Stepping toward Raffa, Maija replied with mindspeak, I’m not sure. They’re still weak from their fight. They’re going to need food when they wake. I can’t say for sure when their last meal was, but sometimes Anders will go days without eating if he’s too focused on his task.
Is that a long time for humans to go without food? Raffa asked.
Yes, Maija replied. Without fuel for the body, they’ll grow weaker with each passing day. Usually humans eat three times a day.
Raffa groaned in surprise.
How long can dragons go without food? she asked.
I have gone months without meals, he said triumphantly.
Months? Maija asked skeptically.
It depends on how big the catch is, Raffa explained. When I hunt in the land to the north, I can take down a real dragon-sized meal. The sustenance will last me two to four months with the right use of energy.
Seriously!? Maija exclaimed. I had no idea. I’ve seen Zahara go without meals for a few days, but I guess I’ve never seen her eat anything larger than a deer.
What is, deer? Raffa asked.
Raffa was new to communicating by way a mental link with anyone other than a fellow dragon, so when he converted his thoughts to Maija, each of them struggled with some unfamiliar language or terms. She sent him an image of a deer.
Yes, the deer is a small meal and doesn’t last long as energy, Raffa confirmed.
I think we’ll need to feed Zahara then, too, when she wakes. Can you catch an extra something or other when you go out for your morning hunt? Maija asked.
Raffagaun agreed and quietly stepped away from the camp before spreading his wings and taking flight.
Maija had been preparing for Anders to regain consciousness for more than a day. She and Raffa had scouted out their hiding place among a widespread grove of trees bordering an open field. Staying beneath the low-hanging canopy, they were concealed to aerial hunters while still able to keep an eye on the open valley. This way they could see anything or anyone approaching from a great distance. Water ponded in several low-lying locations within the grove and many of the trees bore the fruit that had sustained Maija during her time in Nagano. While she waited for Anders and Zahara to wake, she harvested fruit and placing the pods in a pile near the fire ring. With several of the hollowed-out shells from her past meals, Maija reused them as water carriers. Their camp was well stocked with drinkable water, food from the trees, and wood for fire, all gathered from this small area. Maija didn’t like sitting still so she took every opportunity she could to update or improve the camp.
When Anders finally awoke, Maija was sitting next to him on the wool blanket using her hand to scoop out the innards of one of the pods she’d broken open. Spooning the turquoise goop into her mouth, she mumbled, “Goo morn’n,” and quickly swallowed as Anders pushed himself upright. “I mean, good morning,” she repeated more clearly.
“What’s that?” Anders asked, nodding toward the gourd.
Maija shrugged, “I call it Nan’s butterscotch. Nan’s because it tastes just like my Grandma Nan’s or whoever she actually was. It provides lots of energy. Want to try some?” she asked, offering him the open half of the gourd.
She watched him eye the fruit skeptically. He leaned forward to smell it. “That really is just like butterscotch,” he agreed.
Maija nodded and motioned for him to try it.
“I like butterscotch,” he said dipping his fingers into the shell as Maija had. She smiled at his reaction upon tasting the fruit.
“It’s good, right?” she nodded.
Anders nodded back as he smacked the goo in his mouth. Swallowing, he said, “Yeah, it’s really good. How did you find this?”
“By accident,” she said dipping a finger in and licking it clean. “The sap from the tree tastes similar. I tried breaking one of the shells open on a tree and accidentally tore the tree’s bark. The sap’s turquoise, just like this fruit, and smells strongly of butterscotch. Later I found a rock and broke open the shell.”
Anders scooped more of the super goo into his mouth. “That’s amazing,” he said.
Zahara rolled onto her back, lying with her arms and legs pointing up into the air and flopping down at the joints. She bent her neck so she could see Anders and Maija and sniffed the air between them. Maija raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “Does she do that often?”
“Lie like that, all upside down? It’s the first I’ve seen,” Anders replied.
“She’s probably hungry,” Maija said
Rolling back onto her side, Zahara swept her head around the camp and asked Maija, using their mental connection, Where’s the red male?
“I sent him out to collect something for you to eat,” she said aloud, handing the shell to Anders.
Zahara smacked her lips together and asked, Water?
Maija pointed into the trees behind her, “There’s surface water over there in that depression.”
Zahara nodded, rose to her feet and went to get a drink.
Realizing Anders would want a drink, too, Maija walked to the pile of gourds and grabbed a hollowed-out shell full of water. She handed it to Anders and asked, “How do you feel now?”
“Pretty good, actually. Much better than last night. I had a terrible headache, but it’s starting to go away now.”
“Good. Maybe after you’ve had some more food you could try to heal yourself and Zahara,” she suggested.
Anders nodded, “I might have to build up more strength for that. I’d never used up all of my energy before. Normally a full days’ rest should be enough, but every time I try to use my senses,” he winced, shaking his head. “Yeah, not ready yet.”
“I’ve got a lot to learn about that kind of thing,” Maija said, looking toward the sky, hoping Raffa would return soon with their food.
“You found him just a few days ago then?” Anders asked.
Maija nodded and proceeded to fill him in on the path she’d taken after they parted ways. Anders devoured butterscotch shell after shell while she finished her story. As she reached the point where she met Raffagaun along the lakeside, the great red dragon landed just beyond the tree line, carrying a fat hump-backed cow in his jaws.
