Tribe Outsider, page 3
part #2 of Chosen Series
When they emerged from the safety of the cavern, the contrast of beautiful, sunny weather and the devastation to the landscape around them was jarring. When Lily could tear her gaze away from the ruin, she saw all her guys staring off into the distance in the same direction. They were looking farther down the mountain range.
By the worried looks on their faces and the little they had managed to share with her over the past month and a half, she assumed their people were somewhere in that vicinity, and they were worried for their safety. She knew if she was separated from her family, with no way of knowing if they had lived or died in the storms, she would be a wreck. It made her miss her mom and grandmother keenly, but she had a new family now and they needed her.
Lily walked to her men and pulled them into a crowded but heartfelt and much needed hug. The four of them stood together on the cliff, staring out at the destruction below them and the stunning sky above for a long minute, before turning back to re-enter their cave, their home for only a little while longer.
Frrar was concentrating on packing up what was left of their food stores and didn’t notice Lily sneaking up on him from behind until she wrapped her arms around his waist. He grunted in surprise but didn’t jump or call out as he used to. He was accustomed to his playful mate by now and wasn’t often startled enough to shout when she surprised him.
As he turned in her arms to face her, a happy smile curled his lips. He had never met a Pasha so frisky and quick to play with her males. As Tor liked to tell him, he was often too serious, so it had taken him awhile to get used to her impishness, but he found he liked it very much. He could not change his nature, however, she encouraged him to relax and enjoy the lighthearted moments with her in a way he hadn’t since before his parents died.
When he first saw her, a strange, yet beautiful being wandering through the forest, he could not have imagined how perfect she would be for each of them. It was almost as if the Goddess had brought her down from Ishmae, their little moon, and placed her in their path because She understood how much they needed Lily. That she was also a Healer was more than he had ever hoped—only the best of the best males were permitted to Present themselves to Healers, hoping to be Chosen.
And yet, Frrar was already uneasy about his Lily only having three mates because his three fathers had not been enough to protect his Mother. Her small harem worried him even more because she was a Healer.
They always had a bigger harem than most, not just because they were rare and precious needing more protection, but because it was her, and by extension her males’, duty to care for the whole tribe. A Healer needed enough males to protect and care for their younglings and assist her in her Healing duties, in addition to protecting and caring for her. Frrar, however, was conflicted when it came to his Lily Choosing more mates.
He wanted her safe more than anything and a larger harem would help to ensure that, but imagining her Choosing others, possibly even males not from his tribe that he couldn’t know were worthy of her, made his chest tight and his stomach twist.
He did not want his Pasha to experience the derision and rejection he and his harem brothers had endured because of their differences. The thought of sharing her with strange males that might not appreciate her uniqueness, who might be Presenting just to belong to a Pasha— any Pasha—and not his Lily in particular, made him feel tense and protective. He thought, more than once, about not returning to the tribe at all, instead staying in the cave she seemed to like so much or carving out their own territory in the forest. But that would leave his Lily without the protection the tribe offered, and he could not bring himself to do that.
Thinking about Choosing made him remember how long he and his harem brothers spent Searching without coming across any other males or Pashas on their own Search. Perhaps he would finally find the answer to that mystery when they rejoined his tribe… which brought his mind back to what he had been doing and why.
They were leaving the caves that day.
The waters had receded completely, but he wanted to leave early and travel along the mountain to the tribe’s cave in the hopes of catching them before they returned to their territory. The return trip would be much safer for his Lily and his harem brothers if they were with their people.
If, for some unknown reason, they did not manage to reach them in time, they would at least be closer to the portion of the forest where they made their home. Then they would not have to travel for hands upon hands of cycles, through dangerous territory, as he and his harem brothers had when Searching .
He had been the one to decide they were leaving that day, and yet, he had been packing up their food long enough for the sun to finish rising and the light to fill their cave. He knew that was why his Lily had approached him. Under her smile he could see the questions and concern peeking through.
How did he tell his mate that he was strangely reluctant to expose her to his people even though he knew the safest place for her was with them?
He was worried the females would not accept her. He tried to convince himself that her abilities as a Healer alone would be enough for them to welcome her, but he knew females were very territorial. Even other shevari Pashas were kept at a distance for a time when they joined them from another tribe.
There was a good chance they would not allow Lily to live with them because she was not their kind. If that happened, they would have no choice but to leave and seek out their own territory, and there was no way the three of them alone could keep her safe living in unsecured lands. They had barely kept her safe while constantly on the move traveling to the caves and had nearly lost Arruk on their journey… and had lost their Pasha’s citri .
She would need another two, possibly three, mates to help them to protect her. He would have to talk to Tor and Arruk about his worries. Between the three of them, they should be able to keep the unworthy males away from Lily and only let males they knew to be honorable near her. He already had someone in mind he thought would be perfect for her but they would have to find the wandering, reclusive male first.
Lily pulled him from his troubled thoughts when she tugged on him to bring him low enough to wrap her arms around his neck.
Some of the tension released from his shoulders at her embrace. Enfolding her in all his arms, Frrar stood back up, lifting her until she could coil her legs around his waist, and he could bury his face in her hair.
“My big, overprotective worrywart. Everything will be okay, so long as we have each other,” she whispered in his ear, but as hard as he had been trying to learn her tongue, he only understood okay .
It was enough.
He knew what that word meant, knew his Pasha was trying to tell him that all would be well. Frrar nodded his head where it rested against the top of hers, so her hair shifted and rubbed against his cheek.
“Yes, my heart,” he agreed, fierce determination filling him.
It would be okay. He would make sure of it.
If his tribe would not accept her or if they could not find worthy males to help protect her, then they would just have to find a way to join her tribe on Ishmae, the little moon.
Their embrace was interrupted by the arrival of an arguing Tor and Arruk coming to see what was wrong, or in Tor’s case, what was taking so long.
“I am not whining like a youngling!” Tor argued, insulted Arruk would say such a thing. “I enjoy it when she mounts me, or when she has me mount her, as much as you do! Although, I will say I am still getting used to mounting her. I like it, very much, but sometimes I feel like my Mother is going to appear behind me suddenly and tear my ears clean off for doing something so, so…improper !” he exclaimed with a shiver, imagining his Mother sneaking up on him.
He reached up and rubbed his ears to remind himself they were still there and unharmed.
“I was just asking why you think she wants to mate so often. Sometimes I worry that, with as much as she makes our malenesses swell, they may stay swollen and never go down again. I do not think I would like that. At all.”
Tor tilted his head, thinking about that for a moment, then added, “Unless it would make her mount me more than she already does. That I would definitely like! ”
“You talk too much,” Arruk rumbled from beside him, a long-suffering expression on his face.
“I do not! You talk too little!” he retorted.
“As I was saying,” Tor continued, narrowing his eyes at the bigger male, “Do you think she is trying to get with young already ? Shevari females usually wait a few cycles before accepting her harem’s seed and stop mating when they’re with young, but our Lily is not shevari, so we can not… ” Tor kept rambling until he realized his last question had made Frrar and Arruk freeze in place.
They were both staring at Lily, still wrapped around Frrar like an urduk kit, wide-eyed as if they had not once thought of her swollen with a youngling. Tor harrumphed.
“Do not look so panicked.” Tor rolled his eyes. “She is different. For all we know, her people only breed once a season, like the giant aviarr . Or her constant need to mount us is just how she shows affection. Or perhaps males of her kind take longer to imprint, and she believes we need regular mountings to build a strong bond,” he shrugged. “We do not even know if she will be able to use our seed.”
Arruk made a startled grunt next to him.
Tor turned to him in time to see expressions of sympathy, then panic and dread flicker over his face in rapid succession.
“If… if she can not use our seed, will she keep us as ma tes?” Arruk asked, his voice a quiet rumble, as if speaking the words too loudly would make them come to be.
Tor felt the same fear, visible on his harem brother’s, face fill his chest. That had not occurred to him, he had just been talking without thinking.“I… I do not know.”
“She would not discard us,” Frrar proclaimed. “She has already told us and shown us in every way she can that we have her heart. Both of you should know her better than to think she would reject us and leave us to pine,” he growled, sending him and Arruk narrowed-eyed looks of censure.
Tor’s tail curled in on itself at the admonishment on Frrar’s face, and he dropped his eyes, ears stiff in shame.
“You are right,” Arruk muttered lowly. “I am sorry. I did not mean… It was just fear speaking. I know she would not discard us. But what will we do if we truly can not give her young?”
Tor raised his gaze again when Arruk spoke, in time to see Lily uncoil her legs from around Frrar and drop to the ground. She had been observing them quietly as they talked but was now looking from Frrar, to him, and Arruk with a frown on her face, her odd brow fur pulled together.
“I do not know,” Frrar admitted, “but… unless she speaks to us about it, I do not think we should question he r. She will know whether she can use our seed. If she can not, she has not tried to share that knowledge with us, so she may not want us to worry, and if she can, then she is clearly not ready to do so yet.”
Tor nodded, understanding and agreeing with Frrar’s decision on this.
Seeing that Lily was starting to look upset, Tor realized that even though she could not understand most of their words, she understood their tone just fine.
Wanting to distract her—since he did not want to have to explain their conversation to her—Tor waited until Lily looked at Frrar then quickly snuck up behind her. Wrapping all his hands around her small waist, he picked her up, spun her around, and brought her to his chest. Lily made an odd squeaking sound, but when he peeked down at her he could tell she wasn’t truly scared, just surprised.
When Tor saw Frrar open his mouth, he knew he was about to chastise him for startling their Pasha… again. Before Frrar could say anything, Tor turned and bounded away with Lily in his arms.
Lily laughed, and he smiled at hearing it. He had wanted to distract her and it seemed he had succeeded. Tor slowed to a walk once he had put some distance between them and the other males, and looked down to see her waving over his shoulder at Frrar and Arruk, still standing where they had left them .
Keeping her held to his chest, Tor climbed atop one of the stone mounds, what Lily called islands , and sat. Folding his legs in front of him, so his Pasha would have a place to sit her tailless rump, he set her on his lap.
“Tor…”
Her voice sounded chiding, but he could see she was trying to suppress a laugh so he just rumbled at her and flicked the tip of her adorable little nose with his tail.
“Frrar nu Arruk make go . Lily nu Tor talk kut tribe .”
Tor was trying to tell her, with a mix of her tongue and his, that his harem brothers would finish packing. He wanted to tell her about his people and his home. His Pasha was very brave, but Tor could tell she was uneasy about joining his tribe. He thought telling her about them might ease her worries.
Chapter 4
L ily walked in between Arruk and Tor, all of them following Frrar to the exit of the cave. Her emotions were a mess, and she was having trouble pinpointing the dominant feeling.
She was sad about leaving the cave; they had been there for over a month, and it had come to mean more to her than just safety and a secure place to ride out the flood and storms. It had begun to feel like home. Yet, she was also excited to finally leave and see more of the planet.
Her cabin fever had gotten serious lately. She missed the sun on her face—even if that sun wasn’t the one she was used to—and the wind in her hair. She was terrified the fish aliens would find her, nervous about meeting the guys’ tribe, and dreading another encounter with the huge predators, which she learned were called pantari. Despite all of that, she was excited about going on an adventure.
She was anxious to get back to the forest for another reason, a reason she hadn't shared with the guys because she knew how unlikely it was to be true.
She wanted to look for any sign that Seti or her babies had survived.
She believed Arruk when he said they hadn't lived through the fall, but maybe because she hadn't seen it herself, she was holding on to the slim hope that he was wrong and she would find her pet. Between the flooding and tornadoes, she knew the chances were beyond remote but holding on to the possibility made her feel better.
I miss that goofy little furball so much.
Lily took a deep breath, trying to center herself and calm some of the emotions roiling inside her, and reached up to adjust the pack on her back. She had insisted she carry one of the woven leaf packs Arruk made, partly because she wanted to do her part, but also because she didn’t want to leave any of their few possessions behind.
She wasn’t usually a materialistic person, but here on this planet she was having a hard time leaving anything behind—the mats and pouches she had painstakingly woven, her supply of over-ripe dirty sock fruit she used as moisturizer and conditioner, and the coconut things she had hollowed out for bowls and cups .
This planet wasn’t like Earth where you could just go to the store to replace something if you lost or broke it. You had to make it which could take hours or even days of work.
Lily paused after they exited the mouth of the cave, tilting her head back and closing her eyes, taking a moment to appreciate the sun’s meager warmth on her face. It wasn't as cold as it had been while the storms raged, and it was significantly warmer outside than it was down in their cave, but it was still chilly. Goosebumps rose on her bare legs when a cool breeze blew past, sending a shiver up her spine and making her miss her pajama pants.
I am so not looking forward to meeting the in-laws pantless.
When she opened her eyes, Tor was looking from her to the sky in confusion, as if she was a puzzle, and he was trying to understand why she was just standing there like a crazy person.
Lily snorted a laugh and shook her head. She started walking again, prompting the guys to continue on as well. She ignored the side-eye Tor was still giving her and glanced back at the hole in the mountain face that had been their home.
Bye, cave. I’m gonna miss you.
“Frrar,” she got his attention, then pointed back, “can we go back to our cave next utek ?” she asked, using their word for year that loosely translated to full hand of seasons . “When Sakra comes back?”
“Ees , mek Lily,” Frrar answered with a smile, gently coiling his strong tail around her arm.
They still had a hell of a time pronouncing some of the words in her language, particularly the ones that required more lip and tongue movement. She understood he was trying to say yes , and returned his grin.
He had a twinkle in his eye that told her he knew exactly what she was really asking and understood why. Lily was trying to think of joining their tribe like she was going to meet and live with her in-laws instead of what it really was—a lone alien joining a foreign tribe of other aliens. She wanted to know if they could separate from their people so it would be just the four of them again, even if it was only for a month or so.
Of course, that was if they accepted her to begin with. There was no guarantee they would. She had caught the worried looks the guys shared whenever they talked about the tribe, but she was choosing to hope for the best.
It’ll all be ok… so long as they don’t try stabbing me with spears…
They traveled along the mountain face, Lily walking when she could or being carried by one of the guys when the path got treacherous. When that happened, they were forced to climb or, when it got really bad, jump from cliff face to cliff face.
No matter how many times they did it, and despite her unwavering trust in her guys, she hated the jumping.
And the climbing.
She never got used to it, and it was always terrifying, sending her heart into her throat until she felt like she was going to choke on it.
She spent the time she was able to walk trying to distract herself from the roughly two hundred foot drop below them by watching the wildlife around them. The animals were all so alien, yet almost familiar at the same time… if she squinted and tilted her head just so.
