Beauty, Beasts and Balance

Part Nine

They sat in an awkward silence for a time. After what had happened the night before, neither one knowing how to begin a conversation with the other.

In the end Caitlin was unable to endure the heavy atmosphere and spoke first. "Thank you, for the clothes. And the other things." She kept her gaze down an picked at the fur skirt. "Is this the style most wom- females wear?"

Parker sat on the floor cross-legged and scratched his cheek, "During the warmer seasons, it is. They like to show off their mate marks and their pregnant bellies."

"hmmm?" She hummed in interest.

Parker leaned forward, encouraged by her improved mood, "If you want, I'll show you around the village and you can see for yourself. You can get to know and play with the females in the tribe. They pick edible wild herbs and fruits every day so you might find some you like."

Caitlin perked up a little at that. Any excuse to leave the hut that stung her nose with the smell of ammonia was welcome.

Parker was watching her first and furrowed his brows. "But first," Parker spoke quickly. "You have some scratches on your face we should treat. Harvey left some of the medicine mud. I'll help you put it on."

Caitlin had remembered getting scratched by the branches on her way falling off the tree, but the other wounds had hurt much more, she'd forgotten about it.

Caitlin put a hand up to stop Parker who looked like he was ready to slather on the medicinal mud, "Hold on." She pulled her hoodie close to her to fumble in the kangaroo pocket. "Where's my cellphone?" She mumbled to herself. "Ah hah! Found it. Let's see..." She held the cell phone's reflective glass up to her face. The cracks on the screen made it hard for her to see exactly how bad the scratches were, but she was able to pinpoint a few on her left cheek and temple. She was about to reach for the mud to apply it herself but kept forgetting that her hands were covered in green wrappings.

"Let me." He said noticing her hesitation. He scooped out some mud onto his two fingers and began painting her face. When Caitlin had looked in her reflection, she didn't think it was that bad, but Parker's liberal use of the mud made her think she'd underestimated her wounds. He spread it on her cheeks, forehead and even across her nose. When he was done, he sat back admiring his work. "Perfect." His satisfied smile made her a little suspicious but she let it slide. Either way, she could tell from the state of her hands that morning that the mud was working. There hadn't been any inflammation or oozing pus so she didn't mind the concoction doubling as sunblock for today.

"Let's go." Parker said and Caitlin moved as if to get up herself but the leopard didn't giver her a chance. He picked her up like she weighed nothing and in similar fashion to yesterday's journey, he held her steady in his arms. The sudden movement forced her to wrap her arms around his neck. For not the first time she admired Parker's well defined and lean muscles. He had the body of a college athlete with skin the color of desert sand and entirely hairless. A little shy at the close contact, Caitlin loosened the hold of her arms. Parker, who's positive mood kept getting better, shifted Caitlin, tossing her an inch into the air which forced her to tighten her hold on him once again. "Hold on tight." He said and then headed for the door.

"Hold on! Do you plan on carrying me the entire time? Shouldn't I put on my shoes first?" He couldn't possibly be planning on carrying her the whole day, could he?

"Shoes?"

"My footwear." She pointed to the blood-stained and dirty gray sneakers at the foot of the bed.

Parker shook his head, "Better to not wear any weird-looking clothes. Your clothes are all too strange and will attract too much attention."

She couldn't argue that point. If she didn't want everyone and their cousin asking what strange land she was from, it was better to do what she could to blend in with the locals.