Present Time...
He is sitting on the opposite side of the campfire, listening to me speak, using a stick to poke the dying embers.
Seeing that my story is finished, he stands up. He points at me, then to the nearby tent, and mimes sleeping—resting his head on his hands.
"Where are you going to sleep?" I ask him, standing up and dusting the dirt off my legs.
"There?" I repeat, seeing him point at the tent beside me. "Why don't we all sleep together?"
He shakes his head.
He points at me, does the sleeping gesture again, and then waves his finger around the campsite. He starts marching in place, stiff-backed and alert.
"You are going to parade around while we sleep?" I ask, confused by his acting.
He stops marching. He makes an 'X' with his arms. No.
Then, he mimics holding a spear and thrusting it forward.
"Ohhh. You are going to guard while we sleep. Wow, thank you," I say, stepping closer. "Then when are you going to sleep?"
He pulls out a small pocket watch. He points to the 14-hour mark. Then he shakes me gently by the shoulder, points at himself, and does the sleep gesture.
"Ohh. You are going to wake me up at the 14-hour mark, and sleep then. Okay, I got it."
I head toward the tent.
Just before I enter, I look back. I smile.
"Good night. And thank you."
He smiles back.
I duck inside and lie down near the sleeping kids.
"Good night," I whisper to myself, closing my eyes.
[***** POV]
'Holy fuck. If there was a competition for suspicious behavior, she would take first place.'
I drop the smile the second she enters the tent.
I sit back down near the campfire. My eyes scan the darkness; my ears strain for the slightest snap of a twig.
'Like, genuinely. There are so many plot holes in her backstory. And I didn't even ask for all that trauma dumping. I just asked for her name.'
I toss a piece of dry wood into the fire. Sparks fly up into the night.
'I asked for her name, and she conveniently left that out while telling me her entire life story.'
I sigh.
'Oh, yeah. You are probably wondering how I started understanding her language. Well, it goes back to the encounter at the river.'
A Few Hours Ear—
'You? Why am I talking like someone is here? Damn, this loneliness thing is getting out of hand. My internal monologue is getting out of control.'
I chuckle to myself.
Now actually a few hours earlier...
'The fuck is she smiling about?'
I look at her beaming face. We just nearly died.
"Huff... huff," I gasp for air, taking a few steps back and collapsing onto my butt.
I point at myself, then give her a thumbs up. I'm good. You?
She nods her head. She opens her mouth to say something—"Tha—"—but stops
midway. She remembers I can't understand her.
She stands up and offers me a hand.
I take it and pull myself up.
I point at her, then toward the trail leading back to the campsite.
She shakes her head violently. No.
She points at me, then at herself. Then she points at the trail. She holds up four fingers.
Then she starts punching and kicking the air.
'Is she saying the four fingers will beat someone?'
'Four fin...'
'Oh. The slavers. Yeah, she doesn't know I already killed them.'
It takes me a few minutes to piece that together.
She misinterprets my silence as confusion. She grabs my hand and drags me into the bushes.
We go deeper into the foliage. She sits down on the ground and pulls me down with her.
Before I can speak, she presses a finger to my lips.
"Shhh."
She points two fingers at my eyes, then gestures at the surroundings. Watch.
She closes her eyes. She clasps her hands together in a prayer motion and starts mumbling.
'What is she doing?'
Her mumbling gets louder. A strange energy fills the air.
'Why is she mumbling... Is she using magic?!'
Panic spikes.
'Is she attacking me?'
I slowly crawl backward. My heart hammers against my ribs. Fight or flight kicks in. I reach for my knife.
But then, suddenly... a wave of calm washes over me.
'She wouldn't do that,' I think. The thought feels intrusive, artificial.
I stop moving. I just look at her.
'Her skin is pale... dirty, yet soft.'
I look at my hand, the one that was holding hers just moments ago.
I look at her ears. They are pointing out slightly from under her messy hair.
'Is she an elf?'
I look around the forest, waiting for her to stop chanting. It feels like it's taking forever.
Suddenly, she shouts.
"Ha!"
'Does that mean it's finished?'
I look around, trying to see what spell she cast. Fire? A shield?
Nothing seems different.
Then, I hear it. Clear as crystal.
"Can you understand me now?"