"How far do you think we are from the manx stable?" Madhava asked as he walked beside Dagaa and Providence.
"Not more than a mile or two, I imagine. The frightened manx was heading that way. If we follow its trail through the woods, we should make it before nightfall."
"I can walk." Providence insisted.
"Not happening beautiful." Dagaa clutched her tighter.
Providence sighed as she nodded. Dagaa was right, she was sore from falling off the manx, and was still worked up and shaking, probably couldn't really walk even if she wanted to.
It wasn't long before they reached the stables and found the three wayward manx, along with their handler. The male was more than happy to take them via transport back to the treehouse.
"I'm going to start a fire. How about you two go bathe?" Madhava suggested as he split off from them.
Dagaa walked down towards the river and set Providence on a rock. He rinsed, stripping off his bloody clothes in the water, and then ducked quickly beneath the surface to wash the gore out of his hair. He stayed a pace away from Providence and kept her in his sights the entire time. He was clearly as rattled by their ordeal as she was.
As worked up as she was, Providence still appreciated the sight of her man as he flipped his long wet black hair over his shoulder, the water running down his chest as he approached her on the shore.
Providence raised her arms as Dagaa pulled her bloody shirt off, rinsed it thoroughly, then used it to clean the rest of the blood that had gotten on her. His fingers tenderly brushed her cheek as he held her face in his hands.
"Oh Providence." He whispered at a loss for words to express how he felt at the moment.
Providence looked into Dagaa's eyes. They swirled with emotions too great for either of them to express.
Madhava joined them and bathed. He too watched her as he rapidly washed. Then the three of them returned to the campfire. It didn't take long for the fire to go from a steady burn to a roaring blaze. Madhava and Dagga sat naked on either side of Providence, soaking up the heat as it grew dark.
Providence calmed markedly as they soothingly rubbed her back.
"I am sorry that damn beast ruined everything." Dagaa groused sounding very dejected.
Providence looked up at his disappointed expression.
"It’s not ruined." She smiled. "I'm okay, you guys are okay. I was mostly freaked out watching you two fight that thing. You could've been hurt." Providence said as she touched Dagaa's cheek.
"The fire should keep any metcor in the area at bay." Madhava said with a frown.
"So that's the metcor I hear you all talking about. Now I know why it’s an insult. That was one nasty son of a bitch." Providence shivered at the memory of its salivating mouth full of sharp teeth. "You two were very impressive." Providence said as she admired her nude men. "As much as I like looking at you. You might want to put something on before a predator of the insect variety decides to attack." She suggested.
Dagaa grinned then took off into the treehouse.
"I nearly had a heart attack when I heard the metcor growl and saw it cornering you." Madhava pulled her close, his arms wrapping around her tight.
"Thank you for coming to my rescue." Providence kissed his chest then turned her face up to his.
Madhava captured her lips in a bruising kiss. She felt his fear and relief as his tongue breached her mouth. Providence palmed his cheeks, running her fingers over the stubble on his chin.
"I better make dinner, Madhava is clearly hungry." Dagaa said.
Madhava pulled back and chuckled. His eyes danced in the firelight.
Providence pulled on one of the cloaks Dagaa brought, tugging it closed as she cozied up to the fire again. Dagaa pulled out the steaks and spitted them, searing them over the fire.
"That smells mouthwatering. With all the craziness, I didn't realize I was starving." Providence said as her stomach growled.
"I agree. Dagaa is a pretty good cook. I've eaten better than I have in years." Madhava declared as he rubbed his belly as if he was putting on excess weight.
"I'm average in the kitchen. How about you, are you a good cook?" Dagaa asked Providence.
"Not too shabby. I hope to help out more when I get more familiar with everything." Providence was still getting familiar with the Cadi cuisine.
"I noticed you liked the padana whenever we've made it." Dagaa replied.
"What is a padana?"
"It's a fur bearing, grazing beast about the size of a manx. We keep herds of them." Madhava explained.
"It sounds like the cows we have back home." Providence replied.
"Wait a minute I thought a cow was one of your deities?" Dagaa asked looking confused.