by Rena Marks
Kamau reached out and placed his hand over his. “None of us think any less of your daughter. She is one of ours. She is not defective, she is simply special. She has special needs, like to be coddled. And who knows? Someday she may stop leaking everywhere. Until then, we will just keep wiping her up.”
“Well, what’s that about?” Lara’s voice was perplexed as she stared at Kamau’s hand covering his.
“I don’t know, but it’s kind of sexy,” Anita whispered, enthralled with the joining.
Tristan wrenched his hand out from underneath Kamau’s. “Warrior,” he growled.
“Wait,” Kamau said. “Mine enjoys it. Perhaps it will put her in a more receptive mood...”
“No way,” he snapped, folding his arms across his chest.
“Aww, I think yours is embarrassed,” Anita said.
Lara came up and stood behind him, wrapping her slender arms around his shoulders. “It’s okay. I think it’s great that you’re sensitive with your soldiers,” she whispered into his ear.
“Warriors,” he corrected, aware that she didn’t understand his words.
“Do you think he’s sensitive?” Anita asked. “Or do you think they swing both ways?”
He growled.
“Oh, hush. He’s still embarrassed and can get your implication from the tone of your voice,” his female said to the annoying one. He didn’t envy Kamau that one. The warrior may have gotten lucky with the easiest offspring, but he had been penalized by his choice of mate.
“We shall return home,” Tristan announced. “I believe my mate is in the mood.”
“Told you they enjoy the thought of…”
“Silence,” Tristan whispered. He did not want to hear what Kamau was implying, but he wanted his tone neutral so as not to relay his thoughts to the females. He stood, but regretted it as Lara’s arms fell away.
But Kamau stood too, and that meant that his mate rose to her feet, as she was the last one seated. “We will retrieve our dish when you have washed it,” he announced.
“I will try to make my mate understand to clean this place,” Kamau said, sweeping his arm across the house.
“I think we’re leaving,” Lara said to her friend. “Titi?” she called out, and his pudgy kid toddled out of the bedroom.
“Leave the dolly here,” she said. “Give it back to Tomlak.”
Titi shook her head, her fine curls bouncing around her prominent ears. He, Kamau and Tomlak all tensed, prepared to give her the toy to avoid the shrieks that would begin.
But Lara calmly plucked it from her hands, gave it to Tomlak and tickled her fat middle, making her giggle before picking her up. “Come on. I’ll make you one of your own. It will be cloth, because I think you’ll be banging it around and we can’t keep reattaching her head.”
“Look at that,” Kamau said, amazement in his voice. “No screams.”
Tristan felt pride puff his chest. “We shall return home, my brother. Tomlak, goodnight, little warrior. We will all meet tomorrow in the main space outside.”
With a large hand on Lara’s waist, he led his females home.
They had just entered the front door when Titi began rubbing her eyes, and in response, Lara began rubbing her back. “Stay awake just a bit longer, sweet pea,” she said. “I’ll give you a warm bath and tuck you in.”
Tristan’s loins stirred. She wished for Titi to sleep well. His female would expect to be pleasured tonight, he was sure. For now, however, she made her way to the kitchen and filled the sink with warm water. She pulled Titi’s makeshift tunic over her head and laid her flat on the counter to remove her underpants.
Lara scooped Titi up and deposited her in the sinkful of water. She washed the small folds expertly, while Titi splashed.
“Careful. She is as slippery as a sea creature when wet,” he said.
Lara smiled. “Still don’t understand a word you say. But I need a towel. Got one?” She pointed at Titi, and he hurriedly retrieved a towel from the bathroom.
He could still hear her talk.
“Stuffing?” she asked. “Your pants are stuffed? That can’t have been comfortable. No wonder you’re so unsteady.”
Titi babbled back.
“The soap doesn’t smell pretty,” she said. “I imagine we’ll fix that eventually. But at least it feels good. Smooth and soothing.”
When he returned, even the top of Titi’s head had been wet and washed, her dark curls plastered against her head and her ears sticking out. Normally she howled like a banshee whenever he washed her hair, so he didn’t do it often. His mate had a magical touch.
“Towel?”
He held it out to her, and to his surprise, she placed the small, squirming body in his arms to wrap. Then she brought the towel up from beneath her feet, drying her quickly. She dumped her old stuffing into the sink, and retrieved fresh ones from the drying rack.
“Watch this, big guy.”
She folded Titi’s stuffing into a long square shape, and then across to form a triangle. She did the same to another, and then used a long piece, laying it on top of one triangle. She took Titi from his towel, laid her across a triangle and brought it up over her hips and between her legs, with the long piece of padding between her legs instead of wadded into a ball. She tied the other triangle over her the opposite way, attaching the two pieces at the hips.
Then she placed her underpants back over the contraption. The result was a much smaller bottom. It no longer matched the size of her head.
“Starting tomorrow, Missy…you’ll use the potty.”
Titi grinned.
“Let’s go find you pajamas.”
He was not sure what that was, but he allowed the female to take their offspring to her bedroom. He made use of the time to wash out her stuffing and set it to dry. Then he went to their bedroom. He pulled a candle from the closet. He normally did not use them, afraid of it being lit around the curious Titi. But the female was putting her to sleep now, so the light would set a rather ambient mood for the two of them. He whistled under his breath. It had been a long time since he’d had a woman. He was very much looking forward to this pleasurable interlude.
Once he was satisfied with the way the room looked, he started to go to Titi’s room to see what took Lara so long. At the last minute, he decided to whip off the shirt over his head so that she may look at the cuts of muscle displayed prominently there. Then he returned to the hallway and leaned against the doorframe.
Two snoring women lay on the small bed.
He sighed, and picked up a coverlet, tucking it around them both.
Chapter Six
“Trishen.” Small, fat fingers poked his eyelids.
“Ouch,” he muttered.
Then, small gums gnawed his horns. This time his eyes flew open, and he yanked the hungry youngster from straddling his face. Yawning, he carried her by one leg, hanging upside down, while her three remaining unsteady limbs flailed. Into the kitchen they went, where delicious smells had started.
“Good morning,” Lara said, brightly. “Not sure what’s going on today, but someone left six—what look like chicken eggs—on the porch. Scrambling those into a pot of potatoes and onions and peppers.” Lara saw Titi. “I told you to let him sleep.” Her voice was stern.
Tristan flipped her right side up. “Sleep,” she hollered, poking him in the eye.
He twisted his head away, grunting, and took her into the living room to change her stuffing.
She was dry.
“Potty!” She hollered.
The clue barely registered in his brain. Grabbing the naked, squirming purple body, he rushed to the facilities and plunked her on the seat. The sound of wet splashed down.
“You figured it out,” he murmured. “What a good girl. Who’s a good girl?” He gushed. He couldn’t help it. He sounded like the rest of his cooing birds.
Titi gave a toothless grin.
He lifted her from the seat, and moved her to the next spigot where warm water cleaned
her gently. After a quick pat dry, he took her to re-stuff. “Today you’ll wear your favorite dress,” he said. “For being such a good little woman.”
Titi gasped, clapping her palms to her cheeks and opening her mouth wide. “Nutlace?”
“Necklace. Yes, you may wear my pendant.”
He quickly padded her bottom the way Lara taught him and dressed her, agreeing to drape his personal pendant around her neck. Then they made their way back to the kitchen.
Lara looked at him questioningly. “She understands every word you say. But she also seems to understand my basic words. Yet you can’t understand me.”
He averted his gaze, and propped his daughter into the higher raised chair at the table.
“I baked some bread,” Lara said. “It’s warm and tasty. There’s no butter, but one day we’ll figure out how to make it.”
She plopped a piece in front of Titi, who eyed it warily.
“Yes, you must be the first to try it, little one. A big strong warrior like me could get easily poisoned if I did. You let me know if it’s good,” he encouraged. She made a face, sticking her tongue out and licked close to the piece but didn’t touch it.
“No faking. That’s just rude and she’s watching,” he reprimanded. He’d never realized how spoiled his tot was. “Go ahead. I’m sure it won’t hurt you.” He studied the weird, fluffy thing. “Much.”
“Haven’t you guys ever had bread?” Lara asked, scooping up the piece and tearing it in half. In the very center, it still smoked. She pulled a piece out and popped it in her mouth. “Mmm. I still got it.” She tapped her forehead. “Recipes all upstairs.” She pulled another piece of white out and held it to Titi’s lips.
Titi looked beseechingly at him.
“Be brave, my kid,” he said solemnly. “You are your father’s daugh…” before he even finished the word, the white fluff was popped between his open lips by Lara.
It melted against his tongue. There was no other way to describe the light kiss of sweet air within his mouth. “Mmm,” he moaned. Like a female in the throes of passion.
“I told you.” Lara plopped more of this bread in front of him, and Titi’s chubby hand reached for it.
He growled. “You have your own. Wet it and gnaw it up like you do. No more sharing off each other’s plates. We’re a real family now.”
The sweet kid let loose a curse that sounded like expletives.
He sighed and turned toward Lara. “I am sorry, my mate. I do not know why she is so out of control. I would trade her in for another, but no one else wants this one.”
A piece of the bread left his plate as Titi grabbed a handful and ate it with exaggerated slowness, licking each fat finger separately.
“Breakfast is up,” Lara said, bringing plates to the table.
A fried egg sat atop the vegetable-fry, as she’d called it earlier. His mound was bigger than theirs, and he had four of the eggs, while they each had one.
“You’re a big guy,” Lara said, at his questioning look. She whipped a cloth around Titi’s dress, tying it around his daughter’s neck.
He could have slapped his forehead. That cloth would keep her clothing clean. She wouldn’t have to look like a ragamuffin all day in front of the others. Why had he never thought of that? Is that why the other children looked so much more well-groomed? Were his warriors covering their clothing?
The egg fry was delicious, and he ate every bite. When the ladies finished, he took their plates to the sink for a wash, grateful that his mate liked the chore of cooking. Lara disappeared with Titi into the waste-relief room, and by the time he was finished in the kitchen, she re-appeared with a clean-faced kid. Titi’s hair had been wet and groomed back into tiny points that stuck out at various spots on her head. Two over her triangular shaped ears, and one smack dab on top of her head.
“Titi pretty,” she told him, fingering her necklace.
“You are,” he confirmed and turned to Lara. “Are you ready, stellina?”
“I’ll go where you go. I hope we can visit the others. It was good to see Anita last night. I’d like to know how the other girls are adapting.”
His women could babble all day long.
He held the door for them. The suns were bright in the sky already, though it was early morning. He could hear the steady hum of voices in the center of the village, where the others were gathering with their mates and kids.
“Captain,” Aello said, right fist to left shoulder as they approached.
“At ease, warrior. Let’s keep it less formal on the surface of the planet so as not to scare our mates.”
“You have mated then?” Aello looked hopeful.
“Well I would have,” Tristan snarled. “But I was sensitive. My mate was exhausted from the trip.”
“Oh.” He looked relieved. “So was mine.”
The women were again huddled together, while the children all gathered.
“We are a cliquish group,” he said, looking around.
“I am fine with anyone who can make my woman smile,” Bajoc said. Sure enough, his little mate was grinning as the females talked. “When are we going to implant them with the language?”
“Not yet,” Dronan said. “I wish to pick up on what they say to each other.”
“Agreed,” Tristan said. “Lower your voices like we’re engaged, and don’t look over there while we listen in.”
“You did not sleep with the little one!” The mud-haired one said. She was Kamau’s mate. Uh-Nee-Taa. The cruel one.
“Well, yeah,” Lara said. Tristan felt his ears grow hot as the other men looked his way. “I was singing her a lullaby and I must have just fallen asleep. I didn’t think it was a big deal. It’s not like we can communicate so I can ask him where I sleep.”
“Hmph. My guy picked me up and took me to his bed.” A dark-headed female said.
“What?” the others shrieked, their voices high-pitched and giggly. “What did you do?”
She raised an eyebrow. “What do you think I did?”
The men waited impatiently to hear the answer, but the females froze.
“They just got quiet. Are they listening to us?”
It was the females’ turn to stay silent while his men suddenly began babbling like fools, nonsensical things to make it seem as if they didn’t eavesdrop. Then the teachers began to talk amongst themselves again, albeit more quietly.
“I can’t hear,” Kamau complained.
“Let’s take a quick step backward—as a group—so we’ll be a little closer. It won’t be suspicious that way.” They managed to pull it off as a whole, but it wasn’t close enough. With a glance amongst each other, they moved in another step.
“Yours gives new meaning to the term tall, dark and handsome,” one of the teachers said to his Lara. Tristan felt a light smile touch his lips. That one was intelligent.
“Yeah, but he’s kind of cocky.”
Tristan growled beneath his breath, but Dronan elbowed him. “Shh. Don’t let on that we understand.”
“I like the silvery-gray color my guy has,” a darker haired female said. “And when he looks down at me from that height,” she fanned herself. “I go a little quivery inside.”
“Is she sick?” Aello asked, but was immediately hushed. Stars, they didn’t want to bring that kind of luck to the community.
“What do you suppose they want with us?” Chastien’s mate asked.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be any worse than those assholes on the ship.”
Tristan was suddenly glad his men slaughtered that other crew. Who knew what abuse his female suffered?
“I don’t think they cook very well. But the garden is amazing.”
“There’s some kind of lobster thing. Remember when they chased us on the ship? It’s food.”
Anita giggled. “Kama Sutra or whatever his name is was baffled after you guys left last night. After raging at him for hours, I was sweet as pie. Hopefully I can get him trained that I’m nicer when I h
ave my friends around.”
“That’s a good idea,” one of the others said. “We’ll be raging bitches, and as soon as we see another human, we’ll flip like Sybil.”
“What does that mean?” Kamau mouthed.
The rest of the men ignored him, probably because no one wanted to admit to the younger fool they had no idea.
“It’s all about the training,” a female said. “After all, are we teachers or not?”
“So where did the morning eggs come from?” one asked. “I don’t see any animals. No chickens. No dogs. Not a damn bird in the sky. It’s eerie.”
“Mine got ‘em,” a petite yellow haired female said. “The three of us went aboard their ship, and he replicated them, placing six into baskets and his son takes them to the various houses, leaving them on the porch like an Easter bunny.”
“So they have no livestock. Why do you suppose they’re here? Are they starting a new planet? Are they hiding out from someone in the skies?”
“What could they be hiding from?”
“Look at them. They’re uncouth.”
“What’s that?” Bajoc mouthed. No one responded, simply because none of the men knew.
“The way they haul us around. He checked my teeth,” Lara said.
“What? Girl, no.” The blonde’s voice sounded horrified. Was that horrifying? Even his men were looking at him oddly.
“I had to know what they ate,” he said. His voice was high-pitched, like he tried too hard to justify his reason. So he tried again. “I didn’t want her to starve.” The odd looks continued.
“You baked bread?” Anita asked Lara. “This morning?”
“Yes. It’s a tiny bit different. Not as fluffy as normal, because what I used for yeast had to be adapted. I added a bit of lemon juice to the milk. And of course, there’s no butter to spread on it. That would probably make the differences less apparent, if we could slather some on.”
“I have some baking soda,” one of the girls said excitedly. “What if I could get my guy to replicate it?”
“We’d have an unlimited supply. It could be used for so many things.”
“What do you have it for?” Another one asked.
