Page 73 of Cozy Prisons
Daxus sounded an amused rumble. “That was far harder than I expected.”
Nataly stopped dancing and gave him a small shrug. “It makes sense, though. Fire is usually bad. It gives off noxious fumes, and it destroys things. Everything we use would be designed with that in mind. It's only because of my weird impulse that we were even trying to set something on fire. No one else would want to do that.”
Daxus sounded a negative rattle. “Now that I’m experiencing controlled fire, I think it’s worth doing more often. I feel closer to my ancestors and yours. There were times in most species' history when their main source of power was fire. I can’t imagine having to cook, heat my domicile, or light an area using such a hard-to-control thermal reaction, and yet they did. It’s a good reminder of how far we’ve come.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Nataly said, settling down in the spot next to Daxus. The sun would be setting, and the air was cooling. Even though she could put her omni back on to keep her temperature regulated, she was going to put it off for as long as she could. The warmth of the fire felt good on her skin and was an interesting contrast to the cold at her back.
“It makes me feel alive,” she murmured.
“Yes,” he agreed, even though she didn’t explain her statement further.
Another bug tried to sneak into her nose. Snorting violently, she dislodged the bug and batted at the air to try to keep it away.
“What’s wrong?” Daxus asked, leaning in close.
“Bug!” Nataly growled, eyeing Daxus. Nothing was flying around his head. Why was she a bug magnet? “Death to all bugs!”
“Why did you say that?”
She pointed to her face. “They’re trying to claim my nose as their new home!”
He jumped up. “I can fix that.”
She watched him rummage around in one of the bags. He pulled out a wilderness kit. She’d taken three even though she had no idea what was inside; they just sounded good. Who wouldn’t want plenty of wilderness kits?
Sitting down next to her with the wilderness kit, he set it on his legs and cracked it open. It was full of items she didn’t recognize. He pulled out a cylinder about the size of her middle finger and cracked it in the center, giving it a ninety-degree angle. She heard a faint hum for a few seconds, then silence.
She leaned in closer to look at it more closely. “Is it broken?”
He sounded a rumble of amusement. “Check your nose.”
“Huh?” she said, looking up at him and touching her nose with a hand. Then she noticed that there were no bugs on her face or anywhere around them. Looking around, she saw that there weren’t any bugs within the ring of firelight.
She snatched the cylinder from Daxus and clutched it to her chest with a happy cry. “Best invention ever!”
Daxus plucked it from her and set it on the ground next to them. “As much as the repeller probably likes being held close to your chest, it’ll work better if it’s out in the open instead of clutched to your body.”
“At least someone likes my chest,” she mumbled, thinking of all the times they’d cuddled and Daxus never did anything.
“What?” Daxus asked, closing the wilderness kit.
“Nothing,” she said, probably a little too brightly. “Are you hungry?”
“Famished,” he replied.
That made her feel horribly guilty. He was the one who’d done most of the hard labor of carrying all the heavy, cumbersomebags out from the forest to their current spot. He’d cleared the spot and gathered the rocks. He’d made sure she ate snacks throughout the day, but he didn’t pause to eat himself.
“I’ll get some food!” she said, jumping up to open one of the bags full of food packs.
“While you do that, I’ll erect our temporary domicile,” he said. “We’ll need to rise early and travel far tomorrow.”
“Good point,” she said. She wasn’t looking forward to the long hike around the crevasse.
Pulling out a few packs, she also grabbed a medi-box and then returned to the spot next to the fire. She set the box between their seat and the fire to act as a table, then balanced the food packs and activated them. It was fun to watch the packs puff out as the chemical reaction in the lining warmed the food inside.
By the time she was gingerly opening the packs, Daxus resumed his seat next to her. He was quick to take over opening the hot food packs and laying them out for both of them. She handed him a piece of flat bread and took one herself, then started eating.
They ate in silence until the food was gone. Without comment, Daxus fetched several more packs to heat and consume. Sitting back, she watched him eat, entranced by the way the firelight made his silver plates gleam and sparkle.
