When Odymn wakes
she is almost strangled
in ground sheet, blanket and Slain.
His hand is in her hair,
his arm around her waist,
his leg over her thigh.
She treats him like a puzzle.
Works her way
from arms and legs and fingers.
The fire cold.
Odymn looks
at the Argenop's
empty tree limb,
the pile of tath-toll bones
abandoned by the fire.
Wonders
if he has reached his home.
Stretches and settles
into downward dog.
Memories of her English teacher
in high school.
Taught them the rudiments of yoga.
Sun salutation and seated pose.
Odymn uses them now,
preparation for parkour.
Seated, she begins a leg stretch.
The Slain has wakened,
watches her.
"You should do some of these,"
she says.
"You need
to get strong."
Remembers his ease
when he lifted her
into his bed.
The Slain stands beside her.
Watches her
as she stretches,
lowers to her ankles,
hugs her calves.
He copies her
as far as he can.
His bulk
and his wound
prevent
an easy bend.
As she moves and stretches
she considers
best moves for a man
with broken muscles
and a wound the size of her fist.
YOU ARE READING
Meniscus: One Point Five - Forty Missing Days
Science FictionAfter the Slain is shot, Odymn and an Argenop elder work together to try and return him to good health. As they journey towards the Themble, survival is a challenge. Odymn must add to her foraging skills and survive an attack by the vicious kotildi...
