Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
39
A'TAM
H'nah will not stop talking.
I force myself to listen, even though I want nothing more than to shake the female—and her agreeable mate—as they speak. It is my fault, I remind myself. I asked about the fruit cave. H'nah and J'shel spent several days there and talk about its warmth and greenery, and the fruits dripping from vines. Of the warm pool to bathe in. I think my Br'chit would love to visit such a place, and so I inquire about the best and easiest route there.
But H'nah loves to talk. She means well, but I want to leave the gathering. I want to go and join my mate, who left early. I need to make sure she feels well. What if something upset her stomach? I can make her tea and tuck her under the furs. I can rub her back until she feels better…but not if I am trapped here in a conversation.
To my dismay, Shail arrives, joining in the conversation. "You guys are talking about the fruit caves? Do you think you are going back soon? Because my stores of dried fruit are running low and I'd love to get more."
"Oh!" H'nah exclaims, her face lighting up. "We were just talking to A'tam about making a trip! I'm sure we could go back when the weather turns, though we might have to wait until the worst of the brutal season passes. What do you need? Maybe we have some of it in stores?"
J'shel's mouth twitches and he glances over at me. His eyes seem to say “I understand.” After all, he is newly mated, too. He knows what it is like to want to track down your mate and smother her with kisses.
I try to listen politely as the two females begin to talk about leaves and fruit and making something called a com-pote. My tail twitches, and I glance toward the entrance of the longhouse. No sign of Br'chit, but she is not one to rejoin a gathering. If she does not feel well, she will not hunt me down and demand that I spend time with her. She will suffer in silence, because she is not good at asking for things.
"I'm sure Vaza and I would love to go with you two. I'm getting a little stir-crazy around camp," Shail says. "If you don't mind a couple with a baby tagging along, we'd enjoy a trip."
"We should plan it out, then," H'nah says, beaming. "Right, love?" She reaches over and touches J'shel's long braid.
He leans over and presses a kiss to his mate's shoulder. "I think A'tam's mate needs him. Can we talk it over in the morning?"
H'nah blinks, looking over at me. As if for the first time, she seems to notice my impatience. "Oh goodness, of course. I haven't forgotten what it's like to resonate." She blushes and bites her lip, looking over at J'shel.
He just grins, which makes her give a flustered giggle. J'shel turns to me, a smile playing on his lips. "We will talk of such things in the morning, yes?"
I am utterly grateful for his understanding. Perhaps Tall Horn—J'shel's clan—is not quite as foolish as I thought. I give him an eager nod, murmur my goodbyes to the females, and pick my way out of the dwindling crowd. Most of those left in the longhouse are those that do not have small children. R'ven and U'dron's music has gotten louder, the dancing more festive. F'lor and S'ssah are sharing a skin of sah-sah with Sam and R'jaal. In the corner, N'deen and Th'rand are all over each other, and W'lla sits on Gren's lap, a drowsy smile on her face. Even O'jek seems to be having fun…or at least D'see is. She weaves little bits of shell into a braid by his ear, her expression focused as I'rec tells a story to both of them.
I look at the group and I realize…it is a good one. I am happy. It reminds me of faint memories from before, of clan gatherings. Of all four clans feasting the night before sending off hunters for the proving games.
We are a people again, I realize, and emotion chokes my throat. It does not matter that all the faces I see are not Shadow Cat clan. Some are Tall Horn. Some are Strong Arm. Some are red. A'tar is gold and scaled. Many are hyoo-man or sa-khui. And yet…they are all my family. We care for each other and work together to make life better, just like any clan would. We hunt and fish together. We play silly games and drink tea by the fire together.
And soon, Br'chit and I will have a child that will be of this new clan.
I feel some of the brittleness in my heart fall away at this realization. The old ways are not gone. They will be added to new ways, and the clans will go on. More Shadow Cat will be born, and more will join us when O'jek and I'rec resonate. Maybe over time, even the outcasts will join us all. That will be interesting.