A bunch of options I don't like. "Could be Shaalyn."
"Yuck."
"Or other corsairs looking to make a score."
"Also yuck."
"Poachers stealing carinoux?"
"Even more yuck." Alice frowns. "All these options suck."
"There's also gladiator schools to think about or my personal favorite—murderers hiding out from the law."
"Goody." Alice crosses her arms under her breasts, and I'm pretty sure she's doing it to distract me. "What's this about going scouting again?"
"Me," I say. "In the morning. Going scouting. I want to see if I can find out what I'm up against."
"I'll go with you."
I scoff. "No you won't. You're going to stay up here nice and safe and the moment I'm down on the ground, you're going to pull up the ladder."
She saunters over to my side, determination on her face. "No. I'm going with you. Enough of this splitting up bullshit. I didn't like it the other day and I sure don't like it now." She smacks her fist into her open hand. "We do a little reconnaissance, we see what the deal is, and then we figure out how to get rid of them." She points at me. "And we stay together the entire keffing time."
Kef me, I love it when she cusses. "What happened to being apart would be like practicing for the farm planet?"
"We'll talk about that later," she says in an abrupt voice. "For now, we need to plan."
I do love a female with a plan.
55
ALICE
If Kas thinks he's getting out of my sight again, he's about to meet the world's first human barnacle. I'm going to be stuck on his ass so hard they'll have to scrape me off. He's not going anywhere without me, period.
The next morning, we dress to go out hiking. Kaspar keeps giving me unhappy looks, and I know he wants to leave me behind. That is absolutely not happening, though. I wear my longest skirt and a tube top to cover my tits. I lace up my makeshift boots and tie my hair back into two ratty knots atop my head. I grab one of the makeshift spears we've made out of broken glass from the old pod and some branches. I hide one of our knives underneath the knot in my tube top, tucked between my tits.
If we meet something, I'm ready.
Kas bristles with makeshift weapons, too. I can't help but notice that he puts on his old, worn shirt, probably to hide the knives he's got strapped across his chest. He loops our spare rope around his neck like a scarf so he can climb down, and tosses our spears to the ground. Then, he squints at the skies. "Looks like it's muggy already. Probably going to rain soon. You sure you don't want to stay behind?"
"I'm sure," I say grimly. "Nice try, though."
He grins at me. "I'm always going to try."
"Fair enough." I pat my weapons, deliberately not looking down the rope ladder. I've gone up and down it a handful of times in the last few months, and it never gets easier. "Ready when you are."
Kaspar leans over and drags me against him, kissing the top of my head. "You stay behind me at all times if we run into someone, understand? You let me and Sterre handle the action. You're not allowed to risk your life."
"Got it." Like I plan on letting anyone risk their lives.
He sighs heavily, then lowers the rope ladder back down to the ground, and we begin the arduous, un-fun task of getting out of our treetop home. By the time my feet touch the ground, the sun is high and the hanging mist in the air has turned to a gentle rain. Sterre climbs down the tree like her feet are covered with suction cups and she's there to greet me by the time my feet touch earth. She rubs against me hard, pressing her head against my belly and being unusually affectionate. She prances around us, her tail up, and bounds like a kitten between the ferns.
I squint at her, curious. "She's sure in a good mood. You think she likes us being on the ground?"
"With that beast, who can say?" Kas holds my spear out to me. "Let's try and stay quiet on the forest floor, just in case anyone's listening."
I stick my tongue out at him. Of course I'll be quiet. Like I need a reminder. (Except I did, I just don't want him to know it.)
He sets off into the undergrowth, and I follow close behind him, Sterre dancing around us and making all of our stealth seem kind of silly. We follow the stream for a bit, and when Kas asks me what direction the man I spotted went, I point it out. We head that way, going cross-country and pausing every now and then to look for footprints.
There's nothing, though, and I don't know if I'm relieved or worried. Either no one's been through here in a long, long time—or they're too clever to leave footprints behind. I glance down at the mud we're walking through and want to cringe at the footprints we're leaving, plain as day. Maybe this isn't a good idea after all.