3

We stopped at a thin river stream and she indicated for me to wash my dirty hands and face. I kneeled as close as possible without the danger of falling in and scooped some water on my palms. It sent a shiver down my spine. It was icy cold by so crystal clear that the sunrays falling on its surface made it shimmer and look like it hid a treasure at its bottom. I rubbed my hands together first to get rid of the mud and then proceeded to rinse my face feeling the dirt fall of like a layer of skin. It hadn't been that uncomfortable but I let out a sigh of relief as I got rid of it and felt the coolness of the water on my flashed face. It looked like it was after midday and the sun had started to make my temperature rise to uncomfortable levels.

I got back up and opened my mouth to ask what would be our next move. If I had understood the situation even remotely correctly, she was being chased by someone and now that I was with her, the same fate awaited me. The absence of my frustration towards her or fear about what was to come made me feel empty and void but I tried to shove that thought away because it wouldn't help anyone right now. I would find out wha was wrong with me after we were more certain of our safety. At the moment, I had no idea how far away we were from the first town I encountered after coming here nor the graveness of the consequences were we to get caught. We didn't have a second to spare and we needed to be on the move. Nothing should stop us-

My body grew rigid and I froze feeling mortified as I felt my stomach vibrate and let out a low ominous sound. She looked at me in surprise and with twitching lips as she once again tried to hide her amusement. As if I couldn't see her eyes sparkling a the situation! Normally, I could operate pretty well with no sleep or food for an impressive amount of time. It was how I managed to finish my projects and exploit my inspiration in the best way I could. Unfortunately, today had been the third day I had gone without actual food apart from some protein bars or snacks I could find stocked away in my lab. I had been so focused in my research for the teleportation device that stopping to eat seemed like such a waste of time. I regretted it now.

Maleeka shook her head and started walking away while motioning for me to follow her. We found a small clearing and she seemed satisfied enough by it that she decided to sit on the ground. I would have been loath to ruin my only clothing but it was already dirty on the front from my fall right after going through the portal and getting the behind as dirty didn't seem like that much of a problem. Before I sat down, however, I decided that I needed to salvage at least some of my reputation and prove myself useful before I was labeled the "Dumb One" or the "Burden". I knew that we would probably rely on whatever skills she had for catching our food so I wanted to make it a bit easier by starting up a fire. So I took some branches that looked thin and crunchy enough to be easily flammable and using what knowledge I had by some documentaries, I followed the steps as closely as possible. If only it were that simple.

I could feel her eyes following my movements from the moment I started walking around he clearing to find branches till my absolute failure and I couldn't help but deflate. Today just really wasn't my day. Nothing went my way. I looked up and even though she wasn't laughing this time and there was some burning curiosity inside her eyes, she was grinning and that made my pride take an even greater blow. She opened her mouth to say something but my uselessness got to me so I quickly stood up-straight and cut her off.

"I can be useful! I am a bloody scientist!" As I clenched my fists and gave emphasis to the last word I couldn't help but feel that I was acting like a petulant child but it was out of my control. I didn't like how this place made my feel. It tickled my curiosity and need to explore and find out about so many new and different things but I didn't understand anything and nothing made sense. It was frustrating. I felt like a newborn baby which couldn't even understand what the people around it were talking about.

She wore a forlorn expression and got up to approach me. Her sympathy would be a bit irritating but I wouldn't mind at that moment because my mind was still replaying what I had seen her do with her bare hands and how I had ended up here and the more I tried to deny it, the more torn up I became. She touched my shoulder gently.

"ǷǷǷǷǷǷǷǷ, scientist" Her pronunciation wasn't that bad and I would have been pleasantly surprised if she hadn't said the exact title that I bore wih pride, as if it was a mental condition that made me this way. She looked like she wanted to comfort me for being a scientist!

"Look, it's not my fault that this fire just won't light up already!" Something like a burst echoed in my ears and we both whipped our heads towards the branches I had brought to see them ignited with a big and almost mesmerizing fire. I didn't know if I was more irritated of the fact that she could do something I failed to do with a snap of her fingers or at the display that forced me to face things I was still trying to get used to. She turned back at me with clear shock in her face and I almost snorted. "Don't look at me! You are the one who did it" She didn't understand my words as was expected but she kept staring at me, then at the fire, then back at me as if she was trying to figure something out. I was too grumpy to try and help her so I sat on the ground and waited to see what she would do next.

Less than a minute later, she tapped at my shoulder and when I turned around I came face to face with a plate filled with what looked like steaming stake and mushed potatoes. Saliva gathered in my mouth and my stomach vibrated again, this time quietly and patiently since food was so close. I took the plate out of her hands with care and waited for her to sit opposite of me so we could start our lunch. It was as I took the fork she made appear out of nowhere that I realized what was going on.

"Wait! Why did you-?" I was so surprised and embarrassed that my words seemed to fail me. I looked at her with a betrayed glare. "We didn't even need the fire in the first place!" Even though she obviously didn't catch any of that, it wasn't hard to get the feeling behind them so this time she didn't try to contain it and laughed in a melodic and soft way. I stared at her in awe. It seemed as though everything she did was graceful.

We ate in comfortable silence, not that we had any choice on the matter but at least it wasn't awkward. Our movements were so mechanic as we took each bite that every time she squirmed on her seat or made a sudden movement, I couldn't help but look up at her and find the same contemplation and dilemma in her eyes. It looked like there was something bothering her, something she wanted to do or say. But every time she stopped herself either because she couldn't overcome the language barrier or because she wasn't sure if she wanted to let me know in the first place. The last time she moved and my eyes found hers in a matter of seconds, there was a spark of something inside of them and the fog seemed to clear off her mind. She had come to a decision and she had an idea about how to do it. She snapped her fingers and I was so confused at what she chose to create that I didn't even stop to think about how it had appeared. It was a piece of paper and a....pencil? Where were we going with this?

She started sketching with fervor, crouching over her knees where she had put the paper and frowning in concentration as she tried to make the picture look as similar to the original as possible. I found myself watching her with bated breath so it was only natural that I choked when she finished, looked up at me with a proud and wide smile and showed me her drawing. I stared at for a few moments before deciding to go with honesty. I gave her a deadpan look.

"You suck" She gasped indignantly. Once again, she hadn't understood the words but the sentiment was pretty clear. I grinned as I saw her put her hand on her chest dramatically and listened to her go on a tirade about how great her drawing was. Well, I'm guessing that is what it was all about since she kept pointing at parts of it, then at her self with a smug expression and then at me with something that looked like accusation. It was an interesting thing to behold. How when I couldn't pay attention to her words to get the meaning she was trying to convey, I focused on her body which seemed to exude her emotions in every way it could.

Her chest heaved and she stopped to take a breath. I reached for the drawing with enough force and hastiness so that she wouldn't hold onto it tighter in time but trying to be gentle and not rip it. I studied it and realised it was some type of flower but there were too many details for me to decode. It looked like an interesting flower nonetheless. I cleared my throat as she seemed ready to continue with her ramble and that seemed to draw her attention. I stared intently into her eyes as if I could communicate my question with telepathy.

"Is this..." I pointed at the flower "why we" I pointed at me and then at her "are here?" I made a a circle with my index finger trying to show the surrounding area. She seemed confused for a few seconds before her expression cleared and she nodded.

"ǷǷǷ" I assumed that was yes so I tried to pronounce it. I didn't know how long I was going to be here so I needed to learn the language, the sooner the better. I tried the word in my tongue a couple of times before looking back at her to see her reaction and find out how good or bad I had been but she seemed stunned before shaking her head and getting up. I realized I wasn't getting any feedback so I stood up as well with the drawing in hand hoping that I would recognize this flower if I saw it because it must be important since we came her for it instead of running away somewhere we wouldn't be found.

As I passed through so many different and extraordinary flowers, I couldn't help my curiosity and the scientist inside me. Their shapes and colours were so unusual and like nothing I had ever seen before and they seemed to ooze something like energy. I felt the need to examine them and find out their properties so even if I knew that the yellow flower with the green stars on its petals wasn't the one I was looking for, I picked it up regretting it a moment later when it emitted a yellow pouder right in my face and it made me sneeze. The sound I made attracted Maleeka's attention and she left her search for a moment to look at my direction and take some steps towards me. I turned back at her with an accusatory look as if she was the reason this happened and not my burning curiosity.

"What the heck was that?" Both our eyes widened at the same time and we looked at each other stunned before she bursted out laughing. It was nothing like the sound before. Raw and loud and I would have laughed alongside her if I wasn't still so shocked at how high-pitched my voice had sounded. The same effect an inhalation of a big amount of helium would have. It wasn't energy these flowers had, it was- Nope, not going there. "If you're gonna be like that..." I looked around me and when I found a flower that looked weird enough with its spikes and ominous purple colour, I shoved it at her. "..here!"

Her hands moved as if by their own volition to catch it and in a second I was looking at an entirely purple Maleeka. Now it was my turn to laugh while she looked at me unimpressed. She snapped her fingers and the colour was off her just like that ruining my fun while now my whole body was blue! I got ready to pick another flower to take my revenge but her hand on my wrist stopped me. I looked down at her and she shook her head before taking the colour out of my skin and the high pitch out of my voice. My shoulders slumped and I felt guilty for getting so caught up in it that I was ready to kill so many beautiful and possibly rare flowers.

We continued our search for hours to the point that the sun was starting to hide behind the horizon until she made a loud winning sound and she ran to me with excitement and a sense of accomplishment. I wasn't surprised that I had been unable to find it myself. The shock would have been if the roles were reversed. She gripped my hand and I could feel that we were going to teleport once again- she looked like she didn't want to wait another second- so I clenched my stomach and closed my eyes.

"A little warning next ti-!"