Lavender & Ice

15. Stockholm?

During their journey back to camp she kept trying to point to things and get him to tell her the words but he was too focused on returning. Despite her excitement, she understood. He didn't understand why she was so excited earlier. He probably didn't understand why she was so adamant about learning words right now. And she knew he was carrying a heavy load on his shoulders. Eventually it occurred to her that he likely wanted to make sure they returned to camp safely before dark. She had no idea what type of dangers may lurk in the dark, but she was personally concerned with how cold it would become. Her excitement had made her forget about the cold for just a little while. She gave a moment of thanks for her NASA issued suit that kept her warm so well in the elements. It was made for space exploration, after all.

When they made it back to camp, there were a lot more people out and about than when they had left. She reached her hands up to make sure her goggles and facemask were in place. She didn't want her skin and hair to draw any more attention to herself than her outfit already did. She realized as well that she must look like a child. Even the native women were all at least 6 feet tall.

She was surprised when Kietnan made a turn that did not head towards their tent. Her feet were aching and she was getting tired. But she did as she had been doing and followed him along obediently. They stopped in front of a tent much larger than the residential ones, and he motioned for her to open the door for him. She did so, and then followed him in, closing it behind her.

Ashima was immediately hit by all the smells inside the tent. Her stomach growled and her mouth watered. Is this a mess hall? Is there a kitchen back there, she asked herself. She said a silent prayer that they would be able to get some of the meat cooked fresh to eat, and it wouldn't all be dried. She was thankful for what she had, but she was definitely getting sick of having to gnaw on fairly bland, dry food.

They passed through a large dining area full of tables and chairs before she opened another door for him to walk through. This room is what she assumed was some kind of type of prep area. However, it was the woman standing behind a table, cutting up vegetables that caught Ashima's eye. She had the same height and build and overall characteristics of the other natives, but instead of a pale lavender, her skin was a deeper hue. Almost a royal purple.

The woman looked up at them and gave Kietnan a greeting before turning to look at Ashima. Many words that Ashima didn't understand passed from the woman's lips before she finished with "why do you have a katzacht with you?

Ashima was conflicted between fear at her statement and elation that almost an entire sentence had just been translated for her. What was a katzacht? A child? A foreigner? An alien?

She turned to look at Kietnan, who was answering the woman calmly. "I found her .... took her to the ... tent. ...I protested but they insisted I..." those were the only words Ashima understood and had to go off of.

They insisted he... what? They made him take Ashima home with him when he didn't want to? She recalled his anger that day after arguing with the woman in the medical tent. She had forgotten about that. It was like someone threw cold water on her. She had thought they had made progress in their relationship, that maybe they could even be considered friends. But has she just been fooling herself so that her situation just didn't seem so depressing? There were times when she felt like curling up in a ball and crying herself to sleep over her situation, but she knew that would do no good. But has she been overcompensating? She thought of the times where she had felt physical attraction to him.

Does she have some version of Stockholm syndrome? Can you get that condition this quickly? She held back a humorous chuckle, as she thought. Maybe when circumstances were this extreme...

"Shima." Her eyes refocused into the room and she looked up at Kietnan at the sound of her name.

"Ah-shima." He pointed at her, as he seemed to be making a point to pronounce her name more clearly. "Milleck." He pointed at the woman, who nodded, her face expressionless. At least she didn't look angry or grumpy, Ashima thought. I'll take it.

"Milleck." She smiled and nodded her head in return.

Kietnan had already laid the animal on a nearby table and stood leaning against it casually. Ashima looked between the two natives. Kietnan looked so comfortable, speaking with this woman. He was conversing with her so freely, he always seemed grumpy whenever Ashima tried to communicate with him. The fact that they couldn't actually communicate, didn't even enter Ashima's mind during her inner monologue. As she watched him with this woman she wondered if this was a love interest of his. Were they in some kind of relationship? It suddenly occurred to her that she was jealous. She shook her head and held back a sigh. She really was losing it.

When she thought about it, she realized that she didn't know anything about Kietnan. She had no idea how old he was, what he did for a living, what his interests or hobbies were. Did he even have any hobbies?

All she knew was that he took care of her, but even that seemed tainted now. She was just an obligation to him. Frowning, all of Ashima's joy from earlier in the day had disappeared. Lost in her thoughts, she was no longer even trying to listen for words within their conversation.

Eventually, they left the dining tent and made their way back to Kietnan's tent. After removing all of her outer layers, Ashima curled up under the blanket on her cot, facing toward the wall. She didn't really feel like sleeping but she didn't feel like... doing what exactly? She had no life, not really. She was barely existing. She knew her thoughts were spiraling but she didn't care. She was getting tired of caring about anything. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:  I know this chapter was short. I'm sorry! It was supposed to be part of the last one but it was simply too long so I split them in two, so you got two chapter updates instead!

What are you thinking of the story so far? The characters? 

Is there anything you would like for me to describe or explain in greater detail?