He had just left, and she felt a mix of frustration and hope. They had made a breakthrough in their communication, and she couldn't help but feel good about it. Yet, his sudden departure left a lingering disappointment in her chest. Sticking her head out of the shelter, she scanned the surrounding forest, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but it was as if he had vanished into thin air. Just like that, less than a click had passed and he was gone.
Letting out a heavy huff, she reminded herself that this was not uncommon. The being had often left her alone before to go hunt or do whatever he did when he was away from her. It was a part of their routine, and she had come to accept it. Although she longed to be back on the ground, searching for Noey, the shelter was too high up in the trees. It made it impossible for her to leave unassisted, effectively trapping her.
Feeling restless, she decided to explore the shelter more thoroughly, hoping to find something she had missed before. It was cave-like, constructed from large, gnarled tree branches meticulously intertwined to form a solid structure. The craftsmanship was impressive, reflecting the being's ingenuity and understanding of his environment. The floor of the shelter, spanning an impressive eight meters across and seemingly endless in length, was made of a substantial, wide tree branch. Its worn surface was well-trodden, bearing the marks of several revolutions and possibly dectrons.
Examining the shelter, she noticed the small, hidden nooks scattered about, full of the being's provisions and belongings. Moss and leaves lined the walls, providing insulation and comfort. It was a home, and one that seemed to have served the being well for a long time.
As she ran her hands along the rough surface of the branches, she couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for the being's resourcefulness. He had provided her with a safe haven amidst the unknown. She had come to rely on him, even if recently she felt like he was more of a jailer than a savior.
She wondered what drew him away from her so abruptly. She knew there were hidden dangers on the planet. His battered appearance the incycle before was proof of that. What if the creature that had ripped him up before was still out there? What if he never came back?
She tried not to dwell on the potential dangers out there in the unknown and resolved to use this time to reflect on their communication breakthrough. They had made progress. She considered how to communicate with a species that had no concept of spoken language and deduced that images might be helpful if she could find something to draw with.
She sifted through a cubbyhole, examining each item meticulously as she searched for something useful. Within the nooks, the being's belongings were neatly stored in baskets woven from thick grasses, leaves, or vines. The first few baskets contained mostly dried foods, nuts, herbs, and other plant materials she didn't recognize. Strange rocks and sticks were occasionally mixed in, but nothing caught her eye as potentially useful.
In other baskets, she found carefully folded leaves enveloping pastes and salves. One hollowed-out gourd sloshed with an unknown liquid when she moved it. While she was certain all these items held significance for the being, they seemed useless to her.
The moon's faint glow seeped through the shelter's entrance, dimly illuminating the interior. As she pulled out the last basket, a glint caught her eye within its depths. Before she could investigate further, her attention was jolted by movement at the entrance. Turning she let out a scream of surprise and fear. There stood a beast she had only ever read about or seen in holo vids – a saurgris. She had once heard that a menagerie on the pleasure planet Sido housed one, but she could never afford to see it in person.
She couldn't pinpoint what had alerted her to its presence, but she was grateful for the warning. The beast slunk into the room, its tail lashing behind it. Although much smaller than the specimens she had read about, likely a kit, she had no doubt it could easily kill her.
Raising her hands with palms outward, she backed away slowly, putting more space between her and the beast. It advanced with a lowered head and bared teeth. Her back hit the wall as the predator closed in, its muscles coiled, ready to strike.
The saurgris crept closer, its movements languid yet purposeful. She studied its eyes - not the soulless orbs of a mindless killer as she had expected, but intelligent, cautious spheres analyzing her with undisguised curiosity rather than malice. The beast's body language, too, lacked the outright aggression one would anticipate from such a feared apex predator. Perhaps the tales of the saurgris' viciousness were merely exaggerations born from fear and ignorance of its true nature.
Slowly, carefully, she extended a trembling hand, her breath catching in her throat as the saurgris' nostrils flared, sampling her scent. Just as its maw parted, revealing rows of dagger-like fangs, a sudden blur of movement filled the shelter's entrance. Her companion had returned, bellowing a guttural roar that reverberated through the very walls. He launched himself at the saurgris, his powerful limbs and razor-sharp claws tangling with the beast in a frenzied, violent dance.
The two monsters rolled and thrashed, snarls and agonized growls filling the air as they sought to overpower one another. Though fierce and determined, the being was severely injured, his tattered flesh weeping crimson. The saurgris was winning the fight.
Fearing her companion might not emerge victorious, her eyes darted around frantically, desperately seeking anything she could wield as a weapon. That's when she remembered the glint from the basket - a sharp rock or tool, perhaps. Without a second's hesitation, she snatched up the basket and upended it, spilling its contents across the floor.
There, gleaming in the moonlight, lay her crawler. Forgetting the raging battle, she fell upon the helmet, hastily securing it around her head. The crawler immediately engaged, seeming to awaken from its dormant state as the automatic neural connections sunk into her scalp, sending cascades of signals along her neural pathways and rousing unused sections of her brain to conscious awareness.
The being maintained a defensive stance, deflecting the saurgris' relentless attacks but too battered to retaliate effectively. Letting out a primal scream, she turned to face the snarling beast, her heart thundering in her ears. The saurgris swung its lethal gaze towards her and unleashed a bone-chilling screech. It lunged forward, cavernous maw agape, fangs snapping mere inches from her face.