19. Nidori knows shit about people
19
Nidori knows shit about people
Talon
N ight fell, the only indication in the cave a slight change in light. We seemed separated from the rest of the world—no changes in temperature, the air still and stale.
I was packing my sleeping roll into my pack when Nidori walked over. She had a troubled look on her face.
“You all right?” I asked. Kaine glanced towards us.
“No. I need to talk to you boys,” she said, rocking on the balls of her feet. I put down my pack, worried, lowering myself to my knees.
She plopped down and laced her hands together, looking up at me with her luminous green eyes. She beckoned Kaine over, and he sat beside me, hand resting casually on his knee.
“I know you’re both very beautiful.” She started. “But it’s really very irresponsible of you boys to try and have a baby now, no matter how cute it would be.”
“What?” I choked out, trying to process what she had said. “A baby…?” Maybe I hadn’t heard her right .
Nidori pursed her lips. “Don’t try and lie to me, Talon. I saw your sexual reproduction last night.”
I froze, skin prickling as cold flashed through me. I gulped. She gazed up at me, maintaining a serious expression.
I looked at Kaine for help; he was staring at the floor, shaking. With silent laughter, I realised.
“I know I’m his wife, but obviously there are parts of a proper marriage I can’t fulfil yet ,” Nidori said. “And honestly, I’m happy he’s found that in you. But now is not the right time.”
“No, hang on,” I said desperately. “Kaine was hurt, so I just gave him some blood?”
Nidori frowned. “That’s strange. I saw your length. Stamen? Peni—”
“Ahh! Stop right there!” I said, cheeks burning.
She folded her arms, narrowing her eyes. “So you were trying to procreate.”
Kaine squeaked. I looked again; tears were pouring down his face as he tried to breathe.
Nidori patted his knee, a sympathetic look on her face. “I know, Kaine. But we should wait until after this quest. We can’t have you pregnant while we’re fighting monsters, and it might be more than nine days before we reach the island. We can't care for a newborn then.”
“Nidori,” I said helplessly.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Perhaps I could just…melt into a puddle and sludge away? Sadly, when I opened them again, I was still left to struggle through this conversation. Kaine was about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
I shook my head. “I think you’re a bit…misinformed?”
“What do you mean? I’ve read all about sexual reproduction. Although you called it ‘fox’?”
“Fuck,” Kaine wheezed.
I shot him a glare. Of all the things he could contribute to this conversation, that was what he added? He took a couple of deep breaths, hopefully moving toward the end of his laughing fit.
“You may have missed a bit,” I said to Nidori, who frowned. “First of all, you don’t grow a baby in nine days. It takes nine months . And second, two, um, ‘boys’ can’t make a baby. We don’t have the right…parts.”
“Huh,” she said, crossing her arms and pondering this new information. “So…what were you two doing last night, then?”
Kaine finally stopped laughing long enough to step in. “It’s something we do for fun. For pleasure,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes.
“It’s fun… ?” she asked. “It looked very aggressive.”
Dear gods. How much had she seen? Fuck. How humiliating. Not something that should be making me aroused again. But I couldn’t help picture how I must have looked last night. Primal. Desperate.
“It’s a base instinct,” I insisted. “Our bodies are made to want it as much as food or water.”
“So…it’s like a really good meal? Or a drink when you’re thirsty?” she asked.
“Hang on—how do sprites have babies without sex?” I asked, desperate to change the subject. “I mean, your body has…” I gestured to her breasts.
She giggled, patting her chest. “We use cross pollination,” she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “We were made to look like mini mammals, but we’re not. Each of us, when we reach maturity, puts part of ourselves into the Asimir tree. Every cycle, its flowers bloom, are pollinated, and grow into podlings. No one knows which flower was made from their body print, or what other flower pollinated it, so you see, we don’t know who our parents are. The bodyweaver lives in the tree, nurturing the podlings until they hatch.” She paused, a faraway expression on her face. “That was my job, actually.”
“You were in charge of growing all the babies?” I asked.
“Yes. It was really boring. They take a lot longer than nine months to grow. And it was hard, but not in a fun way.”
“Sounds like you didn’t like it,” Kaine frowned.
“The first few cycles were fine. But when my time was done, they said I was too good to leave. So, they kept me up there. And the same thing happened the next time, and the next time.” She picked at her dress, ripping off a leaf and starting to shred it.
I could understand. Thinking you were free after working so hard, only to find another task shoved in front of you. And now Kaine had caught her in new shackles.
“How long did they keep you there?” I asked.
She sniffed. “Hmm. It’s hard to say. We don’t keep time meticulously like you do… Oh. This might help. Before I was picked, there was a big comet that crashed down from the sky. It burned a hole the size of a city. You must have records of that?”
I glanced at Kaine. It didn’t ring a bell.
“Poinder’s Desolation,” Kaine said slowly. “It was the year before I was born. Nidori, that was almost three hundred and fifty years ago.”
“Oh.”
Three hundred and fifty years ago? Both of them were over three centuries old? My brain struggled to process that news.
“So, they finally released you when you were chosen by Leihandra?” asked Kaine .
Nidori picked another leaf off her dress and started shredding it, not meeting our eyes. When she spoke, it was in a whisper. “Actually, they didn’t technically release me. I’m still supposed to be there. But Lei Lei came and chose me for this.” She did look up then, her face breaking into a grin. “I’m glad she did. I’ve had the most fun I’ve had in forever with you boys.”
“I can agree with you there,” said Kaine.
“It’s a dream come true, finding you both.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and spread her arms wide. “I always thought I’d have to become big before I found a family. But you took me in, even as I am now. And when I complete this quest and Lei Lei gives me a form like yours, I’ll really, truly have people I belong to.”
She sighed. “Anyway, I’m glad to hear there’s no plan for a baby yet. Just a ‘base instinct.’ Do you two need to…fox? Before we go?”
Kaine raised an eyebrow at me. “Well, Talon? Want to fox?”
Yes.
“Nope,” I said firmly, slapping my hands on my knees and standing. “Let's go.”