When in Rome...
I yanked it off, crossing my arms over my chest.
Rika grabbed at some of the plants that were on the ground. They looked like succulents, similar to the valok plants, but long and thin where the valok plants were flat and round. She used her claw to slice the end off of one of the long green spires, then squeezed some milky green gel out, the way you’d squeeze toothpaste from a tube. She handed the plant to me, and I watched as she began rubbing the gel into her skin. It didn’t lather up, but it seemed to glide over her skin in such a way that it helped dissolve and remove dirt and oil. She reached over to what I had thought was more dried grass and picked up what was actually a rag of some kind, woven from plant matter. She swiped at her skin with the cloth, then waved the cloth in the air, drawing smoke towards her and over her skin. While it wasn’t exactly the shower I had been craving, there was something kind of spa-like about it all.
I squeezed some of the cactus gel into my hands, running it over my body the way Rika had done. It had a somewhat sharp, but overall pleasant smell. It reminded me of something from back on earth. Thyme. The sudden connection to my home planet made my eyes prick with tears, and I distracted myself by scrubbing the gel into my skin. Rika handed me one of the woven rags, and I used that until, all in all, I felt pretty clean. The cactus gel stuff had basically evaporated off of my skin, leaving it smooth and soft. I was still sweating from the heat, but I didn’t stink now. The only thing left was my hair, which I wasn’t sure what to do with, but Rika saw to that, too.
She settled herself into a seated position behind me, and squeezed the last of the cactus stuff onto my scalp, working it through my hair. She moved gently, tackling my sweat-sticky tangles with her claws. Once again, like I had been when she had brought me food, I was reminded of Grammy, and the prickle of tears I had felt a moment ago became a full-on deluge. This simple act of kindness – the combing of my tangled hair – in a place as hostile as this planet had turned out to be, was breaking my heart. I pressed the palms of my hands against my eyes, sobbing as Rika muttered soft words to me. I was so grateful that Buroudei and his people had found me. I only wished the other women had had the chance for that same kindness.
Soon enough, Rika was finished. I sniffed, hard, swiping at the last of my tears as she pulled my hair into a clean, neat braid. Like it had from my skin, the gel had completely evaporated off of my hair, leaving it feeling smooth and smelling halfway-decent. She showed me how to use the empty cactus husk to clean my teeth and tongue. When we left the tent, I felt weak and wobbly and oddly renewed.
The sun was hotter now, and I shielded my face with my hand.
“Where’s my jacket, and my pants? My boots?”
I pointed to the sun, then my skin, viciously shaking my head. Then I mimed pulling on a jacket and pointed to my legs and feet. I hated the idea of wearing those horrible bloodied pants, but there was no way I’d last out here much longer without my Canadian white-girl skin cooking in the sun. Rika seemed to understand my meaning, and led me quickly to the largest tent, which wasn’t far from the sauna tent. I ran inside, trying to get out of the sun, and almost smacked into another alien.
“Oh! Sorry,” I said, stopping short. I looked up at who I’d almost toppled.
Well, not like I’d be able to topple one of these guys. But still.
This alien wore a similar tunic to Rika and me. Large eyes and a soft mouth gave her face a pretty, in an alien sort of way, look. Definitely another female, though younger than Rika. Her hair was shining and black, her skin richly coloured and smooth. I smiled, and she gave me a small smile back. I squealed, then, when something latched onto my waist. The new alien made a distinctly maternal tsking sound, and yanked a small alien – a girl, I thought – from my torso.
I had no idea to gauge how old the child was. She was grinning, the shimmers of her eyes pulsing mischievously. Based on her behaviour and the youthfulness of her face, I would have guessed she was maybe the equivalent to an Earth six-year-old. But much, much bigger.
The adult alien said something to me quickly, and I had a feeling she was apologizing for the child. I noticed a similarity in the soft mouths smiling at me. It’s her daughter.
I smiled widely.
“Don’t worry about it! I’m Cece.”
The other woman looked confused, her eyes darting to Rika. Rika spoke quickly, gesturing towards me. I didn’t catch much of what she said besides, “Zeezee.” Then Rika gestured to the other two, looking at me. “Balia,” she said, pointing to the adult. “Zofra” was the child. I grinned.
“Nice to meet you, Balia and Zofra.”
They both smiled, then raised their tails in front of their eyes. I wonder what that means. I’d seen that gesture several times now. Maybe some kind of greeting.
“Sorry I don’t have a tail, or I’d do the same right back at you.”
Balia smiled vaguely at my unfamiliar words, but Zofra started chattering to me animatedly, not caring that I had no idea what she was saying. I nodded, grinning at her, trying to take in whatever she was saying. She took me by the hand and led me around the tent, showing me various items. I did my best to keep track of her rapid-fire dialogue, logging away whatever words I could catch onto for later analysis. I was pretty sure I’d learned at least a few more words, like the words for jar, bandage, and bed. As Zofra gave me the tour, Rika and Balia talked in hushed tones. A few moments later, Rika approached with a small bundle. My clothes.
After my sauna scrub, the filthy clothes seemed especially unappealing.
“Thanks,” I said with a half-hearted smile. I yanked my stiff, stained pants on, wincing at the feeling of the crunchy dried blood against my skin. Then went on the socks and the boots, followed by my solar protection jacket. I didn’t bother with my dirty tank top and underwear, instead balling them up and placing them down discreetly in a corner. Zofra bounded over to my discarded garments, looking like she was about to pick them up and examine them closely, but her mother swatted her away.
“Yeah, you should probably burn those.” I laughed awkwardly, but it wasn’t really a joke.
Once I was dressed, I felt a little more prepared to head back outside. Rika spent the rest of the day with me, showing me around and helping me get accustomed to how things worked in their tiny tent village. I didn’t get to talk to many of the men – after the morning meeting they all dispersed to their various tasks, many of them leaving for what looked like hunting or guard duties, others sharpening weapons. I did get to meet the women, of which there were only ten, plus their children. The women welcomed me with a shy sort of friendliness. One woman, whom Rika called Zanixia, seemed a little more reserved than the others, but in general they all seemed glad to meet me. The children were especially excited, many of them coming up to me and touching my skin and hair and nose while babbling enthusiastically.
As Rika led me around throughout the day, I found my eyes searching for Buroudei. I wondered what he was doing, where he was, and who he was talking to. As lovely as Rika had been, I kind of wished he was the one showing me around. OK, there was no “kind of” about it. I wished I was with him.
It may not have been rational or reasonable or sane. But I missed him. I missed him way, way more than I should have.
And it kind of scared the shit out of me.