Savages

Chapter Three- The Man in the Beast

The next day, Margaret moved through the jungle to find Agrios's residence. Nestled in the back of her memory and her injured ankle made it difficult to find, but through determination and familiar plants, she found it by midday as he was reading the dictionary as he sat on the edge of the bed. Upon seeing her, he moved up to his feet before standing like an ape, at her waist as his eyes connected with hers.

"Agrios..."

"Yes?" He asked, having trouble remembering the words to say.

"If you wish to be a proper man, you must act as such..."

He looked at her with confusion.

"Men do not walk like monkeys...Not anymore at least..." She teased the hit at evolution before assisting him to stand like a proper man. His facial expression changed to disliking the stance but with her large smile, he could not deny it.

"Do all men stand this way?" He asked with great strain on most of the words, almost as if speaking them caused him pain.

She nodded. "They also wear clothes." Her eyes moved down his body as his eyes went wide.

"I have this only."

"I am sure there is something here..." She said as she began going through his things. She found one of his father's suits before placing it up against him. "It may be a little snug..." She blushed as she knew his muscles were the reason, before placing it on the bed. "Do you know how to put it on?"

He nodded. "I can dress." He said as he attempted to make a joke. She smirked before turning.

"Do you remember anything before you were wrecked here?"

"The stars. They would make me feel...they looked..." He groaned as he could not figure out the tie. She turned and nearly found herself breathless at his new look. His muscles showed hard underneath the material as she smiled bright.

"You look...very proper..."

"What word is it when something makes this feel fast and tight?" He asked when he pointed to his heart.

"Breathtaking? Beautiful?" He paused at her word.

"Beautiful." He repeated it as his hand moved to her cheek. "You are like the stars. You make me calm and...you are beautiful." He spoke broken English as she found an idiotic smile to come over her face.

"Thank you. That is very kind." She pulled away as she felt the gaze held too long. She limped to the edge of his bed before he moved towards her.

"Hurt?" He pointed to her foot as he asked.

"Little. I will be fine." He moved up from the bed and handed her a banana from the box he had harbored his food into.

"Will make stronger." He said as she opened it and began to eat it, almost finding the food orgasmic as he watched her close. His gaze moved to the ground as she saw him stare.

"Do you want me to teach you more words Agrios?"

He nodded.

"Then let us start with objects." She moved to her feet and around the small makeshift camp before picking up a globe.

"Do you know what this is?" He shook his head. "It is a map on a spherical object called a globe." She stressed the word various times as he repeated it each time. "It shows you where certain places are."

"Where are we?" He asked as she locked eyes on the globe and set her finger on a portion before circling an area.

"Somewhere here...." Seeing the sadness in her face, he picked up another item.

"This is called a telescope. You can see through this end and it makes the distance look closer. As if you were closer than you actually are."

"Telescope..." He said aloud before nodding, telling her that he understood.

This continued all afternoon before she found a dusty projector in a sealed box, that by some miracle, had not been damaged or submerged in water during his wreck. Placing it inside his small tent, she placed a sheet on the inside as they were enclosed, as she placed the slides inside of it. She saw how there were pictures of Agrios as a little boy along with his parents. The pictures varied from happy pictures to heartfelt ones as his mother had him on her lap as she was showing him a small bird. As he saw one photo, he peered at it.

"What is that?" He asked slowly as a slide came of his parents in a sweet kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower. Her back was slightly dipped as his father held her from falling.

"It is a kiss."

"Kiss?"

"When lips touch. Usually because of love."

"Love?"

"What your parents have. When you want the other to be happy, when you want to give them their best chance...or even set them free...to love them..."

"I read of it." He picked up another book that was more of a woman's genre as she smirked at the thought. "I learned words from it. But I do not know what they feel like."

"You can feel words?"

He nodded. "When I see a...creature in the water-"

"A fish.."

"Yes...if their eyes look at mine, I feel as if I relation-"

"Relate..." He nodded at her correction.

"I relate to them. I feel the same...I feel connect...ed..."

"What else do you feel?"

"When water falls I feel free....there is no world but this one." She was impressed with his words.
"When I look at you...I see beauty...you are much like flower. Soft and beautiful...."

"Thank you-"

"And distant."

"Distant? Do you mean another word?"

He shook his head. "I am not the same as you. I wish I could..." He felt defeated. "Make you know what my head is feeling-"

"What you are thinking?"

He nodded, slightly embarrassed.

"Then we shall spend each day helping you learn new words. New things. Now with this projector, it shall make it easier..."

"Will you come back?"

"Tomorrow."

He nodded before sitting on the edge of his bed. "Thank. You." He spoke as if it had been different words, but they made her feel relaxed as she walked back to the beach to find Beth angry. Fearful that something happened to her, she apologized quickly for her escalated tone before then hearing a lengthy excuse from Margaret on how she got lost and found food.

And as promised, Margaret returned the next day to Agrios and taught him more words, showed him more slides, and drew objects in the sand on the other side of the island-away from Beth. Upon seeing a flower upon his makeshift pillow, she pressed it between her fingers before he stopped her.

"Why do you have this there?"

He smelled it before than feeling it. "I like it all. It reminds me of you." He said sweetly as eh blushed.

She told Beth she had been analyzing the island for more survivors, food, and a way home-while deep inside, she did not wish to leave.