Page 9 of Not So Stranded
“I will hunt for you,” Zenori said. “I will meet you in the lagoon.”
Zenori was going to hunt for him? Kit stared after them, marveling at both their musculature as they moved and the generous offer from someone he’d thought didn’t like him much. “Thank you!”
“Well, isn’t that nice.” Hiaka squeezed Kit’s fingers before releasing him. “I’ll swim around and meet you there.”
Hiaka did a hopping-slash-skipping sort of thing to catch up to Zenori as they walked down the beach and into the water. They shared a kiss before ducking beneath the surface.
Kit was… Well, he was ashamed that he was so helpless, but he was also grateful. They hadn’t fussed or pitied him; they’d simply decided on a solution and run with it. That he hadn’t had a say in anything wasn’t so bad. He probably would’ve been the one to fuss, lying about not needing help, even though he’d have given in eventually. Hewasstarving.
He grabbed the water jug, filet knife, and little camping stove with all its accessories before trudging through the brush toward the lagoon. His stomach gave another awful growl, but knowing food was coming helped him get through it.
When Kit arrived at the lagoon, Hiaka was just entering from the creek as well. For a moment, Kit felt like he was coming home as they waved at each other. Sheesh, he really needed to get his head sorted. He’d made some new friends, not lovers.
“I got you some seaweed,” Hiaka said as they thrust a handful of slightly translucent green sprigs at him. “It doesn’t taste like much without any vinegar and spices, but it’s something.”
“No, this is great!” Kit stuffed half of it into his mouth and chewed. Hiaka was right about it being bland, but that didn’t matter to his empty stomach. “Thank you.”
“You could set your things up in there,” Hiaka said, pointing. “In case it rains.”
Kit turned to the cave beside the lagoon. Like before, he thought it was a good place to camp. The lagoon would have to rise two or three feet before it could flood the cave. And the mouth of it was wide and high enough that he could probably have a fire without filling the space with smoke. He went inside and set up the cook stove without turning on either burner yet.
“Hey, Kit?”
“Yeah?” he asked, looking out from the cave.
“Is there a reason you don’t want to eat the coconuts and mangoes around here?”
Kit stared at them. “The…what?”
Hiaka pointed up into the nearby trees. Kit looked, too.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he mumbled and covered his eyes. “I literally never looked up.”
They snorted. “That excuse isn’t going to fly once you realize the pineapples are growing from those bushes over there.”
A distressed noise left Kit’s throat as he looked where Hiaka was pointing now. “I am such an idiot!”
Hiaka laughed. “I’m guessing you’re pretty brilliant if someone let you come here to study turtles, but you arenota survivalist. Like at all.”
Kit’s laughter sounded a little hysterical to his own ears and wow did he feel epically moronic. He knew they farmed mangoes and pineapples on the islands, but he hadn’t expected to find them on an island with no people. And geez, coconuts were in every single stranded-on-a-desert-island movie he’d ever seen in his life!
He got up, took his knife, and went over to harvest a pineapple. At least he knew that if he could pull a leaf out of the top of it easily, it was ripe.
“You cut up your pineapple,” Hiaka said, coming out of the water, “and I’ll see about getting some mangoes for you.”
“You? But it’s… What? Thirty feet up?”
“Which one of us has sticky feet?” They waved two of their tentacles at him as they walked over to the tree.
Kit took his pineapple back to the cave, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Hiaka. They used their tentacles like a monkey used its tail. And hands and feet. In moments, Hiaka was hanging upside down within reach of the mangoes, picking several of them, and holding them to their chest.
By the time Hiaka came down the tree, Kit had cut up half of the pineapple. Unable to resist any longer, he bit into a perfectly golden slice and moaned at the sweet, tangy flavor that burst onhis tongue. Hiaka set down the mangoes, and Kit gestured to the pineapple so they’d know to take some, too.
After two slices, Kit paused to breathe. “I can’t believe I wasn’t looking around enough to seepineapples, for Pete’s sake. I mean, I might not be able to haul myself up a tree for mangoes or coconuts, but I know what a pineapple is.”
Hiaka shook their head at him. “You’ve been focused on protein. Don’t beat yourself up.”
That was true. And while protein was important, it wasn’t the only thing available to eat on the island. Hiaka cut into a mango, revealing more juicy fruit to eat. It was becoming even clearer that they were in this together.
