He awoke to the sounds of waves crashing around him and the rocking to which those waves made his lower half do. He was frozen. Too sapped of essential energy to even lift his head, though he forced himself to, anyway, so that he could look around to place his bearings. All he could see was white. He suddenly knew why he was cold. Though he had no energy, he forced his muscles to work, reaching his arms out from their place in the snow beneath him and rolled himself over. No matter what, he didn’t wish to eat the snow. It would only make him want to pee, and being as he could not sit up, let alone unbutton his pants, he would only succeed in pissing on himself and freezing his thighs and groin.
Raven-haired man decided he would rest there for one moment, building up his resolve to thrust his upper body up and get into a sitting position. From there, he would begin working his hands over his legs, which were being rocked with the force of the water, to warm them up a bit. That was decided. Vasili counted to three in his head and thrust himself up into a sitting position, but probably with a bit too much gusto, for he began to fall forward. He caught himself slowly, saving himself from the frigid water already attacking his legs.
Once he was up he was able to get a better look around. Once again, there was white, but he could also see the dark blue of the body of water lapping at his legs. Though it wasn’t a huge body of water, it was still a body of water, nonetheless, and it was just as dangerous as the ocean in this place with little heat.
He did not recognize this place in the least… And he was frightened. But not for the obvious reasons. Yes, he was wearing little clothing and was wet, but he was not afraid of getting cold. Pft. He wasn’t afraid of freezing to death. He also wasn’t afraid of starving. Nope.. He was afraid that he would not be able to tell his master he was sorry for acting in such a way. One track mind, indeed.
Taking a painful breath of cold air, Vasili used his mostly limp arms and legs to stand himself up, spots forming just before his eyes from the strain and bile rising in his throat with the pain of bending his frozen leg joins, his knees. “Shit!” Jumping from the sound of his own voice in the silent wasteland, Vasili placed his hand over his chest and let out a silent sigh, then blinked his eyes to clear his vision of the dots. He needed to find out where he was. So, he began to painfully proceed forward with his leaden feet.. Or, at least they felt like they were leaded. He could barely lift them!
Let’s see.. Am I in the states? Or am I still somewhere in Russia? No.. Siberia is much nicer.. Shit, shit, shit! Arms swung lightly as he steadied his swaying form against the fierce wind. It would do no good to end up on the ground again.
What do I remember? Was I brought here by a rival Mafia boss? No, I would have remembered, I’m sure.. But then..- Holy hell! Blue eyes widened at the sight of the quick moving beasts charging at him, a species he knew all too well. Oh hell.
The Russian dropped to all fours, ignoring the jarring pain of it, to get on level ground with the four-legged pack of canines coming at him. He would not be able to get away from these beasts. The best he could do is try to look as no threatening as possible, and that’s why he began to whimper like that of a small pup while hiding his head and neck with his arms. He knew it was working when the pack of huskies -wild or not, he did not know- stopped their advance, though circled around him still whining and growling anxiously.
Looking up when he heard shouts of a human degree, watching the huskies retreat back in the general direction of the voice and leaving him be. That would be his best chance. As the last husky ran past him he grabbed it by the leg roughly and tugged it back, ignoring it’s protesting growl and snapping at his hand, hitting the dog in the side of the face and pinning it to the ground with his body. The man would come looking for his pet… He knew he would. Who would leave there pet to die in such an environment. It was only a matter of time.
Something jolted inside and Divya awoke with a gasp. As she inhaled, a gust of snow was sucked into her mouth. Her lime colored eyes jolted open as the frost stung her throat. Rolling over in the snow, she coughed for air. Catching her breath, Her arms wrapped around herself for warmth. Was this some sort of sick joke? The last thing she could recall was running out of her police station.
Those bastards! Dropping me off at the wrong planet...what the fuck?! Divya stood in the thick snow and looked around. No one was to be seen through the thick blizzard-like conditions. She moved the visor of her helmet over her eyes, shielding them from the wind. Divya snatched her radio and brought it to her mouth. "This is Chief of Galactic Police, Divya Meejiti. You dumb asses think this shit is funny?!" But to her shock, there was nothing in the radio but fuzz and static. She tried again several times but to no avail. She was soon starting to realize that she was in deep trouble.
Looking out into the nothingness, she shouted, "HELLO! IS ANYONE THERE?! HELLO?!" She quickly grabbed her laser pistol and aimed at the sky. It was her last chance to signal help. Divya closed her eyes, praying. She shot several bright red lasers into the sky.
He had been right. The human that had called for his dogs had come to find his last one, those same dogs pulling him along on a sled connected by ropes and harnesses. Once again the huskies were whining and growling like crazy, though this time they were short one. That one, it was lying in the snow with a bloody wound on it’s leg; A bite that looked suspiciously like a human’s bite. Though, Vasili had been wise enough to alter it a bit to make it seem as though one of the other dogs had simply gotten him. That would explain why he had not come back. The wound on his leg added to the deep snow, then with a blizzard coming in. The dog just collapsed out of exhaustion.
“Who are ya’? What’re ya’ doin’ with my pooch?!” Male asked in a sort of growl, his large frame silhouetted by the pure white snow that blew past him. He noticed the wound on the dog almost immediately after he had asked the questions of the other, eyes widening slightly, then narrowing with rage. “What’d ya’ do!? Awe Kilie!” Braking the sled, he left his post and hurried around the pack of dogs, crouching down when he had made it over to the red and white beast and the black-haired, pale-skinned male. “”Kilie.” He sighed gently.
Golden eyes snapped from the beast to the human, hand still lingering in the canine’s soft fur. “Who are ya’?” He asked again. “What ‘appened to ma pooch?” He continued. He was ready to ask another question when the lad reached up and covered his mouth with his frozen, slightly purple hand, which made him flinch back as if someone had placed ice against his warm flesh.
“Shh..” He groaned out. “You’re giving me a headache. The dog.. It was injured when it got here. It collapsed, so I tried to help it out the best I could.” Vasili had pointedly denied answering the question of whom he was, being that would simply give the other man the upper hand. No. Instead, he said, “I’m cold. Give me a ride. I’ll take care of your dog.”
Of course that was not an offer he could refuse, but he had to, anyways. It was about to start storming out. He could not risk going anyplace tonight. He had to set up camp and ride out the storm, or he would surely freeze to death. “There is a cave, jus uppa head. Wish ta’ get outta’ the storm, like me, then ya’ will take care a Kilie. We’ll bed down there.”
“Mkay..” The other man had moved to help him get over to the carrion of the sled, but he denied the offer by holding his hand up and standing up. Pride was such a bitch, especially when suffering so. He walked past the musher and headed to the cover and supplies filled section of the sled, pushing some of the covers aside and slipping his dainty frame into the small spot he made, pulling the covers back over himself when he was fully and securely in. “Give her t-to me.”
Large man took the red husky over to the secured passenger and placed her down atop him, then made his way to the back of the sled and got on, gripping firmly to it before he even thought about kicking the brake out of the snow. Before he reared his leg back, though, his dogs suddenly began to go haywire at sudden red flashes in the sky. He had to say, it interested him, too. He might as well see what it was since the cave was just up that way, anyways. Kicking the break out, he shouted, “Mush!”, and cracked the whip he had just taken up into his hand.
They whined and cried as they first started pulling the sled forward off in the direction of the red lights, and being as they were downwind of the thing that caused the flashes, they knew that it was a human that was waiting for them.
****
It took them all of fifteen minutes to arrive at the location of the shots.
The burly man stopped his dogs and stomped the brake into the snow, getting off of the sled and walking around it, arms crossed over chest as he eyed the female in her bright clothing and weird head gear. “Whaton Earth are ya’ wearing, lil lady?” He asked crudely, his brows drawn and lips drawn down into a curious frown. He couldn’t help that his eyes strayed to the woman’s curves, though he did try his best not to notice them.. It was like she was naked! You could see everything on her. Hell, most ladies he saw wore thick clothing that hid their curves, belittled their breasts, and made them look outdoorsy. But this woman.. She was wearing a tight shirt, skinny jeans that hugged her thighs, and a hat that did not even look like it kept her ears and head warm.
Divya couldn't believe that someone had seen her distress signals so quickly. It truly was a miracle, "Oh thank science someone saw that!" She cleared her throat and pulled herself together the best she could, despite the freezing temperatures. Divya was still clothed in her official, police officer clothing. Normally if she would notice a sleazy man like this eying her up, he would have several teeth removed instantly. Lucky for him however, Divya was more so just relieved to see someone in this barren wasteland.
She raised her visor to tundra man. This person truly was a hobo! No one wore his sort of attire anymore...at least where she was from.
Oh great...Grizzly Adams. Divya thought to herself before she flashed her badge, "I'm Chief of Galactic Police, Divya Meejiti. My radio is out and my squad seems to of vanished. I need you to take me to shelter." Though she didn't know this man and she was in his turf, Divya kept her hand on her laser pistil that was tightly fashioned in her belt. She hoped that wherever this man was from, there was a charging pad.
Blinking slowly at the woman's words, finding the phrase 'Galactic Police' to be a bit weird. Well, she was the Chief law enforcement officer, and the badge was enough for him to confirm that, so he decided right there that he would oblige her and take her to the shelter of the cave with him. "How many deputies were wit' ya'?" Casually removing his top layer of clothing, his thin thermal coat, he held it out to the female officer and gestured over his shoulder in the general direction of the cliff with the cave in the side of it.
"Issit possible tha' they headed up ta' the cave 'cause they could not find ya'?" He grunted softly when he felt the lead dog, Hawk, bite at his ankle anxiously, obviously wishing to take out the threat that was Divya before she could harm his master. "Thunder, enough." He ordered sharply, and once the dog reared back and placed his bottom on the ground, green-eyed brunette man returned his attention to the officer.
"Five were with me but I ordered a remaining 7 to follow." Divya explained, taking the jacket. "Thanks." She walked over to his sled, avoiding the dogs to the best of her ability. Divya hated animals with a passion...they never followed orders from her. "It's possible that they lost me but-" she faded, still not having a clue as to why she was suddenly in the frozen tundra.
"We canna go lookin' fer them. Too dangerous. When tha' storm passes, thas when we'll shove out ta' look fer them. Fer now, however, we need ta' get up ta' that cave 'fore we get stuck out here in tha' blizzard." Following along behind the officer, giving each of the dogs she passed a gentle pat on the head to calm them, he stopped when he got to the two dazed beings lying comfortably in the cargo bed. Deciding there was no room for the girl in the cramped space, he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed uncomfortably. "Yer gonna hafta' stand in front a' me, lil miss."
Divya was afraid of that. She stepped on the back of the sled and moved forwards to allow him on as well. "What the hell do you call this contraption?" Before allowing him to reply, she noticed the man in the sled. "What happened to this man?" She noticed his attire as well.
Where am I? Divya cocked her head up and tried to look up at the sky, but the wind was picking up, blowing snow all around them, making this difficult.
"I dunno his story. Ah jus' know he issin' lookin' too good. An', its called a sled.." A bit taken aback by the question concerning the 'contraption' they were on, being as it was such a well known means of transportation in these parts. He stepped onto the back of the sled, his toes against her heels and his heels slightly hanging off the foot boards, he grabbed the handle bar from around her narrow waist, her kicked the break out from the snow and shouted, "Hike!", tightening his arms at her sides so she would not get knocked off balance with the sudden jerk from the dogs' charging. "Gee!" He commanded of the team, turning them right to head up tot he cave.
Divya refrained from bending her knees very much. She wanted to prevent her rump from rubbing onto his front. Closing her eyes, she rambled off a series of cuss words, hating this. Opening her eyes again, her attention went down to the man in the sled. Divya wondered if his story was anything like hers. For now she kept silent and held fast to the boards of the sled, ignoring the heat she could feel from the older man behind her.
Arriving at the cliff side cave shortly after setting off, the burly musher rode the dogs into the cave until he felt wood against rock. "Whoa... Good poochies. Start unpacking the cargo, tha' both a ya'." He got off of the sled and walked around it's structure, going for the dog team to leave the woman and man to start unpacking the supplies.
Raising up from his spot in the cargo space, Vasili lifted the red dog up from his lap and gently laid it on the ground, then tugged the large, thick - and warm!- blanket out from under the supplies and got out of his place. "I am only caring for the dog." He said simply, crouching down once he was out and draping the cover over the dog, then lifting it into his arms and heading away from the sled on shaky legs.
"Do I look like a pack mule?" Divya asked, finally letting out her annoyance. No one bosses her around. She took her helmet off, revealing her chocolate colored hair, wound tightly into a bun behind her head. Holding the helmet in one hand, she moved her other hand to her cheek. She placed two fingers near her ear where a small device was wedged, "Does anyone here me?" she asked into the small radio. But all that came through on her ear bud was static and fuzz. In a quick movement, she jerked her hand down, "Shit!"
Her attention went to the older man that led them into the cave, "What's our location?"
"Nautilus Cave. If ya' wanna' wash up, theresa stream near tha' back a' tha' cave." Spoken offhandedly, brunette male unhitched his team to let them do as they please, to get comfortable in various places, being as they hated being next to each other. Their personalities clashed too much to be fine sleeping right up against each other on their harnesses. The male whom had moved his injured pooch did have a point, so he did not mind when neither of the two actually did as he said. Besides, if they did not wish to help, then they did not need to cover up with a blanket during the night. Simple as that. And they could get their own food and water, because he was not going to share his with the two.
"I already had a bath in a pond before you found me... My legs anyways. I'm sleeping in the back. Leave me in peace, and I shall do the same for you. Come on, mutt." Vasili murmured gruffly, his accent clearly noticeable as he spoke. "Do not even disturb me if you hear noises back there." He warned once.
Brows raising, the elder man watched after the two retreating beings, then sighed through his nose and began to remove various items from the Cargo Space, including flint, blankets, produce and tinder. "So, whats yer name, lil miss?"
"Capt. Divya." She didn't bother with last names at the moment. Her eyes watched the loner walk off to the back of the cave, "What the hell is he gonna do with that dog? Screw it?" Divya didn't like how he just walked off like that. Not only did she not know these people, but she didn't want to get attacked from behind. Her eyes lowered on his figure as it slowly disappeared in the darkness.
"Shes hurt. Tha man found em' an' kep' an eye on em'. He was cold. Told em' he could come if he took care a' Kilie. So, he's gonna' start fixin' up her wound tonight. Kilie won let em' do anathing more. My name is Fredrick Saint Caine. It's nice ta' meet ya', Capt. Divya. Tell me about yerself. How'd ya' end up 'ere?" Sparking an ember and having it take to the dried out tinder, Fredrick quickly reached for more so the small flame wouldn't go out so quickly, then slowly grabbed various pieces of wood that was scattered about on the cave floor to keep it going. "Come 'ere near tha' fire. It'll keep ya' warm."
"I don't know how I ended up here. I ran out of my station and fell face first into snow." Divya said, rather annoyed about the whole situation. "And no, I'm not on LSD." She rolled her eyes and leaned her bottom against a rock. Leaning down, she started brushing the snow off of her high-tech boots. They were quite clunky, yet nothing like a snow boot.
"As a matter of fact, I think I will take your offer from earlier and go clean up now." Divya stood straight and headed into the back of the cave, where the other stranger had headed. Perhaps this man knew something that the old man didn't? He was being so suspicious not to be questioned.
He heard the footsteps coming his way. It did not bother him. She -He could tell by the light tap of her feet hitting the ground, not like the larger man's stomp, being the best way to describe- was not in any immediate danger. It was not midnight yet. She had a few hours before then. "Do you always head towards danger unarmed?" Thick Russian accent, but perfect English, came from the darkness followed by the gentle whimper of canine.
Vasili shifted slightly on the blanket, giving it a bit of slack so he could cover the pooch up to keep her from catching her death. "Relax, girl. I'm finished for the night." He cooed gently.
"But that's where you are mistaken." Divya replied, placing a hand on her gun that was strapped to her hip, "I am armed." Her weight shifted to one hip as she planted her hand there. "The old man says he found you as well. Are you from around here?" She interrogated. "Are you some sort of local vet?"
"I am no vet, but I do know a thing or two about fixing up a wound be it on an animal or human. I don't know. I might be from around here, but I don't exactly where
here is. Hope that clarifies things for you." Rising, Vasili pulled the hem of his shirt out from the waist of his pants, then unbuttoned his sleeve cuffs and began to roll them up. "And while you're pointing out guns, mine's right over there. Pull your gun on me and I promise, you'll be dead first."
Divya was a little surprised at how straight forward this remark was. "Well that's quite bold of you." Her eyebrow raised a bit. At this close of range, she could better profile him. She noted the tattoos on his neck, facial structure and long hair. This was a natural thing that she did whenever she met someone new. It was a learned process that was programmed into her throughout her years of schooling.
Finally she took a deep breath. "Listen- let's just cut the tough guy/tough girl bullshit, alright?" She extended her hand, "My name is Capt. Divya."
"But I'm not done flexing yet." Evident that he was being sarcastic, he took the officer's hand timidly and shook, his own hand nearly exactly the same size as her's. "Vasili, but call me what you like. It's not like it matters much. What's up with that clown outfit, doll? I've been meaning to ask you about it." He released after giving a semi-firm shake, withdrawing his hand as if he had been touching heated metal for the past few seconds.
Divya smirked at his attitude shift. It seemed a lot more inviting now. She found a small rock and sat on it. "Why is everyone asking me that?!" Divya asked, clearly frustrated that things weren't as they should be. "Hell, I should be asking you guys the same thing! It looks like I stumbled into some sort of Amish-fest on Europa 6."
"At least we match the environment, the big fella' and I. You... You look like some type of wish-to-be tight wearing hero of sorts.. And, you mean Europe. But if that's how you wish to pronounce it." Vasili replanted himself on the blanket once he had finished rolling up his sleeves, pulling his legs to his chest and resting his chin on his knees, though he never took his gaze from the others' form.. Though he was not exactly looking at her face. Instead, he was looking at her chest like he had been taught to do by his Master. It showed respect, not to look one dead in the eye, just like it was not wise to look a cat dead in the eye or a feral dog. It could provoke an attack.
"You look like you would be cold wearing nothing but that thin layer of clothing. Though, the jacket he gave you probably gives you a bit of heat in that body of yours." He muttered with a shrug, meerly thinking aloud.
"Excuse me?! This is standard uniform of the GPF. You both are dressed like you are from the 20th century." She disregarded the fact that the jacket lent to her smelled of sweat and dead animal.
"And no, I meant Europa 6. Sector 6 of Jupiter's moon, Europa." Divya explained it in such a way as if it were common knowledge. She started to put two and two together in her head quickly. Divya's eyes went to Vasili's, staring hard.
That caught his attention. "What are you talking about, the 20th century.. It's only 1982. Is there something wrong with your head? And what's this all about, Jupiter and Europa? You're speaking some kind of nonsense right now." Brows drawn, Vasili shifted his gaze to the ground, a faint frown coming to his face as he contemplated just what was going on. First of all, he wakes up out in the cold wastelands of either Siberia or Alaska. Second, he is in a cave speaking with a law enforcement officer, and that in itself is a feat. Third, she was speaking total nonsense!
Upon observing Vasili, he surely wasn't mad and he seemed to be telling the truth. "You idiot! It's NOT 1982! It's not! It's 5081!" The facts kept hitting her like bricks, though she didn't want to believe it. Everything was starting to made sense now. Why her radio wasn't working, their clothing, the sled and use of dogs. Not to mention Vasili's accent. She was in the past. Her arms started to shake and she began to hyperventilate
. "If it is 1982...and you--then him-" Divya looked in the direction of where the larger man was briefly. "Europe is still here...I'm on Earth and-and..."
"Of course you're on Earth. It's simply ridiculous to think otherwise. There is no life on other planets, and there never will be. And what do you mean Europe is still here?! Europe shall always be here." He suddenly felt caged, trapped in this small enclosure with this female that made no sense. He rose once again, gently kicking the cover over the pup before he began to pace back and forth restlessly. Gods, now he knew that midnight would soon be upon them.
"I'm leaving." He muttered, wiping sweat from his brow and unbuttoning his dress shirt to let it slip off his narrow pale shoulders. "Watch the dog." He ordered briskly.
"Wait- where are you going?" Divya asked, turning quickly in his direction. This was a pretty intense moment that he was just walking away from. Her arms were shaking as she clung her nails into herself. Divya was close to going into shock. "N-no one has ever created a working time machine- this...is impossible!" Her lime eyes shot to the thick jacket that was given to her. It was a haunting reminder and felt like the insides had millions of tiny insect legs crawling on her. Divya gasped and quickly threw it off onto the ground.
Divya tried to snap out of her slight shock before turning her attention to her boots. She plopped herself on the ground and scrapped the ice away from the underside of the boots. Once cleaned, she grabbed the outside of each boot and turned a knob that was hidden in the shoe design. A light flickered on the underside. "Shit!"
"Captain, ya' should get some rest soon. We're leavin' in tha' early mornin'." Fredrick called out from the front, his gruff, low staccato vibrating through the cave and bouncing off the walls to reach back to the other. Currently, the sickly looking male was pacing about the area with his shirt hanging off his arms like a wrap, his long dark raven toned brain swaying about behind him.
"Calm down, youngun. There's no point in gettin' so wound up." He chastised. "It'll only serve ta' be yer downfall in this environment."
"Shut up." Russian snapped his jaw together and weaved his way through the onlooking dogs, each of them more and more curious as to what he was doing. If he was leaving or staying, for he stopped at the mouth of the cave for few seconds before continuing on with his pacing.
Divya propped up and booked it to the front of the cave where the two men were chatting. "Your not going anywhere until we figure out what is wrong here!" From running, ice was released from the jets under her boots. Unexpectedly, she levitated a bit. "Oh thank science!" Divya exclaimed, relieved to see her Boost Boots still worked. She hovered a foot above the ground with a hot pinkish glow from under her feet. Her attention went back to Vasili. "Where do you think your going in weather like this?!"
"Someplace cold, that's for s-... You're floating..." Stopping in tracks, Vasili blinked his eyes twice to make sure he was not imagining things with his sudden rise in temperature, and he was not. "You're floating.." He muttered again, eyes widening somewhat. His reaction was the polar opposite of Fredrick's, for he was calm. Now Fredrick, boy oh boy, Fredrick.
The large, burly man rose quicker than would be expected from a larger person, emerald eyes wide and jaw slack so that his chin was hidden behind the collar of his jacket. "Wha' tha' hell?!" Hurriedly, he scuttled over to the female and began to walk around her in quick pace, looking under her feet as well as over her shoulders for any type of string or wire he did not see.
Divya lifted her feet a little with a turn of her ankles, shifting her away from Fredrick. This guy was awkward as hell. To respond to the floating comment from Vasili, she spoke "Good thing too- I thought my Boost Boots were frozen stiff. Guess not. Seems like my radio just can't reach anyone...understandable since there probably aren't any satellite posts." She rubbed her temples as she hovered, "Guess I really am in the past. What a paradox..."
Speaking of time, Vasili looked over to the large man circling about the woman and tossed his bangs to the side. "What year is it?" It was worth a shot. Divya was not in her time period, what's to say that he was not in his, either? He crouched down and pat a dog on it's muzzle softly, a soft groan coming as his response.
"Huh? Oh.. 1575, didn't ya' know?"
"No, I didn't.. I have to get out of here.. I'm fucking hot.." Rising swiftly, the lad hurried towards the mouth of the cave and raised his arms out to the side, enjoying the sudden breeze that hit his heated flesh.
Divya's hover seemed to become less powerful as she coasted down until her feet met stone. She leaned down and switched her boots to a 'power saver' mode. "And you...live here? So myself and 80's over there are in your time of 1575." She rubbed her forehead, "This is like the dawn of time for crying out loud. There hasn't even been internet for you two yet!" At least...she didn't think so. History wasn't her strongest attribute.
Divya shook her head at Vasili, confused. "And how in the heck are you so hot? I can practically see my own breath in this weather!" She wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, somewhat regretting tossing Fredrick's jacket onto the ground.
"You're such an idiot. The internet was created in 1957, so of course I have it.. I even have a laptop, if you wish to get very specific. And the reason I am over heating is none of your concern, but it stems from all the new discoveries presented to me within the last few minutes with you two." As if to prove his point of superiority over the big lug whom had finished revolving around Divya and had moseyed back on over to sitting with his dogs, Vasili spotted Fredrick look up with a perplexed look on his face when the internet was spoke of.
"The inter-what?"
He knew the man did not know any better, but he could not stop from shaking his head in mild amusement. Letting his arms fall, the thin fabric of his shirt slid the rest of the way from his arms so that it hit the ground quietly, leaving his upper body flesh bared to the wind. Out of natural reactions to the cold wind, Vasili's flesh preferred a light pink over his natural ghost white, making it much easier to see the tattoos, wounds and old scars that ran up his torso and arms. "That feels much better.." He purred out."
"It's ancient history from roughly 3,000 years ago!" Divya defended angrily. She watched the Vasili air himself out. His moon-colored body was quite the contradiction to her olive toned skin. She resisted commenting negatively on him right now. As Divya shifted weight from one leg to the other, her suit clung to her body like elastic, folding when her skin folded. Her suit practically looked painted on and felt practically as comfortable as being nude.
Divya sighed, "So are you as clueless as to why this happened as I am? I mean as far as I know, my crew and I hadn't flown into a black hole or anything of that sort." She walked up to him until she was directly behind the half naked man. "What were you doing before this happened?" She hesitated in her last wording, feeling that it was a strange conversation. "How can two people of different times be sent to the same era in the past? Time is a line and there are no loopholes within it. Every aspect of time itself is and will always be linear." Divya scratched the back of her neck, "Though I suppose this is an exception of that theory."
"I was walking around town, and I must have passed out or something of the sort because I do not remember anything after that or before waking up half submerged in ice cold water and beached on a bank of snow." Taking everything he had been informed of in stride, being one of his better traits and also one of his most intimidating, so he had been told, Vasili propped his hand on his hip and slipped the other into his pants' pocket. "Nothing is ever as straightforward as it appears to be, Divya, that you can be certain of. So what makes anybody think that time is so straightforward?" Turning, accidentally knocking his elbow against the captain as he did, he flinched back slightly and stared to her neck. "Sorry.."
"About why we have been brought here.. I don't know why we were, but I do plan on finding out.. One way or another." Pushing slender fingers through raven bangs, he walked around the dame and took a seat a few feet from the fire, but not because he was cold, because he preferred to stare at dancing flames rather than a frozen, lifeless tundra.
"But you know the thing that is bugging me the most about this issue?" Divya spun around and took a few long steps towards the fire. "The fact that your so damn calm about this!" She gestured dramatically at Vasili before continuing, "Jeez man, was the 20th century that much of a bore that you aren't missing it?" Divya didn't give him time to answer.
"So what's our plan for tomorrow then?" she asked, grouping Vasili and herself together. "Well since your so skinny I'm sure my boots can handle us both. Uhh...no offense. Just don't get all 'anti-women drivers' on me. I don't take that shit too well." she warned.
"Yeah, I've been told I am too calm in pressure situations. I guess I should start to worry some, but I really am not worried in the least. We are smarter than the environment, so we should be able to survive. We'll figure everything out, I know that in my heart. And we are much smarter than the people of this time era. We'll be fine, Captain Divya." Glancing up over his shoulder to the woman, he gestured to the spot next to him for her to sit.
"Tomorrow, we ride into town with Fredrick and we get some new clothes. From there, we will get our bearings, then figure it out from there. Depending on where we are, I might be able to get hold of one of my master's descendants. It might not do any good, but we never know. And, no offense taken. I don't mind when people point out my weight. I need to be this small for my occupation. Also, I could care less if you 'drive'. As long as we reach our destination."
Divya took up his offer and sat next to Vasili. She took a deep breath the calm herself. Closing her eyes and exhaled slowly. "Thanks." By laying out a plan of action, Divya was comforted and calmed.
A casual conversation was a good idea. "Your master? Funny...I thought your era was done with slaves." Divya was a little unclear on what the ancient term, 'master' actually meant. "Damnit I should have payed more attention in history class. Then again most of all the historical evidence was lost. Oh well..." Her attention span shifted and she looked at his exposed tattoos. "What are all these for?"
"You're welcome, and you're right. Legally, slaves are not allowed to be owned, but servants are. I am both. He is my boss, and my master. I am his sex slave, and I am his top gunman, if that clears anything up for you." Once her attention shifted, so did his. Uncurling his legs from his chest, he leaned back and looked down at his exposed flesh, poking at a few of the tattoos.
"Well, this cobweb over here, it shows that I have committed murder in my time. The stars on my shoulders tell my ranking within the family. I am a Captain, just below my master. The cat on my side means I was a thief before I was imprisoned, which also got me the tattoo of the Cathedral on my upper thigh; One tower. Never been in jail since that first time.. Those are just a few of them." Training his eyes back on the dancing orange and yellow flames, Vasili's lids drooped contentedly and he leaned his head down into his knees after he hugged his legs to his chest once again. "This is as personal as I'll get with you for the time being. You owe me a bit of information on yourself since you got that out of me."
"Your...gay?" Divya shrugged, putting her eyes elsewhere. "Pity." She ended before stretching back. Divya propped up her elbows and leaned on them. Her eyebrow raised, not minding the attention turned towards her.
"Let's see..." Divya stopped before she began, "Couldn't it be dangerous to tell you information that you shouldn't know? Seeing that you are from the past and everything."
"It is all I know, man and man fucking, so I cannot say for sure if I am gay or not." Such an innocent response. And to add to that, he blushed when he heard the female's afterthought on the matter, his blue eyes falling to the snow self consciously. He cleared his throat once and shrugged. "Because everybody will believe I spoke to a woman that has shoes that make her float a foot off the ground, and that I was somehow sucked into the past." He mocked.
Divya chuckled at his last comment. "That's true...we might as well be dead at the moment. Speaking of which, are we still within our original times? And if so...what happened differently to send you and I specifically back in time?" She shook her head, "I'm so not drugged up enough to think about this shit."
A devious smirk grew on her face. She raised a coy brow at Vasili, "Do you like it?" Divya asked boldly, bringing back the whole sexuality topic.
Brows raising high enough so that they disappeared beneath bangs, Vasili turned his gaze to the captain next to him, a blush heating his cheeks again. "Excuse me? Er.. I don't think that's relevant at the moment.. Why do you wish to know if I enjoy it?" It's not that he was embarrassed about her asking.. No, for God's sake. He was embarrassed because of the strange look he had been getting from the large lumber jack looking musher behind her. As if he was either judging him, contemplating participating in such an act just to test it out, or like he was preparing to jump him at any moment now.
"Don't look at me like that! I'll snap your neck if I find need to, Good Ole' Boy!" Vasili threatened, thrusting his chin forward and clenching his fists tightly. He was pleased when Fredrick turned his gaze away with a hoarse clearing of the throat, putting his attention on the meat he had pulled out of a sack and was currently cooking over the fire.
Divya snorted and laughed out loud, unable to keep it in. His red cheeks practically glowed in comparison to his ivory complexion. Divya hadn't laughed like this in a long time. In her career, she had to be strict and firm with her comrades. Otherwise she wouldn't get the proper respect and order she desired. But now that it was all gone, she didn't give a damn.
"Just curious I suppose." Divya shrugged with a sheepish smile. "It's kinda funny to see ya blush like that too. Am I... intimidating?" Divya leaned in and tucked her chin in towards her chest. Then, her tongue slipped out and licked her upper lip in a slow movement. She held the seductive pose for a few moments until she couldn't take how hilarious her actions were. In the depth of her stomach, Divya's actions disgusted her a little. Though she was fading into a state of not giving a shit about anything, giving the circumstance. Not to mention that it was getting quite late and Divya was sleep deprived.
Unable to take the accusations and observations being pointed out by the woman, Vasili shot up into a standing position, thrust his arm into the air and exclaimed, "Ladno! That's it. I'm going to check on the dog, and you're going to bed. The both of you." Ordered as if by a parental figure. The thin man went back to retrieve his shirt from the ground and slipped it around his waist, tying it off and rubbing his cheeks with his fingers. Oh, what had happened to make him this sensitive to a dame's words and flirtations. "And if I do not hear snoring by midnight, you'll both be sorry.
"Also, if you must know, yes, I do enjoy it. Immensely so. now, eat your meat, Fredrick -And you had better share it-, and then go to bed you two. Understood?"
Divya smiled and shook her head. She reached up and pulled the tie from her hair. Like a blanket, Divya's chocolate colored hair draped down over her shoulders. Glancing at the jacket that she tossed to the ground, she admitted defeat. Grabbing it, she laid it down against the wall of the cave. Huddling on it, she attempted to get a little comfy. "I miss my bed."
Retreating to the back of the cave once again to check on the dog and to make up a sleeping place, Vasili disappeared into the darkness of the shadows, though one would think that impossible being as white as he was.
"Well, if you had helped you would have had a bed to sleep on.. Or, at least some covers to protect you from the cold snow.. Here, take this. You can use it as a pillow or a cover, if you want." Fredrick muttered offhandedly, grabbing a small blanket he had left on the sled due to his not needing it, and tossed it over to the woman. "Goodnight, now. I'll make sure the cold does not kill you throughout the night. Here, pooches!" He grabbed the warm meat from a stone in the fire and used a knife to cut it into pieces for the eight dogs, minus one, then tossed them each their share. Once the dogs had scarfed their shares down, he wiped his blade off, snuggled down into his bed, and stared at the fire placidly.
Divya just watched the large man with a plain face. She rolled her eyes and laid down gently, using the blanket on top of her for warmth. As her eyes closed from staring at the rocky wall, she wished this all away and that it was only a dream.
Midnight
He leaned over the large man that had been kind enough to take him in for the time being, though right now that did not matter. All that mattered was that he felt pent up, and this man had insulted him with the look he had given him a few hours past. Dropping the shirt from his body, Vasili crouched down and straddled the man's waist, still leaning over him and glaring into his face. With skilled ease he began to undress his upper body without waking him, oh no. The fun part would wake him up. Once finished, he removed the blade from the mushers' bag, pressed it to his chest and started cutting into flesh when he abruptly passed out, sprawling out over the other, bared flesh connecting to bared flesh.
Morning
Awakening, Fredrick was not expecting to have a half naked man sprawled atop him, nor was he expecting that man to be sweating profusely and having the beginnings of a seizure coming on, notable by the slight convulsions running through his lithe form. Weirded out about how this position came to be, he forgot about it to instead focus on why this man was showing such absurd symptoms out in the sheer cold. He wrapped his arms about the boy and leaned up, sliding him to the ground, the snow, and began to button his own shirt up, pausing when he saw the cut on h is chest, but not pondering it for long. "Captain, wake up." He called firmly.
"Beavers and ducks?" Divya slurred out upon awakening. The moment she came to, her fears were realized and she was still stuck in the past, staring up at a hairy, lumberjack man. Rubbing her eye, Divya sat up, "What's the problem?" she asked, not being the best morning person. She had noted the sternness in the winter man's voice and sat up. Her sleepy eyes caught a glimpse of Vasili laying in the snow at the mouth of the cave. "WHAT THE?!" Divya jumped to her feet and ran to Vasili, "What did you do to him?!" she asked, calling back to Frederick.
Getting down onto her knees next to Vasili, she started shouting down at him, "You bastard!" Her hands gripped onto his shoulders, "Don't you DARE leave me in the past like this!" When the shaking didn't initially work, she raised a flat hand back and, in a swift movement, slapped him across his cheek.
"I did nothin' ta' 'em." Fredrick answered, getting back to the lying body and crouching back down next to him. When she slapped him, he recoiled slightly, not liking the loud sound one bit in the tiny cave. He glanced to where her hand had hit, his worst fears coming true when he did not see blood rush to the cheek after it was smacked, a deep frown coming to his face. "Check his body for open wounds." He ordered.
He gently pushed Divya way from the other and began to undo his pants, gently pulling them from his form so he could better check for wounds. "Did ya' notice any on 'em last night?"
"No- not at all..." Divya scooted around. As Fredrick looked for cuts, she placed her hand over Vasili's forehead, feeling for a possible fever since he was sweating so much. With her other hand, she placed two fingers firmly on his neck, checking his heartbeat.
"Thas why.. Lookit' there.." Pointing out a bullet wound on his thigh, the male lifted the leg and placed his balled up pants under it to keep the wound off of the dirty ground. "Do ya' know anathing about medicine? He needs some, an' quick. Tha' wound could be infected pretty badly, considering his condition."
"I'm a cop man! The medical guys come after I'm done!" Divya looked at the bullet wound, "What the shit-?! Ok ok...think think. Where is the nearest hospital...healing hut...whatever the hell you call them?!" Divya moved quickly to his leg and looked for the bullet itself. "Did the bullet pass through the other side? It would make my life a whole lot easier..."
"I dunno. We'll hafta' check. Well, you'll hafta' check. I am gonna load stuff up an' git the pooches connected ta' tha' sled. Tha nearest town is jus' on tha' other side a tha' forest." He said, whistling afterward and gathering the dogs up. They instantly knew what was happening, they were being connected to run some more! And they were excited. "Line up, yas!" He ordered, and when they did her began to put the harnesses on them and connect them together and to the sled.
Divya lifted his leg gently and bowed down, looking at the underside. There was a bloody hole. "Oh, thank science..." His leg was leaking with blood quickly. Using her hands, she planted them both sides, pressing firmly inwards. "I need something to stop the bleeding! Hurry!"
"Hold on a tick.." He headed to the back oft the cave to retrieve both his lying dog and the blanket that Vasili had taken back there. He picked the seemingly restless dog up and tucked her against his chest, then balled the blanket up and stuck it under his arm. Heading back to the front, he tossed the blanket to Divya, then set his dog in the cargo space of the sled, being as she was unfit to run still. "You can cover him up with that. And here. Wrap his leg with this." He said, going for the cover Divya had used the previous night and tossing it over to her, as well.
Taking the second blanket, she wrapped his leg up extremely tight to stop the bleeding. Once wrapped completely, she tied a thick knot on the top. She laid the other blanket down flat on the snow. Crouching again, she picked Vasili up and placed him gently on the blanket. She quickly wrapped him up in the blanket like a swaddling baby. Bringing both arms under him, Divya stood up with him in her arms. Normally this would be a feat in itself for a petite woman to pick up a grown man but there was something different about her. It was as if Vasili weighed nothing in her arms. It seemed as though she had the appearance of a young woman but the strength of a steroid driven weightlifter.
She ran for the sled and set him down gently in the center. "Let's go!" she shouted at the tundra man as she got in the back of the sled. Divya was temped to leave without him but the last thing she wanted was to be lost in this wasteland.
Kicking snow over the fire to put it out, Fredrick climbed onto the back of the sled and pulled the break from the snow, grabbing the handle tightly. "All right!" He called out, sending the dogs into a whining fit as they pulled off and out of the cave. "Haw!" He called out, turning the dogs to the left to head up the hill and into the forest atop the cliff. "How bad wassis' leg?"
"The shot went all the way through- which is good because the worry for infection is a lot less. He needs to be checked at and stitched up." Divya said back at the man as they headed through the winter hell. "Did you hear any shots fired last night? It couldn't of happened last night--we would've heard it. When you found him...was he shot in the leg maybe?" She shook off the thought, "Why the hell wouldn't he tell anyone?!"
"Male pride. And nah. I didn't hear anathing last night. But I woke up wit a cut on my chess an' mah torso exposed.. An' he was lying on top a me." He mumbled begrudgingly, a soft groan coming from him when he remembered. "I think somethins wrong wit 'em."
"Clearly." Divya kept an eye on Vasili as he laid in the sled, "I'm kinda surprised that he isn't conscious. I don't know much about bullets in general, since it old technology--but he should have been screaming in agony."
"Tha wounds ya' saw on 'em.. Those tell me his been through enough pain in 'is life that yer messin' wit 'is leg didno even register on 'is pain thresh hold." He explained, focusing on the path ahead as they entered into the forest atop the cliff. It would do no good to smash into a tree because he told his dogs to turn too late. Then they all would die in the frozen tundra if they had extensive injuries.
"Good! So I can beat his snowy ass later for not telling us he was shot." Divya said, annoyed. She didn't have anything aside from her police jumpsuit on herself. The adrenalin seemed to overpower the pain of the cold wind.
"That would do notta' lick a good, Cap'n. Only bein' around 'em one night.. I think I got 'is personality down fairly well. He doesn't like ta' be worried over. Maybeh jus give 'em a bit a peace and he'll like ya' better. Dun mention this ta' 'em." The burly musher advised, sending his dogs to the right with a 'Gee!'.
Divya rolled her eyes, "Like hell I'm going to leave him alone after this stunt...This is completely bullshit." She didn't feel like they were getting to the town fast enough. Clearing her throat, she shouted at the dogs, "MOVE YOUR FLEA-BITTEN ASSES!"
Laughing softly, Fredrick shook his head lightly and sighed through his nose. "If ya' wish fer 'em ta' hurry, smack yer lips together.. Like this." And so he demonstrated, making kissing noises with his lips which sent the dogs driving fiercer through the snow than they just had been. And with each smack of the lips, their paws seemed to go faster until he finally stopped, keeping them at an even pace through the snow.
"Not bad- but my boots are faster." Divya said, pondering whether to carry Vasili on her own or wait until the dogs led them there. "How much further is it?" She worried that Vasili might go into hypothermia as he bled out.
"Donna worry. He'll be fine. We'll be there within' tha' hour. I promise. Ambler's jus' outside a tha' forest." Squeezing her little waist with his forearms comfortingly, he lead the dogs around a tree in the path and advised them to pass up a rabbit hole that he knew caught their attention.
Ambler, Alaska
"Woah!" Fredrick slowed the sled to a stop before a medical house, stomping the brake into the ground when the sled was fully stopped so his dogs would not pull off without the two of them. "Head on in there an' a woman by tha' name a Nancy will greet ya'. Tell 'er Freddy sent ya'. She'll treat 'em right away. If ya' need somethin' to eat, head on down tha' block ta' a place called Tha' Fruit Basket. Explain to tha' owner that ya' have no money. She'll give ya' somethin' ta' eat fer free. Got all a that?" dismounting from the sled, he walked around tot he cargo space and lifted the boy out, handing him off to the woman.
"Thanks a lot." Divya took Vasili into her arms with ease and slung him over her shoulder, holding onto him with only one arm. "Is there anything I can give as repayment for your kindness?"
"It may be a long shot, but could ya' possibly refrain from beatin' his ass? 'Least until he gits better?" Mounting back up, he placed the side of his foot against the break, ready to kick it out to let his dogs run once again.
Divya smirked, "I'll try." Her spare hand searched her pockets, she had to give him something in return. She pulled out the first thing she found. "Here...It's called gum. You chew it for a while...but don't swallow it. It cleans your teeth and freshens your breath. 'Cause I'm not sure if the toothbrush was invented yet." She explained, given his bad breath that she dealt with the entire ride into town.
"Toothbrush...?" He questioned quietly, grabbing the small pack of gum from her and staring at it. "Gum? Well, alright.. I 'spose I could give it a go. Thank ya, Divya. Now hurry along. Git 'em outta' tha' cold." Kicking the break free of the packed snow, the man ordered the dogs off into a lope, waving over his shoulder to the two.
Divya nodded and ran into the hospital which didn't look at all like the health wards she was used to. She made her way to the front desk as soon as she could, "Hey Nancy! My friend here was shot in the leg, you have to help him. I was told to tell you that Freddy sent us and we are broke out of cash. Ermm.. we don't have money." she repeated, not sure if she would catch the slang.
"All you had to say was Freddy sent you. Even if you had money, I would not charge you. My husband's friends are always welcome in here." Petite blonde female said with a soft smile, gesturing for the two to walk around the table and into the door just to the left. "I will be back in a few minutes. I need to grab my equipment. Just lay him down on the table, alright?"
Divya, a little surprised that this was Fredrick's husband. She chose not to say anything on the matter and went into the door directed. Divya moved Vasili from over her shoulder and cradled him briefly before gently resting him on the bed. Standing up straight now, she exhaled slowly as she looked upon Vasili. This was not the week she was expecting to have. Divya figured she would give this a try, "Vasili?" she leaned down a little.
The lad barely responded, groaning once and his brow twitching subconsciously so. Though, that was not much of a problem as far as Nancy was concerned, for she said so herself when she walked in. "I'll wake him up. Sometimes, you just have to hit them in the right spot, my dear."
Placing her instruments down on the chair next to the table, she placed a small hand on his chest, then unwrapped him from the blanket and pinched at the crease of his inner thigh and groin. When he tried to thrust up she held him down with her arm and grinned towards the other woman. "See?! Learned that when exploring Fredrick's body at one point."
"What the hell?!" He whined out, laying back obediently and glancing about as best he could to survey the room. He caught sight of Divya and frowned, then looked to the woman that had pinched such a sensitive area of his person. "What. The. Hell?"
She simply giggled and released his chest, allowing him to sit up so she could grab a few tools to help clean out his wound.
Divya stared wide-eyed during the whole 'pinch-scene'. As far as she knew, that technique wasn't used in her time. She chose not to say anything and cross her arms. Letting her weight go, Divya leaned against the wall that was by Vasili's head as she watched.
Being none-too-gentle about cleaning his wound out, the tiny woman dipped a large cotton swab in alcohol and stuffed it into the bullet sized wound. She was amazed when she did not feel a flinch from the muscles or hear a hiss from the patient. "Wow. Tough guy, eh? Well, I like that. Keep it up and I'll give you a treat." She smiled.
"I've had worse." Vasili explained blandly, glancing over his shoulder to Divya with raised brows. "What happened?" He asked, hoping to find out what all transpired the night before. "Was anybody hurt?"
"Just you. And that's what I would like to know." Divya looked down at him accusingly. "When did you get shot in the thigh? And why didn't you tell anyone about it?" She chose to leave out the other details while the nurse was here.
Hesitating to respond right away, Vasili laid back and propped his leg up, giving the woman access to the bottom part of the wound. "I was shot yesterday... Before everything happened.. I didn't have time to wrap it up or clean it out before I got back to my master, nor after I left him.. Stupid, I know. Anything else you wish to know? You've yet to tell me about you." He muttered almost angrily.
Divya sighed and took off her helmet, letting her long brown hair flow down onto her shoulders. "Wait wait wait... your telling me that you were shot yesterday, knew about it and didn't figure it a good idea to tell me?! Jeez- and I didn't even get a 'thank you for saving my life' yet."
"I didn't think I would need to tell you, Captain." He argued stubbornly, but obliged her by saying, "Thank you for saving my life. Better?"
"Oh, hush, you two. You argue like children." Nancy sighed, though she still held a smile on her face. "Turn over, sweetheart." She ordered. after he did she began to work on the back of the wound, but stopped when she saw scabbed, bruised and vicious looking welts going along the back of his upper thighs. "Oh dear.. What happened there?" She asked curiously. "I'll treat those, too."
"If you treat those, I'll only get them worse when I get back to my boss. Leave them be, or don't touch me at all. I'll clean and wrap up my own thigh." He grumbled, pulling his leg away when the welts were simply touched lightly by her delicate fingers. "I said don't!" Reaching back, he smacked her hand away and glared back at her.
"Alright, alright.. I'll wrap your wound up. I'm done cleaning it. But, you'll have to let it heal from the inside out, so I cannot close the holes up. this means, you'll have to let it air out every few hours and change the bandages. Both of you got that?"
"Got it. Thanks a lot." Divya smiled to the nurse before she left. She looked back at Vasili and figured she could be a little nicer. "Look- You and I are stuck in the past. I would rather figure this out with you then alone. Next time this happens, let me know ok?" she said it in as kind of a tone as she could muster at the moment. Grabbing a chair, she sat at his bedside. "May I ask...why do you have this master? Why don't you be your own person?"
"You ask why I have a master.. Alright. Well, he is more than simply my master. He is my boss. If I disobey him, he will off me in a heart beat. He does not hesitate with such matters. He still beats me to this day because I got his previous pet, my dad, killed during a job. I miscalculated how many gunman would be there, so we were unprepared. There, that's why. Your turn for sharing time." He mumbled out, turning back over and sitting up. He grabbed the gauze wrap from the chair the nurse had used to place her instruments in and used it to begin wrapping his leg up tightly and tying it off once he had finished.
"Alright alright-" Divya didn't always find sharing her story was the most interesting. "There isn't much to it so far. I grew up on a small plantation on a meteor that orbits Mercury. My Dad was a police officer and worked during the riot of 5060. Unfortunately, he didn't make it. But some good came out of it- he inspired me to be a police enforcer."
"I see. Well, not that I have anything against you, personally, but I don't like police officers. They're nosy, doughnut loving slobs whom have nothing better to do with their lives than to catch people doing a crime while they themselves do those same crimes while hiding behind their shields... Where are my pants?" He asked, completely going off subject, getting off the table and grabbing the cup of water that was placed on a table nearby. It was not his, but he assumed nobody else was drinking it, and since he needed it, he might as well finish it off.
Divya stood and grabbed his arm, "Sit your ass down and open that wrap up. You heard the lady-" Showing a good amount of strength, she jerked him so he sat on the bed once more.
"Do I look like I have even tasted a doughnut in my entire life?" Divya asked, a little aggravated by his reply to police officers. "It's low life scum like your master that killed my father and comrades."
And of course, being him, and being trained the way he was, Vasili let himself be pulled back so crudely, a gentle groan coming from him as his mind flitted off to fantasy land. Hearing what she had called his master, though, brought him back quickly. "Don't you dare talk about my master as if you know him, woman. I won't stand for it. And don't touch me again." He warned with a soft growl, getting back up from the table and looking around for his pants.
He found them in the blanket after a moment and pulled them on, not caring that there was blood on the thigh, buttoned them up and adjusted them on his narrow hips. He was hungry, and so he was going to go get some food, with or without the woman. Now, to figure out where food was..
"And don't you just group me into a stereotype either! Would you just sit down and wait for your leg to be patched up?" Divya asked, quite annoyed at this point. "What is your problem? I brought your all the way here and you turn around and act like a total ass?! Fine! I'm done with this...." She stood from her seat and headed for the door out of the room.
"You have little knowledge when it comes to medicine, don't you? She said to keep it aired out, and the best way to do that is to add as little layering on the wound as possible, as well as changing it frequently. She won't patch it up any better than I already did, and that's with gauze wrap. Now hush up and leave if you're going to. I need to find clothes." Muttering the last part namely to himself, the Russian began to go around the room searching for a bit of clothing he could wear, even going as far as to search in the drawers and what-have-you.
This man was driving her nuts. Divya had tried being kind and considerate but he was making it quite difficult to keep up. "Dammit Vasili!" She turned in his direction one last time. "Your such an ungrateful bastard! I tell you a little about myself and all you do is turn it around and mock me. Then you completely ignore what I'm saying!"
"You're upset because you know you have nobody else but me to rely on in the long run. You're even more upset about the fact that you cannot order me about like your deputies.. Get over it." Finding a coat in what looked like a closet, Vasili pulled it out and slipped it onto his form, pulling it together and buttoning it up. He was aware that what he was wearing was a female's coat, but he did not mind in the least. So long as he was warm and protected from the weather. He was just glad that it actually matched.. For the most part. It was an off gray color, while his pants were black. Eh, oh well. "Ready to go?"
"Ugh..I should've slapped you more have I had the chance." Divya scoffed. "Where the hell are you planning on going exactly? Perhaps we should at least get something to eat while you heal up a bit. Maybe in a nearby restaurant or Inn? I mean jeez man- you're going to bleed out if you overwork yourself."
"I'll be fine. We'll head out and wander around to find some place to eat. I'm assuming you didn't eat at all this morning because of me, though I don't know why. You should have just eaten something instead of tending to myself."
"It's fine- you can just treat me to brunch." Divya smirked, lifting an eyebrow at Vasili's direction. She noticed her hair was down on her shoulders, "I didn't even have time to put up my hair." Setting her helmet down, she lifted her hair and twisted it into a bun behind her head. Grabbing a tie from her pocket, she tied her hair up. "There." Divya grabbed her helmet and slid it over her head. A metallic glow rolled over her being and vanished. Opening the door, she waited for Vasili.
"I won't treat you to anything." Slightly shocked when the light rolled over the other, though not showing it, Vasili pulled his long braid over his shoulder and untied the bottom of it, gently separating the frozen hair and running his fingers through it as best he could considering it's length. Once the raven toned tresses were tangle free, for the most part, he pulled it up into a ponytail at the back of his head, arms getting a workout with the constant twisting of the wrist to drag the hair through the elastic band. "This is not a leisure outing, so I will not treat it as one. We are going to place our bearings, then find a way to get back to our own time." Once the hair was fully through the loop, he let it's length fall to the back of his legs, the natural waves of it making his hair look a bit nappy.
"Oh- by the way... " Divya leaned to one side, "I left out one teeny tiny detail to the nurse that you were found half naked on top of her husband, sweating like a mad dog." She let the air go silent for a second, "Didn't know that you felt that way about the guy. Guess you are gay after all." She shrugged her shoulders.
"When you do tell her, be sure to mention that his chest was gashed and a knife was on the ground at his side. I remember what I am conscious through, and I was conscious enough to realize that I was indeed cutting him." Snuggling down into the coat, Vasili passed Divya and headed out to the front to head out of the building, ignoring Nancy as she called after his back to inquire about the coat he was wearing.
Divya followed quickly, "Thank you very much. I'm sorry for his behavior." she said to Nancy before stepping outside. Divya was instantly hit with how cold it actually was outside. Stopping in her tracks, she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. "S-so c-c-cold."
"You should have grabbed the blanket then.. Did the Good 'ole boy tell you of any place we could go to get out of the weather or to get something to eat?" Vasili inquired, turning on his heel to stare Divya down, noting the goosebumps that were rising on her flesh. "And women wonder why men stare. They get so offended when we do it, but we can't help but look at intentionally exposed flesh. The world would be better off without you irrational beings."
Divya's lower eyelid twitched with fury at his comment. "What is your p-p-problem?! All you have done so far is c-criticize me!" She shouted, still grabbing herself for warmth. "I'm sick of it. Go find another master to get butt raped by-- I'm done trying to be your f-friend." She turned and headed towards a collection of small buildings and huts in the town.
"What brought that little comment about? 'Go find another master to get butt raped by'? I don't want another master." He murmured, running his fingers through his bangs and frowning a bit, a gentle sigh coming from him. "If I find out where we are, I'll find you and tell you so you can work on getting back." Vasili called after her, turning away and walking off in the opposite direction.
Divya didn't reply. She kept walking through the town. Not only was she pissed off, but Divya was cold and hungry. She stopped when a building caught her eye. It looked public enough at least. Walking up to it, she opened the door without hesitation. She immediately got attention from the group of townsfolk due to her attire. Divya was relieved to find out that she had discovered the local bar and restaurant.
Scatterbrained and utterly tired, though that was to be expected being as he had been suffering from the wound received in the future… What? Confusing. Eugh. And he was still suffering from it. It did not hurt, no, it just made him feel weaker than he normally did. Coming upon what seemed to be an abandoned structure of sorts, like a small den type building, he walked in through the hole in the wall which used to be the door and looked around slowly, a gentle hum coming from him as he scanned for anything he might be able to take.
And sure enough, he found something. Picking up the rope that was hung on a mounted animal head, he wrapped it about his waist a few times and tied it off, keeping it secure so he did not lose it or drop it. As he was about to turn away he noticed a small glint off the beast’s face. He reached up and grabbed the shiny object from what he assumed was the left eye socket, pulling it out and dusting it off on his coat. Not taking the time to examine it and find out what it is, he stuffed it into his pocket and forgot about it for the time being.
He exited and headed for a more popular area, passing through the crowd of people and entering into what he could best describe as a fancy hut. There was lighting, for that he was grateful, and there was a bit of music. Oh joy. He could even smell food being made. Stomach growling, he found himself a seat and awaited his meal, which he knew he would get for free being as everyone seemed to be broke in this place.
Right, as always, he was served a bowl of some type of soup. It smelled good, and it looked alright, the question was, did it taste good. Before he could figure that out, however, he grabbed the server’s arm gently and smiled up at her before asking, “Where are we?” Boy was he surprised when she pulled back and cursed him in a different language he did not know.. This might be hard…
Meanwhile in the same restaurant, Divya was currently attracting unwanted attention. She was sitting in a seat across the room from Vasili. Divya hadn't noticed him just as he hadn't noticed her. Divya was staring down at her meal that she had pointed to randomly on the menu. It looked like some sort of meat with a grayish brown slop over it. The plate looked like it held the Salisbury steak from hell. Swallowing her pride, she took a few bites.
It was now that she noticed the townspeople giving her angry stares. Her clothing was too brightly colored and foreign to their liking. Not to mention how lacking she was in clothing all together. Something that also sparked people to stare was that her complexion was quite darker then the locals. She swallowed another bite.
Just like flipping a switch, several of the large men rose from their seats and circled Divya's table. It was quiet for a moment. She looked up at them with an annoyed expression. "Can I help you gentlemen?" Divya asked, placing a hand on the gun in her belt. Seeing that she spoke English, a husky man sat in the chair next to her and leaned in.
"Where are you from lil' lady?" he asked in a booming voice with a thick accent. Reaching an arm up, he pulled at his braided beard.
"Somewhere far away. I'm just passing through." Divya clarified. Perhaps these people weren't too keen on outsiders.
Noticing the bit of commotion going on upon looking around for someone whom spoke a bit of English or Russian, being as this would be around the time when European settlers would start coming to take control of this little place assuming they were in fact in Alaska, which he was pretty sure of now, Vasili noticed the distinct pitch of Divya's voice and audibly groaned with exhaustion. How could one little lady cause so much commotion, rub somebody the wrong way so quickly?
Pushing his half finished bowl away from him and rising with a sigh, Vasili stepped past a few peoples' legs and stepped his way over to the small crowd of men, gently drawing the gun he had slipped into his pants' pocket the night before prior to midnight, for he had not wished to forget it. Pulling the barrel back and cocking the hammer, he easily weaved through the loose gathering of men and slipped into the seat beside Divya, placing his ready-to-fire gun on his thigh, pointed at one of the males' thigh.
"You sure do know how to attract a crowd, madame. What'd you do to get their attention? Did you insult their food?" He asked casually and reached over, stealing the utensil from her plate and cutting off a piece of the sloppy food, stuffing it into his mouth with a smirk.
"Don't blame me- I was minding my own business." Divya said quietly to Vasili, thankful that he caught up with her. She seemed to have forgotten the little argument they had roughly 30 minutes ago.
The group of hairy men gawked at Divya's exposed skin with desire. One of the hormonal-driven men grabbed her arm from behind and pulled her back. "Hey! Back off!" she shouted. Another rather large man grabbed her other arm, hoisting her up a little. Although Divya looked defenseless without her gun, her womanly body held quite a lot of invisible muscle. Divya grit her teeth and swung her right leg upwards until her foot slammed into one of the men's faces. Using the momentum of her leg coming back down, she used her newly freed arm and punched the other man clean in the jaw. When completely released from his grasp, Divya grabbed one of them and lifted him over her head, showing an incredible amount of physical strength considering this man probably weighed 250lbs. She threw him at the other man, bringing them both down.
This little stunt riled up the five other drunken men. They stared in complete shock before running at her.
Before the men could even make it halfway to his acquaintance, Vasili had fired off five successful shots within the time span of three seconds, a subtle, yet noticed, growl coming from the depths of his chest. He rose from his spot and aimed the gun down at one of the slowly rising men, lining the barrel up squarely with his left eye socket, a complete turn around from where he had aimed on the others, it being their thighs he had shot out. "Go ahead. Gain your footing, see how fast you go back down." He warned.
The man stayed down, to his disdain, and the others did the same... Those whom were conscious or had not already been shot, that is. "Divya, go ahead and sit back down. Finish your meal. Don't let these barbarians ruin it for you."
Divya, being a law enforcer, had the urge to seize Vasili's gun. Though she was reminded that she had no power in this time period. Her attention went away from the groaning men scattered all around them. The men crawled away slowly, recognizing their defeat. Divya sat down slowly, "Though I appreciate the gesture, you didn't have to shoot them." She cut a large piece of meat off and shoved it into her mouth, chewing quickly. Pushing the plate towards him a little, Divya offered him some.
"Wait a second--" she turned at one of the men whom she had knocked out. Getting up from her chair, she headed over to him and yanked his fur jacket off. After hanging it on the back of her seat, she sat back down.
"Maybe not, but it amused me... Maybe you should have stole a pair of pants from one of the men that didn't have their thigh shot out. Would've come in handy later on. Listen, I'm guessing we're somewhere in Alaska at the current moment, and according to the date to which Fred identified, the Europeans have come over to start trading for furs and all that good stuff. They should be coming through here at some time or another to start enslaving these people to get hold of their natural resources. They'll keep the women trapped to force the men to work, and they'll try to colonize this place. When they do come through, we'll follow them back to their ships and whatnot, then stow away on one before they ship off to head back to Europe. Sound good?"
Taking another bite of the food and stuffing it into his mouth, he pushed the plate back closer to the female's elbow with a small dip of the head.
"Sounds excellent. I'm glad one of us paid attention in history class. But still...where do we go from there?" Divya asked, taking a sip of her glass of water. She looked over to the bar tender. "He speaks English. We should ask if there is a hotel or inn around here where we can stay for the time being. I'm not sure what we can do for currency though. Is there money in this period? Or is it mainly just trading things?"
"Trading. And if you're finished, then let's go ask him... Though I don't think he'll fancy us because we caused such a commotion.." Running fingers through bangs, Vasili stood from his seat and removed the coat from his body, holding it out to Divya. "Here, take this. It'll cause you less delay when you draw your weapon since it isn't as large as the one on your chair. I'll take that one."
"Thank you. To be honest, I might look better in the woman's jacket." Divya joked lightly. She handed him the fur jacket as she took the one he was wearing. Grabbing her helmet, she headed to the bar and leaned on it. "Excuse me, but would there be a hotel or Inn nearby?" Unsure if he would understand the words she used, she rephrased, "is there somewhere we can stay for the night?"
The bartender stared at her, a bit nervous. The shot and injured men had all managed to escape the restaurant by now. Washing a dish, he nodded slowly. "Two buildings down, there is a large cabin for wanderers." he gulped, not wanting to get punched by the Hulk-like woman or shot by long haired man she was with.
"Thank you for the information. Have a good day." He pulled the fur coat on as he turned his back to the bar and walked away, stopping in his tracks after he remembered something. He walked back to Divya and reached into the coat's pockets, feeling around for the small shiny stone he had grabbed back at the abandoned building. He stuffed it into his own pocket when he found it, then turned and headed away from her once again.
At first, Divya thought he was reaching to fondle her. But when he pulled something out and stuffed it away again, she was a bit curious. "What did you find?" she asked, walking next to him now.
"Mmm. I dunno. I just saw something shiny, and took it. Never really got a chance to look at it since I got my hands on it, but I'll check it over once we get settled down at the Inn. I'll even let you hold it if it is something interesting, alright?" He asked in an elderly sibling like way, dipping his voice a bit as if speaking to his baby sister.
This was quite ironic since Vasili essentially was born before her...yet she was older then him in age. Divya rolled her eyes at his remark as they strolled down the snowy road. "Thanks for helping me out back there. I don't think I got to thank you earlier." she commented. Just then, the cabin caught her eye, "I think that's it."
"No need to thank me. I was simply having some fun, and helping you was just part of the aftermath." Vasili said rather blandly, glancing off in the direction to which she had looked when speaking of the building. " Ah, we shouldn't go in through the front if we wish to get a room without running into trouble with the owner. There will be windows open around the back, or at least covered with a skin to keep the wind out of the room."
Divya nodded, "I haven't done anything like this since I was a teenager." she said, almost a bit excited to do it. As they neared the cabin-like hut, Divya looked around to make sure no one was watching them. Making sure it was clear, she grabbed Vasili's arm and tugged him towards the back.
Sure enough where were no windows or plastic in the frames. Nothing hung there but skins. "You smart ass." she said, thankful that he was right. Divya kept her voice low however, unsure if the room they were at was clear or not. She slid her finger under the skin to peek in. Unfortunately the hide was tied down from the inside, making it difficult to open. "Do you have a knife? We need to cut this."
He could not help but smirk when she had called him a smart ass, because it actually made him feel good about himself. But when she asked for a knife he faltered, feeling more pathetic than the scum that fed off of the moss that grew on the bottom of a fake pond. Groaning quietly, he gently nudged her aside with his hand and took her place at the window, fingering the tied hide experimentally.
"Ah! No, but, I can get this open." Keeping emotion from his face, he pulled the lighter he had from his pocket, which was somewhat soggy but still full of lighter fluid. He flipped the lid open and ran the thin metal across a low spot of the hide, relieved that the pressure he applied did the trick and left the material with a gash in it. He continued to run the metal over the gash until it split apart and left a slice in the hide, which he used to peek in to see if anybody was inside.
"Nobody is inside, that's good." Ripping the hide open far enough for either of them to climb in through, Vasili stepped back and held his hand out to Divya, gesturing for her to hurry and climb in with the other. "Come on. I'll support you."
Divya took his hand and allowed him to hoist her up into the window. She slipped her upper body in and tried to move quietly. With her knees bent on the windowsill, this gave Vasili quite a view of her bum from under the jacket. Not to mention that her outfit seemed more like a swim suit then anything else. Divya was clueless and stepped inside, vanishing from sight to Vasili. She moved the hide to the side more and reached down to help him up.
Missing the opportune moment to give the female a killer ache with a sharp smack to the bottom for leaving it sticking out, a rather ritual thing for him to do. Vasili reached up and took her hand, placing his other hand on the window sill and jumping up, pulling himself into the room effortlessly, being as he had no weight on him to struggle with pulling up. "Thank you. You should rest up a bit, Divya. There is no telling when the Europeans shall be through, so you should not put such essential needs such as rest off."
Divya brushed herself off and closed the window back up. Turning around, she said, "Have you not figured it out yet? I hate to break it to ya, hun... but I'm a bit stronger then you think. What do you think was the main reason that I was hired as the Chief of Police?" Finally she was opening up to him.
She finally glanced around at the room. There was a small, single bed in the corner. Vasili and Divya would have to split it.
"Being physically strong does not make you immune to fatigue and exhaustion. That's all I'm saying." Shrugging, Vasili made his way over to the bed and sat down, running his hand along his wounded thigh thoughtlessly and letting out a soft yawn. "If you won't rest, then I will. I'm tired." He mumbled, falling back after a moment, kicking his legs up and tucking his hands beneath his head rather comfortably.
Divya set her helmet down on the makeshift dresser. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine." She reached down and unhooked a latch on her boots. A hissing, compression sound was released as the opening to the boots peeled back a bit. Divya slipped her feet out easily, leaving the boots where she took them off. "Man it feels good to get those things off..." She walked over and sat down on the other side of the bed, "So what did you find earlier?" she asked, hoping it would leave a clue as to why they were in this time period and how to get out.
The hissing startled the already jumpy Vasili, causing him to flinch on the bed and tighten the hold he had on his fingers. This woman.. She was weird, to say the least, but at least she was not as helpless as many of the women in his own time.. Thinking of that, he took the news of their destination in time rather well, and so had she, and it sort of surprised him to think that all he worried about was getting back to the man that had so blatantly mistreated him not even two days ago. When she mentioned the object in his pocket, and he was glad she did because he had forgotten about it, he reached down and pulled it from his pocket, holding it up and eying it in the light.
"Looks like some type of gem. Uncut, for sure. But, I wouldn't know it. All I've ever seen up close and in person are rubies, sapphires, diamonds.. You know, the mainstream, more expensive stuff." He admitted without even an inclination of regret to those people he had killed relentlessly to get his hands on such objects such as those jewels.
"Stealing from the past, eh? Nice." Divya admitted, leaning back against the wall as she sat horizontally on the end of the mattress. "I guess your just lucky that I'm off duty at the moment." she joked a little, something she hadn't done in years. "Then again, I'm not sure if I hold any authority as a Chief of Police in this period." Divya leaned to one side and slipped out her badge that was securely kept in her utility belt. Looking down at it, her fingers traced the carvings, "How can I be in charge of something that hasn't been created yet?" She was starting to feel her life slowly threading apart in her head. All of her training and college money spent on going to a police academy means nothing now. Not only this but her life goals were useless now.
"Do you suppose this happens all the time? I've investigated previous cases where people just go missing for no reason at all. They have no enemies and no motive to vanish. Yet there is no body to discover." Divya paused. "Maybe... this sort of thing happens all the time in many different time periods? Are they all sent to this time? What if people are sent to different time periods."
“I think you’re reading too much into things, babe. There are always bodies. You just don’t have the criminal mind to find those bodies. Trust me. Now, I’m going to bed. Here. I have no use of such a rock. It’s probably worthless, anyways.” Tossing the stone over to the police officer, he heard it hit the ground before turning over onto his side and curling up into a loose ball of sorts. He rested his head on his arm this time, staring out through the animal hide that he had cut a hole in to watch the light of the evening sky.
Divya opened her mouth to speak, but changed her mind. Her attention went to the small jewel he had tossed. Leaning over the mattress, Divya looked for the gem but had lost sight of it. It probably was worthless, but hell, it was pretty. Slipping off the cot, she knelt on the floor. As the moonlight of the unpolluted sky spilled into the room, Divya could see it glimmering. She reached out and took it into her fingers. At this moment, she was wondering why the hell he didn't just hand it to her. Shrugging it off, she slid it into her pocket. Without proper lighting, it was difficult to examine. Figuring it best that she too should fall asleep, it occurred that there was only a single mattress. Not caring one way or another, she laid down dangerously close to her newly found comrade. "Night." Divya said.
“Yeah.. G’Night.” He muttered, though he knew it was a wasted effort in wishing her well, mentally or vocally. She would not have a good night so long as he mind was on the time, or where she currently was; In bed with a murderer. And he would not have a good night, either. He never did. The sun set, and he could feel the moon revealing itself to the world, and then the sudden urge for sex was like a constant companion to him… Hell..
*****
Morning
*****
No sleep. A usual occurrence for him should he not be able to sate himself, or to have somebody around him to fuck him until exhausted… Like his master.. He missed Oleg. So much that he could actually feel a bit of pain going throughout his chest, starting at his heart. Pushing the pain aside, he sat himself up and out of the bed, stretching out his body and walking over to the window to pull the flap back, tearing it from it’s splints, and tossed it to the ground, intent on staring out into the forest behind the building in an attempt to spot a bit of wildlife. A deer, birds… Maybe even hear the howling of wild huskies, or wolves. That would be rather comforting, in his opinion, to know that not everything had changed since his being taken from his home in Russia to being dropped off in Alaska… with a law enforcement officer.
The ripped flap poured a cool breeze into the bedroom. Divya shivered a little, pulling in her legs. Her consciousness suddenly snapped alive and she sprung up. She looked back and forth frantically as if she had forgotten where she had fallen asleep. Divya looked at Vasili rolled her eyes, realizing her predicament all over again.
"Dammit... morning already?" She slid out of bed with a lazy stance. After rubbing her eye, she stretched back with her arms in the air. "You think they have running water? I would love a shower. Don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of smelling like a sweat sock." Divya looked at herself in a mirror that hung on the back of the small dresser.
Back to- And so it began
The 12
Stumble!
