Rivers of Gold

Chapter 3

Gets hot 😁
___

Warm. So warm.

I rolled over, ignoring the mild twang from my leg, and just buried myself further into the warmth. It was sooo warm. And soft.

Hrnn, Hrnn, Hrnn

I smiled at the laugh. It warmed me further. And I've missed it so much. Wait.

Opening my eyes slowly, I blinked quickly as I adapted to the low light. The first thing I saw was the dark grey, rough looking wall with an orange glow reflecting off of it. I rolled over slowly, keeping the soft blankets on me as I did so.

An orange crackling light was between me and Shadow.

Shadow.

He was clean from any blood, and he sat there, his legs crossed, and watching two small rodents cook over the orange crackling light.

"Hungry?", he asked, leaning forward and plucking one of the sticks that the rodents were on from the circle of rocks.

My stomach gurgled at the mere smell of the cooked meat. I nodded slowly at Shadow, and sat up. My leg ached but I ignored it. Shadow hooked his top mandibles up in his smirk-smile, and my face heated up.

"Here", he said, giving me the cooked rodent on a stick, after having blown on it. "Should be cooler. But blow it again if not", he said, before he grabbed his own, and proceeded to blow on it.

I nodded again, and blew on the steaming meat. After a moment, I gently tore off a piece with my claws, and licked it. It tasted great. Better than the raw stuff the humans and my brothers gave me.

Eating the piece warmed my belly and I savoured it. I made a noise of content.

"Enjoying it?", Shadow asked from his spot by the light.

"Yes", I said clearly, eating another piece. "What's it called?", I asked him. He smiled warmly before answering.

"It's a rabbit. A type of rodent", he answered, sinking his teeth into the meat before ripping it off.

"It's so yummy", I told him, smiling.

Hrnn, Hrnn, Hrnn. I smiled as he laughed again. I've missed the laugh so much.

We sat in a peaceful silence as we ate and finished our food. Shadow then grabbed my finished stick and threw both of them into the orange light.

"What is this?", I asked, pointing to the warm light.

"It's fire. Don't touch it".

His words made me want to touch it.

So I did.

Reaching my hand out, I put it amongst the 'fire', and instantly yelped, jumping away and shaking my hand. Tears started to roll down my cheeks, and I whined in pain.

Shadow reacted quickly, and in a split moment, I was in his lap with the cold white stuff covering my sore hand. I sniffled as he held my hand, so gently, that it seemed impossible that he had wiped out the entire group of humans in the building.

"I said, don't touch it", he muttered, holding me close.

"Could've said that fire bites you", I grumbled back, resting my head on his chest. He sighed, rubbing my back with his free hand. "Sorry", I muttered after a moment of silence.

"Don't be. You're right. I should've said that fire bites", he chuckled softly at his words, and I smiled. It was another pause of silence until he spoke again. "How did you sleep? Well?", he asked, watching the fire.

"Yeah...", I whispered, nuzzling his chest. "Did you sleep well?", I asked back.

"I don't sleep". His answer was quick and without emotion. It puzzled me.