Not Alone

Chapter 4: Personal Can Opener

After an hour of debating on just where we were going to live, we came up with a tier list of places.

First and foremost, we wanted to live on our own, but not too far away from a village in case we needed help or could offer help.

Our first pick was the coast. Easy seafood and the ability to distill our own salt are huge upsides, especially since neither of us really knows how to hunt. Plus, there has to be some sort of trading post or city along the coast, in order to obtain salt, so it wouldn't be impossible to reach civilization.

Our other picks were the forest, plains, mountains, and/or a lakeside. Neither of us wanted to tangle with a rainforest, those things are FILLED with deadly creatures, and a swamp just sounds gross to live in.

Plus Dias is allergic to frogs, so the swamp is definitely last on the list.

It only took Dias a quick run back into the village to grill some poor merchant about directions to the coast. In the meantime, I took note of what we had in our bigass hiking bags.

Two sleeping bags, half of our food left, a small metal pot and frying pan, some spare clothes, our first aid kits, bug spray, bear protection kit, water bottles, some purifying tablets, a small bottle of vitamins, and some basic toiletries.

I finish taking note of what we have when Dias comes jogging back, he sweeps his hand through lightly sweaty hair as I mention "Y'know, on the show Alone, they let the contestant bring like, a bow or an axe or something." I look at him with a raised eyebrow "Forget the bow huh?"

Dias rests his hands on his hips as he breathes, looking slightly incredulous "We were going a three-day hike, not a three-month hike"

He plops down beside me, nearly knocking me over from where I'm sat "Also, I don't know how to use a bow"

My mouth twists in dry amusement "Good thing you can turn into a bat then, hm?"

He shakes his head, spattering my cheek with tiny droplets of sweat. He smiles smugly at my disgusted look and slightly frantic swiping "So, I got directions to the coast. It's a couple of weeks from here, but he said there is a river that leads most of the way there"

I finish wiping off my face, flicking the accumulated moisture back onto him, before looking at him seriously "Babe, your gonna need to learn how to use those fancy new wings of yours, cause there is no way in hell I'm going to walk for several weeks straight"

His smug smile drops, and a slightly haunted look enters his eyes "Is this a bad time to mention that I'm not super fond of heights?"

********

He got over it.

It only took half an hour before I could convince him to shift into his massive bat form, a quick 20-minute break for me to pet his soft black fur, and then another hour of poking and prodding before I could get him into the air.

His first few flights? Disasters. I'm genuinely surprised he didn't break his neck.

"Looking good babe! Apparently, those instincts of yours are good for something!" I call up to him as he swoops in the sky.

A sharp scree comes from him in response, his wings buffeting the grass with strong winds as he lands down with a dense-sounding thud. Dias shifts back into his human form, quickly pulling on his pants left near his landing site before jogging over to me.

His grin practically stretches from ear to ear as he rushes out breathlessly "I'm over it! I'm so over it! Holy crap that's cool! Babe, babe get the gear! I wanna take you up there!"