Page 104 of Tyton: The Spider and the Dragonfly
Talia looked up at her and grinned.“You wouldn’t go back to Sesi without a fish.It’s a good thing you brought me along.”
“What are you talking about?Did you hit your head?”Callie grabbed Talia’s face.
Talia rolled away, revealing a large fish with several stab wounds and a knife stuck through its head.
“How the...?”Callie sputtered.
“I told you I needed my knives.”Talia was still grinning.“I thought it was something attacking me so I stabbed it.Lots.”
“How are you so lucky?”
“I got you, didn’t I?”
Callie tore off her mask and kissed her.“Sesi is going to be so happy!”
“I think we need more than one.And I don’t think I’m lucky enough to do that again.”Talia wiped the river water from her face.
“The fish probably shouldn’t have that many holes in it either.”Callie tilted her head toward the mangled fish carcass.
“Do you think the fish will eat fish?”Talia suggested.
“We can try,” Callie said dubiously.
Talia crouched next to the driftwood fire, holding a fish on a stick.
“Are you sure that’s how it’s done?”Callie tilted her head to examine the underside of the fish.The scales had turned black and sooty.
“I’ve never cooked anything in my life, Cal,” Talia grimaced.She turned the fish to the other side.
Callie peeled off her suit and turned it inside out to dry by the fire.She huddled up next to Talia who was determined to do her best with the fish.
“I’ll bet Sesi would be laughing her arse off at us right now.”
“I think Siku did most of the cooking, but yeah, I’m sure she knows more about it than we do.”Talia rotated the fish again.“Did we get enough to fill the cryopak?”
Callie nodded against Talia’s arm.The flames danced lazily.Callie hugged Talia tighter.“This is nice.”
Talia took a deep breath and kissed the top of Callie’s head.“I think this is as cooked as it’s going to get before it catches fire.”
After they had peeled the unburnt pieces of fish from the skin, Talia stretched out against the rock.She had never been so exhausted in her life.Callie lay her head on her chest, slowly drifting off against the steady rise and fall of her breath.The sun, a comforting orange line on the horizon.
They felt like the only two people on the planet.
Talia’s low laugh rocked her head.She craned her neck to her staring up at the sky.“What’s so funny?”
Talia ran her fingers through Callie’s hair.It was getting longer now.She balled her fist and Callie leaned into it.“Just thinking about the irony of running away, only for my stupid genetics to be the ones passed down, while they’re all going to die out.”
“Are you worried?”Callie ran her fingers along Talia’s side.She felt her nod.
“This trip made it very obvious that I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“You caught the first fish,” Callie tried to console her.
Talia scoffed.“Through blind luck and panic.”
“Blind luck and panic is how you got away from them in the first place.”Callie hugged Talia tighter.“It’s how I ended up with you.”Callie tucked a strand of hair behind Talia’s ear.Her grey eyes reflected the undulating firelight and despite the vastness of the unknown, Talia found it calming.
“Sesi…”
