"
"Soon is when it's done."
"Right."
I laid back on the furs and watched him. He was sharpening his spear; it surprised me he made his spear tip of thick stone shards. They had tons of metal and I was sure they could figure out how to cast it. He was running the sides of the stone blades against another stone. I was pretty sure that wouldn't make the stone blade any sharper.
He worked on the small knife he kept on the shelf; he pulled the stone shard out and just replaced it. I watched him thoroughly; he bound the blade back in with some leather cording and swung it around, checking to make sure it didn't fly out. He further checked it by taking his hair down and bringing the blade towards the ends of his hair. I closed my eyes because I didn't want to watch him wreak his hair. When I peeked through my hands, he was checking on only a single strand and he hummed differently. Then before, this was like a hum of satisfaction.
I assumed this was a good thing. He put the knife back and looked at me. His eyes scanned over me and I finally got the courage to ask him why he helped me himself.
"Wilder?"
"Hm?"
"I have an interesting question to ask you?"
He remained silent, his eyes locked on me now; I had his full attention.
"Why did you bring me here and not to your mother's first? Your mother said you don't normally get involved and caring for something like this is odd for you. So then I have to ask, what are you using me to delay or stop from happening?"
He didn't look surprised, or even shocked, just frowned.
"You're right, I am using you. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing horrible."
"Explain it to me?"
"Alright. I have a few ladies in the village that would like to have children with me. They won't let it go, and you are the perfect thing to keep them away."
"Did you talk to your mother about this?"
"No, absolutely not. She would be pleased to have grandchildren."
"I feel like your mother would understand you're not interested right now."
"You have a lot of faith in my mother, and yet you hardly know her."
"She gives off a really comfortable feeling. I feel like I can trust her."
"Yes, she does."
"As for your problem with the ladies, how will you fix it?"
"You are my deterrent right now, but for how long will they respect even your boundaries?"
"How long have you been dealing with this?"
"Over a year. It's the reason I keep myself busy and far away from them. They bother me at every chance they get."
"I see. I had a feeling you were using me. You don't seem to enjoy my presence sometimes. I've noticed in the few days I've been here."
"To be honest, it's not that I don't enjoy your presence. I'm not used to having another person to care for, and it is odd to me."
"You have my permission if needed to tell your mother or the others, that the reason you are ok with keeping me here, for however long, is that you wanted a companion? Someone you could teach me because you said I'm still young."
He switched the subject by saying that dinner was finished. I got the hint; he didn't want to speak about this anymore and that was ok; it was a strange subject. He pulled the bird out and set it in a larger clay bowl, waiting for it to cool. Washing his hands, pulled out some more clay bowls, set them on the ledge and sat back down. He washed his hands again before putting his hair back up and then he washed them again. It surprised me to see him wash his hands so many times. He relaxed on the floor. When he sat down, you could see it instantly.
He turned his attention to me again, this time focusing on me like he had never done before.
"Show me your gift again?"
"I don't know how I did the first time?"
"Come here, I think it has to be touch-based and something to do with touching your hands. Both times were with your hands."
"Maybe."
I got closer to him, scooting out of the furs and towards him. When I got close enough, I took his hand lightly and tried to feel something. A deep longing filled my chest, but I didn't know where it had originally come from, me or him. It was so strange and new; it was unlike anything I had ever felt before.
The only thing I could even think to describe it as was a live wire, a large open link between us. He seemed to feel it too; he took his other hand and touched mine with it. That made the whole thing much stronger, and it made me all too aware of feelings in his body, but in return, he realised all of mine. There was nothing at that moment we could hide from each other.
Even when we pulled away some of that bond, we just had lingered and I could feel how close he was to me, and that was the scary thing.
"I can feel how close you are to me, even without needing to see you."
"So it's not just me then..."
"You can feel it?"
"It's like a soft tickle on all my senses."
"Strange."
He got up, pulling the meat off the bird and placing it back in the pot. Using a clean bowl, he poured some food for us both, but let it sit on the ledge to cool. I didn't have the time to wait; I was starving.
"Did you know I can see every insignificant detail about you, right down to every single small freckle on your face, even in the darkest black?"
"I didn't know that."
"You also have blue eyes, but they don't look blue unless you look closely. They have a green and brown ring. It's thin, but it makes them look hazel."
"Really? I always thought they were hazel."
"No, they are bluer than anything. I saw them the first night I looked at you by the fire."
"You scared me then. I didn't know you were there and the only thing I saw was the silver of your eyes in the blackness. Even when you sat down by the fire, you still scared me."
"You were going to cry when I filled your fire pit in. I saw the frustration on your face. I felt sorry for you then, but you were so tired looking in the dark, I knew I had to let you sleep before anything else."
"I was terrified when you grabbed me and pulled me into the jungle. I did not know you guys were even here."
"That's understandable. If some strange man came out of the bush, said nothing for a bit and then killed my fire, all well carrying a spear, I would be too."
"I didn't even see your spear till you sat down."
"Really?"
"Yes."
He got up and checked the temperature of the soup before he took both bowls and brought them over, handing me mine before sitting down with his own. He brought it up to his lips and sipped it slowly. I followed his lead and did the same thing. The soup was amazing. It was by far the best thing I had to eat yet. While I was here.
He finished his food off before I did. I was savouring the good flavours and tender meat of the bird. He took my bowl when I was done. Our hands brushed, but it wasn't enough to give me anything more than a strange sensation on the skin there.
"Show me where you clean the pots and I can do it. I want to help. It's only fair. You have been looking after me."
"For my own selfish needs."
"Sometimes, you need to be selfish and put your needs above the needs of others. Trust me. It's how I got here."
He hummed, which seemed like something he did when he chose not to use actual words. Taking the hand he had resting on his leg, setting it in his. I hoped he could feel my emotions; I was sure I was pushing them to him. They were not feelings of anger and sadness, but relief and contentment. Looking up, his eyes locked on to me again; he closed his hand around mine tightly and I felt the feelings shift; he was showing me his own feelings.
There were a lot of things that I felt. The biggest among them were frustration and annoyance. But the feelings he pushed closer, it almost seemed, were pleasant feelings.
"The frustration and the annoyance come from the women, don't they?"
"Yes, it's all I feel when they don't listen to my reasons for not wanting to help them have children. They are supposed to respect my wishes. They don't, however."
"That is frustrating."
When our hands were severed and we split the connection, it seemed to linger on, faintly. It wasn't as faint as earlier; it had grown ever slightly, and I wondered if he could feel it too, but he didn't comment on it, he didn't even give me a hum. I was worried about using it on him any further. He had felt the connection earlier in the day. He could also sense how close I was to him, like could him to me. I was leaving something behind every time, and it was getting stronger.
I was going to have to experiment with this power. I didn't want to leave a lasting effect on anyone if they weren't aware of it. Looking down at my hands, I balled them up. He seemed to notice me. His eyes were on me, and the small smile he gave. I felt every single thing; I knew without even having to look at him. It was alarming to me.