Look to the Stars [closed]

[Sexual_Muse]

"Ix'Çitläłminå ríKeraŋi Șamiraħ'løųl."

A woman stood in the middle of a round room, fanned out in front of her here nine raised chairs and in them stood the Nine, the hierarchical meritocracy that governed the Woħi'ønåhan people. To be standing before the Nine after twenty-three and a half years of service worried the young woman of eighty-six years. With only eighteen months left in her service this meeting was out of order and unnecessary when there would be on at the end of her service. That it might be a meeting of some consequence was a possibility but no matter how she looked at her life, the many different points of views that she took in hand there was nothing within her entire life that could have warranted this assemblage of such great people.

"We have gone over your service report." Măhiʀima̧ḧ had been the first to speak and her voice carried over the room once again. "And have found you to be a worthy candidate."

Candidate? Ixmina scanned the room with her eyes searching for falsehoods hidden by wanted words or gentle faces but found none. "A candidate for what?" She knew they heard her words for they all looked upon her when she asked but no one said a thing, save Ḱoиan̐ɛ nodded his agreement before returning his gaze back to the folder in front of him.

"Yes there are many things here that have proven that." He mumbled his strong voice quieted in his intensity over his current task, which seemed to be reading.

"I too have made note of you." Đuȑȑikaɲ was the eldest of the Nine but held only the Third of the Nine. "The way you handled yourself and the lives of those in mission 379..." His smile was soft and masked the tactical mastermind that he was.

Ix recalled the mission and her head dropped as she looked away from the Nine. It wasn't that she had done anything that shamed her but that what little of a thing she had done mattered. There was value in life and for her not to do everything that she could to save it... Just such a thing could no be done. "I did as any would have done."

"We all disagree." Măhiʀima̧ḧ said as the others nodded and whispered words were passed around the room. "And because of our unanimous agreement in you," Her eyes held Ix's and in them was the weight of what they would not tell her. "We would task you in this mission."

"A solo mission." Ḱoиan̐ɛ added, his contribution to Măhiʀima̧ḧ's earlier words confusing Ix even more then she already was.

Solo missions were rare, there was a strength in teams that benefited situations that a single person would fall to. Ix hadn't even heard of a solo mission being granted in her short life. In fact as a honor that has been made legendary she could recall no one that had lived to see a solo mission given.

"We require you to do nothing but watch, listen and learn." Y̊oửseị the Ninth of the Nine sat back in his seat with his fingers laced in front of him. He had said his part and needing no further explanation sat back to listen to the rest speak.

Waneŧa pressed a few buttons on her side panel that caught Ix's attention but said nothing.

"You will blend into their world, bring no attention to yourself or who you truly are." Warned Ḱoиan̐ɛ looking up from the report once again.

"Yes, yes, yes." Cɧimạ̈ʟ the Eighth interrupted with excitement. "These humans are too young yet to grasp what is beyond them." He hummed fidgeting in his seat.

Humans. With just that one word Ix had the finial piece to her puzzle and everything they had said prior to this last bit of information made sense. The voices of the Nine faded in her mind as Ix reevaluated her current situation. Because of their advanced technological state, helped but the Woħi'ønåha's ability to adapt to one's environment their reach was vast and far. There was still much to be learned, much to be found but what they had learned and found added to their existence. Earth and it's galaxy was newly founded to them and by newly it meant that they had been watched from a far where humans could not see them. That the planet held a war like species with technical and adaptive properties of some intelligence flagged them as dangerous and had been what had kept the Woħi'ønåha people away. There were other places that bore sweeter fruits and the research of Earth garnered no additional resources. A planet known but passed over in it's unimportance.

"The mission will compete the remainder of your service and you shall return a month before said date and hand in your report and findings to us." A First of the Nine Măhiʀima̧ḧ had the power to extend Ix's service for as long as she felt it necessary. That she hadn't told Ix of her trust in her and her abilities to complete this mission to their satisfaction.

"Is there anything that you require of us before you embark on this journey to Earth?" Đuȑȑikaɲ asked.

"Questions?" This from Cɧimạ̈ʟ.

"I have all that I need and no questions to be asked or answered." Ix replied knowing her words to be true. Her ship was sound and like all vessels birthed to carry many but capable to be handled by one. She had supplies to see her thorough any and all possible encounters and foods, weapons and tech to hold her against all that might be beyond listed possibilities. And what questions she once had were already answered.

"Good." Măhiʀima̧ḧ stood and like a wave the rest of the Nine followed suit and stood as well. Măhiʀima̧ḧ didn't need to tell Ix that what had passed within this room was to stay within this room and in the silent minds of those within. Missions handed out by the Nine were a class all of their own and held a punishment best not thought of. "We shall see you in seventeen months." And by that farewell Măhiʀima̧ḧ turned and left the room. The others departed in different directions and soon the only two in the room were Ix and Đuȑȑikaɲ.

"Ix." That he would feel so comfortable in addressing her so informally was a compliment Ix was unsure she deserved. "Take this." In the palm of his hand was a deoxyribonucleic acid holochip that glowed with a faint purple hue. "Cɧimạ̈ʟ's latest creation." He explained. "Waneŧa had some part in it's construction as well." He took Ix's hand and pressed the dime sized chip into her palm. "Count the stars." He smiled releasing Ix's hand before leaving her alone in the round room.

It seemed as if the chip had already been fashioned to her genetic makeup and pulsed in her hand in timing to her second heart. "Count the stars." Ix whispered to herself as she slipped the chip into her pocket. "And know all the dangers." She sighed. Others in her place would have been beyond themselves, over joyed at the privilege of being honored with a solo mission, given by the Nine no less but if nothing else Ix was controlled. She felt the delight of being picked course through her marrow but didn't allow the feeling to overwhelm her. She would bring honor to the Nine and hold herself to the image that they must believe she was.

~~~

Earth.

Ix had seen it's likeness in pictures and interactives before but to behold it so closely was a marvel. The blue was brighter and not as uniformed in hue as pictured. The greens and browns of the land covered and expanded all names that the humans had for the colors seen. And just by thinking it the human words for the colors that she was seeing echoed in the cockpit of her ship.

During the trip Ix had loaded her deoxyribonucleic acid holochip with what information she felt lacked on it already. Funny that the trip took nine days to get to Earth as it was the Nine who had given her this mission. With those days she had tapped into their virtual data banks, what they called their internet and scrolled through what it offered. Before this trip Ix only knew the basics of human life and nothing more then that, being able to see through their internet what they viewed as important and vital astounded her.

"Beauty it only skin deep." Ix told herself as she looked down upon Earth. From what she had learned she had created a harsh view human makeup. Finding them to be less intelligent then she had thought them to be and more animistic in nature then she once believed. They obsession on mating patterns baffled her and what worth they placed in the rich frankly disgusted her. They had laws but it seemed that if you were rich they did not apply, that they were free to do as they pleased without consequence. In fact it seemed that the worse the person was the more they were famed for it and the bigger their following got, in turn making them more rich.

It was a tiny bump and barely even felt, yet... Lights flashed, sirens beeped and screeched. Ix reacted within seconds of feeling the puny rattle but it was already too late. The metallic scream echoed throughout the empty shuttle and the spacecraft tipped and dipped before losing power. All at once all the noise stopped and the lights flickered off. Time seemed to power down with the ship as instinct took over.

The interface on the engine and engineering deck was powered by a back up power generator and blazed red with failures and malfunctions. Hyper Boosters- Offline. Gravitational Stabilizers- Recalibrating. Turbo Pump- Fractured. Coolant Valve- Flooded. These were all serious matters and Ix quickly got to work.

"Rerouting." A synthetic voice sputtered as the power surged back on. "Unable to reroute."

Ix ignored the voice and continued the wrench on bolts and input more commands into the computers. A red box flashed in the corner of the computer alerting Ix that they had drifted into the Earth's gravitational pull. Numbers replaced the red box and they skyrocketed with every second. It was like a timer to get the rest of the ship operational before impact. She did the math in her head estimating how much time that would be.

"19 minutes." She told herself. It should be enough time is the ship stayed stable. As she worked a feeling kept eating at her, all these things she had checked over herself before she left and nothing had seemed out of place. If that had been it she could have just chalked it up to the pressure of this mission but that technicians had also been over her ship raised more then one red flag.

Without warning the ship's nose dipped and although the power came on everything seemed to be frozen.

"Warning," The ship's voice called thought the shuttle warning everyone that might be aboard. "Warning!"

Ix checked the systems for the warning but found nothing. The computers logged a fire in the engine room but that was impossible since Ix was in that room and there wasn't a single puff of smoke. The ship shuddered and angled sharply towards Earth and picked up speed. Ix didn't know what was happening but knew at this point there was nothing she could do from the deck she was on and ran up to the cockpit.

"Impact in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." The voice counted down incorrectly as they were still falling and had just entered Earth's atmosphere. "Disconnect. Failure to log crash. Rebooting." The lights turned off and back on in a matter of seconds, the computer systems following just seconds behind. "Booting emergency protocol; Scanning for life. Located. Downloading... downloading... dow-wnnn-loa-load-ing..."

The ship tossed and turned but that was pushed aside for the swelling pain that burned through Ix's body. She felt like she was on fire as if her naturally cold blood was steaming and boiling. "AAAHHH!!" Her stomach twisted and she felt sick like she wanted to thrown up. Black dots swam in her vision, agony tightened her airways and prevented her from breathing. She crawled on hands and knees to the foot of her seat, clinging it as she tried to ride out what was going on.

"Completed."

It was the last thing Ix heard before the ship crashed, her eyes missing the stands of golden blonde hair that whipped around her face as she was thrown about the room and out through the shattered window. The dirt didn't make for a soft landing but it was all lost on Ix as she had already passed out.

As part of the emergency state that the ship had loaded it cloaked itself and recreated image generations hiding all evidence of it's crash landing and the alien that had been thrown. The pain that Ix had felt had been the deoxyribonucleic acid holochip shifting her body into a human form, using the image of the closet human life form as a base to build upon. She was the same 4' 11½" height, held the same weight and nothing had changed on the insides her skin forms had been manipulated to look outwardly human.

 

[MidnightWalk]

Michael Tangier leaned back in his chair. This was not going as he expected. Words were supposed to be flowing a lot faster than this. He interlaced his fingers, stretching and cracking the joints. The words glowing on his laptop mocked him and his eyes drifted to the word count in the corner. Those numbers mocked him as well.

He pushed back from the desk, and walked to the cabin's refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of water. Looking around the single room of the cabin, Michael worked his shoulder muscles loose. He'd spent way too much time hunched over that laptop for no payoff. This bet was going to cost him if he didn't get his head on straight. It had seemed innocuous enough...a round of drinks and his admission that he'd always wanted to write a novel. When the mockery of his "cliched dream" ended, the bets began. If he could get something written, Belinda knew a publisher and would get him an audience. If he could get it accepted, he was looking at 5 grand from each of his friends. If he couldn't produce, it was his own bank account that would be feeling the pinch. So, he'd taken two months off of work, and Taylor had been kind enough to offer him use of this cabin. He had everything he needed. And nothing was coming out of his brain.

Michael walked to the window, staring out over the forested hills. All of the greenery and nature and life should be inspirational. It wasn't working. He tapped the bottle against the window, listening to the plastic tap again and again. "What to do...what to do...?" He considered taking another hike...something to get his mind clear enough to write. Just like the last 5 days.

He started to turn away from the window. A flash of color that didn't belong caught his eye. And in an odd direction. Michael looked up as a streak of fire cut the sky. A blaze of flame cut the sky from the south, at a very weird angle. A meteor? It seemed...foreshortened. His heart beat faster. He'd never seen a shooting star before. And now...this one seemed to be...coming right at him. A brief moment of panic overwhelmed him before he saw the angle was off. It wouldn't come down on him, but nearby...relatively. He stood there, mesmerized by the flaming object.

Then, like a blink, it was gone with a roar. Then the earth moved. It literally shook, the cabin vibrating, several small objects falling off the desk and shelves as a massive boom echoed through the valleys. "Holy crap!" Michael stepped back quickly, afraid the window might shatter. He stood in the middle of the cabin, looking at the window. He waited. Nothing further happened.

"Damn...a meteor just landed." Talk about inspiration. Setting the water bottle down on a table, he looked around. Grabbing his hiking boots, he pulled them on, lacing them tightly. He then took up his hiking pack, throwing it over his shoulders. What else to take? His eyes moved to the hunting rifle mounted above the fireplace. He took a half-step toward it before rejecting it. He'd yet to see anything out there more dangerous than a deer or squirrel. And no doubt, anything dangerous would run away from anything crashing into the ground. He did, however, pick up the hatchet from the wood pile, sticking it through his belt. It had any number of uses.

Throwing open the door, he stepped onto the porch. He needed to head southish. Taking a deep breath, he shut the door and started off. There were some game trails he could follow down the hill, and that made things easier, for a bit. Before long, the trails didn't go where he needed them. Those wacky animals...they followed the valleys and easiest paths. The direction of the meteor...meteorite, now...was over hills...hills not easy to go around. Ok, ridges, to be fair.

Michael trudged and trudged, the excitement waning a bit. He took frequent breaks, hydrating and looking around the forest. After two hours, he scratched his chin. He should be getting close. He stood listening. No sounds of fire. He sniffed. There was a brief whiff of...ozone? A touch of smoke? But then it was gone. Something was very weird here. An object burning through the sky and crashing to the ground should have started some fires, if nothing else. not to mention a pretty good sized crater. But he didn't see or smell or hear any sounds of anything out of the ordinary. Very bizarre.

He stood on the brow of the ridge, looking around him, wondering which way to go next. With no signs to guide him, he could wander forever. Why were there no signs? Finally making up his mind, he started off to his left. Just as he stepped, he heard something...a small sound. A groan? It came from his right. He turned, and pushed through some underbrush....

 

[Sexual_Muse]

Was it night? Her body tingled and her eyes slowly opened. Blurred images focused with every blink and the distant bodily burning died down until all she could feel was the damp ground under her body and the trees standing above her. The woods smelled of the pine and fir trees that surrounded the woman, which made sense but that faint detection of ozone lingered in the air for a moment before blowing away with the next breeze.

Sounds were slow in coming but like a far away echo they reached her but were hazy and unrecognizable. "Urah..." The woman moaned pushing up off the ground to sit up. Looking up she could identify the trees that she saw, the bushes that tickled against her skin had names and she she could name them all. Looking up past the trees the sky was awash in colors, so many colors that it looked almost fake again the blue backdrop. When the sun's final rays dipped below the horizon the woman would also be able to point out every star in the sky. She didn't know how she knew all this just simply that she knew it. But these weren't the only things she knew, there was so much that she knew and all at once there were things that she did not know.

"Hello?" There was a sound that she picked up, a certain kind of crash that didn't sound like any kind of animal but like that of a person. She didn't know why she was here, what she was doing or even her name but she was sure that she had just heard a person. "Is anyone there?"

The wind kicked up again and raised goosebumps on her exposed skin and for the first time she looked down at herself. She was wearing really short shorts, a twisted bra like top and a oversize tank top with a front breast pocket. From what she could tell it was a cute outfit but against the coming night left far too much against the elements. That she wasn't dressed for what she felt like was rain that would soon fall bothered her more then her lack of information about her own self was a red flag for sure but nothing that she could change.

It was as if it wasn't happening to her, that she was only watching it happen to someone else. Weird that she could feel everything that was happening to her but was far from it, distant in mind and not at all involved in any emotional way. This wasn't normal, it felt like it was but was logical book study that she knew told her differently.

Her hands raised up to her face and she studied them, only partly aware that the sound of someone was getting closer. Her palms were dirty but undamaged yet they felt wrong. Her fingers coiled closed and opened again and again. She was watching, waiting. For what she didn't know but she sat there eyes gazed over as she withdrew into her mind searching for answers.

"Ack." Her hands had dropped to her side and when she could find no clues to give her the answers she gave in for the time being. "Ahhumm." While sitting up had been no trouble when she tried to stand up she ran into a problem. Her ankle felt like it was twisted and further prodding with her fingers proved her guess to be correct. "Fiddlesticks." She sighed sitting back down and kicking her feet out while she tried to figure out a solution to her situation.

 

[MidnightWalk]

A voice. There was someone over there. Michael pushed his way through the underbrush, forcing aside the greenery. "Hello? Is someone there?" He took a step, then paused. Just for an instant.... There was something...the smell of...burning? But then it was gone. Looking around he saw nothing out of the ordinary. He continued forward.

As he walked, he noticed branches on the ground, broken branches with splintered bases. Michael paused, kneeling to examine one of them. It appeared to have been broken forcibly, but as she looked around, and up, he could see no trees that had lost branches. There were no signs of damage to any of the surrounding trees. Puzzling. Standing, he continued on toward the sound of murmurs.

Rounding a huge oak, he paused. That was very unusual. There was a young blonde woman lying there. She wasn't wearing a lot clothing, which was a bit distracting. "Hello...are you ok?" He noticed that she had one leg curled up and was poking at her ankle. Taking a moment, he looked her over. Very attractive, and seriously out of place. Her clothes were not appropriate for hiking and those sandals.... How the hell did she get out here?

He approached slowly, hands spread wide. "Are you all right? Can I help you?" He stopped a couple feet away, looking down at her. He unslung his hiking pack, lowering it to the ground.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

"Oh." The sound of another human being caught her by surprise and she turned towards the voice with a sheepish smile on her lips. Am I alright? It was a simple enough question but she didn't have a simple enough answer. "Yes and No." She answered. "I'm alive so what better situation is there. On the other hand..." The young woman sighed waving down at her foot and the twisted ankle. "I seem to have twisted my ankle somehow and am finding it rather difficult to stand up."

The man looked to be the rugged type with his big dirt stomping hiking boots and packed bag filled with what she assumed to be tools and survival items needed to live out here in the woods. "I don't know how you found me but I can't express my gratitude that you have." A bright smile replaced the sheepish one and her eyes sparkled with relief at having help at hand. Unable to help herself as she looked over the man once again.

He looked tall, really tall but something told her he wasn't as tall as she thought him to be. Maybe it was because she was sitting and looking up at him that made her feel this way but she just couldn't shake the feeling that wasn't the only reason she felt that way. "I'm not quite sure where I am or how I got here but if it wouldn't trouble you too much would you mind assisting me to safety?" It wasn't that she didn't feel safe here in the middle of no where, there was a peace to it that reminded her of something that she just con't put her finger on. "And if you have any spare water..."

She was asking a lot from the man with nothing to give back in return but she hoped that his kind, though shadowed face, would be the knightly kind and help the poor maiden in distress.

 

[MidnightWalk]

Michael, puzzled, made his way to the little blonde woman. His eyes moved over her. "Sure, just a second." He reached into his pack and pulled out a bottle of water, handing it to her. "And there's more if you need it."

He knelt down next to her. "Let me see." He gently pushed her hands away from her ankle, and began inspecting the joint. Lifting her leg with one hand, he gently probed her ankle with his fingers, seeing her wince at certain points. Nodding, he gently rotated her foot, causing her to wince and gasp again. "I don't think anything's broken. It seems sprained. Let's wrap it up and see how it goes.

Reaching into the pack again, Michael pulled out a first aid kit. Opening it, he pulled out an elastic bandage. Sliding her sandal off, he braced her leg and began wrapping her ankle with the bandage. He wrapped it tightly, securing and bracing the joint. Michael looked her in the eyes. "Now, just relax for a moment. Tell me, what do you mean that you don't know how you got out here? You're a pretty fair distance off the beaten path and I don't know of any hiking trails within a couple miles of here. You obviously weren't out here to hike, unless you're really foolish. The clothes might pass, but those sandals...." He shook his head. "You don't have a head injury, do you? Did you hit your head?" He leaned forward, inspecting her head without touching her. There seemed to be no injury, but it was hard to tell through the masses of blonde hair. But no blood or dirt, even.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

The water was warm but refreshing as she took big mouthfuls of the liquid. "Thanks." She smiled, her hands playing with the textured vertical lines on the bottle cap. She liked the way it felt against the pad of her thumb as well as the sound her nail made against it when she scratched it.

"Are you a doctor?" She gave him her leg and watched as he more or less repeated the same process she had just gone though on her own before he got there. That he came to the same conclusion as her was no surprise to the young woman. Nevertheless she was grateful for his help and his concern over her. "Thank you again." She had a feeling 'thank you' would be her new favorite words.

The man seemed to have everything in that pack of his and she gave him points for being well prepared. Unlike herself. No matter how she thought about it just didn't seem like something she would do, go out in the wilds with nothing on hand and wearing the most unsensible sandals. Not that she really knew who she really was but it just didn't feel right.

The man also seemed to agree with her and made a point of telling her how foolish she was and how awful she shoes were for the environment she was in. Returning his gaze, looking into his eyes there was a little voice in the back of her mind that noticed how lovely the color of his eyes were before she quickly looked away. "I know." She grunted in frustration and agreement. "I just don't know what I was thinking." And she said it not just as a figure of speech. She truly didn't know what she was thinking because she really didn't know. "I know what I should have, what to wear, all the different ways to pack a bag to survive so it's not as if I am without such knowledge." She sighed. "But whatever happened has placed me here against all that I seem to know." She confessed as the man wrapped her ankle. When he had brought out the elastic bandage she mental went over the best way to brace a twisted or sprained ankle and had opened her mouth to give her advice but realized as he started that he didn't need her help. He seemed to know what he was doing and confirmed her earlier guess that he was a doctor of some kind or in the least someone who is familiar with the medical field.

"My head?" It made sense as to why she couldn't remember but her head didn't hurt. "I," Her hands stopped playing with the bottle bap and reached up to feel her head. "I don't think-" On the right side of her head about three inches back from the top of her ear was a tender spot. "Ow." It hadn't hurt before but after touching it she began to feel the dull throb of her heartbeat inside of her head. It still didn't hurt as her ankle did but it was uncomfortable. Like your foot when it falls to sleep and goes numb right before the blood flow circulates through it as it 'wakes' up. "Hmm..." The humm was more hiss then the sound of someone thinking as her fingers pushed and inspected the tenderness a bit more. "I guess I did." She confirmed with a slight nod. "Hit my head that is." She clarified with a giggle. "Still doesn't explain why or how I got out here dress as I am, does it." She asked making the mistake to look back in his eyes. The young woman didn't know if she had ever swooned over anything before but for the moment the only thing she knew for a fact was swoon worthy was this mans eyes.

"Is there a name by which my knight and shining armor shall be called?"

 

[MidnightWalk]

Michael wrapped her ankle tightly, securing it well, as she mused and nattered. As she did so he wondered at her puzzlement and somewhat stilted speech patterns. She must really be hurt. He secured the bandage, and ran his hand over it. "There, that should fix that."

Michael sat back a second, doing his best not to look down her loose top as she probed her scalp. He hadn't been at the cabin that long, but still.... Must have been without a woman too long, he mused, smiling to himself. Tearing his attention back to her scalp, he saw her wince as she found an injury. As she probed the wound, he leaned forward. Waiting until she moved her hand away, Michael gently parted the hair over the young woman's injury. She was definitely an odd duck, going on as if she was just discovering herself. When she asked his name, he smiled, craning around to look at her. "I'm Michael." He offered his hand to her, shaking hers warmly. "And you?"

While waiting for a response, he returned to examining her scalp wound. "This doesn't look too bad." He reached into the first aid kit for some antiseptic wipes, keeping her hair parted to gently clean out the wound. "Sorry if this hurts, but clean is better than dirty." He gently blotted at the abrasion. "There, not so bad." Taking the disposable cloth away, he decided it must have been dirtier than he thought. The tiny specks of blood on it were...a little off in color. Michael shrugged. He'd seen some really odd injuries when hiking and camping.

"There you go, all clean." He brushed her golden hair back where it belonged, straightening it out like it should be. He shifted around, squatting in front of her, trying to avoid that cleavage again. "Well, I don't know where you came from, so I can't take you back there. But we should probably get you under a roof. I have a cabin about two miles thattaway." He gestured. "It won't be easy going, but it's better than leaving you right here until you get your memory back. You game?"

 

[Sexual_Muse]

"Michael." She thought about his name and smiled. "Like the archangel. Quis ut Deus, who is like God." She mumbled tilting her head in his direction so he could get a better look at her injury. "As for me..." She gave her own name just as much thought, if not more, then she did his yet nothing came to her. "I don't know." She looked up at him and took his hand in hers. His hands were larger then hers and the texture of his palm against hers tickled and she had to keep from giggling. He let her hand go first but she was quick to release his hand.

"That's good." She mused as he returned to her head. She was going to nod her head but though better of it and kept still. "I'm pretty tough." She told him unsure if what she said about herself was true or not. When the cloth touched her skin there was a cold stinging sensation. She was preparred for it because Michael had warned her but that cold feel to the cleaning shilled her and goosebumps raised on her skin as her shivered.

"Thank you." She kept the 'again' off her gratitude because it seem unnecessary, it was clear that she would be in the worst of it without him. "That makes two of use." She joked, making light of the fact that she had no idea where she came from, a bright smile on her face at she stared into his eyes. "That sounds lovely." She didn't know what it was about this man, maybe it was all the help he gave her but she trusted him. It made more sense to trust him then not to. It didn't make sense to her that he would want to hunt her after all the help he had given her to make sure she was alright. The journey to this cabin on the other hand seemed like some kind of omen to her end of her day.

Game? She tilted her head to the side in confusion, what game would they be playing? "I'm not too sure how good I would be at this game of yours but I'd be willing to play." She smiled standing up, unaware of how that drooped the front of her shit and showed off her cleavage. Just inches in front of Michael's face. "Just tel me the rules and I'll try as hard as I can." Getting up was a little awkward on only one leg up she managed with grace and beamed a white toothed smile at Michael at her accomplishment.

 

[MidnightWalk]

Michael looked concerned. "So, you know the meaning of my name, but not your own? That's not a good sign." He did his best to clean out the scalp wound. He considered bandaging it, but seemed just as wise not to. Flipping that one over in his head, he decided against.

When she made the game comment, upon standing, he was taken aback for a moment. First, because of the view she'd given him down her shirt. Those were some nice breasts in that bandeau bra. The were very nice. And ample. Tearing his eyes away from them, Michael replied, "Just a figure of speech. You must have really hit your head hard. I hope you don't have a concussion or anything." He slipped his shoulder under her arm, supporting her. "I should get you back to my cabin, see about getting you some real help, I think."

He looked back the way he'd come, across the ridge and valley. "This isn't going to be easy, particularly with you having a bum ankle. I sure as hell can't carry you for a couple miles up and down all this stuff, small as you are. I suppose I can and will, where necessary, but you're gonna have to try and walk as much as you can, ok? This is some tough terrain we've got to negotiate. You up for that?"

 

[Sexual_Muse]

It wasn't the best of signs but it could always be worse. And anyways there was something about angels and the creation of he world and it's creator that intrigued her. "Would it ease your worries if I knew my name?" She doubted it and told him so. "A name wouldn't help anymore in our situation would it? A name wouldn't fill in the other random blanks I seem to have." But she felt there was some importance in knowing a given name to address a person by. After all it had been her own self that asked after his. "But there should be something bu which you could call me by." She thought about it for a bit but could think if nothing she liked. "Perhaps it could be a name you give me." The idea was pleasing to the young woman and she smiled with the thought if her new name.

"Hmmm." A common set of speech. The notion seemed foreign to her and she asked questions where she lacked answers. It was more or less the reason she missed the pause as she got up. "Does everyone share the same figures of speech? Or is it regional? And if so does the figure change shape in means of patterns or rhythm?" The moment she asked them she knew that it was the wrong things to ask. That the questions were odd, out of place and would only cause Michael to be more concerned then he already was. But words spoken could not be unsaid and she quickly changed the subject in an effort to hide her previous brain lag.

"Now that my bum," she tested the new word out hoping she was using it correctly. "Ankle is properly supported I feel much better and more equipped to match you at this game of yours." She joked, smiling to show him that her words held little worth but merriment. "In fact..." She stepped away from his arm and held her own weight on both feet. True the shift from her weight was a slow one to evenly balanced but ice it was she stood there still as she could measuring her pain levels and fitness to the coming task.

"I think I'll be fine." She reported taking her first wobbly step. "As for the rest of my health I can confidently guess that I'm just suffering from selective memory loss due to whatever head trauma I've been put through." She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing but she was alive and in the end that was all that mattered. "I'm like a scattered jigsaw puzzle made from a blurry picture." In her mind all that meant was that there would be a challenge in completing it and hat only made it more run.

"Come on let's go." And the first step was followed by and second, then a third and before she had taken her dozenth step her feeling that the way she was walking was strange was gone alongside her weak knee or rather ankle, stumble.

 

[MidnightWalk]

The girl's disconnected musings concerned Michael. She might really have a serious head injury, and he was no doctor. But, first things first. He got her squared away as best as he could, and helped her to stand. "A name? I suppose I could call you...Rachel, at least until your own name comes back to you. Does that work for you?"

He helped her up, supporting her for a few steps, until she shrugged him off. He watched her walking, trying to keep his eyes off that well-formed butt in those short shorts. She walked tenderly for a moment, but she seemed to gather confidence, and her ankle didn't seem to be as bad off as he'd first thought. Packing up his hiking kit, he trailed after her, moving alongside to support her if her ankle went out, along the way, he kept mostly quiet, watching her closely.

As he guided her the two miles, up and down the ridges and valleys, he helped her when necessary. At one point, he lifted her over a small stream, her small body in his hands. Michael was startled, as she seemed to be heavier than he would have thought. Jokingly, as he put her down, "Your bones made out of lead or something? You're a solid little girl."

He guided her along the easiest route his cabin, adding some distance in his effort to make it easy on her. Along the way, however, he was nagged by the meteor (?) he'd seen fall, with no apparent consequences, and the appearance of this stunningly pretty young woman with a headwound and little memory. This was the kind of thing novels were written about. He chuckled, despite the situation.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

Rachel. It seemed fine enough for the time being but deep down she knew that wasn't her name. What did she expect? Out of all the given names on the planet he would pick her? In a way she had but she wasn't disappointed in the least with her new name. It suited her well enough and she tried her new name out by saying it aloud. "Rachel." It was a Hebrew name, biblical in a way that related to his name, Michael. "I like it." She smiled wide, snowing her flawless white teeth. "Thank you kind sir." And with perfect grace, well as much as a person could muster on one leg, she curtsied and bowed her head.

The two miles didn't feel as long as Rachel would have thought. It was a distance, that was true but save for the few places that she needed assistance with, the going wasn't that difficult. Michael was quite by her side as they walked, she could feel him watching her in case she needed help but other then that he left her alone. Which worked for her because it gave her a chance to review what memories she did have and try to piece together what happened. There wasn't much except for the feeling of falling. Rachel didn't understand why she could only remember that or how that made any sense and no matter how hard she focused on that scrap of memory she couldn't recall anything more.

It was infuriating and when Michael moved towards her to carry her across the stream she jumped. He picked her up easy enough and carried her through the stream with what seemed like little effort but when they got to the other side and set her down he made a joking comment about how heavy she was. "I-" Rachel had a witty retort on the tip of her tongue when she got her first flash of something. Fast then a blink and then it was gone. "Whoa..." She swooned with dizziness and clutched to Michael's arm, wrapping her arms around his and hugging it to her body until she got her feet under her again. "Don't you know not to tease a woman about her weight?" It wasn't what she had been planning on saying before her episode but it was what she could come up with as she tried desperately to unravel the new clue.

Their journey fell into silence again as they made their way to Michael's cabin. Again Rachel was lost in her own mind until something caught her eye. A small bushy plant with small blue flower. "Chicory." For some reason this was a plant she was familiar with and she pulled a few of the young leaves off and popped them in her mouth. The taste was slightly bitter but with a subtle woody nutty taste. "Mmm." Before this Rachel hadn't noticed how hungry she was and the moment she did it was like she hadn't eaten in days. That when the idea came to her. Michael was helping her so much the least she could do was provide him a meal in thanks.

Rachel circled the plant once and aged it to be in its younger adolescent years. It's roots should be large enough to provide a nice cup of morning brew and yet not too large that it would require all that much effort to pull from the ground. Grabbing the plant by it's base Rachel gave it a few strong tugs and loosened it from the ground. The last pull and it was freed, throwing dirt clots into the air. "Ha." Rachel lifted her prize up and showed Michael. "Do you drink coffee or tea in the morning?" She asking knowing a few ways to which she could make the chicory.

Of course she would need to gather more food then just this to make a mean and she chastised herself for not looking sooner. She hadn't been thinking about the man who so kindly helped her of what situation he might be in. Her introduction into his life meant that his food supplies would dwindle quicker and if he only had enough for him she would be making his later seasons worse for him.

In the distance she spied chickweed and pulled them up by the handfuls. They had yet to bud so the leaves would be sweet and crisp in a salad. She filled her left pocket with what she could before moving to the young dandelions growing off to the sides. When her right pocket was equally filled she turned to Michael and waved him over. He would make a perfect pack mule for tonight's dinner. "So coffee or tea, I never really gave you a chance to answer before I ran off." She blushed, aware of how scattered and bouncy her mind and attention was.

 

[MidnightWalk]

When "Rachel" started sampling the vegetation, Michael just stopped and stared. Without a doubt, this was the most bizarre day ever. The meteor that never hit the ground. The young pretty amnesiac who didn't know her name, but knew of the edible plants growing all around down-slope of the cabin. Plants, half of which he didn't even recognize. He stood, fingers idly rubbing the strap of his hiking pack, watching the little blonde flit from plant to plant, all without showing any signs of discomfort on her wrapped ankle. Michael considered himself competent in many things, but wrapping a sprained ankle to the point where a girl could be literally running on it two hours later...that didn't seem quite right.

And he was just a touch miffed with himself. Here was a young woman, inexplicably on her own, and injured, in the forest, and all he could do was watch her little round bottom and bare legs as she scampered from plant to plant. He tried not to look, really, but her butt was so enticing in those little shorts. And when she bent over to the plants, those times she happened to be facing him.... Michael shook his head. Not thoughts to have about someone you just met, a stranger, much less one lost in the woods, with no memory of her name or who she was (though plenty about the local plant life).

It was too surreal for belief. He cleared his throat when she asked about coffee or tea a second time. "Oh, I drink coffee. Listen. That's great and all..." He indicated the accumulating pile of plants. "But I do have plenty of food in the cabin. Maybe not as much for two as for one, but still plenty for a while. I'd planned to be out here another month. And besides, I think you might need a hospital more than you need fresh salad, right? We really should get you looked at. See if the doctors can't figure out what happened to you and who you are. Don't you think?"

 

[Sexual_Muse]

Rachel was clueless to the effect she was having on Michael and after the long trek here and the heat of the day she was a bit sweaty. Funny though that her ankle wasn't bothering her as much as she would have expected. In fact it felt hot, really hot but it was a soothing kind of heat that relaxed her joint and muscles in a way that even though she knew her ankle wasn't healed it felt much better and was easy enough to ignore.

Coffee. Rachel wrinkled her nose at his answer. She didn't know why but she would have much preferred if his answer had been tea. She tried to attach a memory to that preference but she couldn't and again it just rolled off her back as if it were nothing to be bothered with. "Well either way you can add this to your coffee for a new taste." It was weird because as much as she knew the plant she had in her hand was chicory, a different name was just on the tip of her tongue that she couldn't recall. What she did know was that it could be brewed with a mixture of other plants, roots, bark or flowers for a refreshing tea. It was something she could see herself drinking hot in the morning and iced during the day.

She stopped what she was doing and looked up at Michael. "I don't know..." Rachel looked around the area and her eyes picked out what would be eaten and what couldn't. "I think I would rather have a fresh salad." She frowned putting down the fistful of onion grass she had in her hand. "I just don't see a doctor being able to tell me what I already know. Or don't know." Plus the idea of going to the hospital raised a feeling of panic in the pit of her stomach. "I hit my head, lost personal knowledge of myself and twisted my ankle. I doubt a visit to a doctor would expand on that." At this point she was saying anything to deter Michael from taking her to the hospital. "Give me the night and I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow. Please." She pleaded her eyes begging with words she and fears she couldn't explain.

 

[MidnightWalk]

"Yeah, ok. And I suppose a bit of fresh greenery with dinner couldn't hurt. You got enough there?" Michael walked over, taking an armload of her vegetation. He then took her arm, helping and guiding her up the ridge to the cabin with it's panoramic view. "Not far to go now."

Michael assisted Rachel on her climb up the ridge, pausing as she occasionally grabbed more plant life as they went. Finally reaching the top of the ridge, he pointed out the cabin to her, at the top of a winding road, with his Jeep parked next to it, and the outbuildings nearby.

"It's not a bad place, really. It's my friend's. He's got it rigged for geothermal energy, so there's hot water and electricity, and it collects ground water to supplement the artisian well it's tied into. I guess you should make yourself at home, at least for tonight, huh?" Smiling, Michael led her up onto the wrap around porch and opened the door. "After you, miss."

 

[Sexual_Muse]

Wither or not she felt she had gathered enough for what she wanted it was evident that Michael wanted to move on as he took her arm and lead her up to the cabin. He wasn't at all rough about it, in fact he had been nice enough to take an armfull of vegetation leaving her with a free hand to pick what was around within reach. Rachel nodded her head to his statement about almost being there more interested in what she could grab and find.

The climb was a gentle one but was made troublesome by her handfuls of goodies as she instisted on picking more. But when they finally reached the top Rachel was stunned. She stood there frozen as she eyes scanned the beautiful view before her. It was an untouched wonder of green trees, soaring birds and white fluffy clouds. She had never seen anything like this before and it erased the thought of food from her mind. She couldn't believe that she had been blind to what had been around her in the value if it's beauty on her trek to the cabin but now it was as if nature had felt offensed at being ignored and was now slapping her in the face with what she almost missed.

"I..." She had no words to describe the feelings within herself as she stood there out as far as she could feeling so small. There felt as if there was a memory that should have gone with the sight she was seeing but whatever it was was beyond her at the moment. Her mind instead raced with other thoughts, like the purpose of human existence. She had no answer to that and oddly enough fel comforted by that. Rachel figured it was just one of those questions hat couldn't be answered but was always being asked.

She slowly turned back to Michael and grabbed his hand. "You are truly lucky to have a friend that would share this with you." She gently squeezed his hand and smiled. "I am glad that you saved me and that I was also able to see the beauty of this place while it is still here." Her voice tightened with a deep sadness that she couldn't explain but she smile was a conflict reflecting only pure happiness. Stepping away she let go of his hand and felt the warmth of his palm slide from here, a tiny spark of longing almost making her reach out to him again.

Michael lead her to the cabin's front door and Rachel followed turnig her eyes from the view to the rest of her surroundings. He explained the way the house worked and she nodded along secretly pleased with how earth considerate he had been when making it. Once inside she took a look around getting a simpe layout of the place. "So what is it that you do that allows you the time to spend weeks up here alone?" Rachel asked over her shoulder as she trotted off towards the kitchen. Mage had hoped that Michael would follow as he had about a quarter of the greens she had picked on him and she wanted to start on cooking what she had. At the sink she started unloading her pockets and cuffs she had made in her shirt to protect and hold the mushrooms she had found.

 

[MidnightWalk]

Michael followed along behind Rachel, stooping to gather up fallen pieces of greenery, carrying them to the sink. He moved back as she began cleaning the vegetation, watching her hands as they moved over the plants.

"Oh, I'm a stock broker, but I have pretensions." He smiled. "It's this whole big story where I've always wanted to write a novel and I got challenged by my friends to do it." He gestured around them. "This cabin belongs to one of them. He offered to loan it to me until I get the book written. In less than 8 weeks, of course. So far, it's not going too well. I haven't had much inspiration."

Michael chuckled. "Well, not until I saw something fall out of the sky that left no proof of its passing and I found a gorgeous little amnesiac wandering around in the woods. Seems to me there ought to be some sort of story in all of that, don't you think?" His eyes trailed down her backside to those very short cutoffs. They lingered on that tight little bottom and Rachel's sleek thighs. He knew he shouldn't look, but it had been a while since he'd seen a woman that looked that good. The amnesia made her a bit more exotic, and he knew he should keep his hands and eyes off. Hell, she could be married, for all he knew. Or on the run from an abusive husband...or a Mafia hitwoman...or a Belgian spy...or any number of other things. Without her memory, there was just no way to know for sure. All he knew for sure was that she was young, pretty and apparently healed very quickly from minor injuries. Too many unknowns.

He tore his gaze from her buttocks, focusing on the mass of wavy blonde hair at the back of her head. "Do you need any help with what you're doing?"

 

[Sexual_Muse]

A stock broker. For a moment the job didn't make any sense to her, why would there be a need for a job such as that but once the question had been asked her mind came up with a multitude of reason why his job was not only important but one of great means. A writer on the other hand made much more sense to her. "Eight weeks to write a novel." What a fun challenge. "How many weeks do you have left?" The initial look around the cabin told her that he had been here for a while.

She heard him bring up his new found inspiration and something about it caught her attention. "Something fell from the sky?" It was day light so it wasn't as if he had seen a shooting star and if something had fallen surely there would have been some evidence of it. Right? But he hadn't said that he found anything, other then herself.

Rachel had filled one side of the double sinks with water and was washing everything and piling up the clean stuff on the counter. She was trying to be as careful as possible but it wasn't working too well and she was splashing water everywhere but mostly on herself. The front of her shirt was soaked and clung to her body despite how many times she pulled the cloth away. Fed up she simply pulled her shirt off and laid it on the far edge of the counter.

"Yeah I would love your help." She smiled brightly turning to Michael. "If you wouldn't mind cutting these for a salad." She handed him what she had already washed before returning to what was left so she could wash those as well. She had picked enough to make a large salad for tonight and tea for later as well as the morning. The large dark green leafs she had found could be steamed and rolled for a nice treat for tomorrow. The only thing was they would have to soak over night so they wouldn't be so bitter. And should they have any salad left she would easy remake with with some kind of seasonings to put into her leaf rolls. But it was the mushrooms she was most excited about. She knew that if she grilled them over an open fire until the outside skin peels it could them be sliced or just eaten whole as an earthy savory tasting side.

 

[MidnightWalk]

Michael watched her work, amused by her energy despite everything that had happened. She'd appeared out of nowhere, injured and with no memory of herself and now here she was, preparing food that she'd pulled out of the ground on the way back to the cabin. What a peculiar young woman. "Well, for better or worse, I have 6 weeks to go. I've not been here all that long...but...really, I haven't gotten much done. A lot of drinking beer and watching the stars, but not a lot of writing." He shrugged.

Michael actually took a step back as she began splashing up a storm. "Careful there." Michael gaped as Rachel took her shirt off, exposing her luscious breasts covered and supported by the teal bandeau bra. "I...um...." He tried not to stare, but her casual stripping down took him aback. "You sure you're comfortable like that?" He took the greens she offered to him mechanically, still staring at the half-naked young woman cleaning plants in his sink. He was a bit dismayed to feel his penis twitch and start to fill. This was not a young woman that he should be lusting after. She was very pretty, and very partially naked, but she was a stranger and an amnesiac, to boot. Michael stood there, dumbfounded, mouth hanging open.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

"Six weeks left..." Something about that timeline spiked her heart rate into a new tempo. "I suppose since this is a challenge there is a matter of stakes?" She paused in her washing and looked over at her rescuer. "What do you get when you win or whats to be lost if you lose?" Rachel didn't know what she could do to help him in this matter but she felt like she needed, no wanted to do something to help him as he had helped her.

When Michael cautioned her about her failed attempts at not making a mess with the water she frowned. There seemed to be some kind of defiance in the sink full of tub where the water within refused to listen to the ruling laws of science. Making it out as if she meant to shower herself in her splashes no matter how gentle she tried to be. It was positively the most annoying part of the day and before long Rachel removed what was in the sink so she could drain it. Opting to want everything one at a time, something she wished she would have done before she drenched her shirt. Even removed and placed to the side it didn't look like it had escaped her battle with the sink water, spotting new water marks on the no-where-near-dry cotton top.

"Hmm?" Her hands worked mindlessly on their own cleaning what was left and in the fem moments between glaring at the emptying sink and Michael saying something her mind had wandered off to nowhere in particular. "Am I, what?" She blankly glanced in Michael's direction confused by his hanging mouth. "Comfortable?" She didn't understand why he would ask that question, was there something that would have made her uncomfortable? She looked around the kitchen and then further to what she could see of the cabin. Nothing looked any different then before, well except the counters around the sink, they were wet. "Is it the water?" Worried that she had done something wrong in regards to her not so tidy cleaning method, Rachel grabbed her shirt and started to soak up the leftover water in the hopes that Michael's face would return to normal. It was just as well that she mop up the counters, she had finished washing what she wanted and needed to prep the rest of what she had.

Little did she know it have nothing to do with the counters, the water or what she was doing but the state in which she was doing it. Which was shirtless. She didn't look at the situation as a less then respectably dressed woman with a man, a stranger, who had been alone for the last two weeks without a woman around. Beyond that there was no telling what his relationship was and if there was a regular woman in his life making it all the more uncomfortable for him. All things that maybe a normal woman would have thought about at one point or another and just another thing that made her a little different, a little odd.

"Are you comfortable?" Rachel asked once the counters were dried. She needed a bowl or container to soak the leaves in for the night but more importantly then that she wanted to make sure Michael was alright. He looked a little flushed and... Rachel stepped towards him eyeing the pulse at his neck. Was his pulse a bit fast? She counted hers against... "Ah!" Her hand flew to her neck feeling the pulse there. There seemed to be something wrong with her pulse. She tried to count but her beat was off, erratic and staccatoed. She couldn't get a proper count and mindless of personal bubbles she reached out and placed her hand on the side of Michael's neck feeling his pulse to basic her's off of.

 

[MidnightWalk]

Michael watched her react, moving to sop up the water with her shirt, oblivious to the fact that she'd taken it off that was affecting him. He stood, bemused, trying not to stare at the bandeau and the mounds of flesh it enclosed, but failing pretty miserably. She was a very lovely girl, no matter where she'd come from. Gorgeous hair, beautiful face, stunning body, now more than half uncovered.

He actually felt his jaw loosen and fall open as she checked her own pulse, before turning to him and reaching out for his neck. "I'm...um...fine. You just took me by surprise, is all. I do have towels you know. You didn't have to use your shirt." He smiled wider, getting his jaw under control. "I mean, I can see why you'd be proud of your body, but I have to say, this is the first time I've had a woman take her top off in front of me after knowing her for less than two hours. And hell, I don't even really know you. 'Rachel' is just the name I gave you because you can't recall yours, and here you are, shorts and bra in my...well...my house, I suppose. That just took me by surprise, is all."

He shook his head, eyes dipping again and again to her chest as he spoke. "Don't get me wrong, you're a very pretty girl. And I am straight..." He chuckled. "You just surprised me." And aroused me, went unsaid. Michael shifted a bit, attempting to surreptitiously shift his half-hardon to a more comfortable position.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

"Oh?" Her head tilted to the side as if considering this for the first time, which she was. Surprised? Her erratic heart beat forgotten for a second she turned her mind over to this new puzzle. It wasn't until he smiled and kept talking, explaining that she fully understood. "Oh!" Leaping back to give him space she forgot her injured ankle and landed back on that foot wrong, issuing a hiss of annoyed pain. It was a sharp fleeting kind of pain that was there one second and gone the next but was enough that she remembered that her ankle wasn't up to it's full form. "I didn't mean to... It has nothing to do with my body..." She stammered shaking her head no. She of course had no problem with the way she was dressed, everything that seemed important was covered but it obviously bothered him and the last thing she wanted was to cause anymore trouble then saving her was already placing on him. "I was just trying to dry the counter and since my shirt was already wet..." She trailed off feeling suddenly foolish for thinking that was the problem.

Rachel laughed finding his wording funny. "Well you sure aren't crooked." He stood without aid and his stance was fairly straight backed, why he would think she thought he was anything but straight was a wonder to her but she shrugged it off. Her eyes scanned the kitchen again and she spotted a flat bottomed bowl that would work nicely for soaking the leaves over night. "Michael would you pass me that bowl if you have no plans for it tonight?" She could have gotten it herself but it would have involved moving close enough to brush by him as she reached for it and she felt like he needed his space. Plus she needed to fix the state she was in. There was no way she could magically dry her shirt so she wrung it out as best she could and shoot it out before slipping it on again. The damp fabric hung heavy against her body but at least it didn't cling like it did when it was soaked.

"I'm sorry," In the middle of her apology her stomach took that moment to growl loudly. Rachel blushed and looked away cursing her stomach's timing. "Yeah." She smiled and ran her hand through her hair. "I'm sorry for whatever discomfort I might have caused you." Her stomach had the decency this time to wait before gurgling out it's unhappiness at being empty. "I'll try to be more considerate of you in the future." She promised twirling the bottom edge of her shirt between her fingers, nervous that what she had done, despite his kind reaction, would happen again. It would be a different story if she fully understood why he was so surprised. She didn't know the root emotion that caused his surprised reaction and half of her wanted to repeat her actions in different scenarios to see what it was that had really triggered him. The other part, the much small half cautioned against much a thing. She didn't want to be a problem and just because she didn't know or understand something didn't mean it gave her the right to experiment on him.

 

[MidnightWalk]

Michael chuckled, though a bit disappointed when she put the wet shirt back on. At least it molded to her breasts, hanging down from them and showing off the firm slope. "Oh, you didn't make me uncomfortable, per se. You startled me. I'm not used to beautiful young women taking off their clothing in front of me, at least not without me buying dinner and drinks, first." He shrugged it off. "Just surprised, is all. You have nothing to be embarrassed about, that's for certain. Your boyfriend, or husband, is a lucky guy."

His eyes traveled over her body, shaking his head. Rachel was a very odd girl. Not knowing her own name, but knowing what plants were edible and healthy. Not seeming to understand her effect on a man, yet dressed to cause that effect, and even undressing to cause a bigger effect. Michael shifted again, trying to conceal his shrinking erection.

"So," he began. "Is there anything else you want with dinner? I have hamburgers, hot dogs, soups, ravioli...canned, I'm afraid...all sorts of things. I'm not the healthiest of eaters." He smiled. "But I'm more than happy to share what I have to supplement that salad. Though I guess a salad would make an ok meal, if you want. You want some water, or soda or a beer?" He moved to the small refrigerator, looking at her expectantly.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

There still seemed to be something missing in his explanation of things and while Rachel could have pushed it she didn't instead turning to laughter. Pulling the damp shirt from her body. The water had cooled and it was making her cold, enhancing every feathery touch of air. "If it would make you feel better you could 'startle' me and make it even. Wiping the board clean with a one for one." She offered reaching out to tug on his shirt. She didn't really want him to take off his shirt but made, if it would make him feel better about having taken off her shirt, he could relax a bit more.

Rachel tilted her head to the side and considered the options offered to her. Fidgeting again with her shirt. "I don't know." She honestly didn't. When she had looked around the wilderness and had found plants her mouth had watered with phantom tastes but nothing Michael offered came with the same expected phantom flavor. He didn't sound like all he wanted to eat was the salad so she left the matter up to him. "Make whatever you think would be best and make me one as well, please."

She frowned, not at him but at the annoyance that wearing a wet shirt gave her. "I may have lied." The woman confessed with sad eyes. The dampness from her shirt was wetting her bar underneath and tightening her breasts in a painful way. "I can not wear this shirt as it is." She pouted with pleading eyes. "I can move to a different room if that would startle you less." Because against how awkward she felt at putting him out in anyway she was coming to a quick end with her shirt. In fact the more she thought about it the better the idea seemed for her to remove herself from him until her shirt was dry and comfortable to wear. And as randomly and odd as her nature dictated Rachel once again removed her shirt and turned from the kitchen with a mind to sit outside under the sun. Her shirt would dry much fast under it's rays then hidden in a cool house.

Pausing she realized that she had failed to answer the last of his questions. "Um..." She turned back around and reentered the kitchen unaware of how her coldness had hardened her nipple under the thin cotton bandeau bra. Rachel knew she enjoyed water, didn't really have the taste for the bubbles in soda but beer. She racked her mind and she could come up with it's image but not it's taste. "I think I would like to try a beer." She smiled proud of the bravery it took to try something new and her ability to embrace new things. The 'why' of something so common as beer being 'new' to her lost on the strange woman.