Transcendence(25)

The firelight glitters in her eyes as they crinkle up in the corners, and she tosses her head back as the sounds come out of her mouth. She wraps her arms around her stomach, and her whole body shakes with her laughter.

I give her a big smile, trying to contain whatever it is bubbling in my chest. As I smile at her, she stops laughing, and the pink tinge covers her cheeks again. This time when I reach out to touch the warm spot on her cheek, she doesn’t pull away from me. I run my thumb over her cheekbone, and the color deepens.

Beh makes soft sounds as her eyes stay locked with mine. Leaning toward her, I watch closely to see if she will move away from me. When she does not, I touch the tip of my nose to her cheek and run it along the bone there. I inhale slowly, memorizing and savoring the scent of my mate.

Her hand covers mine where it still lies on her other cheek. She pulls it away from her skin, and I try not to feel too disappointed as she pushes me gently away with the palm of her hand on my chest. She still holds my hand between hers, laying it on her lap as she laces her fingers together with mine.

My mate is scared. I’m pretty sure it’s not me she fears, but still, she is afraid of something.

I move closer to her, shifting myself to one side so our thighs are touching, and we are both facing the fire. One arm is crossed over my body, my hand still grasped in between hers. I wrap my other arm around her shoulders and pull her close to me. Beh lets out a long, shuddering sigh as she places her head on my shoulder.

I’m going to have to be very gentle with her.

Beh rests her head on my shoulder as the fire slowly turns to coals. I’m a little chilled without the wrap around my shoulders, and I realize my mate may also be getting cold. I turn to look at her and notice her eyes are closed. She has fallen asleep sitting up, leaning against me.

I wriggle my hand out of her grasp and try to move slowly as I turn toward her, slip my arm under her knees, and lift her up. I carry her to the back of the cave and lay her down in the middle of the furs. Once I verify she’s sleeping soundly, I rebuild the fire and check around outside for any danger before I join her.

As soon as I lie down, she rolls to her side and tucks her head against my chest. I start to smile, but I see a single tear on her cheek as I wrap my arm around her, and my smile disappears. I pull the fur around us both, making sure it is tucked around her tightly before I lay my head down and close my eyes.

When I open them again, I’m met with my mate’s gaze. Though I’m disoriented for a moment, the warmth of her body in the furs is welcoming in the cool morning air. One of my arms is still around her middle, and I pull her a little closer to me as I touch the top of her shoulder with my nose. She smiles, and my morning is perfect.

Beh only eats a small amount of the dried antelope meat and drinks a sip of water for her breakfast. I’m worried that she does not eat enough food to give her strength and wonder if she is already concerned that we will not have enough for the winter. I decide she must begin collecting food, so I bring her the reeds so she can start making collecting baskets. As I approach her, she tilts her head to one side and looks from me to the reeds.

She doesn’t start weaving. Instead, she gets some of the mint leaves she gathered the day before and rubs them against her teeth, much like she had with the end of her clothing back at the lake. When she’s done, she chews up another leaf and then goes just outside the cave to rinse her mouth with water from the water skin.

I follow her to keep her safe.

When she’s done, she hands me some of the mint leaves. Unlike Beh, I did eat enough for breakfast, and I’m no longer hungry. When I don’t do anything with the leaves, Beh sighs and takes them from me. Then she makes me open my mouth and rubs my teeth like she did with hers. Afterwards, my mouth tastes cool, and my teeth are smooth again.

I look to my mate and blink a few times, licking my teeth and lips with my tongue. Beh chuckles and reaches up to wipe a bit of mint from my mouth. She hands me the water skin, and I rinse my mouth with the water like she did before we go back into the cave.

Beh goes to the edge of the fire and calls out my name-sound. I sit down next to her and look over the reeds I gathered. I hope she’s ready to start weaving, but she isn’t. Instead, she pokes her finger into the dirt and swirls it around. She uses my name-sound, points at the swirls in the dirt, and then points at other things. Considering how insistent she was about bathing, I’m surprised she wants to play in the dirt.

After a while, I grow tired of it all. I have no idea what she’s doing, and I see no reason for it. Trying to direct her toward something useful, I pick up the reeds again and present them to Beh as she sits on the floor. She doesn’t do anything, so I reach out and push the reeds at her a little more. Beh continues to just look at me in confusion, and I wish I had a basket to show her so she would know it is baskets we need, not mats or something else. I’m not even sure what else could be made out of reeds, but Beh should know.