by Pepper North
She had, however, seen an opportunity while the two Nrantians were talking. The door was wide open. She had not been outside without Srih constantly by her side. Her previous solitary life had been lonely at times but had provided her with ample privacy. Naja had always enjoyed her own company.
Turning in the living space to recreate Payi’s position when they had been coloring, Naja recalled the direction that Payi had pointed to indicate where she and Oreg lived. Naja slipped around the open door when Srih wasn’t looking and ran toward where she believed Payi must live.
Unable to run very far due to her size and the increased gravity, Naja quickly had to slow to a walk as she panted to regain her breath. Why couldn’t I have ended up on a world with less gravity? She thought as her eyes combed the landscape looking for another Nrantian house. There! She spotted another house that looked fairly close. Naja adjusted her heading and walked as quickly as possible.
About halfway there, she heard a rustling in the greenery behind her. The noises got louder and closer. Naja kept increasing her pace until the sound came from what seemed like inches behind her. Bursting into her fastest run, Naja raced for the door.
She pounded urgently on the door, yelling, “Payi, Payi, Payi! Something’s after me. Help!”
When the door slid open, she fell inward landing on her knees in front of a large pair of Nrantian legs. The color of the fur was faded. She glanced up hoping to find Oreg. Instead, she saw a strange Nrantian who she knew immediately was female. As she searched her brain to apologize in her new language, three muscled arms picked her up and whirled from the doorway while the fourth slapped the control panel next to the door.
The heavy panel was almost closed when four slender legs thrust through the door and began to fight to wedge it open. Naja could see the glistening of multifaceted eyes looking through the opening. She shivered against the Nrantian as they focused on her. Prey. That’s what she appeared to be. Frightened to the bone, Naja clung to the unknown Nrantian who whirled and began to push the door closed.
It was a battle between the two Nrantian creatures. Naja closed her eyes in horror as the door began to slide open. The creature is winning. Her thoughts flew to Srih and tears began to run down her face. How had she been so stupid? He would be so lonely again.
A sudden commotion sounded outside, Naja’s eyes flew open to see the legs ripped from the doorway. Grunts of effort sounded as the door closed sealing the two inside safely away from the threat outside. The Nrantian set her on the ground and ran to the window to see what was happening. Following, Naja tried to look outside but was too short to look out the clear panel.
Tugging at the Nrantian’s fur urgently, Naja raised her arms to her when she turned, repeating the Nrantian word for please over and over. She struggled to understand the female’s words and knew that she was being warned that it was dangerous and scary. Naja lifted onto the tips of her toes, repeating, please. To her surprise, it worked that time.
Cradled against the Nrantian’s body, Naja turned quickly to the area outside the door to see Srih violently fighting against a giant beast with long legs that was attempting to bite him with massive fangs. From the corner of her eye, she saw another set of legs reach the window.
As she turned to stare in horror at the glistening eyes that paused to look into the panel at her, a spray of thick orange liquid coated the window obscuring her view. Srih! He was alone out there with two massive creatures. Naja squirmed and pushed against the Nrantian who held her, trying to get away. She tried to explain that she needed to help Srih, and that she loved him, but she was restrained tightly in the Nrantian’s arms. Naja collapsed against the warm Nrantian body as tears once again poured from her eyes.
A shout in a different tone joined Srih’s voice. And then, another and another sounded from outside the window. Naja’s head snapped up from it’s resting place to meet the Nrantian female’s eyes. “Help?” Naja questioned in Nrantian.
The kind eyes smiled at her. “Help,” she confirmed before wiping the tears from Naja’s eyes and beginning to rock her to comfort her. She kissed the top of Naja’s head as she hugged her gently to her soft body. “It will be okay, little human. Your papa will be finished soon, and he will come for you. We will stay inside to be safe, so he does not worry about you. Why were you outside?”
“I was stupid. I wanted to visit Payi to ask her a question. I went the direction that she pointed,” Naja struggled to answer. It was so much easier to listen to Nrantian than to try to move her one tongue to make the sounds their two tongues formed so easily.
“That must have been a very important question. Had your papa not warned you of the dangers outside?” she pointedly questioned.
Naja’s expression gave her away. “You will have to explain to your papa why you did not follow his instructions. He will be angry that you endangered yourself. You have also brought shame to your Keeper. You should be most sorry about that,” the elderly Nrantian female warned.
Naja nodded sadly and laid her head against her soft fur. She would take comfort while she could. Srih would be very angry indeed. “Thank you for saving me,” she whispered.
Chapter 63
When Srih signaled at the door, Naja couldn’t figure out her emotions. She was torn between wishing to make sure he was okay and sadness that she had disappointed him so much. Little did she know there was another emotion that she should feel—fright.
As the door slid open, Srih led the way into the female’s home. Immediately, her savior squeezed her just a little tighter as she spoke rapidly in Nrantian over Naja’s head. Unable to follow the rapid conversation except to pick out Payi’s name, Naja’s eyes searched Srih’s body first, trying to make sure that he was okay. Small oozes of yellow, thick liquid and a large swath of orange gore were smeared across his huge body.
She struggled out of the female’s arms to land on her feet. Pausing for a brief moment, as the conversation above her abruptly stopped, Naja pulled one of her rescuer’s large velvety hands toward her. She hugged it to her body and kissed it softly before whispering, “Thank you!” in her best Nrantian accent.
Upon receiving a nod and practiced human smile from the kind Nrantian who had fought to protect her, Naja rushed to stand in front of her Keeper. Her hands raced over his fur, brushing away the orange, awful smelling thickness as her hands searched frantically for any wounds or damage. Finding only small nicks and cuts, she threw herself up into Srih’s arms, counting on him to catch her and hold her close. After a brief pause of stiffness that kept her from his body, Srih’s arms pulled her close to nestle against his hard chest.
As the conversation restarted around them, Naja realized that the attention of the group of Nrantians who had responded to Srih’s call for assistance had been focused entirely on her as she moved from one Nrantian to the other. Usually very uncomfortable at being the center of attention, this time Naja couldn’t care less. Srih was okay. She still had him. She was never letting him go.
The other Nrantians began to depart with soft touches to Naja’s hair and back, hard pats on the back for Srih, and gentle words for the older Nrantian female. She knew they were all happy for the positive outcome of her foolish desire to visit Payi. She had been so stupid. She’d risked all these Nrantians and most of all, she had put Srih in danger. Silent tears began to run from her eyes once again as the living space emptied of all the large Nrantian bodies.
When it was once again silent, Naja felt a soft touch on her shoulder. She raised her tear-streaked face to meet the soft gaze of the female Nrantian. Again, those soft hands that had comforted her during the skirmish wiped her face free of tears. When Naja looked up at her, the female smiled again.
Immediately, Naja’s eyes widened with comprehension. She was too good at the human expression to have not practiced it hundreds of times. Naja sat up in Srih’s arms and pointed to her faded purple fur asking, “Keeper?”
“Yes, Naja. My name is Gbzi, and I was a Keeper many ye
ars ago. He was the love of my life, even when he did very foolish things.” Her large six-fingered hand brushed against the faded yellow papers hanging carefully on the wall. Beautiful drawings of the female Keeper and her human charge had been skillfully portrayed on the paper. Living memories capturing their obvious love and long lives together hung for as long as the Nrantian would live on the wall as precious memories. “Your Keeper will forgive you, too, even though he is furious that you put yourself at risk.” She paused as Naja’s eyes jumped back to Srih’s tense face.
“There will be no hesitation now. Part of this is our failure as Keepers. We knew that there was a rise in the derisp population. It was our responsibility to address it after the first attack. We discussed and postponed it for too long. Now, we will be motivated to act. They will be killed or pushed out of the area where humans and their Keepers settle. But there is a lesson here for you to learn immediately. This is not Earth. This is not the same life you led there.” She cupped Naja’s face and leaned forward to kiss the top of her head.
Leaning back, she waggled a reprimanding finger in Naja’s face. “Do as your Keeper says, little human.” When Naja’s head nodded obediently, Gbzi turned to Srih to smile once again. “I’d forgotten how sweet humans smell. Treasure every lora with your little human. Even when she has earned a punishment, Srih.”
Srih’s stiffness eased slightly where Naja’s body rested against his strength. “Thank you, Gbzi, for protecting my human. With your permission, we will come to visit you again.”
“Together, next time,” she answered with a smile and a second waggle of that correcting finger.
“Together,” Srih answered, hugging Naja tightly. He nodded his goodbye and carried Naja to the door and out into the growing greenness. Without pause, he began a swift pace back to their home. His strong legs propelled them rapidly across the blue Nrantian trawl.
Naja knew she was in trouble. She didn’t care. Srih was okay, and he was taking her home. Her eyes searched the emerging starlight as they returned home rapidly. This time her eyes did not search for a familiar formation but began to memorize the new patterns above her. This was her home now.
Chapter 64
Srih pressed his hand against the opening screen and walked immediately to the bathing chamber. He tossed her quobon into the recycler outside and stepped inside with Naja cradled in his arms. Immediately, he signaled for the cleansing liquid to begin to fill the chamber.
“Srih, I’m sorry. I wanted to ask Payi something. I thought I knew where she lived. Are you going to forgive me?” Naja asked, looking at his chest to avoid his eyes.
“You endangered yourself, Naja. That will earn you a severe punishment,” he answered in a gruff voice.
She sadly nodded, accepting her fate. “I’m sorry you got hurt. Will you be okay?” she asked, darting a glance up to his face.
“I am fine, little human. We will get clean and deal with your behavior. Then, I will need to spend time in the evacuation chamber to rid myself of the derisp poison.”
“I’m in big trouble, aren’t I?” she asked, laying her head down on his shoulder. Even though she was petrified by the thought of how he would address the risk she had unknowingly taken, she was just so relieved that he was safe. She’d been so scared. It hadn’t ever registered on her how much she depended on him. Even more, how much she loved him. He was her everything.
As the water rose, she wrapped her arms around his neck and just held on to him. Silent, unmoving, she gave him her complete trust. When his arms tightened around her to pull her tightly to his amazing muscles, she knew that he was equally thankful that she was safe as well. Whatever punishment awaited her, she had earned it. And she welcomed the absolution that she knew she would receive.
When they exited the small chamber, he dried her gently before taking her hand and leading her to the nursery. Srih sat in the gliding chair and pulled her down to sit in front of him, facing away. Gently, he ran a wide-toothed comb through her wet, tangled hair. The strokes of the comb across her scalp and through her mass of hair were calming and comforting to her nerves.
When he had tended her fully, Srih lifted her to sit on his knee. Addressing her down-turned face, Srih took her twisting hands in hers and said, “You put yourself in danger. You deliberately left the house while I was distracted by a visitor. You took a great risk and only survived because you made it to Gbzi’s home. The mass of derisps would have killed you and eaten your soft body.” He could have described the deep nerve pain that even his bulk suffered now, but he knew she was frightened sufficiently. “You have earned a severe punishment, designed to ensure that you never act so recklessly again.”
Without any further delay, he lifted and stretched her over his hard thighs. He adjusted her body so that her pale, rounded buttocks pointed toward the ceiling. Neither her fingers nor toes touched the floor. Naja wrapped her hands around his muscled calves, holding on for dear life.
Srih picked up the thick paddle that Oreg had included in that package of supplies. One heavy hand lifted it to land on vulnerable flesh.
Thwack! Instantly a red, round pattern appeared on her white skin. She gasped in reaction to the sting of the paddle. Her muscles automatically tensed as it slapped her vulnerable bottom again and again and again. Fat tears began to fall to land on his large foot.
Unable to hold herself still, Naja’s body began to try to twist on his lap, but she was restrained in place by a firm hand on her low back. When her feet kicked up automatically, another arm pressed across the back of her padded thighs, holding her pressed to his thigh. Naja heard the sound of wailing fill the room but didn’t realize that it was emanating from her mouth.
When the skin of her bottom and the back of her upper thighs had turned a deep red, and her body had limply surrendered over his lap, Srih set aside the paddle to lay a large hand gently on her flesh. As he soothed the red skin with the velvety steel of his hand, Srih’s deep voice rolled over her body to comfort her soul.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” she chanted as she stroked the flesh of his legs under her hands, trying to reassure him as much as he comforted her.
When he lifted her to hold her against his chest, Naja wrapped her arms around his neck. She clung to him as the bedrock to her stability in the challenging world where she had been brought to live. When she felt his lips brush tenderly across her head, Naja pressed herself away from the solace of his body. Offering her lips, Naja moaned with relief as his mouth took hers with passion and reassurance that he still cared for her.
Noticing that his movements were slowing, Naja pressed herself away. “Papa, I am sorry you had to punish me. Please go take care of yourself.”
Srih’s eyes flashed with pleasure to hear her call him papa. But even that joy could not counteract the poison in his system. He nodded and rose to fasten her quobon before placing her in her crib on her side. After placing a bottle at her lips and tucking the soft stuffie in her arms, Srih raised the protective barrier to hold her inside her crib.
Naja’s eyes traced his slow progress to the doorway. Her fingers crossed as she said a prayer hoping that the God who had watched over her on Earth would be able to make sure Srih healed completely. She drained her bottle and pulled the soft teddy bear to her chest. Her eyes closed in exhaustion.
Chapter 65
Naja slept fitfully. Each time she woke up, she would say Srih’s name softly. Each time, only silence followed her call. As the pinkness began to push away the greenness, Naja woke up once again. Instantly, she crossed her legs to try to stop her need to pee. Desperately, she shouted Srih’s name, hoping that he would come this time. But he didn’t answer.
She held back for as long as she could, but finally, the urine burst from her bladder into her quobon. Wet and miserable, Naja backed into the corner of the crib and dropped her head to her hands. Her punished bottom was still sore and stingy. Now she was wet. And this was all her fault. She couldn’t blame anyone except hersel
f.
Huge tears ran from her eyes to wet her knees. She sniffed loudly into the empty room. Her mind ran to the most awful conclusions. Srih had died in the evacuation room and no one would come to save her. She would be all alone until she died of hunger trapped in the crib. In complete despair, she whispered to herself, “This is all your own fault. How could you be so stupid?”
“You will not talk to yourself so harshly, little human,” a stern voice pronounced as he began to lower the protective railing.
Naja’s head snapped up! He’s okay! Bounding to her feet, she clumsily staggered across the soft mattress to the opening and threw herself into his arms. “Srih! I’m so glad to see you! Are you better?” she ran her hands over his soft fur looking for any wounds, but his body had healed. The fur covering his body was once again a dark, rich purple.
His low voice chuckled. “I’d like to be attacked by derisps often if I get this kind of greeting.”
“Don’t even joke like that,” she reprimanded before pressing her lips eagerly against his. Her hands linked around his neck as she pressed her body to his.
Srih welcomed her sweet kiss and pulled her close. His hand cupped her bottom drawing a moan from her. Srih lifted his head and chuckled once again. His little human might think about acting so impetuously with a sore bottom reminding her of the consequences for several days. He scooped her out of the bed and carried her over for a fresh quobon.
Laying her softly on her back, Srih removed the wet quobon and cleaned her skin. He shifted her to lay on her side and took a moment to admire the rosy glow of her rounded buttocks. He spread her cheeks apart widely to apply lubricant and slid the reader deeply inside her as she wiggled in silent protest. She hadn’t complained at all. I wonder how long that will last, he chuckled to himself.
