Caveman Alien's Pride

by Calista Skye

  I show it to Delyah. “It looks nothing like it should. It's supposed to be perfectly clear with little silver sprinkles. It didn't have any smell before. I don't want to put this on her.”

  She takes one half of the orb and wrinkles her nose. “I think you're right. I don't want this anywhere near her.”

  “I'm so sorry!”

  “It's okay,” Sophia moans, but her disappointment is obvious. “You tried.”

  I slink out from the 'delivery room' and show the other girls. “It's ruined. Fuck!”

  They just gasp. They're all just as scared as me.

  “I need more light,” Delyah calls out. “Please open the curtain.”

  I pull the curtain aside so the can get some of the light from the fire, too.

  A white flash lights up everything inside the cave in pure white, and we all jump when it's immediately followed by a hard crack of thunder that makes my ears ring.

  Ar'ox and Dar'ax look at each other, frowning. Then they turn on their heels and march out of the cave, fast. I guess they prefer the rain to this nightmarish birth. I would love to follow them out there.

  But I'm staying by Sophia's side until I'm chased out.

  I kneel by her side and squeeze the hand that Jax'zan isn't holding. “We're all in this together. All this.”

  I don't know what else to say. Because now we all realize that this is not going to end well. The first birth on this planet is going to be a total disaster.

  And three of us are pregnant.

  Delyah listens intently to the stethoscope. “I can hardly hear it. Very weak.”

  Sophia starts keening. “No, no, no. Oh god, noooo ...”

  The girls look at each other, lower lips trembling and faces scrunching up. There's some sniffling and shaky breaths.

  The men come back in, dripping with water.

  But now there's three of them.

  34

  - Aurora -

  For a moment I just stare. Then a flash of light goes off in my mind and stays there.

  “Trak'zor!”

  I bounce to my feet and run over to him. The two others are holding him firmly between them.

  “It's okay, I know him! He's good.”

  They marginally loosen their grips on him.

  He's looking past me, over my shoulder towards the tragedy in there. “That is your friend?”

  “Yes. Let him go, please, guys.”

  Ar'ox and Dar'ax take a skeptical look at his white stripes, then stare at him hard and release him.

  He swings a bag off his shoulders and takes out another stone container, smaller and much cruder than the one I stole.

  “Is this needed?”

  “Yes! Very much. Wait.” He's soaking wet, so I grab a leather rag and wipe the water off his huge torso.

  Then I take his thick forearm and drag him with me.

  “This is Trak'zor. He might be able to help.”

  He kneels in front of Sophia and takes the situation in.

  “The baby is not doing so well,” I tell him, “and it's stopped halfway out. See the foot? Its heartbeat is slower than it should be.”

  Trak'zor opens his new orb and scoops out some of the substance. A million tiny silver flakes sparkle in the light from the alien pad.

  He looks at Sophia. “May I?”

  She just nods, biting her lip.

  “Yes,” I add for good measure. “You may. Quickly.”

  He has more experience than I do with births. And after the days he spent with me on his island, he should have a pretty clear idea of female anatomy.

  He smears the gel everywhere on the outside, being very gentle, but still fast.

  Then he changes his position so I can't see what he's doing, but it's only a minute before the baby starts sliding out, feet first.

  Delyah helps, and then she's holding a baby girl in her arms. There's a mewling little cry, and then Delyah carefully places the newborn on Sophia's chest. It's the first girl born on this planet for a long time. And she has the silvery sheen I recognize from the boy in the village.

  Sophia smiles through tears of joy. “She's perfect.”

  The cave slightly erupts in subdued celebrations. We smile and hug each other, while the cavemen smile and nod. Everyone is exhausted.

  Trak'zor stands up, a giant of a man vibrating with barely contained power, and gives me a shy little smile that makes my heart flutter.

  I hug him tight with my cheek on his chest, facing away from everyone. For a good few minutes I can't talk because I'm shaking too much in his arms.

  Then I wipe my nose and my eyes. “You came after all.”

  He hugs me back, hard, right on the limit of where I can still breathe. “Pride can be good. Then it crossed my mind that pride without anything else isn't worth much. I love you, Aurora. Will you marry me?”

  I crane my neck to look up at him. It's such a sudden question. But then it turns out that it doesn't surprise me at all. I'm totally prepared for it.

  “Yes,” I state as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. And it probably is. “Yes, I will.”

  A happy smile spreads on his face.

  Then Jax'zan lays a massive hand on Trak'zor's shoulder. The two caveman lock eyes, laser against laser. I half expect to see smoke.

  “You're an outtriber. From far away,” Jax'zan states.

  “I am.” Trak'zor is tense.

  “Come to assist complete strangers in their hour of need. Not of your own tribe.”

  “Not complete strangers, perhaps.”

  “I can never thank you properly for this.”

  Trak'zor relaxes. “No gratitude is wanted. It was no great sacrifice coming here. It would have been a terrible sacrifice if I had not come.”

  He takes my hand and squeezes it like he never intends to let it go. That's fine with me.

  We all let Sophia and Jax'zan have a moment together with their new daughter, and I introduce Trak'zor to everyone.

  Then he and I and walk out to the cave opening.

  “You knew we needed your magic?”

  “I knew there wasn't much left in the container. Probably not enough. And it had not been cooled down for a while.”

  “It was ruined when I opened it.” I point to the discarded orb on the floor.

  “It spoils easily if it's not cooled.”

  “You went to Bune first, then here? That's where you get it from, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “In the room where we first ... um ... met?”

  He frowns. “It's a strange thing, Bune. That room is obviously divine, but still broken.”

  I look up at him again. I can explain what Bune is later. “You came.”

  “I knew that you were not going to return. I spoke to the tribesmen. And I knew that I had to go to you. To be worthy of you.”

  “You're worthy of me a thousand times over.”

  He smiles that boyishly happy smile. “I wondered briefly what I could do to prove my worth. Then I realized that you'd told me. Help your friend. It was so obvious I suddenly just laughed and ended the speech.”

  “The speech?”

  “They made me chief. But there was no joy in it. It was unimportant. Because you weren't there. So I spoke to them and told them how dishonored they are and how they have to change. And then I suddenly laughed, stepped down from the mound and walked out the gate. They must think I'm possessed.”

  “They made you chief, and you just ... gave it up?”

  He scratches his chin. “I'm not sure I gave it up. If the tribe decides that I did, then they will be left to themselves. Well, maybe they don't want me back. I said some harsh things.”

  “Things they deserve to hear, I think.”

  “Maybe.”

  I squeeze him harder. “I'm sorry I stole your sacred gift. And I aimed the crossbow at you.”

  “I did threaten to tie you up. And the fight right before ... my mind wasn't working well. I didn't realize the depth of your concern for you
r friend. I suspected it was a test of my resolve.”

  “Did Ren'tax laugh after I left? I think I heard it.”

  “He did. It was the funniest thing he'd seen. He said 'see? I told you your pride would be your downfall'. Then he started talking about an ancient ceremony called a 'wedding' and 'marriage'. I knew of those things, but I thought he was speaking in some kind of hallucination. He was very ill.”

  “Maybe he will wed us?”

  He looks down at me with eyes that he manages to make mild. “Shaman Ren'tax will never do anything in this world again. He's with the Ancestors now.”

  “Oh no! Your shaman is dead?” A new wave of tears drip from my eyes. I didn't know him that well, but he was the best man in that village.

  “He must have been ill for a longer time than he told anyone. He wanted no treatment.”

  “I heard you offering that. Sometimes old people know that their turn has come and they don't mind it so much. At least you used the gel on yourself.” I stroke his chest where the deep gash has closed up.

  He shrugs. “There is a lot of it inside Bune.”

  I don't know what to say. I'm exhausted and excited and happy and sad about Ren'tax. So I don't say anything for a long time, just stand there and hear the rain and feel Trak'zor's skin on me.

  He gently disengages and picks up his bag. “I brought you this. I think your tribe will need them more than me.”

  It's a stack of all the garments and fabrics that he had prepared for the Woman.

  I gasp at the sight. On this planet, you get a new appreciation of what true wealth is. And this is a fucking fortune. “Thank you! It's wonderful.”

  “They were made by the Garan tribe while they were still good for something. I hope they will be useful.”

  “They will. Very useful.”

  He clears his throat. “I promise that I will never tie you up again.”

  “Okay, good,” I say, then instantly regret it. “Um, actually ... I think you can sometimes tie me up.”

  “Yes?” His confusion is so adorable.

  I smile sweetly. “Yes. Sometimes. For fun. As in, really fun. It's another of those woman secrets. I'll show you what I mean later. Probably after the baby is born.”

  He looks to Sophia at the back of the cave, then back at me. “The baby is born.”

  “That one is. But there's another one on the way.”

  He frowns. “No, there was only one. I checked her very thoroughly.”

  “Yes, Sophia's baby is born. But you mated with me many times. Did you think there wouldn't be results from that?”

  He stares at me, frowning deeply, and in his eyes I can see the cogs slowly turning in his caveman brain.

  “You mean ...?”

  “I mean.”

  “You ...”

  “Well, we, strictly speaking.”

  “... are going to have a baby?”

  More tears spring to my eyes. “That's right. You're going to be a father. The first real father in your tribe for a long-ass time.”

  He stares at my stomach. “I ... but ...”

  “It's in there. Very small still, but-”

  He takes me into his arms and lifts me, somehow without putting any pressure on my abdomen.

  “I thought just now that I will never be happier. And then you prove me wrong in the next breath. I love you, Aurora.”

  I don't recall this ever happening to Xena. But I don't think I need her anymore. I can just be Aurora. And right now, being Aurora is pretty damn great.

  “And I love you. See how it fits? I think maybe we're a perfect match.”

  35

  - Trak'zor -

  Indeed it is a tribe, as I thought. The men all have stripes of different colors, but any cave that has six women in it is a tribe grander than any I've ever heard of.

  They even have a shaman. A slender woman in a white robe which I think Ren'tax would have fought many braks to get the like of. It shines in the sunlight.

  And so does Aurora. Her garment is just as white, but not as long. I have trouble taking my eyes off her. She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

  “Ay due,” she says in her alien language, and the shaman looks at me.

  “Do you, Chief Trak'zor of the Garan tribe, take Aurora to be your wife, forever in eternity, as witnessed and directed by your Ancestors?”

  “I do.”

  “Then I state that you are now husband and wife.”

  I wait for the words to sink in. That seems quick. But surely this is only the first part of a ceremony that will go on for many more hours. Certainly there must be some kind of trial and test for me to publicly show me worthy of a woman like this.

  Aurora yanks my hand to get my attention. She's pursing her lips, and I bend down and kiss them.

  Then her friends come up to her and she hugs them, and I can't stop a happy smile from spreading on my face. I'm ready for the rest of the ceremony.

  “Congratulations, warrior,” Ar'ox says and clamps my arm. “It is over now.”

  I'm confused. Did I already fail? “What is over?”

  “The wedding ritual. You are now married to Aurora.”

  “Now? Already? But ... the tests ... the trials ...?”

  “The tests will come,” Jax'zan laughs. “Believe me. But not today. I know it seems far too short. Unreasonably so. Like being given the teeth of an irox without fighting it first. But this is how they do it. As far as Aurora is concerned, you've passed every test and she wants to be with you for as long as she lives.”

  “I see,” I lie. “It's all very alien.”

  “It is,” Dar'ax agrees. “But the women themselves are so very human. Don't make the mistake of taking the briefness of the ceremony as an indication of their worth, warrior. It's the other way around. No ceremony could do them justice, so why waste time on a long one? Congratulations! Married life is glorious.”

  Yes, it is. Any time I want, I can look over at Aurora and feel the joy fill me: she's mine.

  And she will birth a baby. Our baby.

  What is a Lifegiver compared to a real, actual woman giving birth to a child that's not just a product of me, but of both of us? It beggars belief that such a thing is even possible, not to mention normal.

  A thought hits me. “If a woman can give birth to one child, can she give birth to ... more than one?”

  Ar'ox frowns. “There isn't room for more than one baby inside a woman.”

  “No, of course not. I mean ... one after the other? Like the Lifegivers?”

  The other men laugh heartily.

  Dar'ax grabs my arm to show that he means no offense. “He hasn't even had one, and now he's thinking of another! No, warrior, I think that would be quite extraordinary.”

  “They are women, not Lifegivers,” Jax'zan chuckles. “Let us be happy that they can have even one. That's miracle enough. No need to wish for the impossible.”

  I nod slowly. “It is miracle enough.”

  Still, I walk over to Aurora and ask her.

  She hides a smile behind her hand, and her eyes glint. Then she composes herself. “Yes, my love! Women can give birth to more than one. I have two brothers. My mother gave birth to first my older brother, then to me three years later. Then, two years after that, she gave birth to my younger brother. And some women have ten or twelve children. Or more.”

  My mind is spinning. It sounds too good to be true. There must be a catch. “With different fathers?”

  “Or with the same one every time.”

  I almost faint. I glance at her friend Caroline for confirmation. Surely a shaman must tell the truth.

  “Yes, it's true,” she says brightly. “And sometimes, a woman can be pregnant with more than one baby at the same time! That's called twins.”

  “Or three,” Ar'ox's wife Emilia says. “That's called triplets.”

  I stagger back to the other men. “They can,” I groan. “They can have twelve. Or more. Three at a time.”

  “Three at
a time?!” Jax'zan exclaims. “But even just one made my Sophia look like she was going to explode!”

  We all stare at the women in stunned silence. They're so small and delicate, but they have some very hidden talents.

  Aurora comes over to me. “Hey, warrior. You leaving me alone on my wedding day?”

  I grab her hand, so cool and slender in mine. “Just for a moment. I'm always keeping my eye on you.”

  “You better. How do you like my friends?”

  I look around the clearing. This used to be dense jungle, they've told me. But they've chopped down the trees to make it harder for predators to come too close without being spotted. They have a forge for making iron. They have large food stores. They have clean water. They have a clean, warm cave and a large production of pots and pans. They have nice clothing. They keep lethal Bigs as pets. And they're only nine! The three men are as large as me, and must have been the best warriors in each of their old tribes. There is an energy and determination here that I have never seen before. And I love it.

  “They are good,” I state. “Better than the Garan tribe. Much better.”

  “But not better than Trak'zor,” she says. “You are part of this now. When you married me, you became one of us.”

  “I see. I'm honored.”

  Sophia comes over with her new baby. “Congrats, you two. From me and the youngest bridesmaid in history.”

  The baby is fast asleep in her mother's arms, swaddled in one of the red pieces of fabric from my island. It's Aurora's gift to the newborn. Aurora had promised a pelt, but she said that trying to get that pelt had given her nothing but trouble and that the fabric was much nicer.

  “And the most beautiful.” Aurora reaches out to gently stroke the baby's head. She will be a perfect mother.

  And I will be a father. My mind blanks out into a bright bliss when I think about it.

  This all is a lot to process. So I just look at my wife. It centers me like a bright star in the black night. She's absolutely divine.

  She might not be The Woman. But she's my Woman.

  And now it turns out that she's all I ever wanted.

  - - -

  © Calista Skye 2018

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  Make sure to catch the Epilogue at the end of the book!

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