Raven's Return - Ruby Dixon Page 0,11

or watching Z'hren for Shail. Her scent heads down to the beach, so I go there instead, walking along the shore.

I almost miss the sight of her. R'ven lies atop one of the largest rocks at the edge of the water, no more than a pale smudge in the night. Her scent calls me, though, reassuring me that she is here, and I begin to climb up after her. The rock is taller than I thought, at least two hyoo-man heights tall, so I am impressed she was able to climb it so easily. But…perhaps she is now trapped up here? All the more reason to retrieve her.

I climb up next to her, sticking my head over the top and looking over. "R'ven?"

She glances over at me in surprise, rolling onto her side. "U'dron? What are you doing here?"

"Are you trapped? Do you need help getting down?"

Her pensive expression eases into a smile. "No. I'm fine. I just came up here to meditate."

"Med-uh-tayt," I echo, climbing the rest of the way up. The rocks are not smooth and tear at my palms and knees, but if R'ven is up here, this is where I want to be. I sit down next to her, cross legged, as she sits up and gazes out at the water. "What is this word?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm lying." She offers me a weak smile. "I guess I just wanted some alone time."

I go still. "Should I leave?"

"No, it's okay." She touches my knee. "You can stay. I like your company."

Heat rises in my neck, and I feel pleased and oddly nervous. I do not know why I am nervous—it is just R'ven. But I keep thinking about the way she touched my knee. I casually reach out and rub it, caressing the same spot she did on my leggings. I try to think of something to say to her. "How—how are you?"

The smile she flashes me is weary. "I'm tired tonight." She turns ever so slightly and faces the water, hugging her knees against her chest. She gazes out at the waves and says no more.

She seems sad, and I worry that I am bothering her. "Do you…want company? Or should I leave?"

"I'm not sure."

I grunt. "Then I will stay and remain quiet." I turn towards the waters as she does, admiring the sight of them. The waves seem slower here, laden as they are with slushy ice. Everything is icy and cold here, and the one called D'vi has explained that the reason that the island was so warm was due to the Great Smoking Mountain creating something like a “heat pocket.” She used bigger words to describe it, of course, and said a great many things I did not understand. I understand well enough, though. This place is cold. My home was hot. That is all I need to grasp.

This place has food, and females, so it is automatically better than home at the base of the Great Smoking Mountain, which killed all of Long Tail clan and most of my clan. And…this place has R'ven.

I will endure any amount of cold just to see her smile at me.

Drumming starts at the camp, the sound carried on the wind, and I inwardly wince at O'jek's clumsy beat. He is impatient with the drum, pounding out a story without thinking of how he is telling it.

At my side, R'ven chuckles, breaking the silence. "That's pretty bad."

"It is." I grimace. "O'jek is trying very hard but he does not have a steady beat in his spirit."

"Not like you," she agrees, and I am warm all over. "Why aren't you with them?"

"Why are you not with them?" I counter.

She lets out a sigh and leans back, flattening herself on the rocks once more. "I don't really think I belong sometimes."

It is like a spear in my gut. Have I not thought the same thing myself? "I know what that feels like." I ease backward onto the rocks like she does and stare up at the sky. "It is difficult when everyone around you seems to fit in so easily, and yet you are on the outside no matter how hard you try."

R'ven is quiet for a moment and then confesses, "I overheard someone making fun of my songs earlier."

I turn to look at her. "Someone does not like your songs?"

She nodded. "They were joking that I change the tempo too much. They don't sound the same…and that I pick weird songs. I just pick songs I know