Gentle Beast

by Margaret Afseth

  The non-human population had a habit of complaining about his work, so Nyle wasn’t too enthused at being approached.

  “What you want?” Nyle grumbled, continuing to squeeze out the mop in his pail. “I’m finished here. Not doing it again!”

  The small being grunted. “Not about work.”

  “What then?”

  “Sent to call you. Report to claim desk.”

  “What did I do now?”

  It just grunted again, and turned and fled.

  I'm sure sick of being on this station. I’d do just about anything to get to another planet, but there has been no word that a compatible female wants me. It's probably because I have a young daughter.

  ****

  Nyle stepped into the complaint office, Kaudy right behind him. He left her seated in the corner, and parked himself down before the interview clerk.

  “I was told to report…”

  This time the being behind the desk was a large cat creature. It spit in annoyance at him, produced a miniature Plexiglas square and plugged it into the slot on the console. He pondered the screen for a moment, then finally gave Nyle his attention.

  “One of our females has accepted to sponsor you.”

  Nyle pulled in his breath.

  Finally! I am so ready to be gone from here!

  “So what happens now?”

  The Feline looked down at him, hissed again in aggravation. “If you want to stay alive in our culture, you’d best be more submissive. Obedience to your female is imperative! For that matter, males must obey any female. Is that understood?” He narrowed his eyes in warning. “In my world, if you fail to do so, the male relatives have the right to kill you; they will kill you! I could kill you, if I choose! Simply because I do not like you.”

  What is the matter with this guy? Is he envious because this woman has chosen an outsider, or did he just have it in for humans?

  “You are fortunate to be chosen at all,” the Feline went on. “We have twelve planets with fifty trillion inhabitants on each, three quarters of which are male. She could have chosen anyone of us, but no, she accepts this petty excuse for a human. But then, why would we even want her?”

  He seemed to rumble in that way a Feline approached humour, a deep in the chest guttural sound ending on a hiss.

  Is he laughing at me? What's the big joke?

  “You have the misfortune of being chosen by the only female Noor-half in existence. Her Noor side makes her deadly to any mate; they say she could fry your brains, should you displease her. And we mate for life, human! Understand?”

  Oh, wonderful! How is this any better than staying here, a work slave mopping floors?

  But he had Kaudy to think about. He’d gotten her into this, and she had long ago realized she wasn’t going back home. Nyle had had trouble placating her with promises of a better life, should they ever get a sponsor.

  The young girl now treated, what she thought were his imaginings, with apathy, viewing the prospects as only imaginary. She had resigned herself to the condition they were in, as if the state was permanent.

  The Feline broke into his reverie. “You have one hour to pack up your belongings, and report to ship dock five. You must go by shuttle rather than through jump station. Be gone from my sight, human. And take your young she with you, before I decide to take her from you.”

  ****

  As they approached their destination, a colossal space station as big as the entire province where he’d been born, Nyle peered though the window of the craft. A gaping hole opened in the side of the larger vessel, and appeared to swallow the small shuttlecraft whole. The miniature transport eased inside, coming to a stop within an enormous steel, bare-joisted cavern.

  The outer doors descended; darkness enveloped, and Nyle and Kaudy waited for the next action. The small craft they were in had been automated; no one was there to give them instructions.

  The outer room brightened; the side door of their prison slid up. Nyle rose, took Kaudy’s hand, and stepped outside.

  Waiting just ten feet away was a seven-foot tall brown bear, with human-like face and hands. It stepped forward to greet them.

  “I am Wadi, guardian to the Dia nest. I am to escort you to Twila who has chosen you. Come please. Your property will be transported by mechanical.”

  He led them to a small platform suspended six inches off the metal floor. Standing on this was a second bear-like humanoid with fur colouring of a dark shade of black. This one was about six foot five, an inch or two taller than Nyle.

  As they stepped up, Wadi introduced his companion. “This is my she, Rimu. We are mated, but she also stands guardian with me. Sit you down. As you are unfamiliar with travel by platform, you may be unstable; we wish no harm to come to you.”

  There were no seats, so Nyle eased to the floor of the hover-sheet pulling Kaudy to his lap. Almost immediately, the twelve by ten foot metal floor rose up to about six feet in the air. It began moving slowly off over a lip into a chasm with a sheer drop below of thousands of feet. As they moved along, Nyle could see other platforms carrying freight or passengers in opposite directions. Far below, the busyness of workers intent on their labours was evident: small shuttlecrafts on the bottom being serviced, others disgorging their contents, still others leaving through open portals like the one they’d arrived through.

  “Daddy, we could fall,” Kaudy whispered fearfully.

  Wadi answered her. “There is a gravity field about us to protect.”

  After about ten minutes, a small door on their right slid up, and the platform docked, attaching like a ramp to the floor of the tunnel beyond.

  Wadi stepped out. Nyle and Kaudy followed, while Rimu took up the rear guard. The outer entrance slid back down.

  “Follow please,” Wadi ordered.

  A short walk of about twenty feet brought them to a second door. Here they were challenged.

  The snake-like creature with a human face appeared out of nowhere; hissed a warning that made Kaudy scamper behind her father.

  “We bring to Twila,” Wadi explained. “They are safe, Sith.”

  “I am not Sith. I am Serene, and I’ll decide if they are safe.”

  A red forked tongue shot from her mouth, tasting the air. She moved around Nyle, following Kaudy, as she rounded her father to get away from the frightening creature.

  “Okay. Safe!” Then the being simply vanished.

  CHAPTER 21

  The woman turned toward the four, as they entered the receiving office. Her eyes found them: a bright turquoise blue with the black vertical slit of a cat’s eye. Her colouring was the tan-flesh tint of a Caucasian human, and her hair was short, white-blond and curly, parting only slightly for the tiny cat ears. She stood approximately five foot seven, and if he were to guess her age, it would be around thirty.

  “I will take them from here, Wadi,” she said, and Nyle understood her, even though she wore no translator.

  “Yes, mistress. Should we remain on guard outside?”

  “Unnecessary. I can defend myself.”

  Nyle cringed, remembering what he’d been told about this female.

  Wadi and Rimu left the room, leaving Nyle and his daughter alone with the supposed formidable half-Noor.

  “I am Twila, your sponsor. One moment while I attend to a matter. Please take seats.”

  When she turned away, as it swept the floor behind, Nyle saw the swish of a near invisible white bushy tail. Except for short white-blond fur, peeking out at the top of her collarless, long-sleeved top, and travelling up her neck, one would never guess she was a Feline. Should she hide her ears with her hair, except for the eyes, you would think her a humanoid…until of course, you saw that tail.

  She wore a loose fitting tunic, which had a short, pleated skirt that came just below the knees. Her legs and feet were not like those of a Feline, but more that of a human. The delicate feet were unshod.

  She walked with a grace not unlike some human women he knew; a seductive mov
ement that caught the male eye. He could not but appreciate her form, for it too was quite curvaceous.

  Twila went to a wall unit much like that of an intercom on Earth, pressed a button, and in a tone of scolding, demanded: “Jabek, where are you? You will attend me! Now!”

  A sixteen-year-old male suddenly materialized beside the two humans, giving them a start, so they stepped back in shock. The adolescent was the spitting image of his mother, but taller by at least four inches.

  “You cannot use the door?” scolded Twila. “So you do not scare the bejebbies out of our guests.”

  Nyle hid his smile.

  So, did he use a transporter, or can he teleport manually by mental energy?

  “Sorry, I’m late, momma. Poppa Kimon had me busy.”

  She hissed in frustration. “Whom are you to obey first and foremost?”

  The male seemed at a loss as how to answer. “Momma Dia, then you…and Poppa Kim last?”

  “Remember that next time. I know that puts you in a bad place between us, but refer him to me next time, and I will placate him. Now, to the matter at hand. Turn, you may look at the female.”

  As the boy obeyed, his image began to fade.

  “Jabek!” Twila reprimanded softly. “How will she know you, if you go invisible every time you are with her?”

  “Sorry, momma. Only females I know are you and momma Dia. I am…” He faded once again.

  “Ah, Jabek,” she said quietly with sympathy. “You are handsome male. No need to be embarrassed.”

  Jabek came fully visible, as his mother continued. “I have chosen this she for you, but you must gain her trust and love. As with us, she must choose you. Do you understand? You will be her guardian, until she accepts promise, and mate only when you are ready…”

  Until that moment, Nyle had let Twila have her say, but the last words brought apprehension for his daughter, and a protective anger that focused quickly on the adult female.

  “Oh, wait just a minute here! My daughter’s not some bawd for sale…”

  Twila spun on him, livid anger evident on her features. The action had Nyle stepping back cringing.

  “What was that male?” Her voice dripped venom. “What world are you on at this moment?”

  “She’s my daughter!” Nyle answered bravely, though he quaked in his shoes. “She’s my responsibility…”

  “Correction! You are my sponsored male; therefore she becomes my responsibility!” Twila let the silence continue for several beats, as her temper visibly cooled. “I realize you are unfamiliar with our customs, and I will take that into account. We will speak later.”

  As the female turned back to the young ones, Nyle tried a second time, not caring that he was risking his own life. He was not prepared to let things go just yet. “She’s too young! And on my world, she gets a choice in the matter.”

  “As does she on this world. And we mate for life, at age fourteen. Now! Male! Be silent! Or you will not be around to see their children.”

  Nyle almost tried again, but the warning look in her eye, and the memory of the statement ‘they say, she could fry your brain, should you displease her’, had him wisely backing down.

  “Now then,” Twila continued. “Jabek, from now on you are this female’s caregiver, defender, and teacher. She will accompany you in your duties, and do her share along side you, until we know her capabilities. For now, take her home. You may show her the sights along the way.”

  “I know not her name?” the young male requested.

  “She is Kaudy. And she is greatly fearful. Soothe her trepidation.”

  “Daa…ddy?”

  “Go with him, munchkins. It’ll be okay.”

  As the two turned to go, Twila added one more instruction. “And Jabek, see that you always give the proper respect to her poppa.”

  The boy bowed from the waist, then caught Kaudy’s hand, and scampered from the room with her.

  ****

  Nyle fully expected to be punished. The words he heard were totally unexpected.

  “I am pleased with you human. But…though I will need you to keep me from dominating you, and will sometimes need your adjustment, you are to do it gently, and never in front of the children, or in public. The Feline law requires I kill you if you do.”

  Nyle’s jaw dropped, and Twila smiled for the first time.

  “I live in a world that I may not always agree with, where I too must obey rules. I am not fully Feline…and in Dia’s nest we have been given the freedom to be different, but out in public, we must keep up appearances.”

  He was speechless. Nyle had not expected to be taken into her confidence.

  She sighed. “Now, where do I begin? As your sponsor, do you realize it is considered, that I am taking you for mate?”

  Nyle nodded. “That has been explained.”

  “Okay. There is a process. As the female, I must accept you. It is not as on your world. Here the male asks if the female will have him. If she accepts, they are then considered promised, until such time, as she feels comfortable for him to fill her needs…”

  Nyle had no difficulty following her implication, and it had him feeling a sudden embarrassed warmth.

  “There is no marriage ceremony performed in Feline culture; male and female simply go away and consummate. After that first time, they are then considered mated for life. As any male can then be challenged; he may be attacked…even before the mating. The female may defend him, should she not wish the attention of the second male, but mostly, it is the responsibility of the male to protect her from such attentions.”

  Twila took a breath. “We will skip courtship, unless you decide at a later date, you wish it. By law, we will now be promised, and proceed from there.”

  Twila stood up. “We will go to our quarters, as I’m sure you must be weary. The custom is for the male to become part of the female’s nest. Felines live in family groups with the oldest female as the ultimate authority. Dia, a pure Feline, fosters my brothers and I. Head physician Kimon is her mate. On the way, I will explain more.”

  ****

  So, I guess I’m more or less attached to this woman, and there's no getting out of it.

  Nyle had to admit, he wouldn’t find it difficult to make love with her, but it was hard to come to grips with the cat part.

  Will she be feral or gentle in her demands?

  Nyle couldn’t help seeing her in the guise of a domesticated cat.

  He’d once had a pet kitten he’d treasured tremendously. It had appeared as if Shifera were talking to him, scolding when he stayed away too long; her meows had seemed to make sense.

  Nyle had gotten the kitten from a household, where she had been abominably misused and neglected. The former owner had five dogs and three other cats, and the poor creature had needed to fight just to get food. At first she spit and clawed him, not liking his attention, especially when he’d had to treat her infections and injuries. When he first brought her home, she was infested with worms and fleas, but Nyle had treated her with the medicated powder, forced medicine down her throat, waited out the day until she was healthy, and coddled her thereafter, cuddling her each night until she’d had enough of him, and wanted down.

  Her favourite spot to curl up had been beneath him in the mechanism of his recliner chair, and no matter how often he scolded, she would still slip in unbeknownst by him.

  One night he had fallen asleep in his chair, and when he woke in the wee hours of the next morning, without thinking, he’d moved the chair to the sit position.

  In memory, Nyle could still hear the agonizing howls, as Shifera died, caught in the mechanized works. Though he’d made a valiant effort, he could not free her.

  He’d bawled like a broken child, as he placed her mangled body in the freezer to preserve her, then scrubbed and disinfected where the mess inevitably had spread. To this day he would never again use a recliner.

  When he lost that cherished companion, his grief had been unrelenting, his loss profound
, as he blamed himself for the sin of carelessness. For days he had been inconsolable.

  At last, after a week of mourning, he had wrapped Shifera in a blanket, taken her toys, and ridden on his bike to the top of a hill on nearby crown land, dug a deep, deep hole, and buried her there at the top of the hill. Placing a large flat stone above her to mark the grave, Nyle had said his goodbye.

  It was disconcerting that Twila’s markings reminded Nyle of his lost kitten. He hoped if he became fond of Twila at some point, he would never have to part with her in parallel circumstance.

  He’d been deep in thought for so long, Nyle hadn’t realized Twila was silent until she broke into his reverie, making him start.

  “I must warn you, human,” she cautioned softly. “I can read your every thought.”

  CHAPTER 22

  He looked so enduring, his pupils going large with shock, as he turned to look at her. “How can I…”

  “Ward against it?” Twila finished for him. “Right now you cannot.” She took his hand, and led him into the bed-nest rooms. “Liam will be back tomorrow. I’ll have him teach you to block, and to send your thoughts out to me, so we can communicate silently without others being aware.”

  Nyle stood there, where she left him, pondering what he’d just learned. Twila went to the closet for her nightwear.

  He’ll need night garments also. Humans get cold in the night.

  Twila went to the replicator. “Let me see? I’d say you are a large size in male human?”

  “Medium. Why?”

  “You will need what you call pyjamas.”

  “I have clothes I brought along…”

  “I doubt they will be warm enough. We sleep without coverings, and Dia likes the heat turned down during sleep cycle.” Twila motioned toward the enormous padded sleep mat that covered near half the room. “We also sleep cuddled all together. It is a Feline practice Dia has indulged in since we first came to her.”

  “You sleep on that?” Nyle inquired. “All together.”

  “Yes.”

  “Every night? Together?”

  Twila nodded.

  “But…what about when…ah, you go...intimate?”