Chapter 6
Julie
"Girl, where have you been?" Kayla was the first to start asking me questions as I sat down on a bed of furs.
"Yeah, what happened?" Talia cut in.
"I, uh…" Where did I begin? "Well, two nights ago I spent the night in a cave and then last night I spent the night in a tree."
"A tree?! Why were you sleeping in a tree? Was Orsu with you the whole time?" Taylor cut in this time.
"Yes, he and I were together the whole time."
"Did you two get cozy in that cave?" Hai asked with a knowing smirk on her face.
I could feel my face turn red at her question. We had gotten cozy, but it was for survival purposes. I may have enjoyed his warmth, but it hadn't gotten romantic between us. How Gabby and her guy had formed a romantic connection so quickly I'd never understand. I'd never been able to move quickly in a relationship. My anxiety had always gotten the better of me in that regard.
"We did not." I decided to not share many details about my stay with Orsu. I'd never been one to overshare and I wasn't about to start now.
I looked around the room at all the women and noticed everyone was wearing a bonnet over their hair. Had I missed a memo about proper sleep attire?
"Why is everyone wearing a bonnet?"
"It's the culture here! Everyone with every hair type wears bonnets," Talia excitedly explained as she handed me one.
I secured it on my head and wrapped a fur blanket around my shoulders. The women continued to pepper me with questions and I told them the story of Orsu and I walking from tree to tree to stay out of the jagwas' reach and how we found his den empty when we finally arrived, but any personal questions about Orsu and I were avoided or given very short answers.
I didn't know how I felt about him. He was nice and sexy, but I had been in survival mode. How would I feel about him now that I was safe?
Eventually the questions died down and we all laid down in our beds. As soon as the last candle was blown out I settled onto my furs and closed my eyes.
Sleep should come much easier for me tonight. I was safe inside a literal mountain and I was in a proper fur bed. But instead of falling asleep as I'd hoped I just lay there thinking about what my new life would look like here. Would I find my place in this new community? Would I be expected to hunt for my own food? How long would the generosity of the guys last? Would the women and I eventually wear out our welcome or had the guys really accepted us as part of their dekes?
These thoughts kept spinning around and around in my head and I found myself wishing I could talk to Orsu. He had been so kind and understanding. I had found comfort in telling him my worries. I had to admit I missed his warm smile too. Butterflies danced in my stomach when I thought about his broad grin as he looked down at me. But I pushed those thoughts away. We were just friends, that was it.
There was a strange ache in my chest though, as if something were missing. I couldn't put my finger on it though. Maybe I just missed Gabby. Yeah, that was it. I just missed Gabby.
drawing by: Crystal Rose
Orsu
The next morning I got up early and headed for the cook fire. I hadn't slept well the night before. My heart had ached for Julie and I had wondered if she needed someone to listen to her worries so she could fall asleep. I wanted to be there for her, but I would not intrude on her, either.
I couldn't imagine how scary this all must be for her. She'd been taken from her home and now she was a new member of a dekes full of Sirrets she'd never met before. I had made the decision before I fell asleep last night that I would do my best to ease her transition to Valo Prime. I would teach her about life here and invite her to cook with me so she'd be able to do something familiar to her and maybe along the way I'd figure out how to woo her. Maybe one day she'd claim me as her mate and the ache in my heart would turn to joy.
I started a pot of porridge from the grains found in the lowlands and added some sweet spices and berries.
"What are you smiling about?" Rhaz, who had an overabundance of energy, was always one of the first of the dekes to wake.
Had I been smiling to myself?
Rhaz didn't feel like the right person to confess my feelings for Julie to. He was a grumpy male who knew little of joy and even less about love.
"He's smiling because he's thinking about that female he got to spend the last few days with…alone." Axon drew out that last word for emphasis. He was another one of our early risers. His sensory issues made it hard for him to stay asleep for long.
The males of my dekes had surrounded me last night, pestering me with questions, but I had given them little information in return. How could I explain that I knew in my very core that Julie was the one for me? My beast had known it from the moment he caught her scent. My need to be with her was hard to deny, and the ache in my chest, now that we weren't together, was ever present.
I did my best not to pay Axon or Rhaz any attention as I created a dough for my flatbread. I added some nectar and spices, then added some fruit before putting it over the fire to bake.
"Mmm something smells good." The sound of Julie's voice made my heart leap in my chest. I looked up to find her beautifully dressed in the traditional clothing of my dekes. She wore a raminki pelt top and loose pants that were cinched at the ankles. They were both slightly too big on her, but she looked comfortable and warm.
"Good morning, Julie." My voice cracked as I said her name and she gave me a shy smile. "I have some porridge for you." I handed her a bowl of sweet grains topped with fruit in the shape of a smiling face.
Julie looked down at the bowl and giggled. "Did you do this for me?" She looked around at everyone else's bowls.
"I make breakfast for everyone, but the smiling fruit is just for you," I gave her an unabashed broad grin.
"Oh," Julie remarked as she gave me another one of her shy smiles and her cheeks turned a bright red.
"I have a special dish I have been working on. It should be done soon. Perhaps you can tell me your thoughts when it's ready."
"I'd love to." Julie smiled and walked toward a table.
I had never watched bread bake so slowly in my life. Julie sat and chatted with the other females as I anxiously waited for my sweetened flatbreads to finish. Finally, the dough started to brown and I was able to take it away from the fire.
I placed the five flatbreads I had baked in a bowl and sat next to the small female I had come to long for.
"Those look yummy." Julie peered down into the bowl and licked her lips. The sight made me swallow hard and I nearly forgot to give her a piece of bread.
"Here, this one is for you." I handed her the bread and held my breath as she stook a generous bite. Not knowing what else to do, I bit into the other piece of sweet bread.
"Mmm, this is very good," Julie commented. "Your use of spices is very sophisticated. They aren't overpowering, but they do give the bread a good kick and the sweetness of the berries cuts in nicely with the cinnamon flavor."
I puffed my chest out in pride. Julie was a skilled chef from what she had told me, and she approved of my cooking. I could live off this one compliment for many seasons to come.
"Can I try one?" Gab-bae asked.
"Of course," I handed her the bowl."Please pass them around to anyone who might want one."
I had made five in my first batch and had ten more baking now. It would take some getting used to, cooking for such a large group, but it was nice to look around the cook fire and see so many new faces. With any luck, more of the hunters would luminess with the hu-mans, and in time we would have even more new faces in the sietlings those unions would create.
Thoughts of how we would have to gather a lot more food than ever before danced in the back of my mind, but they quickly faded when I looked over at Julie and wondered what she would look like heavy with my sietling. I'd give anything to pat her rounded belly as she carried our son or daughter. I shook my head of those thoughts. It was too much to think about, too much to hope for.
"Do you have a stimulant tea, Orsu?" Kayla, a female with brown skin like Gab-bae and long red braids asked.
"Stimulant tea?" Drovo asked before I could even open my mouth. It was clear he had taken a liking to the female. Kayla seemed unsure of him, however. She often gave him assessing looks, which did not faze him in the slightest. Drovo was as patient as the forest itself. Kayla could take a lifetime trying to decide if she liked him or not, and Drovo would be happy to keep her company along the way.
"Yeah, a drink that gives you energy. I don't have a lot of energy myself and I relied heavily on a stimulant drink back on Earth."
"Coffee…" another female moaned. It was Taylor, the female with the long black hair and a confident air about her.
Brexl coughed as soon as Taylor moaned. It did not go unnoticed how quickly he walked out of the cavern holding his bowl in front of his crotch. Poor Brexl; if he ever got up the courage to speak to a female, I was not sure he'd be able to string two sentences together.
"We have a few teas that provide some energy. Perhaps I can set up a tasting for you all," I suggested.
"That'd be wonderful!" Julie cheered, and her smile nearly sent me into a trance.
"I'll uh, I'll get that together right now."
"May I come?" Julie asked with an eager expression. "I would love to see where all the teas and spices are kept. Maybe once I learn where you keep everything I can help cook for the dekes, too."
My breath caught as I pictured Julie and I side-by-side cooking for the dekes. I could knead the dough and she could lay it out over the fire, or I could chop vegetables for her to add to a spiced stew. The possibilities were endless. I would gladly offer her whatever role she wanted and would be especially happy if we could work together.
"Of course, come. I'll show you the way."
I led Julie to a small storage cavern to the right of the cookfire.
"This cavern is for storing smaller things such as spices, teas, and dried herbs."
I pointed to the carved out shelves filled with small wooden containers with tight lids that Drovo had made.
Julie went to pick one up but stopped herself. "May I?"
I picked up the jar she was about to inspect. It had a pepper symbol carved into the front of it indicating it was filled with the sweet robose pepper.
"You may touch anything you wish," I encouraged as I handed her the jar. Our fingers brushed and the warm heat that had filled my soul when Julie slept on my chest came flooding back to me.
Julie's cheeks flushed a deep red as she looked down and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Thank you."
She lifted the lid off the jar and brought the container to her nose. "Mmm, it's like a sweet chili. What do you use this for?"
"If we ever get any bafilo meat, I use this to season it. Bafilo can be especially gamey and bitter, which is why we rarely hunt them for food. That, and they're nearly impossible to find."
Bafilo were huge docile creatures that blended in so perfectly with their surroundings they were nearly invisible. The last time we hunted for one was last winter when we ran out of food before the snows melted.
"Is this one of the teas?" Julie pointed to a jar with a leaf and a berry etched onto it.
"It is. This is a sweet berry tea that helps people fall asleep. You'll often see Brexl and Rhaz drinking this before bed."
"What's taking so long? I want to try some tea." Kayla walked in with a grin on her face and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked us up and down suspiciously.
"Orsu was showing me the different spices he keeps back here," Julie replied.
"Uh-huh. Well, have him show you out here where we can brew some tea."
"I guess we better get out there," Julie smiled. "Can I help you carry anything?"
"Here, this is a berry that when crushed makes an energizing drink."
Julie was happy to carry one of the jars while I carried the other. I quickly got to work boiling some water over the fire and set out two large bowls. I crushed the berries in one bowl for their juice and poured hot water over the tea leaves in the other.
Each female interested in trying the drinks came up with their cups and I filled them with a ladle.
"Mmm, the juice is really good. It's a cross between orange juice and mango."
"Oh wow, this tea tastes like jasmine," Fatima commented.
Julie took a sip of the hot tea and smiled. "You're right. It does taste like jasmine."
She glanced over her cup at me and we locked eyes for the briefest of moments before she quickly looked away.
I was happy she was pleased with the tea. Now it was time to enact the next step of my plan: show Julie all my cooking tools so she could cook as much or as little as she wanted.