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Chapter 7

Rob. I was thinking about Rob. During the conversation with Nequeek, I had forgotten about him. I didn't think he was dead and with how the talk had gone, was sure that I wouldn't either come across his holding cell unopposed or he would have been taken near the exit where I would find him.

So, I wasn't worried about never seeing him again. I was concerned with the last thing Nequeek had told me.

"Beware those around you."

It had been vague. Did he mean himself? That was the obvious answer. Emthrians were inherently untrustworthy. The rare ceasefire on the border or the truce to collect the dead have been honored, always ending up in a trap. So much so that strict standing orders against any sort of negotiations stood.

What if Nequeek meant Rob? As far as I could tell, there was no reason not to trust him. He hasn't shown any sign of being anything other than my partner in this mission. Even so, I felt that was some sort of truth and well intention behind Nequeek's words. So, I decided that the finer details of our conversation would remain between us. I'd only let on enough so that our release didn't seem overly suspicious.

If I were back at Cainus, such deception would lead to court martial and depending on how big this whole thing was... capital punishment was still a thing in the Cainus military even if it was abolished in the civilian courts. They would just not find out then.

My assumptions about where I would find Rob were correct. After nearly an hour of walking, I can across a door. This one was much sturdier than the one that had been to my cell and was locked with a thick wooden slab going across its frame.

Without delay, I lifted the slab up, struggling slightly with the weight until I simply let it drop to the floor.

The commotion got the attention of Rob on the other side.

"James?" He called out. "I can smell you through the door."

There was a moments pause after that as I fumbled with the odd know that didn't seem to want to twist enough to open.

A growl came next. "If you've hurt James and that's why you smell like him, I'm going to get out of here and fear your throat out!" He barked and banged on the door, which was exactly what the know needed.

I opened the door and was surprised when I was tackled to the floor. I couldn't even make a sound before I felt jaws around my neck and the vibrations of a growl through the teeth against my neck.

"Rob," I cried out. "It's me."

There was a pause and I felt something wet and hot run against my skin. I shivered, that awkwardness I always felt around Rob coming back. My heart fluttered and I found if hard to breathe normally, yet I wasn't afraid either. Rob wouldn't kill me. It was something else. Much the same feeling from the tent.

The jaws came off my neck and Rob looked down at me. His ears flattened back and he glanced away, embarrassed.

"Sorry about that," he said. "Kind of jumped go conclusions there."

"Yeah," I murmured, still feeling odd. "Oh, um. Can we get up?"

He looked at me. His whole body was pretty much pinned against mine and even through the clothes, I could feel the warmth radiating from his body. It- it felt nice somehow. I felt tingles across my skin when he slid downward slightly, our groins slipping past each other for the briefest of moments before he got off of me.

"How did you escape?" He asked, offering a paw down to me.

I took it and was hefted upwards and onto my feet with relative ease.

I couldn't tell him everything. To be safe. Just what he needed to know.

"They're letting us go," I said and before he could ask the question his tilted head and raised brow could, I continued. "This Emthirian clan is small and wants to keep itself a secret. So, they let us go on the condition that we don't speak a word of this to anyone."

"What's honestly stopping us once we get out?" He asked fairly.

I breathed out a bit. "I get the feeling they can kill us whenever they want. They somehow know about our mission, or at least they know enough. I bet they're listening in on us right now."

Rob grimaced. "Fuck. So they got spies everywhere then." He ran a paw across his head.

I looked around us. It was nothing but bare dirt walls, but what was stopping those rats from simply digging a side tunnel close enough to hear us? Or even under us? It was a disturbing thought that I pushed away for the time being.

"We should get going," I said and began to walk, hearing Rob move behind me. "Are the Pelitans expecting us at a specific time and day?"

Rob picked up his pace until he was next to me and then matched my speed. "No. Though, I'm not sure how to explain how beat up we are."

I looked over at him. At first I couldn't see in the poor lighting but as we went under a flickering bulb, I saw that he had just as many scratches as I did. With the dirt clinging to his fur, staining the white a dark brown, he looked even worse than I did and I could only guess how he felt because I still felt like shit. Each step sent numerous small spikes of pain rippling across my skin. Each step to him had to be just as ongoing and painful, though he showed none of it. It was admiring.

I closed my eyes tightly for a second, banishing that thought. Admiring? Sure I could admire someone who showed strength. Plenty of people in the service I had looked up to, but this kind of admiring made me want to keep my gaze on him and never tear it away.

"You okay?" Rob prodded my shoulder. "Looking a bit worn down there."

Luckily, I didn't trip on my words and replied quickly. "Just feeling the effects of this past day." I glanced up at the dirt ceiling. "If it was just a day. I hate not knowing what time it is."

"I don't think the day even ended," Rob said, taking my explanation. "Probably just starting to get dark now."

"I guess it'll be a night hike then," I sighed, not looking forward to stumbling about in the dark for hours on end. I felt that I would rather just lie down here on the tunnel floor and sleep, if it weren't for the thought of the rats who were most definitely still around.

Rob shrugged. "I'll guide us. The moon should be nearly full tonight and I'll be able to see just fine."

"Way to rub in your superior eye sight," I joked a bit.

Rob grinned. "And superior hearing and smell and strength."

I gave him a light push. "I get it. Better at everything."

He kept that grin, the same one he had way back at the muster field. That felt like an eternity ago even if it hadn't been even close to a week.

"Well, you must have a better tongue than me," Rob said and I stared at him, quite unsure as to what he meant. He must have caught on because he quickly added to it. "You got us out. Sweet talk that rat to let us go instead of something else."

"Didn't want others to come looking for us," I said, figuring that it was believable and probably true as well.

Rob frowned then. "Then why did he even catch us in the first place?" He mused.

I shrugged. "You're guess is as good as mine when it comes to Emthirians." Best to play ignorant.

Rob shook his head. "I guess we should just count our blessings then."

The tunnel went on for just a little while longer. Slowly the air became more fresh, mixing in the smells of pine and mountain air until it came out from the side of a mountain, the entrance hidden behind thick bushes. If no one was looking for it, no one would find it.

"Any idea where to go?" I asked as we both pushed through the bushes, each of us gaining new scratches. At this point, I couldn't even feel the new ones. My skin was just numb now.

Rob walked out a few steps, looking out and into the woods that greeted us. He then looked up. It was indeed a full moon and there was just enough light from it for me to notice nothing. Still too dark for me to make out any details smaller than a boulder, but Rob was focused.

He pointed up at the moon. "Would have just risen from the east, which us the way we need to go."

It was so simple and also something I knew too. Made me feel stupid at the moment.

"Think we're close to the next tent site?"

Rob shook his head. "Impossible to tell without walking a bit. I feel that we're higher up, but not deeper into the mountain range since I think I can see maybe a very slight glimmer of the ocean way out on the horizon. If we walk downhill, I might be able to make out our path."

I didn't see any ocean, but I trusted Rob's word and knowledge and it turned out to be true. The going was slow since I had to watch my every step. It was impossible for me to see more than a few meters ahead, but Rob was patient and never hurried me and after onlybanhort while we came across the game trail we had been on before.

"Yeah, this is all familiar now," he said and triumphantly placed his hands on his hips. "We're not even that far from the next tent. An hour tops." His demeanor changed then and he snarled a bit.

I became alert, eyes darting into the blackness.

"What is it?"

"Means those rat bastards have probably watched me go through here several times and I never noticed." He pouted and sighed, loosening up.

"So much for your superior eye sight, sense of smell and hearing," I said and walked up next to him to get a better look.

He frowned at me. I could see the slight shimmer of the moonlight coming off his eyes, giving them a slight glow.

"Guess they got us both beat," he shrugged.

I gave an uneasy chuckle in agreement. I wondered what other tricks the rats had up their sleeves. I got the gut feeling that I would eventually find out.

We got to the tent site just as the moon reached its peak in the sky. At this point, I could see the second moon start to come out from behind the larger one. Lunis and Settara, her little sister. I could recall the child's tale about Lunis, who would swing her younger sister, Settara, around and around as they danced and that was why Settara orbited Lunis and went across the sky each night.

My minor moment of reminiscing about children tales was interrupted when Rob found the hole with the tent and supplies.

It was hard to do in the dark, since neither of us felt comfortable making a bright as fuck fire, but eventually the tent was up and it was just as small as the first.

We sat on the ground for a moment in silence, finally getting a breather from the events of the day.

Rob handed me one of his MREs and a canteen of what I thought was water, but turned out to be some sort of liquor. It burned a bit as it went down, but I didn't cough.

"Used water for a while, but I hate the taste of stagnant and stale water," Rob explained as he took the canteen from me and took a long drink.

"Won't it dehydrate us more?" I asked as I tore open the top of the MRE. The smell of cheap gravy rose up to meet me. I guessed it was stroganoff and was right.

Rob closed the canteen and set it down beside him. "It's has a pretty low alcohol content. I'm sure we'll survive." He tore off the top of his MRE and poured half the bag into his mouth.

"What happens tomorrow?" I asked and slurped up a stray noddle that threatened to fall off the side of my bag.

"Half a day's walk," Rob explained. "Then we should come across the border guard. When that happens, just let me do the talking."

I nodded. "Of course."

"They may yell and task direct you to get on your knees," Rob warned and then quickly ate the last of his food before reaching for the canteen which he held in front of him. "If they do, don't argue. It'll be stressful, but we'll be fine."

"Think of an explanation for the sorry state we're in?" I picked at the rags that I was now wearing. I stunk too. What I'd do for a shower right now.

Rob nodded. "Bear attack. Hit our camp in the middle of the night and we booked it and made a mess of ourselves in the dark." He then stopped for a moment, one of his ears flicking slightly. "Though now that I think of it, I haven't seen any signs of a bear the entire trip. Or any large animal for that matter. The game trail is normally a lot more worn and used, but it was definitely more overgrown now."

Though I hadn't been on the lookout for such things, I immediately knew the answer to what was bugging Rob.

"The Emthirian ate them all or ran them off," I said. "On the southern border, there was never anything much larger than a squirrel or a bird, even in areas that hadn't seen conflict for a while. Go to any other of the borders and there's always going to be some wildlife here and there."

"I don't want to think about what Emthiron looks like the further in one gets," Rob said and then took a drink from the canteen. He offered the last bit to me, which I took and drank, finishing it off. I then finished the rest of my food as well.

Figuring out that there would be no bears or other interest wildlife, Rob didn't bother carrying the garbage away. We just left it on the ground as we prepped to sleep the night away.

Just like before, Rob began to strip. It hadn't rained, but even so, I felt myself caring a lot less than before. There was still that fluttering in my chest and gut, but it was manageable and soon I found myself stripping down as well.

Neither of us said anything when we were both naked in front of the tent. Rob climbed in first with the two blankets that had been stored with the tent, laying out both before I came in, making sure to zip up the flap.

Once inside, I laid down, glad that there were too blankets to cushion the ground versus the one from the night before. The difference was day and night.

Rob then laid down as well and we both stared up at the top of the tent.

"Might get cold," he said in a hushed voice.

That flutter kicked up a bit more, but again it was manageable because I was coming to a realization, one that I had been too preoccupied or stupid to realize. From the spooning yesterday, to watching him from time to time to see his muscles move, I was attracted to Rob. It was so simple and yet I only really fully saw it. Now the question was, how do I go on from here?

"Yeah, it might," I answered back and instantly felt an arm draped across my chest and even pulled me a bit.

My left side was pressed up against Rob now. His fur was warm againsg my arm, chest and thigh and even though I could smell the sweat, dirt and blood of the day on him, there was something else lingering under it all. I couldn't explain it, but smelling it sent little fireworks off in my head, making feel light and uplifted. The stress that had knotted itself into my body slowly came undone and I felt relaxed, able to push the apprehensions about the Emthiron and whatever tomorrow held away. I could also push the slight unease of unfamiliarity I felt with this physical contact.

I had never felt this way before in my entire life. Spent my years growing up working off jobs until my mom had died. Then it was survival in the military. There had never been the time or opportunity to explore who I was or wanted. No, here I was, laying down with this Pelitan. A Pelitan that I could no longer deny was handsome and had been patient with my flaws compared to him. He never grew frustrated with me when I was slow or unable to notice many things. Any Cainus would have left me behind a long time ago. Rob didn't. He was there at my pace the entire way.

"Mind turning to your side?" Rob asked, again just like the night before.

I had to suppress a chuckle. Yeah, I had been attracted to him this whole time and now it was all obvious, he had some sort of similar feelings for me as well. That gave me confidence enough to maybe push this a little bit in the direction we wanted

Instead of turning away, I turned towards Rob. Pulled my arms up to my chest and placed my palms against his chest as I pressed up against him fully.

This caught Rob off guard, but only for a moment.

"I wondered how long it would take," he said, his voice vibrating in his chest and into me.

One of Rob's arms looped around my back and held me tight, his paw resting just barely on my butt. The other arm, he extended and offered as a pillow for me, which I accepted. That arm then came up and he hugged me against him.

I was completely surrounded by him. That mysterious, underlying smell of him became my world as I buried my face into his chest. I felt safe at that moment, as if nothing in the world could harm us. It was foolish to think that, but I felt it nonetheless.

Rob rested his muzzle on top of my head and we laid like that for a while as sleep slowly began to creep in.

Just as sleep took me. I felt something pressing against my groin. It was wet and rubbed against my cock, which had become a little hard. However, this was all new to me and I didn't know what would come next and anyways, I was sure there would be time to let Rob guide me down that path later.