Spectator

Chapter Fifteen: Now

She was in a cave. Groggy didn't quite cut it; her head felt so heavy, she wasn't sure how her neck was capable of holding it. Her throat was unreasonably dry, as if she hadn't had water for days. Not to mention her arms, which were bound behind her. Her feet were free, and with a few ungainful kicks, she managed to get herself upright, which was a bit better than having her face pressed in the dirt. It was dark, save for the orange glow of a flickering torch that she could just make out from somewhere behind her, if she twisted into a even worse position.

A dank smell permeated her nose, and springy moss gathered on the hollowed out walls. In the distance, something roared. First she thought it was an animal, but then considered—waterfall. She shifted forward on her bound knees, trying to glimpse the hint of a hollowed exit, but the torch's light was limited. It was most certainly nighttime, but she had no concept of where she was. And if Jae and Nari had managed to track her after their capture. But Kali was alive, so hopefully Zakariah was the same, and she wouldn't normally be grateful for that, but enough lives had been lost already.

It took the soft padding of footsteps behind her to make her realise: she'd been stripped. Her uniform, such as it was, was gone. Sure, it had been ripped and worn, but it was still insulated against heat and cold. And it had covered her. This... didn't. It was made of animal leather, scratchy and rough against her skin, covering maybe half of her torso if she was being generous, nothing on her arms, and barely any of her cleavage. Lacking proper support and ample size meant a very plunging neckline. The skirt, if it could be called that, was made out of pliable leaves that hung down in strands, not covering much of her substantial hips, and even less of her thighs. At least she still had her underwear, but that wasn't much of a comfort.

Aware of how little she could move, both with the tenuous clothing and her arms tied behind her back with some coarse rope, she did still make an attempt to see who was approaching her from behind. Her answer came soon enough, first by the sharp blade at her throat, and then by the smell of clay, something sweet, like orchids, and then of sweat.

"Sh'an," she said, a bit tremulously. But if he wanted to kill her, he should have done so already, not trussed her up like some fancy new shuttle on its first flight out of dock. So instead of fear, Kali tilted her head even farther back. His black eyes burned into hers, furious, but she would not quiver. "Something seems to have happened to my clothes," she quipped, feeling more like Jae. Is this why he joked all the time? "And I'm in a terribly uncomfortable position. Care to explain?"

He huffed something unintelligible at her, but at least his hold didn't tighten. His other hand had gathered up in her beyond tangled hair, possibly to grab her head back, but for now they merely lingered, making her skin tingle everywhere she felt contact. He seemed to have a fascination with touching her, even when he was obviously livid.

"You hurt/pain/upset me," she said more slowly, carefully, this time in Hazanti. The friend tack hadn't seemed to work last time, so this time she would appeal to his guilt. If he had any. The lines on his face loosened just barely. He was so stern—so somber. He held the knife like he could kill her with it, but his thumb stroked a vein on her neck with almost gentleness.

"Why you mad/unhappy/angry?" She questioned. That thick brow of his descended, sharpening his features until they were nearly as pointed as his knife. She had probably made a mistake in asking, but it was that or sit here with her shoulders cramping and a weapon waiting to split open her throat. She'd get answers, if she could.

"You left/leave/leaving," he accused her in a voice so deep and thick she thought she could swim in it. "And return/returned/returning with -"

He said a word she didn't understand. She frowned and shook her head, and he scowled further, expression dark. He said another word, and she was no better at comprehending, until she realized it was 'partner'.