Chapter 16 Grighri
GRIGHRI
I’d managed to restrain myself last night.
I’d slept on the same large pallet, but other than making certain he was comfortable and cared for, I had done nothing else.
I couldn’t, not without him understanding this wasn’t merely some dalliance, perhaps fueled by the exotic nature of his furless, stripeless body.
He was my mate, and since he didn’t seem to recognize it after being well exposed to my scent, my mission to teach him our language became even more important, as how else could I get across to him that he was my forever, and I was his?
He was mine to love, cherish, provide for, and protect.
After wrapping his feet after seeing how scraped up they got on the stone ledges we walked, I fashioned him a belt so my shirt didn’t billow so much, making him look even smaller and more frail than he truly was.
I needed to get him some clothing of his own, which disgruntled me some as I liked seeing him in my shirt, covered in my scent.
I was being unnecessarily territorial, and I knew it, shame filling me as I remembered how I reacted to innocent members of my community after first smelling the mate match scent upon him, once the overriding stench from the dead metal grak and the Sky Demons was off of him.
I held my hand out to him, and he took it.
His hand felt so small within my own, the bones so fragile, I wondered what his world had been like.
Did they not have dangerous predators, and that was why he possessed no claws?
Perhaps it was also always warm, hence why he was furless.
Food must also be easy to get, as his skin was so soft and smooth, unworn by callouses.
As I led him out of our home, I was torn between fury at the Sky Demons stealing him and bringing him to such an unsuitable place and gratefulness, because if they hadn’t, I would not have found my mate.
I could only believe that fate had deemed me able to keep him safe, happy, and well, which caused me to feel no small amount of pride.
“Whar ruh wee gohing?” he asked me, the scant fur above his eye ridges coming down towards each other adorably.
I patted his arm gently in reassurance, surmising that he was curious as to where we were going. “We are going to the market,” I replied, and he stared at me uncomprehendingly.
He let out a sad little sound. “Ah khant understahnd yoo soe ahwill hev tu wayt hand see ah gess.”
We were getting curious looks as we walked, people openly staring at him with frank curiosity.
I could hear snatches of conversation as discussions over my finding and returning with him and the hunters going back out yesterday to check out the dead metal grak fueled the morning gossip.
I walked us as swiftly as Rah-bee could easily manage, eager to get our shopping excursion over.
Soon, we were in the large common area of our settlement.
Here, wooden stalls filled the central space, brimming with wares.
I knew where I wanted to go first - to Hrapargh, the bookseller.
“Eetz uh bahzahr!”
His looks of wide-eyed amazement were adorable. If his people had no markets, how did they trade goods?
“Greetings, Grighri,” Mragella, the meat pie seller, called out to me as we passed.
She inclined her head towards Rah-bee. “I heard you’d found an off-worlder, stolen by the Sky Demons.
” She smiled indulgently at him, as one would a child.
Rah-bee was sniffing the air appreciatively.
“The first batch is about to come out of the oven. I’ll set you two aside, hmm?
” I gave her a curt nod. “Yes, thank you. I am sure my mate will enjoy one of your pies as much as I.” Her eyes widened.
“Mate? That is wonderful news indeed. I did not know the gods could pair us with those not of our own kind.”
“Neither did I, but the scent does not lie. ”No, it doesn’t.,” she agreed soberly. “Have you told Grishk?”
I shook my head. “Until the stench left on him by the Sky Demons was washed away, I could not scent him.”
She nodded sagely. “I’d heard you’d taken him to the baths, and your reaction makes a lot of sense now.”
I winced, knowing what she wasn't telling me. By now, speculation was no doubt rife and she’d actually gotten my attention in order to confirm the suspicions of everyone who’d heard about my behavior there.
“You should go speak to Grishk before returning home,” she said firmly. “Don’t worry, I will keep your pies warm for you.”
“I will,” I agreed, my heart heavy at the thought.
What if the chief disapproved? This would be the first mating of its kind in the history of our people, and perhaps its strangeness would repel him.
Or maybe he would insist we journey to the Great Speaking Chamber, where the Speakers of our various people could make the lights dance to call upon the Sky Gods, who would answer.
Would the Sky Gods come to take my Rah-bee away, as he was not of this world?
If they did, I knew, I must follow, as Rah-bee was mine.
The thought left me sad, as all I knew of was here, but that would no longer be enough, not without Rah-bee.
“We shall return for the pies,” I informed her and she gave me a small smile as I reached into my pouch to give her one of my chits, one with a grakal carved upon it, which would allow her to go to the butcher and exchange it for an appropriately sized portion of the meat I brought in.
“Keep your chit,” she said, waving it away. “Consider this a welcoming gift for your mate.”
I dipped my head in thanks, tugging Rah-bee away from her shop.
“Whuht wuz cukingh? Eet smehld soe guhd!”
I stopped, bending down and nuzzled his cheek, causing him to giggle.
“Tihkulz!”
“Come,” I told him, straightening back up and continuing us along our way. Moments later, we were at the bookseller’s shop, where hide scrolls created by our peoples competed for space with the stiffly bound volumes created by the Star Gods and written in our language.
“He’s a little one, isn’t he?” Gragrowl, Hrapargh’s mate, asked by way of greeting. “Are they all this tiny?”
“All?” I queried. “The hunters came back with more like my Rah-bee?”
“Aye,” came the response. “All wrapped up in furs and it was late, so only the hunters who went and the healers have seen them. Well, and Ghrisk, I shouldn’t wonder.”
“Did they say how many?”
She shook her head. “No. Just that there were four, maybe five? Along with the dead bodies of a few Star Demons they also found.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “They should have left those for the grakal to find and eat. Foul beings!” she hissed.
Rah-bee had let go of my hand and was silently running his hand over the books on the shelves.
“Eez this uh liebrayr ree?” he asked.
“He knows what books are,” Gragrowl observed, watching him.
“Oh, he’s definitely from a civilized world,” I agreed. “One where he does not need to work hard, things are so easy. His hands and feet are incredibly soft.”
“Poor thing,” she said softly. “ He’s lucky the grak fell here and you found him.”
“Mmm,” I hummed in agreement. “I need a primer, so I can teach him our words.”
She smiled widely. “Excellent idea! I know just the one! My grandson has one just like it.”
“Cheebol has started school?”
She nodded emphatically. “He has! I cannot believe how quickly he has grown! It seems only yesterday he was a mewling kit in a basket. Though we won’t have long to miss those days, as my son and his mate are now expecting a kit of their own, and it’s due around the end of the Colorful Sky time.”
“A most auspicious time,” I observed, not knowing what else to say, as truly, a new cub was always a blessing, so there were no inauspicious times for them to be born. None that I could think of relative to the seasons, anyway.
“Indeed!” she said, rummaging through a stack of small, thin books stacked on a table in the corner. “Ah, here it is! It is a Star God book, so it’s not cheap, you know,” she said, turning, the slim volume held up in her hand.
“How much?” I asked, relieved that my traps had been full lately.
”Eight chits,” she said.
I stared at her. Eight chits? That was enough to trade for an entire hargral to roast!
”Don’t look at me like that,” she chided me. “It’s brand new. If it’s too much for you, I can look to see if I have a used copy…”
“Six,” I offered.
“Seven.”
“Five.”
“Five and two bits.”
Five was fair, I decided, and the two bits would be enough to trade in for a small cured hide to line a baby basket, so I could consider that almost as a gift.
“Five and two bits,” I agreed, reaching into the pouch at my waist to pull out the carved disks. She took them from me and handed over the primer. “Rah-bee, my mate, here.” He turned, hearing his name. I held the primer out to him.
“Fohr mee?” He said, looking at me quizzically.
I waggled the book at him. “For Rah-bee.”
He took it, opening it to see what was inside. His face lit up. “Ahr yooo goheng tuh teecsh mee tuh reed?”
“I think he likes it,” Gragrowl said. “And you should have told me he was your mate! That is amazing and wonderful! I would have only charged you four chits and 2 bits in honor of your mating.”
“I need to get him to understand,” I confided.
She snorted, moving her hips suggestively. “Some things you don’t need words for.”
“I wish him to understand what it would mean. That it’s not a dalliance.”
She nodded. “Fair point. Tell your mate I send greetings and congratulations on your new grandkit.”
“I will,” she promised.
I grasped Rah-bee’s elbow, and he let me guide him out of the shop.
“Whehr we goheng?”
I figured out easily enough that he wanted to know where I was taking us next.
“Chief Ghrisk,” I replied simply.
”Cheef Grehessk,” he parroted back.
“Yes,” I replied, nodding.
”Oh kay.” He trotted along happily at my side, his primer in one hand, his eyes darting about, drinking in the sights about us in obvious delight.
Now if only the chief proved to be as happy.