Page 56 of Riv's Sanctuary
When it was clear he hadn't seen her approach, she'd finally decided to say something to him.
"Do you need any help?"
Now she stood watching him as he exhaled slowly.
He'd snapped his head in her direction then, a growl rumbling through him.
Lauren tried to smile.
"I could help with whatever you're doing, you know. I don't have much experience but...I could help out anyway. I’m a fast learner. You won’t know I’m here. I won’t even get in your hair."
Her gaze moved to his hair then, to the golden coils decorating some strands, before her eyes settled on his face.
Even with the cloth around his face, she could see his jaw working as he clenched his teeth.
Instead of replying to her, he made a low growl before he moved off to another section of the trees, squeezing random fruits as he moved past.
Lauren gulped and followed him. Behind her the huge dark dog walked in her footsteps, almost as if it thought she was its new friend...or plaything?
She wasn't about to forget the way she'd been knocked backward by the animal. If it had wanted to shake her in its mouth like a chew toy, it could have.
With that thought, she hastened her pace to catch up with the blue alien.
He still hadn't said anything to her. He seemed to be ignoring her, actually. Or, at least, trying his best to do so. The rigid set of his shoulders told her he was all too aware of her presence.
She wasn't usually one to fill awkward silences, but she felt the need to say something.
Maybe that need stemmed from not having anyone to talk to for a whole year.
“You know, these look like peaches back where I'm from, though smaller,” she said, her eyes on his back as she trailed behind him. “And without the fur.”
No response.
“I can’t think of any fruit that had fur. Sure, we had fruit with weird outer skin.” She paused. “Like dragon fruit…that was kinda strange.”
No response.
"Did you plant these?"
With a grunt, he glanced back at her, his brows dipped behind his dark glasses.
Okay, maybe she was talking too much.
Moving over to the other row of trees, but careful she wouldn't lose sight of the alien, Lauren reached up and touched one of the fruits.
The fur was unbelievably smooth. She could imagine this would make great bedding or mats of some sort.
The fruit was hard when she squeezed it so she moved to the another tree down the line and did the same thing, following the actions of the alien in the row next to her.
As they worked in silence, she could almost feel his eyes on her, but she kept her gaze on her task...whatever this task was.
She assumed he was checking if any of the fruit was ripe and by ripe, she assumed the fruit would be soft when squeezed.
It didn't take long before she found one that her fingers sunk into without breaking the skin.
Elated, she squeezed the fruit again. "Hey! I think I found one."
The death-dog, Grot he'd called it, came closer and bumped her with its nose and she was sure she heard a grumble in the next row.