Wecontinued walking in silence.
Onceagain, I was distracted by the flora of this place.Everything was so green: a place where you didn’t need to close your eyes andthey could still rest. Almost every tree had a soft green layer covering oneside of the engraved bark, and I noticed it was always facing the samedirection.
Istopped for a moment and followed the green carpet with my eyes to the top ofone tree and back. Stevanion passed me by. I looked at the tree, thenStevanion, and then at the tree again.
Andthen—I touched it. It gave way softly beneath my palm. And it felt wonderful.
Stevanionturned around, and I quickly removed my hand from the tree.
“Isthere a particular reason you were in contact with this vegetative form?”
Fora moment I was startled by his question, though it was the most logical one afellow Senthien could ask.
“I…” I looked back at the tree again.
I wanted to know how it feels.
Ilooked back at Stevanion.
Only I can’t tell him that.
“Iwas analyzing if the vegetation is similar to anything in the saved catalog ofUni vegetation,” I said firmly as I approached him.
“Thatis peculiar, Dana. The analysis I do works mainly though visual comparison. Tactilesensitivity in the layers of my skin is virtually nonexistent,” he said,looking down at his open palms.
I know…
Itook a quick breath and continued, “The visual comparison did not give me any data.I tried to get another information point. It failed.” I passed him andcontinued walking.
Wehad been walking for a while and I was getting tired. I could tell by thesliding of Stevanion’s feet that he was too. For an instant, there was a slightfeeling of panic arising in my mind.
How far do we need to go? Where do weneed to go?
Ihad no answers to these questions, and no Vision to help me.
“Stevanion,we have not digested anything in the last several hundred passes.” I stoppedand pulled a food bar from my thigh pocket. “I suggest the intake of energy,” Isaid, holding out one bar for him.
“Thankyou, Dana. I had not thought to bring any food with me to the port. It must beyour frequent porting experience that makes you prepared for differentlocations,” he said, opening the foil.
Ilooked at him for a moment without responding. I had chosen this specificskinsuit and packed it with food bars, with no idea why I would need it at all.It was a gut feeling. And it was impossible for me to explain it to Stevanion.
“Wehave food to digest for another one and a half days.” I turned away from him,looking at the wild vegetation. “But then we need to find more bars. Or aporting chamber,” I said and bit into the white chewy paste.
Justas I finished the bar and folded the empty foil to put back into my pocket, asingle water drop fell on the top of my head, right in the middle where my hairdivided. Another drop slid from the left side of my forehead to my eyebrow, andanother on the top of my nose.
Ilooked up. Dark gray clouds with intricate whitish patterns had closed in onthe bright blue sky and sunshine to give way to a… awater-shower!
Thiswas the only way I could describe it.
Oncontact, each drop was a bit cold, but then it took on the warmth of my bodyand spread delicately on the skin, merging with the other drops falling fromthe gray-patterned sky. I closed my eyes, lifted my face to the sky, andsavored the feeling.
“Isthis toxic for us, Dana?” Stevanion’s flat tone interrupted my thoughts.
Isighed inwardly. I did not respond right away. I wanted to take a moment moreto enjoy this unique experience.
ThenI turned to him and said in a bland voice, “I do not believe so, Stevanion. Thereis no reason for this particular concern. However, with this amount of water-shower,our clothes may get wet. We should find shelter.”
Wecontinued walking for a while longer, unable to find proper cover. All thetrees were marvelous, but none of them seemed to provide enough shelter. It wasgetting darker, too. Night was falling. I wondered how long the days lastedhere. I was disoriented, not only in space, but in time as well.
Thewater drops were falling hard now, but my skinsuit protected me; every dropjust slid off, finding its way to the ground. But although my skinsuit was dry,Stevanion wasn’t wearing the same suit as me, and his wet clothes startedgiving him chills. He was shaking.
Beforenightfall, we finally found a tree with large hanging teardrop-shaped leaves,giving enough covered space for both of us, although it didn’t leave much roomfor IP. Neither of us mentioned it, though, and we both crumpled up with ourbacks to the corrugated tree trunk, its large leaves protecting us completelyfrom the rain.
Wedidn’t talk.
Ileaned on the bark and slowly drifted into sleep.
Iwoke up at the first light of morning. There were no clouds above, only deep, clearblue morning sky with a hint of bright light coming from this planet’s star.
Mysuit was completely dry, but I was still very cold. This, however, had notwoken me up during the night. I must have been really tired.
Ilifted myself to a seated position and stretched my arms. Then I turned to the still-sleepingStevanion. He was on his back, arms holding himself in a hug to keep warm, headtilted backward a bit with his mouth slightly open.
Inmore than 386 years, I had never woken up so close to anyone, so I stood up andmoved away from him. Fallen leaves shuffled softly under my feet.
“BarkaStevanion Narth,” I said in a neutral voice.
Stevaniondidn’t stir.
“Stevanion.”My voice was louder.
Hemoved slowly, cleared his throat, and sat up.
“Stevanion,I believe we should continue,” I said.
Helooked at me and said in a flat tone, “My body temperature is not convenient.”
Ilooked at his still-wet skinsuit.
“Weshould walk. The muscle contractions will induce the same effect as an E-showerand you will get warmer.”
“Iam in agreement with you.” He stood up awkwardly, not wanting to press hishands on the soil to push himself up.
Bymidday, the star was high above us and the air was warm. My pace was slow,
