Page 8 of Ragoru

He was following her. Evie saw evidence of him in her camp every morning: objects slightly shifted from where they’d been, flattened brush where he’d obviously sat or lain. Not to mention the faint marks from his pawprints that weaved through her camp. She was even certain that she saw him moving among the trees. Sometimes he was trailing behind her, and she would catch sight of him as she stopped to take a break. At other times she would see him streaking through the trees at her left or right.

He wasn’t hunting her. That much was clear. She had recorded the hunting behavior of numerous species on Solum, and whatever he was doing wasn’t it. The fact that she could see him was a big clue. She had no doubt that he could follow her silently without her ever knowing. That he was letting her see him suggested that he wanted her to know that he was there. She wasn’t entirely sure if it was her imagination or not, but he seemed more like he was guarding her. He was definitely keeping pace with her, though. Evie had no doubt that he was keeping her within sight at all times, or at the very least within clear scenting range. Still, it struck her more as protective.

She smiled privately as she paused by a stream and watched him from the corner of her eye. He drew to a stop and crouched down, his yellow eyes tracking her as he yawned, exposing fangs longer than her index fingers. That would have been alarming if his pink tongue hadn’t rolled out then, the tip sticking up briefly as his mouth came together. It slid along his muzzle and fangs as he glanced down to the water and back to her, seemingly uncertain if he should take the time to drink and rest or if she planned to begin moving right away.

Stifling a smile, she unstrapped her canteen from the side of her pack and move closer to the edge of the river. Picking up a long stick, she splashed the water a few times to make sure there was nothing in the immediate area before crouching down and dipping the canteen into the stream. She covertly glanced at him again and grinned as his chest heaved with a dramatic breath as he dropped low and drank directly from the river. She couldn’t blame him for being tired. In fact, his stamina was impressive and something she had already noted in her field journal. He not only kept pace with her but moved out ahead and circled back around, especially in areas where the visibility was low. Even when she took rest breaks, he was frequently milling around. She was actually relieved to see him rest for a change.

She shook her head. She didn’t get it. This just topped the growing list of strange behavior from the alien.

Removing a water-safe tab from her pack, she dropped it into her canteen. Listening to the telltale hiss of the water fizzing with the release of purifying chemicals, she looked morosely at the tube of tabs. She rarely used them when she was at her post, since she had a reliable solar-powered filtration system there, but her supply was rapidly dwindling. Nor was she likely to get more since she’d been told that those were among the last of their supply. That had been years ago, when she’d been assigned to her post, and she’d held onto them like they were gold. Even now, she was trying to make her water stretch by taking smaller sips.

How many more days would her supply last? Less than a week even with careful rationing, she was certain.

Sighing, she sat back and looked over at her traveling companion. The alien had moved away from the river and was stretched out on his belly on a grassy spot between some trees, his yellow eyes reduced to slits. She smiled despite herself. There was a gap in the canopy above, allowing in a heavy stream of sunlight in that very spot he was dozing. She had to admit it looked comfortable. More comfortable than her rocky spot.

Evie backed up until she was able to sit awkwardly on one of the thick roots of the trees crowding close to the bank. She shifted in place to find a more comfortable perch and looked up only to find that her companion had lifted his head and was watching her curiously. Her lips twisted in a faint smile as she wiggled again in attempt to find a position that wouldn’t make her ass ache the moment she stood.

“I’m afraid that this isn’t as comfortable as it looks,” she joked aloud.

Although she was certain that he wouldn’t understand her, his ears turned toward her, pricking at the sound of her voice. His throat worked, and he cocked his head.

“Honestly, if I were more certain you wouldn’t bite me if I tried it, I would stretch out over there with you,” she added with a self-deprecating laugh. “At least you look comfortable.”

His throat worked again, and his ears twisted in an unmistakable expression of uncertainty. It made her feel like an even bigger idiot speaking out loud to a being who clearly understood that she was speaking and probably frustrated at his inability to understand and communicate.

“Don’t mind me.” She sighed as she leaned back against the trunk of the tree. “I’ve been alone too long. If I’m not talking to myself, then I’m talking to things that can’t understand me or talk back.”

A chill skated up her back as the alien growled low in response. She wasn’t certain if it was entirely fear or if there was something else to her reaction, but she froze, her eyes snapping to him, as the growl shifted to a rasp.

“Come and sit. I will not harm you. You can speak to me all you like,” he rumbled.

Her jaw dropped as she stared, her mouth going dry with her shock. She shook her head in denial. “How? What?” Swallowing, she fought to focus. “You understand me?” She let out a sharp bark of laughter as his head tipped and he gave her an odd look. “I mean, yeah, of course you can understand me since you just replied. But how?”

She moved in a little closer, her awe overruling her natural caution. An alien lifeform on Solum with the ability to communicate. This was the discovery of a lifetime. To his credit, he didn’t so much as move a muscle, as if aware of how easily his larger size could frighten her. Instead, he lowered his head and seemed to be making the attempt to flatten his body as much as possible to make himself appear smaller. All it did was highlight the long, sharp spines of the strange bony plating that ran down his back. She gave them a hesitant look, but when he still didn’t move, ventured closer.

“I was given this ability. The Shining Ones gave it to all of us. It hurt when they gave us the gift, but they said it was so that we could communicate with the people here.”

Her eyes widened with understanding. No wonder they hadn’t encountered anything like him. He was an alien in the truest word. He wasn’t from Solum at all. If she had to guess, she assumed that the Shining Ones had to be another species of aliens who brought him and his kind there. Which meant whatever he was, there was more of them. Was this what she was being sent to investigate? It didn’t seem likely. She would think that “giant wolf monster” would have been pretty clear unless they were just predating the area.

“Fascinating,” she murmured. “And your people, how far do your territories stretch out?”

His brow lowered in a contemplative expression. “Ragoru do not dwell as the Shining Ones say your people do. Each family would have their own territory, but as far as I know, I’m the only one not being currently contained. I escaped the Shining Ones. I did not have patience for their plans in contacting your people. Maybe others have escaped too, but I don’t know.”

“I see,” she murmured.

No doubt the aliens would have discovered the difficulty in communicating with humans even if they did not realize that the satellite was the problem. While the satellite was still operational enough to allow their communication lines to continue, she was doubtful that the already finicky and failing technology would recognize the alien tech trying to patch into it. Some of the data systems on Solum were already burning out. She couldn’t see the technology of an entirely different species being any more successful. Her teeth worried at her bottom lip as she considered her options.

As far as she could tell, there was an extremely low probability that the Ragoru were the issue she was sent to investigate. Even if others escaped their confinement, the mines were in a difficult terrain that was not rich with food sources that a species like the Ragoru would likely value. She couldn’t see anything drawing them into the harsh terrain of those mountains when the forests would offer them far more. But if there was an alien species roaming the northernmost reaches, she also had a duty to contact her superiors. She scrubbed at her neck contemplatively. By her calculations, she was nearing the halfway point. It made more sense to continue toward the mining camp and use their communication system to send out an alert about the alien presence.

But then what would happen to the Ragoru? Without any sort of available impartial study on them, she was certain that their destruction would be called for. She had an obligation to protect them as far as she saw it. She suspected that the fanatical Order would see the Ragoru as nothing more than beasts to be destroyed rather than a new people to share their world with.

But the Ragoru could be the answer to helping mitigate some of the dangers of our planet. An alliance with them would benefit everyone.

And this moment here was the first step into that future.

A tremor of excitement ran through her as she walked closer, coming dangerously within grabbing distance if he so desired. He watched and then rolled until he was flat on his back, the dangerous plating along his spine hidden, exposing his vulnerable belly. The corners of her mouth lifted as she tried not to liken the behavior to a dog. He wasn’t one. Not even close. And the more she looked at him, the more she noticed how different his features were despite having a vaguely lupine cast to them. There was no mistaking him for any sort of beast.

His muzzle was short and broad, and a slightly more pronounced pair of lips running along it gave him his ability to form human sounds, even if some of them were rough. His neck was long and thick, and it led down to a torso quite human in shape if one could ignore the extra set of arms and the pelt of fur. But the fur on his chest and belly was shorter, sculpting along the defined muscles running in a V toward the sheath she knew contained his sex. The fur grew thicker again along his hips and thighs, the pelt there concealing his scrotum as he lay supine before her. And although he had wolf-like paws for feet, his hands were shaped more like hers despite the thick pads on the palm and fingers and the presence of an extra digit.

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