by Kacey Ezell
“Dama,” Deluge said and dipped his head in respect to his mother.
* * *
“I greet you, my offspring,” Reow, Dama of the Night Wind Clan said to her children. “And you as well, sky Hunter beloved of my kita.”
She dropped to her four feet just inside the threshold of the room and leapt to the central pedestal. Behind her, Cunning Blade, Deluge’s only male sibling sauntered, murmuring his greetings to Deluge, Mhrand, and Death as he did so.
“Susa informs me that Flame has just arrived on a suborbital,” Reow said as she began to nonchalantly groom her face. “Blade and I must have just missed her. As soon as she arrives, we can begin.”
“Begin what, Dama?” Deluge asked. “Is there…I just came home. I didn’t know that you had called a gathering.”
“I haven’t,” Reow said. “But you are all here, and I have news. As do some of you, I suspect.” She turned her penetratingly blue eyes on Death, and slow blinked a smile before continuing to wash her face.
Blade leapt to his own perch next to Deluge, and took a moment to rub his cheekbone against his brother-kit’s in affection. The two of them had always been allies and close friends, especially when their sister-kitas would gang up on them.
“How was the council?” Deluge asked in an undertone. He had no doubt that Reow could hear him if she chose to do so, but she seemed completely content to groom her lovely fur and wait.
“Interesting,” Blade replied. “Dama will tell you all about what took place.”
“I’m sure,” the big Hunter pressed. “But I want to hear your interpretation as well.”
“My interpretation? I’m not…That remains to be seen,” Blade said, and turned to look at his brother-kit with an appraising eye. Deluge slow blinked a smile at him and then raised his paw to his face in a deliberate echo of their dama’s unhurried mannerisms.
Underestimated me again, did you? Deluge thought while satisfaction curled through his mind. Someday, my dear brother-kit. Some day you will learn that just because I am big and jovial, that does not make me stupid.
In the meantime, Death and Mhrand made their way over to rub against Blade and exchange scents and affection. Deluge listened with half an ear to their pleasantries, but kept an eye on the doorway. Before more than a few breaths had passed, the panel slid up into the ceiling again and Susa reappeared, holding Del’s smallest sister-kita in her arms.
“Susa,” Reow said, putting her paw down. “Really, she is a Hunter grown! You should not carry them like kittens any longer.”
“Dama, she—” Susa started to say, but Silent Flame cut her off by leaping out of the molly’s Human arms and onto Reow’s center pedestal.
“Dama,” Flame said, “I greet you.”
Deluge sat up straight at the sound of her voice. Flame was usually very soft spoken, but her words flowed with ease when among family. Now, though, her tone was tight and briar-bramble rough. He cocked an ear forward to listen more closely. What was wrong?
“I greet you, my kita. Your contract is fulfilled, I see. You are injured?”
“It is of no consequence,” Flame said. “An inconvenience, only. Else I would have gone to the infirmary to see Jhora first. But Susa said you were gathered here, so I asked her to bring me.”
“We can wait, little one,” Reow said. She reached out a paw and stroked her youngest kita’s ear. “If you are injured—”
“No,” Flame said, her rough voice firm. “It is as I said, an inconvenience. I will seek the Healer after.”
“As you choose, mighty Hunter,” Reow said, slow blinking her approval. “Then, I suppose that we are all assembled, and we should begin.”
“Shall I give you privacy, Dama Night Wind?” Mhrand asked. Reow looked at him for a long moment and then twitched her ears in the negative.
“You are beloved of my kita and welcome to this council. I believe that some of our discussion today will concern you, unless I miss my guess,” she said.
Reow stood up on her hind legs then and reached inside one of the pockets on the utility harness that she wore. Deluge could see her withdraw some kind of token—something shiny—but he couldn’t make out the details before she palmed it and closed her fingerpads around it.
“I have been offered a contract,” she said. Deluge’s tail twitched in surprise before he could stop it. Beside him, Death shifted as well. Blade, however, was conspicuously still. Reow looked at each of them and then held up the token, angling it so that the light fell full on the face of it.
It was round and blue, with a tree embossed on it. Deluge felt a thrill of shock and recognition zing through him. A Peacemaker’s badge?
“Word has come from the galactic Capital. Less than a standard month into her term on The Commission, Governor Sissisk has died. Peacemaker Hrusha recovered her body, and has been selected to represent our race as Governor. Thus, she will retire her badge, and the Council has nominated me as Peacemaker Hrusha’s replacement.”
Deluge drew in a breath as the questions threatened to bubble out of him all at once. Around him, his siblings gave voice to their own excited concerns and curiosities. Reow held up her other hand, and the babble ceased. She slow blinked at the instant response and then folded both paws around the Peacemaker badge, which she returned to her pocket.
“The contract pays extremely well, and will double our liquid assets within the first galactic year,” Reow said. “I am of a mind to take it, but you are grown members of this clan, and therefore, I would hear your counsel.”
She turned first to Death, her oldest kita and slow blinked a smile.
“Perhaps now would be a good time for your news, dear one,” Reow said softly. “As it very well may factor into your siblings’ thoughts.”
If Death felt any disappointment at her apparent failure to surprise Reow, she did not show it. Instead, she nodded gravely and stood up on her four feet. Deluge felt a surge of pride in his magnificent sister-kita as she began to speak.
“Mhrand has sired a litter of four upon me,” she said, her voice ringing proudly through the space of the parlor. “Jhora says that I and the kittens appear well engaged in a healthy, normal pregnancy, and I expect them to arrive after perhaps a season.”
Noise and congratulations tumbled out of Blade and Flame then, and Deluge happily added his own felicitations to the tumult. Reow, however, said nothing, merely slow blinking and holding eye contact with her oldest daughter-kita.
“I greet you, Damita,” Reow said then, her words soft, but cutting through the noise like a knife through flesh. “And name you my Heir.”
Deluge was close enough to Death that he could see her swallow hard as she fought to contain her emotions. She remained very still, eyes locked with her mother’s, until finally her composure broke open, and she grinned wide in the Human style. Mhrand let out a short howl of triumph and threw himself into an embrace with the Hunter that he loved.
“The rest, tell them the rest,” Death’s lover urged her, and Deluge could see that the sky Hunter’s own grin split his face.
“We have decided,” Death said, a little breathless. “That is, I have asked Mhrand…and he has agreed…to form a life bond. To join our clan. To become one of us!”
This part Deluge didn’t know, and so he was one of those who burst into noise this time. He also came to his feet and leapt at his sister-kita’s lover in joy. The two of them went down in a tangle as Mhrand, laughing, tried to fight off his soon-to be brother-kit.
“Very well,” Reow said, and as before, her words stilled the wrestling chaos. Deluge pulled himself out from under Mhrand’s grey shoulders while Reow watched them all with indulgent eyes. Mhrand turned and inclined his head to the Hunter who had borne his love.
“Dama,” he said softly. “I am grateful for your acceptance.”
“When the litter has arrived,” she clarified. “Then I will become your Dama. I ask you both to wait until then, just in case.”
In case of what, she di
dn’t clarify. Deluge could see in the twitch of Mhrand’s tail that he didn’t like the idea, but Death inclined her head obediently, and therefore he had no choice but to do the same.
Better that he learns to accede to Death’s will now, a tiny, sardonic corner of Deluge’s mind whispered. He will need that skill, if he is to be her life-mate.
* * *
After the announcement of Death’s pregnancy and heirship, Reow decreed that they would adjourn for a feast. This caused Mhrand no end of confusion.
“Why are we going to eat now?” he murmured softly in Death’s ear. “Nothing has been decided!”
“Other than my heirship,” Death corrected.
“Well, that was always going to happen. You’re the first to breed, beloved, who else was she going to choose? No, I’m talking about her contract as Peacemaker. Didn’t she say she wanted your input? Especially yours, I should think, as Heir!”
“She did. And she will get it. She is just giving us time to consider what we will advise. Beloved, we should go,” she said, standing up on her back legs and looking around the parlor. “Everyone else has left. We will be late.”
Mhrand stood all the way up, too, and stepped up so their chests were touching. He rubbed his face against hers, and stroked his fingerpads down the length of her back as far as he could reach. She felt her breath leave in a sigh and relaxed into his touch.
“Beloved, I hope you know,” he said softly. “There is nothing in the universe as important to me as you and our offspring. You are the center of my galaxy.”
“And you are mine,” Death responded on a purr. “Come what may, we will have each other and our kittens.”
“Come what may.”
Death pressed her cheekbone against his again and then stepped reluctantly away from his embrace. He flicked his ears flirtatiously at her, which made her slow blink a smile as she dropped to all fours and padded out of the parlor.
While they had been the last to leave, they were not, it seemed, the last to arrive in the dining room. Flame and Deluge were both missing, but the others were gathered in a rough circle, eating bowls of spiced, shredded Khava meat. Reow looked up as Death and Mhrand walked in.
“Sit anywhere,” Reow said. “Deluge took Flame to the infirmary, so we’re not being particularly formal.”
“So I see,” Mhrand said softly. His tail twitched over and brushed Death’s, and she followed his gaze to see Susa seated cross-legged next to Blade.
“She is our molly, and she is part of the family,” Death said. “You knew this.”
“Yes, but…to eat with a Human? I’ve never seen it done before.”
“Where have you seen a sigiled Human before, love? Do not be tiresome,” she said with a sigh. Mhrand’s ears flicked, and he turned to her with a slow blink.
“You are right. I am sorry, beloved. Let us sit with your family and eat.”
“Your family too, soon.”
“Soon,” he agreed, but it was too late. All of the golden, buoyant happiness of their embrace moments ago had drained away, and now Death merely felt tired.
Still, one had to eat. Especially when one was carrying four lives within oneself. She lowered herself to the padded surface of the room, and a service bot appeared from a doorway in the far wall. The bot carried two bowls of the delicious Khava over and set them down in front of Death and Mhrand, then chimed and began to roll back the way it had come. The scent of the meal wafted up to Death, and she suddenly felt ravenous. Her instincts pushed at her to devour the entire bowl as fast as possible.
She reached out daintily and took a small sliver, then placed it in her mouth and savored the taste. Self-discipline was paramount. Always.
They ate in relative silence for a few moments, until Mhrand looked around and spoke up.
“Dama of my beloved, may I ask something of you?”
“Of course, you may ask, beloved of my heir,” Reow said in measured tones after swallowing her bite. “What would you have?”
“I would know the story of your clan, mighty Hunter. I would raise my own offspring with the stories of their clan-founder’s might ringing in their ears.”
“Then perhaps you would speak too loudly,” Reow said. Mhrand blinked, unused to her brand of dry humor. He glanced over at Death.
“She is joking with you,” Death said quietly. “She likes to play with words.”
“Indeed, I do, Mhrand. My apologies. Your question was well phrased, and I mean no offense. You should know our story, after all, so I am pleased to grant your request.”
She sat up and gently pushed her bowl away with a delicate forepaw. Another service bot materialized out of nowhere and whisked it away as she began to wash her face.
“I do not know the name of my original clan, nor that of she who bore me,” she said. Death, who had heard this story many times, felt Mhrand stiffen in surprise beside her. Reow paused in her washing and looked over at him.
“Does that surprise you, young sky-Hunter? I suppose it must. I have come to learn that kittens, such as I was, are greatly prized in our society. I have no idea why I was the exception, but apparently, I was. My first memories are of hunger and loneliness. I came to awareness all alone, and when my infant eyes opened, I saw only the dirt and roots of the melik trees around me. My claws were soft still, and yet I knew that I must eat. I had just begun my life. I was not yet ready to surrender it.”
Death felt something twist inside her at the familiar story. She’d always felt a great deal of pity for the kitten her Reow had been, but this time, something was different. Perhaps it was the four strong, fierce heartbeats she’d heard earlier that day, but a slow rage began to build within her mind. Who could take something so precious as a newborn kita, and leave her to die all alone in the jungle of their home world? She had lived, of course, but that didn’t change the monstrous nature of what had been done to her. Death thought that, perhaps for the first time, she could finally begin to understand the depths of that monstrosity.
“My first attempts to assuage that hunger were nothing to sing about,” Reow said wryly. “But eventually, I found a newly-dead carcass and was able to eat. Then I slept, and was nearly killed by a Basreen. I think she thought I was already dead, because when she realized what I was, she began to teach me.”
“Teach you?” Mhrand asked, incredulous. “A Basreen?”
“Yes,” Reow said. “She was a very good teacher. From her I learned the two fundamental laws of the hunt: watch, then find a way.”
Death slow blinked at the memory of her dama repeating those words over and over again as she and her siblings grew in size and prowess. Reow had always emphasized that hunting was a mental activity before it was anything else. She had required the four of them spend entire nights observing vids of different species around the galaxy, learning their language, their customs. She would quiz them on what they had learned and would require them to use that information to make conclusions about those species, based on logic, and what they’d observed. The four of them had planned out thousands of hypothetical contracts on myriad different targets…but in the end, it always came down to those two principles. Watch. Find a way.
Soon, Death thought, joy pulsing through her. Soon I will teach our young ones those lessons, beloved. And you will be beside me.
“I stayed with my teacher for three years,” Reow was saying. “By that time, she was very old. She put me in the way of other Hunters, and left me so that she could die in peace. I have always honored her memory.”
“Of course,” Mhrand said. His ear twitched, and Death slow blinked at him again. He didn’t understand yet. Of course he didn’t, it was such a strange story! But he would, in time.
“The Hunter that found me was a healer, and he and his lifemate allowed me to stay with them until I reached my majority. Then I went out and accepted my first contract. It was a well-paying one, and from there I started to amass the fortune that I would need to build this den and begin my Clan. When the time w
as right, I found a willing male, and conceived my children. Shortly after their birth, I found Susa and brought her home…and now soon, you say that you will join us.”
“It is my greatest desire,” Mhrand said, and Death pressed her shoulder against his as the love inside threatened to overwhelm her.
* * * * *
Discussions
Much to Deluge’s delight, a feast followed.
Reow announced it was time to eat, and they left the discussion and followed her through the twisty corridors of the Den. It might have seemed abrupt to some, but Deluge knew her ways enough to realize this was just Reow’s process. She had dropped the bomb of her nomination during the initial gathering, now she would give each of them time to reflect and would probably solicit their individual opinions later in private.
He fell into step beside his youngest sibling as they walked. Well, he walked. Flame limped, heavily favoring her left side, broken ribs marked by a deep scar.
“Rough contract?” he asked softly. He let his shoulder bump gently against hers. He didn’t think he’d hurt her, but apparently, he was wrong. Flame let out a hiss of air between her teeth.
“I am pleased to see you,” she said. “But please don’t do that again.”
“My apologies. I can see that it was. You are headed to the infirmary?” He kept his tone pleasant, but underlaid with steely intent. Flame had always been the smallest of them, and though she was fully grown, that hadn’t changed. He, on the other hand, was quite a bit larger than the average Hunter. Polite questions aside, she would go to the infirmary next, one way or the other.
She looked over at him, a question in her eyes. He twitched his ears in the affirmative. If it came to it, he would simply pick her up and carry her.
Flame let out a sigh and took the next turn to the left. Deluge kept pace beside her as they started to wind their way back to the infirmary section.
“Care to talk about it?” he asked.
