Miranda followed her. “It certainly didn’t die from some carnivore attack.”
“No,” she said grimly. “Starvation, most likely.”
Miranda didn’t add anything, quietly following alongside.
The boys were engrossed, trying to make sense of the alien critter. She turned and called out, “Come on! We shouldn’t be wasting time!” She resumed her steady pace.
“OK, we’ll catch up!” What could be so interesting about the corpse? She couldn’t understand. And why didn’t they seem very bothered by their predicament? Were they that good at hiding their fears?
Kwazar seemed to have forgiven Wildwind for his dreadful actions during the rushing herd, another thing she couldn’t understand. She certainly hadn’t forgiven him. Xavier healed quickly, but the bump on her head still ached occasionally, especially when touched.
Raindrops spattered down, a few cooling her sunburned skin. “Oh, no,” she replied, “winter’s arriving.”
“Yep,” said Miranda, “it’s been about three days since our landing. That’d put us near the beginning of winter.”
“So unimaginably fast.” Annwn suddenly had a thought. “If the beasts respond so quickly, then the plants must as well, right?”
Miranda contemplated her question. “Well… yes. I’d say that sounds right.”
“Then what do the plants mean for us?”
Miranda stopped walking, perplexed at Annwn’s question. “What are you saying?”
Annwn heard Miranda’s question, but did not respond, thinking about the meaning of her own query. The answer was right there, in her mind, but she couldn’t pin it down.
After topping the first rise and wandering into a narrow valley surrounded by wooded slopes, the rain became heavier.
“Let’s set up camp here, until the rain stops.”
“Weren’t you the one who said we can’t delay?” came Wildwind’s acerbic reply.
She frowned at him. “Things change.”
“Well, make up your mind.”
Infuriated, she ignored him and gave Kwazar a look that sent him into action. He began unpacking the tents.
Annwn grabbed a tent and had it set up in seconds. Self-assembling frames helped a lot. After his had expanded, Kwazar moved the shelters near a couple of windswept round-leafed “trees,” which Annwn recognized as circuleaf trees. Her father had mentioned the plant, for it was abundant, and many people liked its pleasing features. Brightly colored orange and red, the shoulder-wide circular foliage apparently responded to autumn like Earth trees.
Kwazar picked a particularly large specimen of circuleaf and held it over his head, like an umbrella. Catching the rain with its thick membrane, the leaf kept him dry. He appeared happy with his ingenuity. “Ah, these things have a use.”
A water drop found an opening and plunked onto his head.
“When they’re not eaten full of holes, that is.”
Wildwind, shaking his head at Kwazar’s performance, proceeded to fasten the tents into the ground, using a small hammer and strong alloy stakes.
Annwn picked a leaf of her own. “I wonder why they are so big?”
“I might be able to answer that for you,” responded Miranda.
“Oh, you might?” chided Kwazar. “And I suppose it has something to do with astronomy.”
She nodded, carefully unpacking the sleeping bags that she and Annwn would be using. “Light.”
“I remember that lesson,” said Kwazar. “Bode only receives two-thirds the flux that the Earth does. Am I right?”
“Yep. The circuleaf trees are making bigger collectors, trying to get more light.”
Annwn, not very sure in astronomy, was nevertheless bothered by the information. “Why hasn’t Bode frozen?”
“Because of the low flux?”
She gave Miranda a nod.
“Well, Teacher said that,” she straightened her face and deepened her voice in an imitation of always serious Teacher, “ ‘Due to vast tidal strains induced by Bode’s close proximity to its parent sun, a large amount of internal heat is generated, which compensates for the lower flux.’ ”
Kwazar agreed with her answer, “I remember that topic, too.”
“Ah, I see.” She gave Miranda a “You’re something else” look. “Geology, astronomy… I can’t remember such stuff. I’ll stick to biology.”
“The tents are ready,” said Wildwind dryly. “With no help from you lecturers.”
Annwn knew he was just prodding everyone, but she took offense. Quietly, making a point to ignore him, she crawled into the tent she and Miranda shared. She could feel Wildwind's scowl.
Behind her, Kwazar sighed. “I’ll stake them next time.”
“I was just kidding…”
“Don’t worry about it, Wildwind. Let’s get some rest.”
Everyone quieted, and Miranda entered the tent.
Still fuming, Annwn said nothing. After carefully unrolling her sleeping bag, she sat on the soft fabric cross-legged. Dripping, Xavier stepped in through the flap.
“Hey, you,” she said to Xavier, “you’re a sponge. Time for a dry.”
Using part of her cloak, she scrubbed the puppy. Xavier protested and performed a squirm that would have shamed most worms. She found caring for Xavier quite soothing, and ignored his protest, maintaining her loving assault until most of the water, and some of her indignation toward Wildwind, had been soaked away by the cloth.
After the drying, Xavier snuggled up to her legs, and immediately fell asleep. The walks were long, and he knew when to take advantage.
Miranda, already lying down, said, “Our water’s short. Shouldn’t we be collecting rain?”
“I saw Kwazar set out some containers.”
“Good. I’m sick of being thirsty. This rationing thing is a drag.”
Annwn nodded in full understanding.
“That reminds me,” said Miranda. She reached into her cloak and produced part of a ration bar. “Here’s your share.”
Annwn looked at the precious food. Miranda had been helping her with the Xavier food problem ever since Wildwind’s tirade over meals. Annwn still didn’t feel right about it. “You don’t have to give me that.”
“I insist. I’ve never eaten as much as you. My body’s used to it.”
“Nevertheless, we should all be working with equal rations. It’s only fair, and we all need to maintain our health.”
“My point exactly. You’re older than I. Much taller. You need more food.” She reached over and pressed the life-sustaining brick into Annwn’s hand, saying with a plaintive look, “Please. Please take it.”
Annwn sighed. “No one can argue with that kind of please. Thanks.”
Miranda smiled. “You’re welcome.”
After taking one bite from the bar. Annwn carefully dropped the food into a secret pocket that she had sewn inside her cloak. Unperiod, maybe, but quite useful.
“Annwn?’' Miranda asked quietly, almost timidly.
Annwn looked up. “Yes?”
“Do… do you think our folks are still alive?” Her concerned look suggested that she had been worried for a long time.
Annwn fell silent as a guilty feeling emerged. She had avoided such thoughts because concentrating on survival seemed a more productive response. No. Parts were missing from her rationalization. Maybe, Annwn admitted, she didn't want to think about her parents for the very fears that Miranda had.
“There was time for escape,” she finally said.
“But my mom has been working on the magnetic field system and could've been called there in preparation for the big flare.”