by Dixon, Ruby
"Hey, Taushen," Calida says in a bright voice, and reaches for my hand. "We're back. Everyone miss us?"
He gives me a thoughtful look. "You know R'jaal and Raahosh will want to speak with you."
"I know this. I am not afraid." I challenge him with a glance.
"Why?" Calida gives T'shen a blank smile and squeezes my hand. What she is trying to tell me, I do not know.
T'shen just shakes his head. "I have learned from my mate that I keep my mouth shut on such things. It is for our leaders to discuss, not this hunter." He takes the pack from my shoulders and adds it to his own gear before stepping in time with us. "You both look tired."
"It has been a few long nights," I begin, thinking of the hairy beasts that attacked our cave.
Calida just giggles and nudges me. "Braggart."
T’shen snorts.
My horns grow hot at the base and I look at my mate. She clings to my arm, smiling up at me, but there is an odd cast to her features. She is being very…giggly around T’shen. What is going on? I study her but say nothing, especially when she holds my gaze for a long moment, as if trying to communicate something. We will talk in private later, then.
Another hunter joins us as we descend the cliff paths that lead to the village. Gren. Then Th'rand. V'dis. We are surrounded before we even make it to camp, and I know why. They are ensuring I do not run off with my mate again. It is for her protection.
I knew something like this would happen when we returned. I am oddly glad of it. Of course they should want to protect Calida. She is precious to me, and precious to all of us. She is a lifebearer and a valuable part of the tribe. All of the females are precious. It does not matter that our numbers are now equal—all of us hunters can remember long turns of the seasons in which we expected to never see another female again.
The group steers us toward the central fire, where R'jaal and R'hosh wait. Many of the others have cleared away, and L'z sits next to her mate with her newborn kit in her arms, another one of her young playing at her feet. She studies us as we approach. They all do. Both R'jaal and R'hosh have fierce frowns on their faces, and R'hosh's arms are crossed over his chest.
"They have returned," T'shen says, unnecessarily.
R'hosh nods, his ugly, scarred face fierce with a chief's cold anger. "Wait here, all of you." They are not words for me, but for the hunters that surround us.
No one moves. They are here to ensure we try nothing…that I try nothing.
L'z gets to her feet and immediately hands the newborn kit in her arms to her mate. "Can you take Ahsoka for a minute, hon?"
R'hosh takes the kit automatically, putting it on his shoulder and arranging a towel underneath. With his big hand, he rubs the small back to burp the kit.
I expect L'z to sit down again but she scoops up the toddler and holds her out to R'jaal. "Can you take Aayla?"
A'yla opens her arms, giggling, and R'jaal's hard mouth turns into a small, puzzled smile as he takes the kit. "Why are you handing her to me?"
L'z adjusts the front of her tunic, tying it shut once more now that she is done feeding. "Oh. Raahosh tends to be calmer when he has the baby. Won't blow his lid because he doesn't want to scare her. I figured you could use the same." She gives them both a bright smile. "Bye! I'm off to go see what random bullshit washes up on the beach with Devi. You two have fun." She winks at myself and Calida and turns and leaves.
R'jaal frowns, opening his mouth to protest.
Aayla immediately pets his cheeks, giggling, and his frown disappears. "You have fur!"
"Just a little," he murmurs, looking to R'hosh. "Your mate is clever."
"She is impossible," R'hosh agrees, but he looks pleased, jiggling and patting the kit on his shoulder. His focus turns to us once more. "So what do you have to say?"
Before I can speak, Calida squeezes my hand tightly and then steps forward. "I'm confused. Are we in trouble or something?"
The two leaders stare at her.
I stare, too.
My mate just bats her eyelashes at them, her expression all innocence.
"Are you well, C'lie?" R'jaal asks, his gaze skating over to me. "You are not hurt? Injured? Upset?"
Her expression turns puzzled. "Why would I be hurt or upset?"
R'hosh speaks up, his voice low and soothing to not disturb the young one in his arms. "M'tok stole you away—"
"What?" Calida scoffs. "No he didn't. I went with him willingly."
There is a low ripple of disbelief in the surrounding males. "You?" R'jaal gives her a disbelieving look, even as Aayla strokes his chin. "You hate M'tok."
"Maybe I'm just pretending to hate him to throw everyone off?" She says it so reasonably, like it must be so. "It wouldn't be the first or last time it happened."
"But…" R'jaal makes an exasperated sound and frowns at Aayla as she continues to pet his chin. "This is distracting."
"Which is why Liz did it," R'hosh agrees. He narrows his eyes at Calida. "If you went with M'tok willingly, Cal-ee, why did you not say anything to anyone?"
My mate frowns. "Didn't realize I had to check in with someone. Damn. I thought we were all adults here." She gestures at the village. "Does everyone need a hall pass when they go hunting?"
"You know this is different," R'hosh says, glancing over at me.
I school my dumbfounded expression into something more neutral. I am just as astonished at my mate's words as the others are. She is telling them she came willingly with me? Even though I drugged her tea and carried her out in the night?
"It is not a kidnapping, then?" R'jaal looks at R'hosh.
"Pfft. Of course not." Calida returns to my side and hugs my arm to her chest. "We just wanted to get some alone time together to figure things out."
"And his brother S'bren?" R'hosh asks.
"What about him?" Calida puts that blank smile on her face again.
"He stole Pen-ee on the same night you left WILLINGLY with M'tok." R'hosh is clearly skeptical.
"Maybe she wanted alone time with S'bren? You should ask them." Calida shrugs. "I haven't seen either." She fights a big yawn. "Are we done here? Or are you guys going to lecture us some more? Because I'm really tired. Fragile pregnant female and all that." She pats her belly and gives me a soft look.
“You are tired?” I touch her cheek.
“It was a lot of walking, don’t you think? Plus I’m tired for all kinds of reasons.” And she does that strange eyelash flutter again and leans against my arm. “Can we go home now? Or are we still in trouble for some imaginary kidnapping?” She gives a pointed look R’hosh. “I heard that was traditional with you guys anyhow. Not that it happened.”
R’hosh scowls at her, just as the kit on his shoulder lets out a full-sized belch. A look of pride crosses his face and he moves his daughter to his other shoulder, bouncing her. “Go. Get rest. I am sure we will have more questions for you later.”
“I’m sure you will.” Calida looks up at me. “Can we go to our hut now?”
I ignore R’jaal’s look of surprise at hearing her words. Our hut. The Calida he knows would not want to be anywhere near me, much less share a hut with me. But the Calida at my side is sweet and affectionate and clingy, gazing up at me adoringly. Lying to the others about how she went with me willingly.
It is…strange.
She tugs on my hand, leading me out of the group and out of the central area of the tribe’s home, down the sandy beach toward the cluster of huts. I let her lead the way, conscious of how everyone stares at us. I can hear whispers, the light giggle of a human female in the distance, and I feel many eyes upon my back. Calida, if she notices any of this, ignores it all.
She goes to the correct hut, though, and that sparks my amusement. “You know which one is mine, then?”
“Of course. I had to know which one to torch if you pissed me off enough.” She tosses a teasing, normal smile in my direction.
I laugh at that. “I should have guessed.”
Calida is q
uiet until she steps atop the platform, shakes the sand off her boots, and then ducks under the leather covering over the door. I follow her in, curious what she will think of the hut I have prepared for her. I try to see it through her eyes, the hanging bundles of dried herbs, organized by type and shape, the neatly stacked baskets of dried food, the bundles of furs arranged by color and bound tightly in the most efficient way. My nets and fishing gear are arranged on hooks along the wall, and the firepit is lined with symmetrical stones that I chose over several days of hunting. Overall, I think the hut is large and spacious and will be a warm, enticing spot to spend the seasons with my mate, but I hope she likes it.
My mate puts her hands on her hips as she studies the hut. “This is just as I pictured.”
“It is?” I hope that is pleasure in her voice.
“I mean, yeah. Even the blankets are color coded.” She shakes her head, grinning at me over her shoulder. “You need one thing to make this our home, though.”
“What is that?”
“A couple of red handprints on the wall. And when our kids come along, they can put theirs there, too.”
My chest tightens with a swell of affection and I grab her hand once more, dragging her toward me. “Calida.” Her name is husky in my throat. “You lied to them. To all of them. You said you went with me willingly.”
“Very Slytherin of me, wasn’t it?” She gives me a proud look. “I took a page out of your book.”
“But why?”
Calida looks up at me. “Because what happens between us is between us. What are they going to do, kick you out? They didn’t do that for Raahosh and I know he stole Liz. I knew they wouldn’t do anything but bluster.” She shrugs. “So I met their bluff. I’m sure they’ll huff and puff over it for a few days, trying to figure out that we’re lying, but they can just deal with it.”
I touch her cheek, awed by my clever, clever mate. “I am not worthy of such a female.”
“Don’t think you’re getting out of being drugged, by the way,” she whispers. “I’m gonna keep that one up my sleeve for when I get mad at you.”
I chuckle. “Fair enough.”
Calida tilts her head, indicating the furs. “So, want to christen the hut? Because I wasn’t joking that I was tired.” And then she slides a hand to my cock, indicating she is not thinking entirely of sleep.
Suddenly, neither am I.
28
CALLIE
Everyone tiptoes around us in the tribe. Well, maybe not my cranky-seeming M'tok. No one seems to tiptoe around him. It's me they treat like a stick of dynamite that's about to go off. The moment I emerge from M'tok's hut in the morning, people are watching me. They eye me with curious expressions and talk in soft voices, like I'm recovering from some sort of trauma. I don't know if it's funny or sad. When I go to get my things out of the women's cave, everyone acts strange. They won't make eye contact. It's not that there's anything wrong, it's that they don't know how to act around me. I notice my bedroll has been tidied and all my stuff placed in a basket. Either they were expecting me to come back dead…or expecting me to move to M'tok's hut anyhow. Kind of amusing. I'm sure I'd be pissed if we still hadn't fulfilled resonance, but now that we have I can't find it in me to be angry anymore.
It's time to get on with my life.
I do notice that Penny's bedroll has been neatly stacked next to mine. So it is true that she's missing and S'bren snatched her away? It jarred me to hear the others talking about that when they approached M'tok and me on our return, but it took a little time before I could process what they meant. Penny was kidnapped, probably drugged like I was, by nice and sweet S'bren, the big lug who lets his brother run the show.
I'd bet ten bucks M'tok was the mastermind of all of it. I’m irritated at that, but I think about big S’bren and the adoring looks he’s been casting in Penny’ s direction for weeks now. I’m sure she’s going to be safe, but annoyed. I’m trying to work up a good annoyance, too, but I just keep thinking about…how happy I am. How great things are working out. Maybe I’ll save that irritation for later, then, when I’m less satisfied with life.
After I've settled my things in the hut, I feel weirdly lonely without M'tok at my side. This morning, R'jaal and two of the sa-khui arrived on our doorstep, insisting that M'tok was going hunting with them. M'tok just kissed me and promised to bring back some fresh meat and left with them. Either he's getting a private scolding or it's bro talk, but I suspect it's the former. He looked as if he expected it, though, and squeezed my butt affectionately before he left so I wouldn't worry. I'm not worried. He can handle himself.
I just don't know how to interact with the others now that I'm no longer Callie-the-Angry. I can hide out in the hut all day, but that's not very exciting. Instead, I think of the decorated tunic I'd made for M'tok that we had to leave behind. Maybe someone here's better with dyes than I am. We have different plants, so that means different things to try.
And I'm excited to try. I hop out of the hut and head toward the main fire, thinking. Hannah will have all the herbs and know what we have stored. I'll need some bowls or plates, which means I'll have to hit up the storage tent to see what I can pillage from the cleaned bones that everyone carves for utensils. And Brooke still has pink ends in her hair, which tells me she's used to dealing with dye back home. Maybe she's experimented here, too.
I spot Brooke by the main fire, braiding Harlow's bright red hair. She looks sleepy, her pink-and-brown hair pulled into twin tails on both sides of her head. Harlow cradles her infant while listening to Gail, who stirs the large pouch over the fire and looks to be teaching Devi how to cook something. Devi listens with wide eyes, nodding, a spoon in her hand.
"Did I miss all the shrimp tea?" I ask, sitting down with the others.
Harlow smiles gently at me, rocking the little one in her arms. "No shrimp tea yet. Devi's learning how to make morning porridge."
"Morning porridge. I'm up for that." My stomach grumbles at the thought. "Put me down for learning tomorrow, Gail, if you have time." I think for a moment and then add a "Please."
Gail looks surprised, then pleased. "All right. I'll tell Vaza he gets Z'hren two mornings in a row. You want to learn how to cook?"
"Breakfast at least," I say, hugging my knees. "We got down to nothing but dried fish in the cave and that's an experience I wouldn't like to repeat again. The more I know, the better."
The women groan in sympathy. Brooke shakes her head, her fingers buried in Harlow's hair as she weaves an intricate braid. "Let me guess. M'tok was all chest-beating man and swearing that fish was perfectly fine for all meals, right? I keep telling Taushen that humans don't like fish for breakfast and he looks at me like I'm crazy. I told him, you try being pregnant and chowing down on something with a face and fins, thank you."
"It's not the face as much as the smell for me," Harlow says, wrinkling her nose. "Pregnant or not." She studies me for a moment as Devi and Gail turn back to stirring. "So…did they drag your new mate away this morning?"
"Hunting trip," I agree. "You knew?"
"Rukh took Rukhar with him," Harlow says. "So I knew it wasn't a hard hunting trip, just a quick one and probably more talk than hunting."
"Lots of bluster around the camp last night," Brooke admits, tying off one of Harlow's braids. "Things about how they need to make sure that he knows to treat you right, and how things are run in camp, and he can't just do what he thinks is right and has to take account of your feelings, blah blah blah. It's a cross between a pep talk and a lecture, but it's all harmless, I promise. You're happy, and he's happy, and it was a mutual escape and not against your will, right?"
"Right," I reassure them, lying. "All's well that ends well." I nod at the braid she's finished. "Can you do my hair, too?"
"Of course!" Brooke sounds thrilled. "Just as soon as I'm finished with Miss Natural Redhead right here, I'd love to shove my hands into your hair."
I smile, liking Brooke's no-nonsense enthusiasm. She s
eems happy with the tribe and content in her place. I know she's not a huge hunter like Nadine or Penny. There's quite a few of the women that do their own thing. I like that and it's time I stopped wishing for the inevitable. My heart squeezes a little as I think of the family I left behind, but they'd want me to be happy. So I'm going to be happy. "Did you dye it pink yourself?"
"I did, but back on Earth. I haven't been able to figure out the right combination for hot pink here. Yet." She lifts one hand and crosses her fingers.
Her answer excites me and I sit upright. "Have you been messing with dyes, then? I wanted to dye some thread to do embroidery on my tunics, but the only colors I could manage to get to stick on the sinew were a red and a green. Now that we're back, I want to try other colors."
Brooke gives me a thrilled look. "I've been mixing a lot of leaves and some of the leftovers from the fruit cave, trying to make different shades of hair dye. I bet we can do something similar with thread. I have a whole experimenting section in the back of our hut. You want to take a look?"
"I'd love to."
"First, you two need to eat," Gail declares, shaking her spoon at us. "You're both pregnant. Babies need food."
And I flush, because she's right. I AM pregnant. And I'm starving. Strangely enough, I love the lecture. It's like being scolded by my mom. Impulsively, I get to my feet and move to Gail's side, then hug her.
She hugs me back, laughing. "What was that for?"
"For being a mom." And because I miss mine.
She pats my back. "This mom's going to give you double this morning. You need to eat up."
* * *
After I eat, Brooke and I talk dyes and she shows me what she's working on back in her hut. She has a whole color spectrum of attempts she's working on, from a dark, dusky purple that came from a sea creature to a bowl that smells like bleach and has ingredients I “should not ask about” but will be good for white thread. We start a few lengths of sinew on colors, letting them sit and soak, and then there's nothing to do but wait. Brooke decides to take a mid-morning nap, and points to her slightly distended belly, where her pregnancy is just now starting to show. "This one really likes midmorning and late-afternoon naps. Sometimes both. Come back in a few hours and we'll hang your threads to dry and see what we've got."