Etpinego/ Applejack

I awoke the next day groggily to the crackling sound of the dying campfire. Slowly and stiffly I lifted myself from my resting place against the cave wall. My back was damp from the moss lined walls, and protested bitterly against my attempts to straighten out the sore muscles.

The sun had just begun to break through the trees as I let out a stifled yawn. I took a look at my surroundings now that it was lit up by the daytime sun, to see if my visitor from the night before had decided to come back for a morning visit. Once I was certain the area was clear of danger I decided to try and muster up some kind of breakfast down at the stream. I snuffed the last dying embers of the campfire out with some dirt as I grabbed my bag and spear before heading down the path towards the cool spring.

After the encounter from the night before; to say that I was a little more on alert this morning would have been an understatement as my eyes darted about at anything that looked suspicious. I also made every attempt I could to walk as stealthily as possible so as to not attract any unwanted attention. I still didn’t know what the creature was, but if the distance between its eyes was any kind of judge of size, it was definitely something I didn’t want to get the drop on me while I was out in the open. That had made me all the more thankful for the tiger-stripped pattern of my ABU’s. They may not have matched the surrounding foliage color exactly, but the pattern did a lot to break up my profile which was what I needed to help me blend in.

Taking a cue from my childhood from when I played army with the other kids from the local neighborhood, reaching into the soft black dirt I began to rub the soil across my exposed skin. Streaking my tanned skin with shadows of dirt and mud; hopefully completing my camouflage as best as I could without a ghillie suit. Continuing on it wasn’t long before I could once again hear the sound of rushing water.

Using some good ol’ crew chief ingenuity I had quickly fashioned myself a makeshift fishing pole. I used a sturdy limb for a pole and a couple of nylon strings from the inside of a strip of paracord that I had cut to length and braided for my fishing line. For the hook I found a small cotter pin in my scrounge bag that I bent into shape using my multi-tool and had sharpened to a point on a nearby river rock. Taking a small piece of my remaining jerky, I fastened it to the hook and with a pinecone as a bob I was soon relaxing on the shore waiting for a nibble.

To keep an alert appearance incase predators were about I leaned against the trunk of a tree, and decided to try and quell my hunger with the last handful of trail mix and some water. Keeping a watch on the floating pinecone I noticed a brightly colored reflection pass along the water surface, at first I thought it might have been a passing plane or helicopter. But being as I couldn’t hear any engine noise and the fact it was now out of sight I quickly dismissed it as a passing bird.

“Didn’t know they had birds colored like that here,” I found myself muttering absently to no one, “Almost looked like it was colored like a rainbow.”

Shrugging it off I focused back on the task at hand, and after a couple of hours I had a few nice brown trouts stringed out in the stream with the rest of the piece of paracord from earlier. Looking into the sky I saw that the sun had now crept ever higher to its noonday apex, which had made the air turn hot and muggy. Deciding to call it a day I wrapped up my fishing line, and pulled my catch out of the water to begin looking for a place to clean them. Preferring, to have the smell of fish guts here by the stream as opposed to having it at wherever I decided to make camp later.

Finding a fallen log to use as a makeshift table I make quick work on the trout before eating the meat raw, not wanting to waste time trying to build a new fire. As I knelt over the river, I cleaned my knife of the fish residue in the rushing water, I was slightly startled by the sound of splashing that came from somewhere upriver. A part of my brain told me to ignore the noise as just some more fish, but unfortunately the curious side of my brain won out and began to set me on a path of events that are still unfolding to this day.

After quickly scrubbing my hands in the dirt to help cover the smell of my fishing endeavor; I decided to leave my fishing rod there as I planned to pick it up on my way back. As I took up my spear again I began to head in the direction of the noise.

I made my way through the dense undergrowth that lined the shores of the stream which was no easy task as I was eventually forced leave my backpack by a tree to ease my journey. The sound grew louder as I continued on letting it guide me to its inevitable source. Eventually I came to a final ridge and I ducked silently behind a nearby tree trunk, hoping not to startle whatever was on the other side. Suddenly remembering the encounter from the night before I silently cursed myself for falling for my curiosity again. For all I knew that very same predator was on the other side of this ridge and here I was offering myself up like an entrée on a silver fucking platter.

Picking up a few dried leaves I held them infront of me and let them go, watching them as they floated away from me. A sigh of relief escaped from my lips at now knowing that I was now atleast downwind of whatever it was; gathering up the courage I finally peeked around the trunk to the other side of the ridge, before my mouth promptly fell open in awe.

There standing in the stream, taking a bath, was a blonde-haired girl. Scratch that. With those curves there was no way the person who stood in front of me was anything short of a woman. She was currently facing away from me as she ran her hands through her golden mane that flowed down her toned back and past her slender waist, sticking to her wide hips and supple rear before it pooled out into the thigh high water. Her wet tanned skin shined in the sunlight like a gem as my gaze went back up to her slender arms, and I caught the slightest peek of the side of her sizable breast that led me to believe that her front was just as curvy as her back. As she shifted slightly to the side I saw what looked like a tattoo of three red apples on her hips.

As much as I wanted to continue to gawk at this river nymph before me, my Southern morals and upbringing was trying to convince me that looking at this woman bathe without her consent was wrong. So with one last look for future memories I stepped out from behind the tree while making sure my cap was lowered enough to obstruct my view as I cast my eyes downward and cleared my throat.

“Ahem,” I announced, causing a reaction from the woman almost instantaneously as I heard a splash from the water. “Sorry to startle you ma’am but I’m currently lost and was wondering if you could help me get back to civilization so I can get in contact with my unit?”

I hear nothing from her as I continue to stand there while trying to fight every screaming urge running through my head to soak in the sight of her flesh again. After a few uncomfortable moments of silence I figured that I may have startled her too much and should try and make an attempt to calm the situation. Taking a cautious step forward and I kept my hands up, trying to remain as non-threatening as I could be.

“I really am-,“ I started but was quickly cut off as she yelled at me.

“Wec fego ra c’el liev!” She yelled at me as I heard the water splash again, more than likely from her taking a step away from me.

I stood there motionless as I tried to process what she had said. The language was foreign to me and despite my best attempts I couldn’t understand what she was trying to tell me.

‘What is that? It doesn’t sound like Japanese or Korean. Maybe it’s Russian or some kind of Inuit language.’ I thought to myself. Either way I could tell by her tone that she was uneasy by my presence and I wasn't going to let something like simple etiquette risk my chances of getting out of here as I looked up to meet her gaze.

Any doubts I had about my course of action were quickly quelled as I gazed upon her body, which she didn’t even bother trying to cover. As beautiful as she was there were certain features that were beginning to strike me as, well just plain not normal.

First of these was the set of tan colored ears that were currently lying down atop her head that reminded me of the kind of ears you’d expect to see on a deer or some other kind of hoofed animal, not a woman. Next was her face, which looked normal enough, even the eyes which were the biggest set of emerald green eyes I had ever seen. The kinds of eyes that drew you in and never let you go from their embrace. Freckles speckled across her cheeks which I thought went well with her cute features, and her full lips were currently set agape as she fumbled at what to do. The next thing I noticed was that the last joint of each finger was a shiny dark brown as she slowly pointed one in my direction.

Trying to put random thoughts of The Island of Doctor Moreau aside, I still figured that this wo… female was the best chance of me getting out of here. Taking another step forward she yelled at me again in that strange language.

“Wec fego! Ra me aevirk c’el!”

“I’m sorry little lady, but I don’t rightly understand what you’re trying to say.” I told her in the calmest voice I could. But as I took yet another step forward she yelled the same command to me; so instead I held still which seemed to work as she stopped yelling at me.

Needing to gain her trust I decided to show a sign of good faith by dropping the makeshift spear in my hand as I took off my cap, running a hand through my short black hair. Why I did that I don’t rightly know, maybe it was some crazy idea that if she could see that we were similar looking she wouldn’t be so on edge. Either way it seemed to work as she began to drop her guard ever so slightly as we just stood there looking at each other, both of us unsure at what to do next.

Trying to break the ice again I spoke up, “So do you speak any English?”

She just tilted her head a little to the side as I watched an ear twitch; her expression reminded me of the look a puppy gave you when you tried to talk with it on why it had peed on the carpet. I now knew that she obviously didn’t know English so I tried another approach. I brought one of my hands up to my chest and gently pat it against my blouse so that she would hopefully get the hint.

“My name is Eric Broussard. What’s yours?” I asked now pointing to her. Nothing, still the same look as before so I decided to try again but this time even simpler as I pointed back to myself. “Eric.”

As I pointed to her this time her brow furrowed as if she was honestly trying to process it before I saw the realization in her eyes and she placed one of her hands up to her breast, “Etpinego.”

“Etpinego,” I tried the name, liking how the alien name rolled off my tongue, to which she smiled and gave a small nod before pointing to me.

“Ehlrik?” She said trying out my name, and even though it was a little wrong it was still some sort of progress so I gave her a nod in approval before I repeated my name. She tried it again and this time got it right without any issue.

Now hoping that I had some sort of rapport with Etpinego I tried to see if she could at least point me in a direction I could head in. Etpinego’s tension from earlier now seemed to be completely gone as she now headed to the shore before disappearing behind a tree, to grab her clothes I figured. Much to my surprise she walked back around the other side still as naked as the day she was born, save for a worn brown Stetson that now rested snuggly on her head.

“Uh, Etpinego?” I said as she looked towards me with that same smile on her face, “Not that I don’t enjoy looking at the gifts that nature gave you, and it’s going to hurt me to say this but do you have any clothes?”

Again with the furrowed brow and blank stare. So with a strained sigh I pinched the shoulders of my blouse and shook it slightly, “Clothes?”

She shook her head after a moment and I decided to drop the subject and just enjoy the view, “No need in looking a gift horse in the mouth I guess.”

As if Etpinego was reading my mind I watched as the length of hair below her waist flicked back and forth as she tied the end of it with what looked like a red scrunchie. I found myself starring at the blonde hair as it swished to and fro while my mind tried to comprehend what exactly I was seeing.

‘A tail! She has a motherfucking tail!’ My brain screamed at me as she leaned over in front of me to grab some kind of satchel by a bush. Worry was thrown aside with another flick of that long blonde tail and I caught a glimpse of her tanned legs that seemed to go on for days right up to that perfectly shaped derrière with the apple tats. While admiring it I was reminded of a popular song from a couple of years back that used to play in the clubs as I began to hum it softly to myself. ‘She had them Apple Bottom Jeans, Boots with the fur, The whole club lookin at her…’

Suddenly Etpinego stood up and I watched her ears rotate atop her head, scanning the surrounding forest. Straining my own hearing to try and make out whatever phantom sound that she had heard, yet aside from the steady droning of insects in the noonday heat I heard nothing. Yet the next thing I knew she raced over to me and without a moment of hesitation began to pull on my hand while talking to me with absolute terror lacing her voice.

“Qis vu c’el kampa! Ai navash kix livi!” She told me as she continued to tug on my arm as she kept desperately repeating, “Qis vu! Qis vu!”

I firmly stood my ground, not understanding what had gotten her so worked up all of a sudden as I grabbed her wrist and brought her close to me staring down into her green eyes. She stopped struggling as she looked into my blue eyes but I could still feel her whole body trembling in my grasp, “Etpinego, what is it?”

I heard a rustling now coming from all around us in the surrounding forest and almost didn’t catch what she said as she spoke in a voice just above a whisper.

“Azcidi.”

Author's Notes:

Edit: Because some people were wanting a version with the translated Equis I decided to link it here.