by Rena Marks
The only way we have nuts are through the small creatures. They’re small enough to climb the nut trees. The trees are weedy on top, and the shallgas are able to dig in with their sharp claws. The nuts only grow way up high, on the thinned branches on top.
In the distance, I hear reverent mother’s drummer begin a beat.
“That’s probably Niki,” Lucie says. “She’s finally starting to get morning sickness.”
I grin. “She must be excited about that.”
“Yeah…not.” Lucie grins and we giggle. “I’m expecting someone else to claim a mating. Things are subtly changing with Tessa.”
“We should start throwing bachelorette parties.”
“There are a lot of us. If we keep breaking out the Midnight Margaritas, we’re going to become alcoholics.”
“I kind of feel sorry for Niki. She’s missed out on a lot of the partying getting pregnant so soon.”
“I know. We’re definitely waiting for our first one.”
“Babies come of their own accord,” Rayhaan says, winking at me.
Lucie sighs. “We’re on the rhythm method. The pull-out. I feel like a teenager.”
“I keep telling her it is unnecessary. Your body knows when you are ready for a little one. It will come even if you torture your mate by requesting he pull out.”
Lucie turns beet-red. It makes Rayhaan and Aschero laugh.
Suddenly we hear a scream reverberate through the caves. I jerk in alarm.
“What was that?”
“Byndi. Reverent mother has been trying to prolong her pregnancy, but it gets more difficult. This baby wants to be premature.”
The noise level in the cave drops and grows somber. Byndi is a full-blooded Blaedonian who mated last year. They would have gotten pregnant this winter season last year, so her baby shouldn’t be due until spring.
We haven’t even made it to fall yet.
I’ve long since finished eating, and pass it to Ash to finish off. He looks pleased at the amount I’ve eaten.
“Maybe we should see if reverent mother needs extra hands. Normally it would be Niki’s job, but this is the last thing she needs while she’s pregnant.”
I nod. Lucie looks at Ash, and again, he looks worried. “I’ll take care of her,” she says, eyes narrowed. “Only women are allowed in anyway.”
He nods, and I wonder what that’s about. He must be more worried than I thought.
Lucie leans in to kiss Rayhaan, and I nibble on Ash’s lip.
“Later?” I whisper, and under the table, I place my hand on his upper thigh. A small smile curls his lips.
His thumb comes up to stroke my jaw line. He turns my face slightly so he can nibble on my earlobe. “As if I could resist you,” he whispers.
Then, right in front of everyone, he kisses me long and deep. My heart pounds a heavy rhythm. Yep, definitely craving this sexy blue barbarian.
We turn back to Lucie and Rayhaan, and they’re staring at us. “Mm-hmm,” Lucie says to Rayhaan. “It is just like watching porn.”
My eyes widen in surprise, before a short bark of laughter escapes. I give Ash a hard press to the lips, and then she and I make our way to the healing hut.
Outside the door, the drummer sits, eyes closed as he beats a healing, soothing rhythm. He opens his eyes as we approach, and Lucie gestures as to whether or not we should enter. He nods, and we part the curtain.
Reverent mother is alone with Byndi, and looks relieved when we approach.
“Come in, you two. I was about to send for help. It looks like this little one will make his approach today.”
Her face was carefully blank, as she tries not to worry Byndi. This baby is at least a season and a half early. Of course, I’m not sure about Blaedonian gestation, so I don’t know how premature that is compared to a human infant.
But Byndi’s in a lot of pain, so Lucie and I get to work. Lucie grabs the absorbent hettria leaf and nests a few together. We place them beneath Byndi’s hips.
Lachlana has her eyes closed tightly, and she chants as she hovers her hands over Byndi’s swollen belly, trying to absorb her pain and get a feel for the baby’s position.
I sponge Byndi’s face and whisper soothing words. Her panic grows with each minute.
“Byndi, I know the contractions hurt. Breathe like this.” I show her how, and then I breathe with her. I can tell when she calms.
“You know Lamaze?” Lucie asks.
“I do. I thought it was fascinating to learn. There were case studies on how much easier labor progresses with it.”
I continue to pant through Byndi’s contractions with her.
“Thirsty,” she mutters.
There’s a shell of water, and it has a straw in it, so I place my finger over the end of the straw to capture the liquid in its length, and then bring it to her mouth. I release my finger over the end and the water shoots into her. I do it a few more times, and notice when Lachlana goes down to the table where Byndi’s legs are. She drapes a thin leather over her and opens her legs.
Just then, the curtain is flung aside and Jerobi, Byndi’s mate, bursts in.
Lachlana nods. The baby is definitely coming. He takes Lucie’s place, holding Byndi’s hand on her right side. Lucie moves to get a cart of supplies for Lachlana. Jerobi watches me breathe with Byndi, and he begins the practice, too.
Lucie whispers to Lachlana, who whispers back. They’ve switched to English. “Do you remember the incubator I told you about? Will you prepare it?” Lachlana says.
Lucie nods and from the corner of my eye I see her make her way to a tiny raised bed. Underneath, she coaxes a small fire, which should heat the upper portion of the bed. Over the bed, furs are draped like a canopy. One side is open. Lucie grabs a large waterskin, and fills it partially with heated water, then seals it. She places it on the rock bed, where it lays flat. It’s like a mini waterbed mattress.
Byndi is groaning and getting more and more uncomfortable, so I focus my attention on her. “Breathe with me.” I motion to Jerobi.
“Push,” Lachlana says.
With a scream she pushes until she tires. Jerobi soothes her as she cries, and then another pain hits. It’s an endless cycle of screaming and pushing, but finally the little one cries. Lucie guides the baby out as reverent mother cuts the cord. Lucie wipes the baby and brings him to lay on Byndi’s warm chest.
He’s so tiny and a beautiful shade of blue. He has no hair, just a soft downy fur on his head. He scrunches up his tiny face and wails.
“He has a tail,” I say. It looks like an extension of his spine at first, until my mind realizes what it is.
Jerobi laughs. “We are born with tails. They disappear as the child grows. Leave it to Ash not to tell you. That would have been a shocker.”
“No kidding.” I laugh with him.
“What will you name him?” Lucie asks, rubbing his tiny leg under the blanket.
“I think he will be Jacobi. Like Jerobi,” Byndi says. Her proud mate kisses her.
“He sleeps for now,” Lachlana says. “Miranda, please take him to the incubator while I finish Byndi. Hopefully he will want to feed after we’re done.”
I pick up the tiny infant and cuddle him as I take him to the homemade incubator. I stick my hand onto the water-bottle mattress, and it’s warm, but not too warm. I lay him on his tiny side and close the onion skin curtains to keep him toasty. Then I check the flame below. It’s burning lower now, so I add one bit of wood, leaving the small door open so I can check the heat. Then I stand next to it, keeping my hand inside, plastered on the area so I can feel temperature changes.
From her position below Byndi’s legs, reverent mother nods at me approvingly. Lucie comes and stands with me, while the new parents kiss and cuddle.
“You’re a natural at this,” she says.
I snort. “Geologist to neonatal nurse. That’s about as different as you can get.”
“He’s so precious,” Lucie coos. “I wonder what Niki’s will
look like?”
“His skin will probably be a muted blue. I imagine the tail could go either way. Do you think she’ll have a boy or girl?”
“That’s tough. Do you suppose they need a boy to rule?”
“No,” reverent mother calls to us. Lucie grins at me with Lachlana’s obvious eavesdropping.
“I was ruler before I handed the reins to my son.”
Lucie turns, surprised. “You ruled? I didn’t know that.”
Lachlana nods. “As there was not another healer trained, and Drakar was old enough to rule, I handed the job to him so I could focus on healing. I hoped he would find a wife someday so I could train another healer. This time, though, it seems several Earth women like the healing arts.”
“Shouldn’t he be hungry?” Byndi asks, and looks concerned. Her gaze looks to the incubator.
“He is fine,” Lachlana says. “He is still well-fed from being nourished through the umbilicus. It will take a couple of hours for him to feel hungry. Let him rest for now.” She brings Byndi’s legs down and there’s a pile of dirty linens on the ground beneath her. Lucie gathers them and takes them to the front door, where she whispers to someone outside. Soon we hear cheering, as the news of the baby’s birth is released.
“Since the little one was early, why don’t you two stay in the healing hut for a bit? At least until he nurses the first time.”
Jerobi nods.
“Let me know when you’re ready to leave,” Lucie says. “And Rayhaan will build a fire to warm your cave.”
“Thank you,” he says.
Blaedonians take care of each other, and I’m sure meals will be brought to the new parents.
I stroke the baby, and suddenly yawn. Now that the adrenaline has worn down, I feel tired. Lucie looks at me.
“Aschero is in the hallway with Rayhaan,” she says.
“Yes, Miranda. Go rest,” Lachlana agrees.
“Thank you for your help, sister,” Byndi says, and her eyes well up with tears. Hormones out of whack.
I make my way to her while Lucie takes over monitoring the warmth of the incubator. I lean down and kiss Byndi’s forehead, then high-five Jerobi. “Congratulations, you two. I’ll see you soon.”
I wave at Lucie and Lachlana.
Out in the hallway, Drakar sits with Rayhaan, Aschero and the drummer. They’re whispering quietly.
“How does he look?” Drakar asks, jumping to his feet.
“He appears healthy, just small.” I turn to Ash. “You forgot to tell me Blaedonians are born with tails.”
He looks surprised for a minute, then chuckles softly. “I guess I did. Surprised, were you?”
I lean my forehead to touch his. “Yes, silly. You need to work on sharing things with me.”
The other men are quiet.
“Let me take you to our cave and I’ll work on that,” Ash says. He swings me up into his arms, and we make our way down the hallway.
“That baby is adorable,” I say, as I nibble on his ear. “I wonder if ours will have your blue skin and blue eyes.”
“Perhaps she’ll have your green eyes and brown hair,” he says.
“He’ll probably have a combination of our skin,” I continue. “And a tail.”
“She could be tail-less, like her mom,” he counters.
“I think he’ll laugh a lot, like his daddy.”
“Laughter?” He laughs. “That’s my best feature?”
“Oh, yes,” I say, seriously. “That’s what attracted me to you. You’re so positive. All the time.” I lean back in to lick delicately at the whorl of his ear. “That and your ass, sexy man.”
“Do you want to start practicing for that baby, mate?”
“I do, but this one will have to be a quickie. Let’s get you naked before I pass out.”
He sets me down and we’re frantically pushing clothes aside before we collapse on the nest in a frenzied mating of tongues and soft stroking. It’s about five minutes of heavy foreplay, five minutes of fucking and five minutes of coming hard, my body clenching around his.
And then I’m out.
It’s a normal sleep this time, not the bone-weary collapse from the overdosing. I sleep for a period of several hours before my bladder wakes me with its calling.
Ash is sleeping soundly next to me, despite my wriggling. I must have officially joined the land of the living, because I really have to pee. Quietly, I slip from the furs and toss a thin tunic over me. He mumbles, but doesn’t wake.
Chapter Seven
The lighting is low in the hallways. I shiver, my teeth clacking together. But I head down to the community bathroom we use. The curtain is open, so I step in and close it behind me. I do my business, and wash up in the small bidet. There’s another one that flows from the rock wall. We use that one for hand washing, and it cuts into a trickling stream, down to empty into the bidet area. There’s a soapcake here, and as I lather my hands, it scents the small room. This cave was dug out as an extension, so it’s itty-bitty compared to the natural caves. It also smells slightly of dirt, but I like it. It’s an earthy smell. There are some drying leaves and I use those on my hands. I’d forgotten how yummy the clean, lemony smell is. I wipe the back of my neck and face off with it.
The glow rock is slowly dimming in the room, my cue to leave. I pull aside the curtain and make my way back down the hall to my own cave. But around the next bend, a man steps up to me.
“Miranda,” he softly whispers.
Cio.
He looks sad, and I feel sorry for him. He’s not a bad guy, he just wasn’t for me. I hope we’re still friends, since I don’t remember where we left off. “Hi, Cio. Are you okay?”
He shakes his head. “I haven’t been okay in a long time.”
“Why not?”
“I miss you.”
Of all the things he could say, that’s certainly not what I expected. I’m not sure how long I’ve been mated to Aschero, but I’d like to believe I’m faithful. No, wait. I’m sure I’m faithful to Ash. I love him. But there is still a black hole during our mating I can’t fill with memories.
“Cio, I’m sorry. But I’m mated now. I love Ash. You’ll find someone else and you’ll be happy, too.”
“No, I won’t be. I had a chance to be your mate,” he says. “Aschero stole it from me.”
What a strange man-thing to say. I wasn’t entitled to be either man’s mate, so there wasn’t actually anything to steal.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “I love Aschero. I always have. That’s why I’m with him now.”
Cio’s dark eyes study me intently. “If I had forced you into mating, you would be saying that about me right now.”
Alarm hits me, along with confusion.
“No one forced me.”
His eyes gleam, as if he’s excited to tell me something I don’t know.
“That’s exactly what happened.”
“No, Cio,” I say gently. “It’s not about who forced me into mating. It’s about who I fell in love with. I’m sorry, but it wasn’t you. It was never you. I was just trying so hard not to fall head over heels for Aschero that I wanted to fight it by seeing you at the same time. It didn’t work. I still fell for him.”
“I’ve waited my whole life for a mate and child. A family. Several of us were orphaned young when the flood hit. This was just another opportunity stolen from me.”
Entitled much? It seems several of the children orphaned during the flood feel that way. Adretta being the first, and look at where she is now.
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
I move to head back to my cave, but he reaches out and takes my arm.
“You wanted your freedom, Miranda. It was so important to you that you were seeing several of us. Me, Brit, and Diont. You made it clear to everyone that you wanted to play the field, as you called it. You sampled a lot of Blaedonians when you were unmated.”
I can feel my face pale. I did that to Ash?
“Are you lying?”
/>
He looks surprised, and I know he’s telling the truth.
“No. Why would I lie about that?”
“Because you would love to confuse me, and get me to leave him. But you know that’s not possible, don’t you, Cio?”
He leans in. “It is, Miranda. I know you’ve been ill. You can try again, with someone else. You were happier once. Without him.”
“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” I whisper harshly. “Aschero is the only one for me. I love him and I will not live out my entire life without him.”
Now his face has paled.
“You lie.”
“I’m not lying. I love him and it’s none of your business.”
“Miranda, you are not acting as yourself. The person that you were before the illness.”
“Really? Well, if you weren’t worried about Ash and I being mated, you wouldn’t be slinking in the hallways, trying to make me believe tales of being unhappy with my life. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, and I know it.”
With the last word, I stomp to the kitchen, where a few early risers are preparing breakfast. In the kitchen, it’s my lucky break. Niki sits at one of the tables, a small vegetable cake in front of her and a cup of tea.
I sit with her. “Where’s Drakar?”
“I left him sleeping. I was so excited to feel something with this pregnancy, and now that it’s hit, I’m not quite so excited.” She rubs her belly and looks queasy as she stares at the small cake.
“Nibble on it,” I say gently. “You’ll feel better.”
She takes a small piece and chews slowly.
I watch her carefully. She looks so miserable. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Did Aschero and I mate while I wasn’t ready? Was I really dating four men at once?”
Her chewing stops, and it’s all the answer I need.
“So I was the planet’s tramp?”
“No. You were just fighting your feelings. It was always Ash that you loved. Never any of the others. He knew you loved him, but you were scared to tie yourself down.” Her voice sounds guilty.
I nod so she’ll continue. “I’m not upset with you. I just need to know everything.”
“Talk to Ash. If you really don’t want to be mated, I’m sure we can talk Drakar into doing something about it.”
