Page 65 of Solivagant

His ears picked up, his tail swishing again in pleasure.

“Don’t get too excited.” I huffed. “I’m still not happy with you.”

That didn’t seem to bother him much. Rather, he brought me over the duck he’d been roasting as another gift.

My stomach rumbled. I could have turned him down, could have tried to do my own hunting instead of letting him get his way again, but I didn’t.

33

JOSIAH

I woke up in his arms again. I’d left the sleeping bag and the bed of grass and flowers by the fire to seek out his warmth instead. Without speaking, I pulled away, took my bag of clothes, and rushed to the creek.

He was here too, somewhere, watching.

I could spend my time figuring out a way to barricade myself into the piece of shit house so I would stop trying to get to him in my sleep, but I suspected that much like the locks on my home and the wall around this place, whatever possessed me while I slept would overcome any obstacles to end up next to him again.

If I really wanted it to stop, and get out of here, I had to figure out what was happening as I slept.

I’d had another dream last night. That same figure. He was so… beautiful. My chest ached at just the thought of him. So did my head. It had been throbbing since I’d woken up and run away from him again.

Once I was clean… ish, I grabbed my clothes and the clothes Tusks had brought me recently, and scrubbed them as clean as I was able to in the creek water.

In only my wet underwear and boots, I walked back to our campsite and arranged busted furniture around the fire to hang the clothes off to dry them on.

The piglet ran around between my legs excitedly, and another two joined her. I wasn’t sure where they’d come from, but they had no fear of me, and apparently none of Tusks either.

Where exactly he was currently, I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t felt his eyes on me since I’d left the creek to rush back here in the cold. I told myself that was a good thing as I unwrapped an expired granola bar to snack on. It was stale, but not the worst thing I’d ever eaten. I had my knife back, and an axe. Not the most ideal hunting equipment, but I could probably find myself something else later.

The piglets continued to play together, and I watched them closely to make sure they didn’t get too close to the fire.

The dull ache in my head persisted. There had been some pain relief medicine in the first aid kit, but with a limited supply, I thought it would be best to only use it in emergencies.

It wasn’t long until Tusks joined us again, and the trio of piglets all ran to him, chasing the long fur on the tip of his tail like it were a well-known game. He had another bag with him… and a hunting rifle.

His lips pulled up around his tusks as he smiled widely and handed them to me. The bolt-action rifle passed so easily from his hands into mine. It was a familiar model, a bit old and scuffed up, mostly used for hunting deer. He handed it to me with the same ease as the bag, which meant either he was certain it couldn’t harm him… or he truly trusted me not to.

“Thanks…” I swallowed.

The rifle was loaded.

There weren’t much that could survive a bullet to the head.

The ache in my own head escalated, sharp and sudden. It persisted until I put the rifle down beside me, then dropped back to a dull ache. My vision blurred slightly, and Tusks tilted his head in question.

“’M fine.” I waved him off, but he still hovered around me a little closer as I sat down on the sleeping bag to go through the new bag. This one was older, what was once a dark green had been bleached by the sun.

Ants or some other critters had gotten into any of the food, leaving only plastic packages behind. But this bag had a tent.

It thankfully hadn’t rained yet, but I doubted the house would be all that much protection from it if it did, considering all the holes in the ceiling. While I’d been planning to fix it up, this could be a better option.

The weight of his eyes never left me as I pulled it open and got to work figuring out how to set it up. It was small, but remarkably undamaged. The bag also contained another first aid kit, water bottle, camera with a dead battery, a sealed pack of wet wipes, and more old clothing that probably wouldn’t fit me.

When I was done, I pulled the sleeping bag inside, along with the bags containing the little supplies I had.

Well. This was home sweet home, for now.

A locked front door wouldn’t stop me coming back to this place, so I had no real hope that a zipped-up tent would stop me waking up in his arms again, and I’d been right. After Tusks had hunted us another meal, I’d gone to sleep in my bag in my tent, and I woke up outside again, pressed up against him with his arm around me.