Survival

Tobias had left early in the morning to do a trip to the spaceship. On the last visit, humans had been sighted in the area, so today Tobias wanted a decent sized army to go with him. It was understandable that he didn’t want me to go, but I still wished that I was allowed to. I hadn’t even trained much since we moved to the new island because I had to help with settling everyone in. It was something I missed. I stared at the sky in the direction that Toby had flown in a few hours ago, twirling my knife in my hand. It hadn’t been that long and already I missed him and wished to see him back here safe and sound.

“Marion, Cassius wants to talk to you,” Loukas said. I spun around, almost losing my balance on the rock I was standing on. “I’ll take your place keeping guard.”

“Okay,” I nodded, jumping off and heading back to camp to find Cassius. He was easily spotted amongst a small group of older females, all of whom I recognised as cooks.

“Marion! Just who I needed to see!” he smiled while moving aside to allow me to join the circle. “So, do you have any plans?” I just stared at him blankly.

“Plans for what?” I asked slowly, wondering if I was missing something. Had I been that zoned out the past few days, thinking about the night I had spent with Toby, that I hadn’t learned of something of great importance?

“Tobias’ birthday…” Cassius informed me. I gulped. Yeah, I’d forgotten about that… Time was something I had never been able to keep track of very well, which I blamed on the fact I had grown up in a spaceship that didn’t have day or night or seasons.

“Oh… No, do you?”

“Well I’m about to go and hunt a few cows, since he loves his steak, and our lovely cooks are going to do something special with some herbs, vegetables and fish,” Cassius explained with a gesture to the females. “But we still need presents, which is why I wanted to talk to you. Excuse us.” The females nodded and bustled off towards the small garden area that they had shifted small plants to, discussing foods. Cassius started walking towards his cave, and I saw some hunting weapons in the entrance.

“Before you ask, no I have no idea what he wants for a present,” I sighed. Cassius chuckled a little as he passed me a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

“Nothing at all? I thought you two were close!” he teased, picking up his own bow and grabbing a sharp knife as well.

“We are, but… What are we supposed to do? We’ve barely got settled on this island, and all resources are going towards living, not recreation,” I explained as we started to fly. Cassius didn’t speak, but looked thoughtful, as we flew away from the caves and past the forested area. After a few minutes of slow soaring, he dipped down and landed in a tree. I circled back and landed next to him, seeing that we were in the perfect position to hunt the herd of cattle that were in a large meadow before us.

“I think ultimately, he would want some privacy. And you, of course,” Cassius finally said. And me? What did he mean by that? I felt nervous, hoping that he didn’t suspect anything. Toby had said he’d only tell Sylus!

“And me?” I anxiously laughed as he pulled an arrow out.

“Don’t try and deny it, he told me a few days ago,” he shrugged.

“Oh…”

“I asked some of the males going with him to the spaceship to grab a few items for presents, but it still won’t be much. I feel like we should give him something really nice, to show our appreciation for him in this tough time,” Cassius explained.

“I agree. I just don’t know what else we can possibly do,” I argued with a shrug. It was extra tricky because we had so little resources so it wasn’t as if we could just create lots of gifts.

“Me neither. That’s why I was hoping that you’d be willing to spend some time with him tonight. After the main celebrations, Sylus and I can divert everyone’s attention and you two can have some privacy,” he suggested. I had to admit I liked the sound of his plan. There was a desire in me to spend more time with Toby, so getting another opportunity so soon would be great. Cassius extended his arm and pointed ahead and to the right where there was a gathering of large trees. “Over there is upstream of the creek we use for water. There is a relaxing waterfall in a secluded spot. It is sheltered enough to keep you both warm. Take him there before it gets dark, and return before celebrations end.”

“I think he’d like that,” I nodded with a smile.

“He will. It’ll be better than any sort of object we could give him,” Cassius agreed. “Now, how about we catch his meal?” We each picked out the cows that looked the tastiest and easiest to catch before taking aim and quickly firing a succession of arrows down onto them. Fortunately, they didn’t startle very quickly, so we managed to kill three. Another was injured, but it managed to limp away with the rest of its herd. Cassius was pleased, as others were spending the day fishing to ensure that everyone could have a decent dinner. Because the distance wasn’t too far, Cassius and I dragged the cows back to the edge of camp, and the cooks got to work straight away.

Everything ran smoothly for the rest of the day, and by the time Tobias returned, the celebrations were all ready to start. The males landed and continued their run straight to the fire in the middle of the clearing as that’s where the food was. We all shouted happy birthday to Tobias, which took him by complete surprise. He too had forgotten, or at least lost track of time. Nonetheless, his shock was soon replaced by absolute delight. Everyone enjoyed giving him his small gifts, and the feast that followed was absolutely magnificent. I was so full it almost hurt, but I didn’t care because food was getting scarcer. Shortly after the meal, Cassius was hinting for me to leave with Toby, so I snuck him away into the forest and flew with him to the waterfall. It looked stunning in the glow of the sunset that was peeking through the trees, and it had enough trees to protect us from the chilling breeze. We held hands and talked while enjoying nature.

“Marion… I have something important to tell you…” Toby said out of the blue. His voice was hesitant, so I straightaway assumed that he had to tell me something negative. “I’m telling everyone else tomorrow, but this just can’t wait… You should know…” I tried to have some eye contact with him, but he stayed staring out at the waterfall.

“What is it?” I breathed, trying to plead him with my eyes too. I didn’t really know if I wanted to hear it. My stomach was turning with nerves.

“At the ship today… we received another broadcast,” Tobias started, finally turning to face me. “There’s another Kasien ship nearby. They had had contact with Otto’s ship a few years ago and have been trying to follow them ever since. The leader is Eldon…” I sighed. This was a lot less worse than I had originally thought, judging by how serious his voice was.

“I’m not going to run off with him, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I told him with a frown. We had never discussed the Otto issue since we started dating, but I had thought we were past it.

“I know. He’s much older than us anyway, almost an elder,” Toby replied, making a small disgusted face. “But that’s not the point. Don’t you know who’s on his ship?”

“Um, no…” I whispered, staring blankly at him. “I don’t know any other Kasiens, especially from when I was really little, so- Oh, no… Toby…” My eyes were filling with tears as it hit me. It could only possibly mean one thing. He would only be telling me this the way he was if…

“Your mother and sister are on that ship,” he grinned. I exhaled as he confirmed what I had been thinking. After being separated for all of my life, I was finally going to meet my mother and sister! I couldn’t believe it! Toby pulled me into a hug and I gripped tightly onto him. It was such good news! I hadn’t had family for a while now, because my father died in a battle on a different planet. Toby was the closest thing I had had to family, but now Kasiens that shared my blood were on their way here. After the initial shock and bliss had gone, we let go of each other and started discussing it. I was so thrilled that today was a wonderful day. Somehow, I wasn’t even sad when we had to leave the peaceful waterfall to head back to the others. I was still overjoyed about everything.

When we returned, everyone was dancing around the fire. It was the happiest I had seen the group since the attack, and it was all because of Tobias. They loved him, and he gave them freedom and joy. I spotted him casually re-joining the group, sharing loud and boisterous laughs with Sylus. The scene made me want to stay hidden in the trees, just watching it and appreciating it all. It was the best thing in the world to see Toby so happy.