Two Moons of Sera by Pavarti K. Tyler Read Free Book Online Page B

joined Tor.
    “He needs to get used to you,” Tor said.
    “What is it?”
    I didn’t move, didn’t approach or look away. This was too
much. This was more than I could handle. On top of everything else that had
happened that night, I had a monster staring at me with eyes as sharp as a man’s.
    “He’s... I don’t know word yet. He lives up here, in the mountains.
There are others, but he was alone. I was alone, so now we’re alone together.”
    “He’s a pet?”
    “No. He does what he wants.”
    “Why isn’t he attacking me, then?”
    “He trusts me. He won’t hurt you unless you give him a
reason to.”
    “Does he have a name?” I glanced up at Tor, checking to make
sure he was telling me the truth.
    He stood next to the beast, with no sign of fear. “Never
thought to give him one.”
    “Well then.”In hopes of calming this creature, I
cooed at him in Sualwet, using my softest, gentlest voice and the same lilt my
mother did when I was sick as a child. ~ Uh, hi, Monster . You
don’t want to eat me, do you, Monster? ~
    The creature’s eyes narrowed as he studied me. I stood tall
but kept my head bowed as I approached. Its back legs were poised to spring.
The thing’s eyes tracked my movements, never straying from me as I drew closer.
    “Huh,” Tor soothed, placing his hand on the animal’s head
and smoothing the spiked hair. It relaxed at the contact, and so did I.
    Stepping closer, I continued to speak gently, until a low
rumble emanated from the animal.
    “Huh. Huh.” Tor knelt down next to it, draping one arm over
its back. “Come closer. Put your hand out and let him smell it.”
    “Is it—is it a dog?” I asked.
    “Maybe. ‘Dog’ isn’t quite the right word, though.”
    Hand extended, I approached, careful to keep my movement
slow. I was exhausted, and the last bit of adrenaline from seeing the animal
had worn off. At this point, I didn’t even really care if it ate me. I was too
tired to bother.
    ~ Hi, Monster ,~ I said, speaking Sualwet again. The
creature’s hair had flattened so that he no longer appeared as threatening. ~ You’re
an interesting looking thing, aren’t you? Well, I’m different, too. Nobody else
like me. Maybe the three of us belong together. Orphans alone in the world? ~
    The animal sniffed my hand and looked at Tor.
    “Huh,” he grunted, patting the animal’s side before standing
up.
    The creature stood. Its head was at my waist, and if I
reached out, I could’ve laid my hand on its back without bending down. It approached
me with a snort. My hand still outstretched, I let the animal sniff my fingers.
When it was satisfied I wasn’t a threat, it pressed its forehead into my palm
and stepped away.
    “Huh.” Tor pointed back to the cave, and the animal loped
toward the enclosure.
    “What was that?”
    “I told you I don’t know.”
    “How do you talk to it? All you said was ‘huh.’”
    He shrugged. “I just think what I mean and make a sound.”
    The clearing was bright, even in the dark. We were so high
the moon felt as if it were just beyond my reach, and the stars danced like
fireflies above my head.
    “Come.” He walked toward the cave.
    I followed.
    “Thhhhhrup!” the monster called from the distance.
    “I think he wants to go back to sleep.” Tor grinned,
affection shining on his angular face.
    I tried to smile, to engage in the new things he introduced
me to. A wild animal unlike anything I’d seen before, a beautiful clearing in
the mountain, far above my home in the cove. My grief weighed everything down
and drained the color from the world around me, leaving me in a flat gray world
with nothing. I’d been hollowed out and emptied.
    The clearing was covered in soft grass, which felt cool
against my feet, and the automatic movement of walking brought me to the mouth
of the cave. Inside it was cold and damp. No fire lit the space, and in the
darkness I saw only some blankets with a large wild animal curled up on them.
    “You can