The Caves Part III
They developed a routine over the next few day. Murphy was the first to wake, just as the sun begun to emerge behind the trees. He supposed it was pretty late in the morning but they always went to sleep in the middle of the night. After getting up he left the latest cave they found and looked for fire wood, nuts, herbs and berries. When he brought his bearing, Emori was awake to and had a fire burning in a couple of seconds. They ate berries and nuts and whatever they had left from the coup of the day before. Sometimes dried meat, cheese or some bread. One time they even got dried fruits. They were the sweetest thing Murphy ever tasted. They also got a little pot a few days ago and every morning they boiled water in it and if they had herbs, they made tea out of it. Sometimes Murphy added some of the spices from their first coup. There had been quite a few interesting combinations. One time he even added berries and it had been awesome. But it was winter still and most of the time they only got a handful of them, so there were no berries to spare for tea.
With his stolen jacket, one of the two woolen blankets they got the day before yesterday and the hot tea Murphy didn’t felt the cold like he did the first few days Emori let him tag along.
In the morning they never talked much, they shared tea and whatever they dug up for breakfast. Murphy and Emori left the cave without putting out the fire, because most days they had no water to spare. Right now, all their stolen belonging did fit into two equally stolen bags, so they took everything. Together they looked for a good spot to stage the next coup. Murphy always played bait. Maybe Emori didn't trust him enough to watch out for her. Maybe he just was better at playing dead, Murphy tried not to think too much about it. By now he was calmer after the coup, his heart still racing and he had to puke once or twice after their encounter nearly went sideways, but he pulled himself together in a matter of seconds and Emori and him were on the run with whatever they could carry. They always looked for a cave after or an old subway station. On the way, they filled their water containers and took whatever berries, nuts or other eatable things the forest had to offer. Emori had shown him how to hunt and every evening before the sun set, they tried to hunt some rabbit, rat or whatever rodent they came across, if the victim of the day didn't had enough food for them to steal. Back in the cave, with a fire burning, Murphy contemplated what food might fit and threw together whatever sounded good in his head. He really loved to try out the spices from their first coup and more often than not the food was really good. Emori said, she had never eaten better than with him. He tried to do well every evening because he really started to like food and if Emori was especially pleased with her dinner she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
After their meal it was dark outside, the sun had set long ago and they went outside and lay on the ground to watch the stars in the spaces between the canopy. Emori started their new evening tradition a few days ago. She expected him to tell her about constellations and planets. She even asked him, if there were other lifeforms up there. Emori told him, that sometimes when she has been stealing tech with her brother, she found books. She couldn't read very well in English, because her brother taught her and he was really bad too, but she understood, that the universe was bigger than she could imagine and that prior to the bombs that destroyed the earth people believed, that there had to be something out there.
"That's why your people went to space right? They wanted to explore", she said into the night.
"Yeah, maybe. I think it was about politics and science stuff." Murphy just had a few years of education before he was thrown into the skybox and after his father died, he wasn't the most attentive student, but he still remembered reading about the solar system, about stars and astronauts in the children's book his mother got him from the arks library sometimes. He would never consider himself an expert of astrophysical science or whatever stuff Raven Reyes was into, but it was enough for bedtimes stories to the girl he had the hots for. So Murphy told her about the planets he knew. He remembered only because his father taught him in the order of size by saying: "Johnny Sailed Upwards Nine Epic Moonlight Miles". So what, Alex Murphy was cheesy like that.
"I want a saying with my name, too. So I can remember them forever", Emori said matter of factly. "Can you find me one?"
"I am not good at that", he told her and sat up abruptly. It was dumb to share these memories with her. He wasn't a dumb kid anymore. "It's not important either way. Space sucks."
"Why are you like that, John?" He didn't offer her an explanation, he just stood up and went into the woods. He was glad she didn't come after him, because he was angry, at himself and the galaxy, and sorry for being like that to Emori at the same time. Not a good mix. Murphy and her had a good time until now. Emori was pretty easy going, she always had some kind of plan and surviving on the ground had never been this fun until he met her. She was nice to him, sweet and attentive but she gave him space and silence if he needed it. Murphy never met anyone who was so in sync with him, they really fit, almost like two pieces of an age-old puzzle. But he couldn't get out of his own skin. After all this death and betrayal, the hurt and the loneliness in his life, he had nothing to offer her. No trust, no life after the woods, not even that first kiss, he so desperately wanted to share with her. Emori told him, they couldn't stage those coups much longer, people started to be more heavily armed already and sometimes while they were on the lookout behind some bushes, they could hear travelers talk about the thieves in the woods. They had to stop long before spring filled the bushes with berries and lured animals out of their winter quarters. And what should they do then? Looking out for tech was no use since they weren't really on speaking terms with Emoris most frequent buyer. There was nothing in Polis for them, a runaway skyboy and a cast-out grounder girl. Murphy thought about taking her to the remnants of the ark. He knew they let Octavia's boyfriend stay after they saved him from being batshit crazy and the last time he had been there Kane really wanted to be allies with the grounder. But his head hurt from thinking about all the ways bringing Emori to the fallen ark could go wrong. He really didn't want to endanger her and he had nothing to offer in exchange for their safety. But as he sat against the tree, because really, he wasn't dumb enough to get lost in the woods, he realized one thing: Whatever lay before him on this godforsaken ground, he wanted to stay with Emori. So he got to his feet, swallowed his insecurities and picked up a few small logs as a peace offering.
oo oo oo oo oo oo
When he got back to their cave Emori sat huddled in the stolen blanket, with her back to the cave wall and her face directed directly to the entrance. Luckily it wasn't his plan to sneak in. He put the logs into the nearly dying fire and grinned at Emori.
"Heya", he said in grounder. Another peace offering. Emori was trying to teach him since day two of their adventure, but well, Murphy never said he was a hard-working student. "Scoot odon."
The corner of her sweet mouth was pulled up slightly in a small grin and she loosened the blanket around her body to share the warmth with him. They sat silently next to each other, the tips of her small hand against his clothed thigh. It was almost as if she was moving it deliberately. Maybe she was drawing constellations on his leg. Murphy tried to imagine her growing up on the ark, but she was a wild thing, so he couldn't.
"I have a plan", Emori told him after some time, but she didn't stop whatever she did to his thigh. "We lay low for a few days. We got enough food for today and tomorrow. Even longer if we go fishing. I can build a rod from scratch. You dig out worms tomorrow." Yeah, he probably earned this task. "And then, in a few days, if we run out of food, we do another coup or two. Stock up on nuts and whatever we can get our hands on. I have some ideas, where we can get some tech." He looked at her, in awe but worrying at the same time. How will she sell to ALIE after everything that happened? "Don't look like this, John. I have other buyers. There is this girl, deep in the woods between Trikru and Azgeda territory. If her father's not there, she overlooks that I'm frikdreina."
Instead of telling her not to talk like that about herself, he leaned over, still in awe about her ability to always have a plan of surviving, and kissed her. She just stilled for a moment, but then she was totally in to it. It was all mouth and teeth, because really, none of them had ever done that before, but it was good. Her lips tasted like berries and sharp spices and she smelled like the woods, they lived in.
It wasn't long until not only their lips where touching. Her small hand was all over his arm, his shoulder, his face. Soon he was laying on his back and she sat on his lap. Suddenly she looked shy, but before she could move away, Murphy grabbed at her hips.
"You are so beautiful", he whispered. Even if he had nothing worthwhile to offer her, he was so certain, that she needed to hear it at least once. Because she was. As the fire and the shadows of the cave played a light show on Emoris face, it almost seemed as if her facial tattoo was moving in spirals. Murphy grabbed her badass hand. So many extraordinary things about her body.
"Can I?", he asked, already a bit breathless from being so near to her.
"Yeah", she said, just a tang unsure. He took of her glove, then the layers of cloths over her upper body.
"Now you", he heard her say, but she still avoided touching him with her now exposed hand. So he did a quick job of shedding out of his jacket and sweatshirt. Murphy again grabbed at her hand, the badass on, and he laid it on his chest.
"It's okay", he told her reassuring her. "It's great. Can I touch you?"
She nodded, wide eyed and tapping one of her long fingers against his chest. He touched her hip again, now naked. Her skin was darker than his, and she was soft except for the scars she wore like a warrior.
oo oo oo oo oo oo
He had his first time that night in the cave. It was tame and soft and both of them had insecurities bigger then the galaxy they spoke about earlier that night. They touched each other a long time, exploring their scarred bodies, soft skin, hard muscles and signs of a destroyed world, but the act itself was short and Murphy was pretty sure she didn't came. He promised himself he would do better next time. Huh, next time, like they really had a future with each other.
Emoris head laid on his shoulder and her hair was open, the bandana long abandoned with the rest of their clothes. The blanket and the still lightly burning fire was keeping them warm. Once again, she drew pattern over his skin, now on his chest and with her bigger hand. They were not as steady as before, because she had more fingers like she was supposed to, all in different length and forms and Murphy knew, she wasn't used to move her hand like this. Wasn't used to having it exposed much. He promised himself to change that too.
Murphy felt her lips, kissing lightly on his collarbone. She was really sweet when she was tired.
"Just Someday Under Nebulas Emori Might Magnify”, Murphy whispered a long time later, when the fire was nearly burned down. "Now you can remember forever."