by Zara Starr
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.
Do not allow him to push you to react. Not now, I thought silently.
Nine
Ella
I noted that Karr seemed to have developed a follower who looked eerily similar to him; except much younger; and I wondered if it were his brother or cousin—or whatever the relative connections were to each of the men in this place.
I was surprised at the way they were all looking at me, but the look on the face of the male who had given me the furs said it all.
The male approached me and knelt down, with Karr standing right behind him, and Karr’s doppelganger standing to the right. He pointed at himself and opened his mouth to speak.
“Buh-ale!” the male said, then pointed at me. At least these beings seemed intelligent enough to try to communicate with me, as odd as they all appeared.
“Bale?” I asked, thinking he had said it like a hay bale but then realizing that couldn’t have been right and correcting myself quickly. “Bahl?” I asked.
The male nodded and smiled, revealing flat, human-like teeth unlike the sharp and jagged teeth like the ones Julene and Karr had.
I blinked in surprise. It was strange to discover he had normal teeth when the others had such scary teeth, but it didn’t seem like any of them wanted to hurt me—at least not from their behaviors.
Bahl moved closer to me and pulled the furs from my body, reaching forward to pull at the makeshift robe I had put on. By now, it was visible where my panties and underwear had bled into it.
I gasped and shuffled to scoot further away from him.
What the hell is he trying to do now?
Here I had thought he was being caring and considerate, and now he was trying to rip my only clothes off my body.
I folded my arms over my chest and began shaking my head as I opened my mouth.
“No, no! Stop, no!” I groaned aloud, my hands reaching forward to smack his hands away from me.
What in the hell is going on here?
I was frantic to figure things out, but I felt entirely outnumbered; and with every passing moment, I found myself growing more afraid—afraid that I would never get away from these strange purple people, and even more afraid that I might never get home. Even if that meant going back to my shitty marketing job.
Karr and Bahl shared a passing glance, and Bahl stepped away from me, shrugging slightly as if he couldn’t understand what I was saying, but got the point that I didn’t want to be touched.
That was fine by me, too, because it was entirely the truth. The last thing I wanted was to be humiliated by the gawking strangers that were still staring at me with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Mouths that were filled with those petrifying and wicked teeth of theirs!
Karr walked away from me then and I perked a brow, wondering what the hell was happening. He snapped his fingers and nodded toward me. I interpreted it to mean I needed to follow him.
I peered over at Bahl and caught eyes with the younger purple male who looked almost uncannily like Karr. I pointed at him and tilted my head, but Bahl approached me and lifted my arm, scanning it curiously as he began murmuring in his strange language.
I raised a brow as Karr looked to me and began chuckling. I wondered then, what exactly Bahl was doing as he bent down and traced his thumb over my ankle. I shuddered visibly. This spot was majorly ticklish and I hated for anyone to mess with!
I tried to get away from him, tripping slightly as he moved his hand away. I couldn’t help but begin snorting while I laughed and as a result, Karr, Bahl, and the unnamed purple male all stared at me with weird expressions plastered across their faces.
I wondered suddenly, how foolish I must have sounded to them, making sounds like a pig all because someone brushed against my ankle. I shook my head as I tried to quiet myself.
Just shut the hell up, Ella. Just shut up and don’t make this any worse for yourself.
Bahl
“What did you just do to her?” Karr asked as he walked back over to me and Ella.
“I was just trying to measure her. She needs different clothes. I don’t know why she refused to let me help her. She’s going to stay frozen as long as her underclothing is wet,” I said.
“I don’t think she liked the way you touched her from the sounds of things,” Karr said.
“She seems like she does not want anyone to touch her at all. She acts like she is afraid of us,” I said, watching as she pointed at me, and then the others standing around us.
The female bellowed something and I lifted a brow. “What is she saying? She seems frustrated and upset,” I muttered. “I did not want to upset her,” I added.
“She did the same thing to me several times when I was trying to talk to her. I think she may still be in shock about things,” Karr said.
“We should really take her elsewhere. I do not think she likes the gawking. I would not like the gawking,” I said.
“Aye, let us take her away from here now,” Karr said. “I have only hours before I must go fishing again. Will you come with us or should I commission Khay this time?” Karr asked me.
“After how she has just reacted to me, I do not know if that is most wise just yet. You should introduce her to Khay, and then I will come to finish her measurements after I work tomorrow,” I said.
Karr tilted his head. “I think that you should come immediately after. The more time she is around us, the more comfortable she will become. At least, that is my hope,” Karr admitted.
I felt strange because of the female’s reaction and all I wanted to do was ensure she had proper clothing—as quickly as possible. It seemed to me that Karr wanted some shared responsibility when it came to her and I had no issue with sharing it.
But with Khay’s presence, I wondered if the two brethren would be considering a shared triad with the female.
Such a pairing seemed somewhat odd to me, as I could not imagine sharing a female with my own brother; but with consideration to our customs, I supposed it was not too strange to fathom that a triad might consist of relatives.
I sighed and ran my hand over my dreadlocks as I considered his offer.
“Aye, I agree that would be best. She does seem incredibly scared of us. Have you seen how she trembles in our presence?” I asked concernedly.
It did not sit well with me that I had no way to really emphasize my desire to help the female—and possibly ourselves.
Arh stepped forward and pushed his way through the crowd.
“Why is it that only you three get to determine what happens with her?” he asked, clearly unimpressed by the knowledge that Karr and his brother had both been given more freedom when it came to Ella.
I did not see it as such—realizing the value of her own choice when it came to all of it.
Another male, Dew, whom I knew to be a gatherer, stepped forward as he tilted his head. I wondered suddenly what he was about to say to Arh.
“The elders have made their decision. We should heed their advice, Arh,” he said. His eyes scanned across the food that still sat on the ground atop the Guayana leaf.
“Who are you to speak up on such things? You will be lucky to even be considered for her triad!” Arh said, sneering at Dew.
I quirked a brow. I could sense the men growing more territorial—as if the entrance of the new female was enough to challenge a lifetime of knowing one another. Even when it was not certain that said female was capable of mating with any of us.
“He speaks honestly, Arh. I do not think his ability to join in a triad is relevant here,” I said.
The constant challenging that Arh went about insinuating had grown wearisome to me, and I hoped with all my might that should Ella choose a triad, that Arh would not be one of her mates.
He would make it difficult for all the others she had in her grouping and I knew it without a doubt. Thankfully, the choice was left to the female and therefore irrelevant to the rest of us.
Arh did not seem to fully believe that though—his overc
onfidence shining through with his next statement.
“Honestly or not, he is a gatherer. His chances of ever mounting a female are slim to none! He should grow used to his own thumbs and their warmth! The curves of any wise female would surely never allow him passage.” Arh smirked with a cackling chuckle. “And if a knob is needed to bring cries from her quivering lips, I can assure you, I’m the one for that.”
I shook my head. The astounding arrogance he showed was cleverly overshadowed by Ella’s lack of understanding, otherwise, if she was as intelligent as Karr had led me to believe I was positive that upon hearing his perverse method of speech, she would never choose him. Particularly, with the way she had swatted my hands away.
“I think we have discussed more than enough, Arh,” Khay said, stepping closer to myself and the female. He tilted his head as he perked a cocky eyebrow up at him.
Arh frowned and shook his head. “For now, you and your brother may have the upper hand, Khay, but we all know this cannot last. Any wise female would adore having me as her primary mate in the triad. Not a single one of you have anything further to offer above myself,” Arh said.
“Except that one of our fathers was an elder also,” Karr muttered. “Were any of yours?” he asked him coolly. I chuckled but I knew that tensions were rising, and it seemed Julene also felt that way.
“You all fight amongst yourselves when we do not even know if she will live through the night. Be on with your business and allow us to take the girl to a place of better comfort. Bahl needs to measure her for clothing and I need to do a thorough examination. I cannot do such a thing with all of you huddled in and stifling her!” Julene interjected, waving her hands as she worked to move the others—mainly Arh—away from Ella’s side.
Dew
The commotion within the middle of the cave could not be ignored, and the actions of my people were a bit surprising to me. I had not expected them to be so fearful of the potential a newcomer female could bring to our tribe.
There was no denying that this creature was abundantly smaller than our kind. But I did not necessarily believe all the murmurs about her being sickly just from her coloring.
To me, it seemed that she was born this way. I could also tell that though she had five fingers on each hand, they seemed similar to our own.
Her dexterity seemed to be perfect. I watched her eat the fruits on the leaf for a long while before I decided to step forward and make my own presence known. I wondered if the female was as smart as what Karr had indicated.
She did not want to eat anything else on the Guayana leaf. I wondered if this was because of a difference in teeth—flat like those of some members of our tribe, including my own.
I knew instinctively that Arh would be the most focused when it came to the matter of pursuit. I also knew he would use his greatest strength in order to seduce her.
But as I paid attention to her eating habits, I began to develop a theory of my own and I imagined Arh’s usual methods would do him no good where this female was concerned.
The female had not even picked up the topas—which even I knew to be a great delicacy to our tribespeople. The monlas, too, was something very special, and only Karr’s family members ever seemed to be successful enough to gather enough of it.
I had no luck with hunting or fishing, but I did know herbs, plants, vegetables, and fruits. If my suspicions were correct, this female had a preference for them. I dared not voice this though, as I knew better than to give away my own tactics.
Arh would be looking for any way to sway her toward his side and any bit of information I could acquire to learn more about her would only add to my arsenal.
Where Arh did possess a great deal of brawn and strength, I possessed intelligence and wit. Arh did not have one ounce of either of these things anywhere in his bones.
I wanted to do something for her, but after Bahl had fled and returned with the furs, I did not see much for me to do.
When Julene sneered at us all, I knew there truly wasn’t much I could do, but I still hoped that the female’s interests in vegetation might bode in my favor. The feeling suddenly emboldened me.
Perhaps due to my own hormonal needs, I stepped forward and glanced directly at Arh, feeling challenged by his arrogance.
“Arh, honesty is found in his words. It is clear that the female needs rest,” I interjected.
He glanced at me and narrowed his eyes. I quickly looked over to Bahl who had his eyes plastered upon us.
To my surprise, however, it was neither Bahl nor Karr who first spoke up after my confrontation with Arh. Instead, it was Karr’s younger brother who was closer to my age—Khay.
“I feel that is quite enough, Arh,” Khay said, lifting a brow as he crossed his arms over his chest.
I found this utterly amusing and it took all my willpower not to burst out into laughter as I watched Khay regard Arh with the same arrogant smirk Are so often regarded the rest of us with. The very way in which he had folded his arms was almost a direct motion copied from Arh’s mannerisms, and I found it totally hilarious.
I knew this was neither the time nor place for ill-placed humor. However, Khay had become notorious for providing just that.
Arh turned to look back at me and scoffed, nearly in my face, his spittle spraying out across my nose as he glared at me.
“No matter if the truth is spoken or not, you will never find yourself a part of any triad; especially, when the matter of provisions is an issue,” Arh said.
He was certain to make a stab at my manhood—mainly my knob—as I knew he would. The trouble with this was he had no way of knowing exactly what I possess.
I was certain, should Ella desire to learn more, I had more of a chance of engaging her than Arh ever could. His sharp tone seemed to visibly disturb her and his personality was too harsh and dominant. I suspected the female already feared us enough and his behavior did nothing for his cause.
“You shouldn’t be fighting amongst yourselves already. We are tribesmen and this female may not even last through the night. Look at her before you begin waging wars amongst yourselves over this being,” Julene said.
I did not know what to think of her statement—whether she too felt threatened over the female’s arrival, or not, was hard to discern. Julene was already an elder and had her own triad, so it could hardly be jealousy.
From the sound of Julene’s voice, she truly felt they were making a debacle out of nothing, though I did not believe it myself.
“She survived the lake and was not devoured by the lake beast. Surely, she must be stronger than you are believing her to be, Julene,” Arh said haughtily.
I knew he would point out this belief as I was certain he too had been eavesdropping upon the elders and Karr’s conversation.
Even though he held little sway over their opinions, Arh was an active participant in tribal affairs, and I suspected that if he ever got the chance, he would challenge Karr all because of his ties to the council.
I was glad to be beyond reproach when it came to these matters, however, as I had no interest in arguing and fighting over trivial things.
My need for reproduction was the most pressing issue, aside from finding a cure for the Clivonis disease. And though Arh ridiculed me for my talents, he did not realize that it was my studies and knowledge of plants that was aiding in finding ways to eradicate the problem.
If the problem was dealt with, then the need for more females would eventually lower. At least that was what I believed from what I had been working on, though I dared not share such things with anyone.
When the time came, I would tell only the elders and Julene, because of her coveted role within our tribe.
“Does that guarantee she will agree to our customs, Arh? Does that somehow mean that we are all allowed free reign when it comes to courting her?” I asked him curiously.
Arh shrugged. “It should. I think you even recognize this, Julene. Do you not?”
He directed the question to
the only female elder, which I supposed he did in order to gain favor amongst the other males. Nevertheless, it could not dissuade me from my observations. I had learned to pay more attention to the actions of others rather than the wagging of their tongues.
“Arh, we have to ensure that this female is capable of the act of lovemaking with one of our own. You do see how much smaller in stature she is even by comparison to me,” Julene pointed out.
“You seem to revel in the size of your knob, but what if she cannot even withstand such things? Have you not seen what befalls the young bovines when they have not yet fully developed? What if she has not even reached adulthood yet?” Julene asked.
I chuckled aloud at this and shook my head. “No, the scent she exudes tells us a different story, Julene. I do not believe her to be beneath the age of reproduction. However, I do agree that we do not know the limitations of her own anatomy,” I recognized.
Arh sighed. I could tell he was annoyed with my sudden interjection, but I did not care. My sole concern was the welfare of the female.
“You think it wise to continually make a mockery of me, Dew? I do not think you possess the ability to match me if a challenge were truly issued. Who else agrees?” Arh asked, spinning around as he glanced over the crowd.
Karr rolled his eyes and shook his head. I could tell he was growing impatient and wearied of the attention the female was bringing. Not that I could blame him one bit. I, too, was becoming equally frustrated. Especially, with Arh’s antics.
“No, but I do think that careful consideration of the fact that she is a thinking creature would be wise. Don’t you agree?” I said, smiling brightly—right back in his smug and grimacing face.
Julene shook her head, but I just continued to grin. Soon enough, Arh would realize I was no fool despite my being a mere gatherer.
Ten
Bahl