A surface dweller.

The deep blue sky, reflecting the large ocean which could be heard crashing against nearby shoals, was visible through the rocky high ceiling of the giant cave I stood in. The feeling under my feet was confirmed to be be soft sands. This seemed to be an extension of the cave that I was in earlier. In fact, it appeared to be the opening to the surface. There were luscious green tropical plants in the distance being blown by heavy winds. Finally, I turned my attention toward the being that dragged me out here. It was a large beast, with an almost ape-like face and hands which had held onto me. I noticed now that it was mammalian, its massive frame covered head to toe in fur. It was, not exaggerating here, at least twice my size. Of course, my first reaction was to stagger to the floor in fear.

The creature approached me cautiously. I tried to control my shock as I skirted away from it, but it closed the gap quickly and picked me up. It started to grunt and sniff me. I stood still and let myself be examined. This was a much more intrusive feeling than I had just had with Rolo. There I was willing to let the Hrim explore my body, but here, this being was doing it without my permission. It also felt like a dog sniffing a stranger to become acquainted with her scent. This put me more at ease, as the creature had not been threatening me, merely stole me away from the grotto. If it had wanted to eat me, I'd probably be in its den right now as supper.

I held out my hand to the creature and let it inspect me. It sniffed and then licked my palm. It smacked its lips and started sniffing my hair and licking my cheek. I squirmed and cringed as its wet tongue slathered over me. It seemed to like my taste, despite not finding me appetizing. It seemed to finally have its fill of me when it stepped back and rested on its haunches. We stared at each other silently for a bit, then I decided to take this a chance to leave. I slowly walked back toward the cave, but it growled. I stepped back toward the exit of the cave and it let me pass. Every time I would turn back toward the cave, it made an unsettling growl to warn me off.

Frustrated, but not dissuaded, I decided to play along with the beast. It could easily take me out with a brush of its monolithic arms, so best not to aggravate it. I came out of the cave and began to explore the planet's surface. Rolo had mentioned that there were small pockets of land on his world, but they were not well explored. His people had little interest in airy environments as all their needs were met underwater. They still had surveyed what they could, however, and from what Rolo believed, there weren't supposed to be any large fauna present on the pocket islands. This seemed to defy their conclusions, having a giant ape on this land.

I wasn't sure it was the best idea to wander off into this unexplored jungle where other such creatures could exist, but the ape beast that pulled me out of the cave seemed to have become my self-appointed bodyguard. We wandered into the dense greenery with him watching over me from behind. I still held onto my oxygen mask as it was the only thing I had with me, but other than that, I was naked and exposed to the wilderness with no technology or anyone to get help. I wondered if I tried to use the communicator on my mask to contact the others, if the ape-beast would see that as a threat. I wondered if I could even contact the others from up here. I didn't know how far I had traveled and if the communicators could travel through such thick rock.