Chapter 33
GRIGHRI
“I understand you! You’re speaking eenglush!” my Rah-bee said excitedly.
“Negative,” the Sky God healer replied in my stead. “You are speaking his language.” He then switched to the Sky God language, and Rah-bee replied, again, seeming to stumble over the words at first, as if searching for them before he spoke.
The Sky God healer hummed in what sounded like a pleased manner, then tapped his fingers on a table with lit up symbols on it, the same table where he’d tapped some of those symbols right before the helmet came down from the ceiling.
This time, it seemed to make the helmet release with a faint hiss and began to rise back up from whence it came.
Rah-bee’s face was revealed, his eyes blinking rapidly and watering.
“Tooh bhuriet!” he yelped, blinking furiously.
“Rah-bee,” I told him soothingly, releasing his hands to wipe his eyes dry for him. “Can you see? Are you alright?” I was very afraid that he had traded his sight for our words. If he had, could the Sky God healer fix that as well, without taking the words or anything else away?
He smiled weakly at me. “Yeah,” he replied, his hands grasping my wrists. I…I think so. There was a bunch of ahntz, well, it felt like there were but not really, and then stahtik, and now I can understand you and wow…I really am speaking yehtee now!”
“Mhee nekst!” Sahm called out, surging forward.
Rah-bee laughed, then dropped his hands as he looked past me at her. “Ohkae, ohkae, leyt mee git dowhn beefohr yu buhm ruhsh mee fohr mie seet.” He refocused on me, changing language this time with ease. “Let me up. Sahm wants her turn.”
I stepped back to allow him to place his feet on the floor. He stumbled, and my hand shot out to steady him.
“There may be some dizziness for a short while. It shall pass,” The healer informed us.
“Thanks for the advance warning,” my Rah-bee told him, his tone snarky.
I sucked in a breath, hoping the Sky God did not take offense.
“Apologies,” the Sky God replied to my relief. “I should have told you to expect that.”
One by one, first Sahm and then the others, sat down and wore the helmet. All except the last male, whose name I forgot, who first had to lie down and have much table tapping and lights shone into his eyes from a stick in the healer’s hand.
I didn’t pay much attention to any of that.
I was too busy enjoying this moment, standing off to one side, Rah-bee looking up at me, his arms around my waist and mine around him in turn.
We said nothing, each of us simply savoring this moment, knowing that from now on, we’d be able to speak with all the words.
Rah-bee was the one who chose to break that moment, his lips quirking up.
“So, I hear we’re mates? That you giehz have only one and you can tell by scent.”
“Yes,” I replied hoarsely.
“And you’re really happy that’s me? You really like me for me and not just how I smell?”
“Yes,” I replied again, wondering why now that we had all the words between us, that was all I could seem to find to say.
He gusted out a sigh, looking relieved. “Cool. Because I really like you. Um, and not just because you’re the really nice guy who saved me.
It’s more than that. Yes, at first I think I was, um, drawn to you for the safety you gave me, but then I saw through your differences, to the hot bahd and how I felt when you touched me, and looked at me, and oh, shit, I’m not doing this right. ”
I chuckled. “Are you trying to say that you find me appealing as a mate, my Rah-bee?”
He flushed that delightful shade of pink that meant he was embarrassed. It was as adorable as always.
“Yes! So, um, how do we do this?”
“Do what?”
“Get mated.”
I blinked down at him. Was my Rah-bee a virgin?
Did his people not explore bodily pleasure?
It was quite usual to enjoy the bodies of friends until we scented our mate.
A mate who very well could be someone you knew, and their scent one day simply changed.
It had become rarer, with fewer young being born as a result, but with the hoomuns here and Rah-bee being my mate, perhaps that would change.
Perhaps some of the females would also turn out to be mates of some from our village.
“It’s like getting mayrheed, right? Like, do we say vows in front of our friends and then it’s recognized by everyone? All leeghul and shit?”
“Vows?”
“Yeah, you know, in a ceremony.”
Understanding flooded me. “Ah! No. Claiming a mate is private. And all will know because our scents will change so we will always smell like ourselves and each other.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He looked disappointed, which would not do.
“How do hoomuns organize their mating ceremonies? Does your village chief or Council organize them? And is it for all who have found their mates but not had a ceremony?” Whatever this ceremony was, if my Rah-bee wanted one before he would let me claim him, then I’d make certain he got one.