I rested beside the crystal, and whenever my boredom exceeded my tiredness, I gathered more leaves, vines, and branches. Even though I hadn't seen a single hint of a green hide lurking in the foliage, I did not braid any more circles.

Movement in the distance had me sitting straighter as I peered through the leaves, spotting the first two hunters returning. I got to my feet and went to greet them. To my relief, they each had two carry bags, and one had a small wild pig slung over his shoulder.

"Here, let me help carry something," I offered.

"Thanks, but we're just going to the creek. We can carry it that far."

I followed the two sweaty men to the tiny stream, where they set everything down and splashed handfuls of water over their arms and face.

Cruz shook out his now-soaked hair and scanned our surroundings. "What's by the crystal?"

"Leaves, branches, vines, and a few odds and ends. Nothing edible."

"It looks like past groups cleaned out this entire area. We haven't seen a single thing in the last half an hour. Did you find much to eat?"

"Not enough to even fill a soup bowl. I'm hoping I can beg something off someone," I replied honestly. I wasn't starving after the two palm-sized mangos, but most of their size had been the pit, and at least two hours had passed since I'd eaten them. The plant soup I'd eaten last night was a mere memory and wasn't about to appease my stomach, not when I was porting groups around and got cornered by a Saursune.

After one last look around, Cruz sat on a nearby log and pulled a small papaya out of his carry net. My mouth watered as he cut a section off and passed it to me.

"Thanks," I murmured, gratefully taking the offering.

I had only expected a few greens, not for someone to forfeit a highly desirable fruit that would have gotten them plenty of praise back in the village. I took a big bite. A glimpse of green in the distant shrubs caught my attention, but the Saursune was already leaving.

Cruz cut a section for himself, unaware of our former observer, and passed the papaya to his companion, telling me, "Porting burns a lot of energy, and there's no sense in going hungry. We just won't tell anyone."

"Besides," the other hunter commented as he cut a slice off, "if you faint while porting, Grant might blame us."

I laughed at that rally, protesting, "I haven't fainted in years!"

Cruz looked amused. "You should have seen Grant pacing after he sent Merryl to check on you the other day."

"He was the one who told me to rest well between ports," I said in good humor, taking another big bite of papaya.

The hunters exchanged an unconvinced look, both smirking around their mouthfuls of fruit. They were keeping the topic light, but my difficulty porting the last group in must have caused some concern, which might also be why I got fruit instead of the usual greens. That might have also been why Grant had reduced the size of my group.

"There's Tib and Brielle," the standing hunter said as he waved an arm to catch their attention.

Cruz handed me a second slice of fruit while the two new arrivals washed their arms and faces. He handed them some fruit as well. No one was brave enough to eat the peppery seeds, not without them being scanned. They were put in a small leather pouch; if they got past the Guard Station's inspection, they'd be quietly shared on the upper ledge tonight.

"You won't believe what we saw on our way back," Brielle said as she sat on the log, cradling her slice of fruit.

"What's that?" Cruz asked, glancing at her.

"A Saursune crossed a deer trail ahead of us and ambushed a tiger. The tiger jumped into the river, but the Saursune kept following along the bank. Not sure if it got away."

I swallowed the fruit. "A green one showed up here around mid-afternoon."

All four looked at me, and Cruz scrutinized my clothing while asking, "Did it pin you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Remember how a few porters froze and didn't get knocked down? It was between me and the crystal, so I tried standing still. It worked. The Saursune just walked around me."

He looked thoughtful. "Huh, we thought we saw something as well, but we never got a good look at it. Just a fleeting glimpse of something green. We assumed it was a lizard when we didn't see anything else."

"This one was green too," Brielle confirmed. "Could it have been the same one?"

Because I was dying of curiosity and wondering if they had any insight, I added, "It was really curious about some leaf strands I braided into a circle. When I held it out, it took it and left. Have you ever heard of the Saursunes doing something like that before?"

That had them all looking at me.

"Braided leaves?" Cruz asked.

I nodded and held my hands in front of me. "About so big. It was just something I made to pass the time."

"I don't think I've ever heard of them actually taking something," Brielle slowly replied.

The others furrowed their eyebrows in thought, occasionally glancing at the jungle around us in case our oddly-behaving alien stalker returned. I took another bite of papaya.

"You're right," Cruz eventually said. "They never take stuff. In fact, lately, they've been leaving food near the crystal."

I was fervently glad I had a mouthful of fruit as a solid excuse to remain silent. I could get in big trouble if I admitted to eating something a Saursune had brought without getting it scanned first. Hindsight also pointed out that my stomach had overruled common sense. I'd have to be more careful in the future.

Tib turned to look at the crystal, which I couldn't see from where I was sitting. "Has anything appeared yet?"

I chewed to buy me a few seconds, then swallowed. "I didn't see anything near the crystal, but I haven't checked for a while, and I collected so many leaves that the Saursune could have stuffed a tiger among those stacks without me noticing."

"There better not be a tiger in there," Tib muttered, taking a small bite of papaya and frowning at all the greenery I'd piled beside the crystal.

I felt bad for lying, even if it was more of an omission of the entire truth. Why did I feel the need to lie? It couldn't simply be because I didn't want to get in trouble—Grant would have had a lot fewer headaches if that were the case.

Staring absently at the trees around us, I dug into my emotions and tried to figure out the root cause of my deception. The hunters had noticed the Saursunes were leaving food, so that wasn't it. Part of it tied back to my energy theory, how quickly people dismissed it, and my attempts to seem normal so I'd fit in. But there was something more.

There was something about the way the Saursune had brought the fruit and didn't leave until he was sure they were something I'd eat. He had acted just as concerned about my hunger as the hunters had been.

It was like...like... My mind searched for a word or phrase to properly express what I was feeling.

It was like becoming friends with an enemy who still might kill others.

That analogy fit. It also explained why I didn't mind telling them that a Saursune had appeared or cornered me, but not that it had given me something or seemed to care about my wellbeing.

The last part stuck in my mind. I nibbled on the papaya as I thought about the last few encounters. Not only had the Saursunes not harmed me, but the last two times, they had also ensured I had food and protected me. The time before, I had been by myself and immediately left. And this time, if I had to guess, it had also protected a hunter from a lurking tiger.

The revelation left me stunned. So much so, that I didn't even notice Tib leave until he called out, "You might want to come see this."

I stood up but couldn't see what he was staring at. We quickly went to investigate. Behind the stacks of leaves, there was a small pile of yellow mangos, a tiger tail looped around the base, and a braided circle of leaves on top of the fruit.

The exact same one I'd given the Saursune.

"Well," Brielle said, staring with wide eyes, "I guess the Saursune didn't chase that tiger away by accident."

I carefully stepped forward and picked up the braided grass circle, but the uneven weave was undoubtedly mine.

"Is that the one you gave it?" Cruz quietly asked.

I nodded silently.

Tib bent down to pick up a mango. "I wonder where it found these. I didn't see any mangos in my travels."

"We can ask the others when they come in. They'll have noted the location if they found it." Cruz sounded somewhat doubtful, with good reason. If someone had found a big tree with ripening fruit, they would have filled all their carry nets and returned before making a second trip.

No one had made such a trip.

*   *   *   *   *

Author's Note:

Sorry for how short this chapter was (just shy of 1,600 words), but the next chapter is rather long and had no clean breaking points without a doozy of a cliffhanger.