In Alien Hands: Crashed

Crashed - Part 2

I had decided to stay in the woods, especially with Holli around. Too many planets didn't like humans, and many would have her killed just for being there. I had been told as a pup how they viewed humans as destructive, many of the species on Earth were endangered because of them.

Holli definitely wasn't like the humans who did that kind of thing, she screamed and yelled when I killed a spider one day. Her psychologist told me that her love for non-violent species was likely the reason she was tamed so easily. It's easier for humans like that to feel compassion for other species.

She was still asleep when I woke up, but that didn't last long since we shared the hammock. We usual, she simply rolled over and went back to sleep while I started breakfast. I'd wake her up when it was ready. I pulled the last fish out of the cooler to cook for breakfast.

We were lucky enough to have survival equipment in the ship when it got caught in the planet's gravity. It had a hammock, an electronic firestarter, a homing beacon (which should've allowed two way calling, but didn't seem to be working properly), a water cleaner which was used with a campfire, a turnspit, plates, and an automatic cooler. I had packed several things for both Holli and me, such as two water bottles, a brush, and clothes.

With the fish thoroughly cooked, I woke Holli up. With her still groggy, I lifted her out of the hammock and plopped her in front of the fire. While she stretched and yawned, I handed her half the fish and her water bottle. She was clearly very tired of the fish she'd been eating the past few days, but I wasn't brave enough to feed her anything that I was unsure of on an unfamiliar planet. It was either fish or risking killing her, and I'd rather not choose the latter. She picked at the fish and finished off her water I had cleaned the day prior, leaning into my fur.

She happily accepted a few strokes while I finished eating, but I soon had to stop. The single fish between us wasn't a big breakfast, so i'd need to catch a lot more if we wanted to be full. Holli was usually aloof with her appetite, but the change in scenery was making her hungrier, despite her lack of interest in fish. I put out the fire and got ready to hunt. I have Holli a hug and left her for the river.

I wasn't scared of Holli running away, even if she wanted to. She had zero chance of getting back even at home. She'd have to escape, board a spaceship going back to earth, and get away from anyone staffing it. Only abductors could go to earth, the risk of the population finding out about us was too large to let anyone else go there. She would have to learn to read in order to even navigate. And that'd be on my home planet. Here, it'd even more risky. She could be hurt by someone native, or killed, like I mentioned before. 

I was, luckily, capable of fishing without a spear or pole. I was adept at swimming and catching. I decided to head upriver, I had seen a deep spot where fish may be hiding. I arrived at the pool and watched for a few minutes. I counted a dozen fish. After a few hours, I had caught quite a few, enough for several days.

I had returned to camp in the afternoon. To my terror, Holli was gone. She hadn't left camp before. My mind raced through everything that could of happened to her.

She could've been hurt by an animal, with no medical care. She could have been captured by a local, then taken away forever or killed. She could have fallen off of something and been hurt. Maybe she could of drowned, I knew she couldn't swim.

While my mind raced with all of the terrible things that could of happened to her, she returned. She looked very nervous, and ran to me for a hug. I got down on my knees so I could hug her back.

Looking up, I noticed what she was scared of. It was a local. He looked bewildered at the way I had greeted her. Holli had gone behind my legs, as if she had done something to anger him.

"Hello. Did my human do something to upset you?" I approached him in a friendly matter.

" i found it in my garden, picking my berries. I walked up to it and it put the berries down and came here. I followed to figure out what a human was doing loose. " the stranger pointed in the direction they had came.

"Oh, she probably didn't know they were yours. That's why she put them down, to try and give them back." I put emphasis on the pronoun to tell him her gender. In my culture, " it" is an insult. We used the pronoun "they" to refer to someone whose gender we didn't know. I couldn't force the stranger to follow my customs, but I hoped they'd get the hint.

I looked down at holli and gave her a smile. Other species may not all think humans are cute, but her accidentally stealing and attempting to apologize and return is adorable in my book. She gave me a nervous smile back.

"Oh, okay. I understand. In my culture, humans are kept in cages. They are considered dangerous here. We grow plants from their planet, but they aren't allowed loose. I was told they are destructive to other species" The stranger glanced at Holli like she might attack him.

"We're not here on purpose. We crashed on our way to a different planet. I'm trying to contact my family with a beacon. Holli isn't fond of cages, so I avoid them if I can. She's been tired of the fish I've been catching, so I think she went looking for something tastier. I dont know what is safe to eat except for fish, so i hadn't bothered to forage anything." I explained to him while Holli slowly lost interest.

"The food she was picking was from earth. It is one of many fruits that were imported from there to grow here." He explained to me. I nodded to show my understanding. "Do you need anything? I have plenty of supplies at my house. I'd offer you a room as well, but I don't want a human in my house. My roommate would not allow it" I was surprised at this act of kindness.

"Thank you! We could use some fruits and vegetables, truthfully. Holli really doesn't like the fish and we'd both appreciate some variety. Some tap water would be amazing as well, it takes hours for our clean water to cool." I was very happy to get some water. It does take hours to purify the water and it is still warm when we need to drink it.

"Do you have blankets? I see a bed but nothing to keep you warm. I thought humans needed to be kept warm. " He nodded towards our hammock

"We share the hammock and my fur keeps her warm" the stranger acted like I said I shared a bed with a lion. "But we could use a pillow"

The stranger left and I started on dinner. Holli grew visibly upset when I didn't start her water, showing me the empty bottle. She made frustrated noises when I handed her only one fish. I made sure she had room for the food my new friend was bringing. She obviously wasn't aware of this, and was close to having a fit when the food arrived.

The stranger had brought a blanket along with the pillow anyways. He brought three different fruits, which Holli instantly recognized and He came excited over. I immediately poured her water while she hugged me in thanks. I thanked the new friend while Holli ate her half of the fruit.

"I'm harvesting a lot more fruit tomorrow, I'll bring enough to last you a week." He then left.

I sat with Holli and ate my share. She climbed onto my lap while we ate. It was my first time eating these fruits. The first was a handful of small, black fruits, which were tart. Then I ate several red fruits, which I was able to eat in one bite, while Holli had to take a dozen bites to even finish one fruit. The last one was a bit fuzzy, and the one she seemed most excited about. I took a bite and hit something hard, like a little rock. I spat it out while Holli giggled. It was a pit.

I climbed back to bed with holli. She seemed happy about the pillow, using it instead of my arm. She fell asleep quicker than usual that night, I assumed because of the stressful day. Then I, too fell asleep.