Defending Hippotigris by Smith, T.L. (intellectual books to read txt) 📕

Lizzy leaned against Schaef, her attention already drawn back to the cliff carvings. “Do you think they’ll let me climb around to get a better look?”

“Coming from the woman with leaf socks?” I gave Lizzy an ‘are you serious’ look, before turning back to Yinet. I held up my empty leaf, tapping my stomach. “Thank you.” I set the leaf aside, turning my head back to the cliffs too. “This is home?”

Of course she didn’t understand. Lizzy helped, pulling out her sketch pad and doing a quick drawing of our tents. I got her drift, point to them and to my own chest. “Home.” I pointed to the cliffs and to her. “Home.”

She grasped my meaning and pointed to the cliffs. “Hom.” She pointed to us, then the cliffs again. “Hom.”

Remy grasped her meaning as I did and leaned into our conversation. “Yes, thank you for bringing us to your home.” He looked at me and shrugged. “Just saying. Anyway, it’s been a rough day and it’ll be dark soon. If we get a good night’s rest we can spend tomorrow exploring this place.” He looked to Lizzy. “Maybe your feet will be up to it by.”

“I’m not about to miss a thing if I have to crawl around on my hands and knees.” It was getting darker and she leaned her head against Schaeffer’s shoulder again.

He wrapped his arm around her, jerking his head at me. “I guess you should find out where we can pitch tents for the night.”

“Probably don’t need to.” I pointed at Lizzy and her feet, looking at Yinet and Gerret. “Home? Sleep.” I rested my face against my hands, closing my eyes.

Yinet stared at me for a moment, then swept her hand to the cliffs. “Hom.”

Gerret called out to the group and several scurried forward, grabbed our backpacks before running for the cliffs. They bounced up the cliff walls, disappearing into carved arches. We followed Yinet to find steps, large steps.

Lizzy was in no shape for climbing, so Remy and I went first, reaching back to help Schaeffer bring her up, until a large female appeared and offered her back to Lizzy, patting her shoulders repeatedly.

“Oh, I get it.” Lizzy shrugged. “It’s been a while, but it beats the alternative.” Schaef helped her onto the LR’s back. She laughed as she wrapped her arms and legs around the LR. It sounded like the LR laughed too.

Yinet gave me a cheek nuzzle. “Tomrow.”

“Tomorrow. Thank you.” I followed our guide up the terraced ledges. They were steep, but Remy offered me a hand up, since he didn’t have to carry the packs.

We got a few chitters from the nearest LR when Schaeffer reached out for me too. I reminded him of the apparent custom, so he held his hand back until Remy touched me first. That seemed fine by them.

When we reached our terrace, Lizzy sat on a bench, watching the LR adjust and remoisten the leaves around her feet. She smiled. “I guess I just have to keep the wraps wet.”

“Tomrow!” The LR bounced away and down the cliff, not using the terrace.

Lizzy leaned out as far as she dared. “Wow, I hope you’re recording this.”

“Every moment.” I tapped the little recorder attached to my collar. Schaef had one too. We’ll upload today’s data.” I looked to Schaef. “See if you have a signal up here and get in touch with base, let them know our status?”

“Soon as we get settled.” He glanced below us, to the LR still watching us intently. “Right now we have an audience. You’d think they never saw a human before.”

“Seeing and having us here are two whole different stories.” I looked to the arches. “Well, let’s see what we have for accommodations.”

Inside the entrance we found our packs neatly lined up. I’d expected it to be dark, but there was some type of phosphorescent plant around the interior arch, sending tendrils out into the sunlight. The leaves glowed, stretching out across the cave’s ceiling. “Wow, this gives a whole new definition to ‘going green’.”

I reached up to brush my hand over the leaves, only to pull it back quickly. Even the slightest touch seemed to shut down the process, the light going out in those leaves. Fortunately, they glowed back to life slowly. “Interesting.”

“Comfy too.” Remy beckoned me over to another archway. “All the comforts of home.” The room was clearly a sleeping chamber, a large flat shelf along the back wall. Large enough for two LR. It was covered with a layer of woven reeds and blankets.

“Ah, good, two bedrooms, and what appears to be a bath. Running water and all. You got to see this.” Schaef waved us deeper into the cavern.

We followed the trail of light as the plant’s tendrils fed from somewhere in the depths of the cave. We passed another sleep chamber and in the back of the cave, found the host plant as well as another chamber. Inside the room we found a channel cut into the wall.

Schaeffer reached up to a wooden handle, pulling it down. Water spouted down into a stone trough. He ran his hand through the water, then he scanned it. “Pure! I can take this as suitable for drinking, but it goes to another container.” Schaef pointed to a smaller arch to the side of the room. “They observe hygiene.”

Inside was a toilet, though a bit scary in size. Water from the sink was stored in another tank to be used to rinse down this basin. I laughed at the thought of being rescued from the hole cut in the floor. “Used worse, but I think we’d better set up our own. Good a place as any.”

“Yeah, Lizzy said as much.” Schaef laughed too, pushing us out of the facilities. “I’ll take care of it. If you want to get out some MREs, berries aren’t going to tide me over to morning.”

“Deal.”

We sorted out the food while Schaef set up the portable toilet. Though our environmental team said