47 BULLETS

I hopped out of the truck and went to go grab my skunk, but the body was covered in crawling roaches. "Eww. Darnit Thann!" I yelled into the air. "I wanted to eat that, but now there's bugs all over it." But then I contemplated if maybe the bugs were edible too. Other places even on Earth ate bugs. How desperate was I?

But as I watched I realized the roaches ate fast. More than half of the carcass was already gone, and they were even eating bone down. "Ick. Maybe I actually don't want those in my mouth." Then I added with a shiver, "or anywhere near me."

I kicked the whole writhing mass into the bushes.

I almost turned back to dig some potatoes when I realized I had a bucket full of goodies to try.

I had just set the last orange on the truck gate when Thann came strolling back into camp, holding the carcass of some skinned and cleaned animal. Maybe the size of a large pig from back home.

He held it up in pride. "Eat!"

"Yes," I laughed. "Eat for a month!" But as I considered Thann's build, I recounted. "Nah, maybe a week." I gestured proudly to my assortment of goodies. "Look, I can hunt too. But I need your help..."

He interrupted my thought, with a shrieking, "Sukumah!"

In nearly a moment I was pressed up against him, high in a tree.

"Holy Dothraki!" I shouted at the instant change. "What happened?!"

Thann was staring across the clearing to my truck, eyes twisted with confusion.

"Thann?"

"Sukumah," he stated harsh but curious.

"What's suckoomah?"

My glance followed his line of sight, and he was zeroed in on my skunk fur laid over the side of my truck.

"The skunk?" I asked.

I took a deeper look and noticed that both of Thann's daggers were stuck in the thing, attaching it to the metal. I giggled.

His eyes pointed back on me, almost daggers themselves.

My giggle turned into a chuckle. "The skunk? It's already dead. I skinned it. It's just a fur."

He turned back to the creature and scowled; still tense like he was waiting for it to get back up even though it had two knives plunged in its back.

Dude.

It was just a skunk. He was acting like it was a bigger threat than a werewolf.

"Let me down you oaf," I slapped his hands playfully until he reluctantly released me.

I started climbing down limbs and he followed, holding my hips to balance me on the final jump.

"Uh, thanks," I blushed.

He then inched forward, hands wide and outstretched, watching the skunk pelt like it was a nuclear bomb on its last seconds to blowing.

"Calm down Dothraki," I giggled. "It's dead. Kill."

"Kill?" He echoed and started walking straighter.

I strode around him and went to grab the dagger out when Thann hollered in terror and pushed me back behind him.

"It's just a skin dummy!" I tried to dart around him again, but he was too massive.

He ignored me and stepped forward giving a quick slap to the skunk's fur tail. Then he hopped back again like he was ready for an attack.

"It's dead Thann. Skunk is kill." I laughed then and he looked back to me confused. "Kill." I mimicked a pointed finger dragging over my neck. "Dead. Look." Then I turned back and reached for it.

He shouted and grabbed my hips, pulling me back against him. "Ungathinti," was spoken starkly in my ear.

"Oh give it a rest Thor." I slapped his hands and reached back for the fur, holding up the tail, trying to show that there was no body attached. "See? Kill."

His mouth dropped open and shock consumed his features.

I giggled.

With his stun, I stepped forward and I tried to unbury a dagger from my truck bed. But I couldn't budge it. Thann then stepped around cautiously and pulled them out easily. He unsurely lifted the pelt from the truck.

As he examined the fur, half his lips moved to a smile like he was trying to hold one back. His fingers moved down the open inside across the leftover tissues.

"I don't know how to cure it. Maybe you do?"

His voice was breathy, like disbelief still wore through him. "Sukumah kill. Yes-No."

I nodded with a proud smile. "Yep, uh I mean, Yes. El Suckooma kill."

"El." He gasped, his tan face paling. "El? El! El Sukumah kill. Yes-No."

"Yes, me. Don't be so surprised. I can take care of myself sometimes." I then pointed to his pork slab, now tossed carelessly in the back. "Thann's kill." A point to myself. "El's kill."

He spoke with reverence as he continued his investigation into the skunk's face and fangs. "Umbulale kanjani ungafi? Umfazi ophawulekayo."

"Pretty cool right? On Earth we'd call them skunks. Although the viper fangs are different. Earth skunks stink sooo bad. Do these one's stink too?"

"Earth?" He looked up, picking out the only word he knew.

I gazed to the ground. "Uh, nevermind. No Earth."

After his prodding was sufficient, a soft hand touched at my shoulder. He smiled when I looked up. "Unkosikazi omuhle ngizokwenzela isikhwama."

"Uh, thanks." My lips pulled into a tight smile as he gazed approvingly at me. "Ishkwhahama to you too."

He laughed and then placed the pelt back over the edge of the truck. He murmured words to himself, "Owesifazane omangalisayo."

After another minute and nothing happened, I spoke up. "So... shall we eat then? What of my amazing gathering abilities are actually edible?" I played a Vanna White over the veggies.

He had looked through my pickings and scowled. Then his eyes went wide to the skunk fur. "El car!" He bellowed.

"What?" I asked suddenly confused.

"El car!" He pointed.

Danger!

"Oh shoot! Right!" I ran for the cab and jumped up in. When he didn't follow for a minute, I peeked back out and he was tossing an orange out into the forest. "Yo Thann. What's up? I thought you meant werewolf or something."

He froze and ears perked as he surveyed the area. "Werewolf no."

"Then what? Why did I have to run for the car?"

He looked back to my pickings and started tossing item after item into the forest.

"Hey!" I ran out and grabbed his arm before he tossed a striped turnip. "Eat! They can't all be bad."

His eyes shot to mine and he glared. "El no eat. El no kill. Thann kill! Thann thola ukudla El! El car! El no eat!"

"El no eat? What do you mean, El no eat?" I asked bewildered. "You just want me to sit back and wait for you to feed me?" I flushed angry. "I don't need to wait for you. I'll just eat my own food, you jerk! I've got plenty of my own Earth food. You go eat your stupid fancy pig steak!"

I hopped up in the back and opened a bin and grabbed a handful of the chicken feed pellets. "I can eat for weeks on this!" He watched curiously at my outburst, and I glared as I ate a mouthful of the crunchy bits in a full on two-year-old temper tantrum.

And then I knew I had made a mistake.

What. The. Eff.

I knew it would be bad, but that was baaaad. Frickin' gross. Plasticy-bean taste that mushes straight down to crumbly paste in your mouth.

My goal was to show Thann I could find food just fine, but this mouthful was not going down. Instead, I leaned over the side of the truck and spit out the mouthful, gagging.

I wanted to eat the stuff just to put Thann in his stupid place that I could hunt, but I think it did one better.

His expression widened as I spit the last bits out over the side and he leaped up beside me in one step. "El! El! Mouth eat hurt! No mouth eat hurt!" He then pulled my sputtering body to his chest and palmed down my head and back.

I leaned into him, feeling his warmth.

"No hurt," he continued.

After a few tender moments, my neck colored in embarrassment. "Uh. Yeah, that was pretty dumb move. Sorry."

I didn't think I'd be eating chicken food to try to prove a point again.

He rubbed my back and cooed. "No hurt. No hurt."

I looked up from his chest and made a pathetic smile. "Sorry." A fist circling my heart, showed my sign. "Well my skunk went bad. Can we just eat your pig thing then?"

His brows came down accusingly. "No eat hurt."

"I'm sorry I ate chicken food, okay!? Jeez. I meant I want to eat your meat." A second of pause as I realized what I'd said. My face instantly reddened at my inappropriate thought and then pointed at the carcass. "That meat. That meat." I then burst into a fit of giggles.

He released me from his arms as he stood back, confused at my quick changes of emotion. "Meat. Eat."

The inappropriate giggles continued. "Yes. Meat. Eat. Eat Thann's meat. I want to eat your meat."

Thann's lips turned into a slight smile and he grabbed my hand, tugging me to the gate and sitting me down. He then threw two more of my pickings out to the wilderness.

"Bye crab-peach. Bye rice-berries," I spoke with forlorn sadness.

He then looked over the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, almonds, blue turnips, rambutans, jicama, and miniature purple strawberries. "Eat."

I sat up in interest and looked over the rest. "I thought you were mad at me for getting them. I can actually eat these?" I looked at the strawberries and smiled holding one up. "Eat? Yes-No. Are these really edible?" Strawberries looked too good to be true after the deathberries.

He grabbed it from my hands and tossed it in his mouth, grinning mischievously.

"Hey!" I yelled playfully outraged. "I wanted that!" I reached for the others, but Thann caught them all up in his own handful in a blurring movement. My look darted to his, with my mouth open incredulously, "Mine! You find your own berries!"

He hummed a delicious sound and popped three in his mouth greens and all, eyes on me.

"Rude!" I yelled and he chuckled a deep lovely sound. "Gimme." I swiped for his hand and he pulled it out of the way, eating another berry. I cried out, "El eat! El eat!"

"El eat," he agreed softly and held his palm open with the rest of the berries.

"Thank you," I said with exasperation.

But the moment my fingers met his palm he closed his fist and yanked them out of the way. He held them out, open wide, to the other side of his body.

"Thann!" I laughed annoyed. "Can I at least have one?" I reached across him and his other arm held around my midsection, halting my attack. "Thann," I complained and fell limp against his arm. "Fine."

He laughed and set me back on the gate. "Eat." He held out the last three berries.

I eyed his outstretched hand like it was now poison. "What. I'm going to reach for them and you'll yeet them into the forest too? Butthead."

He motioned to his hand. "Eat, eat. El Eat."

I watched his face carefully as I brought my fingers to his hand, but at the last second he pulled away again.

"Thann!" I started laughing and warned. "I'll eat chicken food again."

He reached for my hand and opened it, dropping the last three berries in. "El eat."

"That's what I've been trying to do Dothraki. But thank you." I popped the last berries in my mouth, ready to savor the sweet strawberry flavor, and then almost spit them out.

What the eff?

They were not strawberries!

I grimaced at the taste; it was not strawberry sweet. It was not sweet at all! It was some strange cooked asparagus with mint sauce flavor. My mouth was still full of the fruit and I looked at Thann, my eyes begging for help. "You eat these?" I chewed and swallowed painfully. I've literally eaten weeds that tasted better.

He laughed at my sour expression. "No mouth. Yes-No."

"No," I tried a painful laugh, the flavor still coating my tastebuds. "Strawberries should definitely not go in my mouth." I grabbed for a water bottle and began rinsing my mouth out. I mean it wasn't chicken food or anything, but it was like brussel sprouts. I would never eat those again unless I was almost dead.

Thann then handed me a carrot with three fingered sections. "El eat."

"Thanks," I sighed and bit off a crunchy bite. I'd even take celery right now to get over this taste. But as I chewed I realized the carrot tasted really good. Sweet and crunchy. It was flavored almost watermelon with a bite like an apple. It sure as heck beat out that potato! "Thann! This is good!"

He smiled and then bent over to grab his pig. He literally just ripped a whole leg right from the carcass like he was tearing a sheet of paper.

"Whoa there boy," I marveled at his strength. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

He held out the leg. "El eat."

"Oh," I let my carrot down. "Uh, I cannot eat that much."

He shook the leg, eyes wide on me.

"Thaaanks," I said delicately and grabbed it. The leg immediately clonked between us when I couldn't even hold the dang thing up. He'd held the whole beast with one hand above his head!

What the heck, Dothraki? How strong are you?

He started to complain about the leg, but my mind just trailed off into thinking about him doing crossfit or something. It was quite a lovely daydream featuring strong rippling muscles. Purrrr.

"EL!"

I came back to the present. "Hey yeah! I'm here. Sorry. Yes?"

"Eat! Eat!" He was angry and annoyed now.

I just giggled.

"Eat, eat!" he continued, pushing the leg my way.

"I will," I smirked. I reached my hunting knife from my boot and cut off a good chunk. "See? Yum for El." Then I got out my pan and butane stove. He watched carefully as I placed it in the pan, cooking each side. Then I dug around for a plate in my kitchen box and handed it to him. He brought the plate close to his nose and inhaled. I figured it must be all good because he then handed the plate back to me. "Oh, thanks. But you can have the first one. I'll make myself another."

I sat it between us and he patiently waited for another to be made.

When it was finished cooking, I prepared another plate and handed it to him. He stared at the meat and shook his head. "El, eat meat. Fire." Handing the plate back.

"Fire? ...Aww, aren't you sweet. Letting me have the hot steak, what a gentleman." I took the plate from him and went to hand him the cooled plate and he had already reached around and grabbed the whole leg.

"Thann eat meat. Fire no." He then dug his teeth smack dab center into the raw leg.

He smirked at my horrified expression like he was expecting it.

After a few bites, he tapped my plate still hovering in the air. "El eat meat. Fire."

I shook my head to clear it, then pushed the butane stove over and sat next to him. "Well okay Dothraki. Guess I should have figured you'd eat your food raw." I smiled and then started in on my steak.

Okay so his fire means cooked, not necessarily fire. Did he yell at me when he kicked out the fire? I couldn't remember.

I did remember saying that we'd eat for a week on that pig, but I was wrong.

He ate that thing like it was Lay's potato chips and ended up eating half. And he just sat and ate it raw, piece by piece. While I thought I would be grossed out, it actually felt kinda natural.

Big buff alien dude eats a whole raw pig. No biggie.

He kept pressing the second steak at me and yelling at me to eat as I watched him devour his meal.

After the third time, I laughed and finally decided to just eat it. I was going to be sick after so much meat, but it tasted really good. It was like after Thanksgiving dinner when you eat until you collapse onto the sofa, but someone mentions pie and you eat two slices anyway. Maybe it would be good. I've already lost a bit of weight here, if I'm walking to Timbuktu for Molly, I needed the energy.

Thann would be happy, no midnight hikes for me. Actually, I would be very pleased to ignore the last two hours of sunlight and just go to bed. But we had work to do. Getting my supplies to Molly would take some effort, so I needed to finish my wheelbarrow.

After I digested for a half an hour, I went back to work sawing my log poles smooth. Thann watched in interest, but I wasn't sure how to describe a wheelbarrow, so I didn't talk to him about it. He sat and used some porous stone as a sharpener for his daggers.

When darkness started to settle, I figured it was time for bed. "Well Thann, I think I'll head to bed. Goodnight."

"Night. Yes." He looked up to the sky. "Moon. Stars."

"Right. Night." I climbed into the truck and closed the door.

When I had laid my head back on the seat rest and had just about fallen asleep, I felt the truck move as Thann jumped out from the back. When it was a few minutes and I hadn't heard him return again, I sat back up and turned on my headlamp searching the trees. I met yellowed shining eyes, but no Thann. The animal disappeared back into the bushes before I even had a chance to wonder what it was.

A few minutes later Thann walked from the tree line, eyes on me. He nodded and then hopped in the back and laid down across the plastic flooring. I remembered how cold it was yesterday and grabbed the sleeping bag and took it to him. His eyes opened as my lamp was pointed at him, a question in his eyes, but no words on his lips.

"It gets cold. You can use the blanket." I tossed it over him and smirked that his ankles were still uncovered because of how tall he was. "Goodnight."

I slid back into the cab and reached for the door handle and startled to see Thann there holding the sleeping bag. I hadn't felt him jostle the truck that time.

"El no cold." He wrapped the bag around me instead.

"You know cold too?" I really needed to learn all he knew. Pulling the blanket top from me, I held it out. "Thann cold. Thann need blanket."

He shook his head. "Thann no cold. Thann hot."

I couldn't disagree with that. A small giggle escaped.

"El cold." He tucked the blanket back at my shoulders.

"Okay," I leaned back on the head rest again. "Thanks. Night Thann."

He gave a single nod and then closed the cab door, jumping again in the back.