Chapter 8 #3
Even though it is early, I decide to start the day’s work.
There is always more to be done, and with just me and Stay-see here, never enough hands to do it all.
I rouse from my bed, and dress, stoking the coals of the fire.
In the next chamber, Stay-see sleeps peacefully, and Pacy is quiet in his basket.
I can put on tea, then, and heat up some of the stew from yesterday before she wakes up.
I picture her smile widening at the sight of a meal ready as she wakes up, and am pleased.
I want to make her happy. I want to see her smile.
I want her mouth on me again.
I am wrapped up in thoughts of Stay-see as I move the privacy screen aside and step out into the snow to relieve myself.
No new snow has fallen overnight, and trails of footprints lead to the front of the cave and then away again.
I frown to myself, squatting by one. It is a smaller foot than my own.
Did Stay-see leave the cave yesterday and I was not aware of it?
I try to recall, but my mind is fixed on the image of Stay-see kneeling before me, her tongue flicking over my cock.
I am easily distracted this day, it seems.
Perhaps my memory is messed up again. I decide to follow the tracks for a bit, checking for spoor.
It is entirely possible that a creature wandered near our cave and the snow melted just enough for the tracks to look human-sized.
I follow the trail for a time, but when they eventually disappear, I have seen nothing to alarm me, and I am getting far from the cave and my mate.
I am just uneasy, it seems. Time to go back before the fire dies down.
Stay-see sleeps late, and when Pacy begins to stir, I take him out of his basket and let him play in the main chamber while she dozes. She gives me a grateful smile when she wakes up, stretching with a sensual motion that makes me itch to touch her again.
I set up the meat to smoke for a second day, and she sews by the fire, and we spend the day talking.
I ask her to tell me as many memories as she can, and she does.
She tells me of the hawl-ee-deh with gifts and games.
She tells me of the time that I played a joke on her, replacing all of her sweet hraku seeds with the peppery seeds my people love so much, and how mad she was.
She tells me how she sewed all the cuffs in my leggings shut in revenge, and how I ripped two pairs before I figured it out.
She tells me of lazy days spent by the fire, and of the sleepless nights after the kit was born.
She tells me of Pacy’s birth and how he came out squalling at the top of his lungs and I dashed around the cave and shoved him under the noses of everyone in the tribe, so very proud of my son.
They are all good memories, and I soak them up, eager for more.
The day passes quickly, and all too soon, the meat is dried and ready to be put away.
The leggings Stay-see works on are completed, and Pacy finishes nursing for the last time before sleep and begins to yawn against his mother’s teats.
Stay-see looks content but not overly tired, and I hope she will continue to talk after Pacy is put in his bed.
I am hungry for her company, and even a day of idle chatter and shared memories is not enough.
It will never be enough. With Stay-see, I am always thirsty for more of her time, her sweetness, her smiles.
She gets up to put Pacy to sleep, and I watch her eagerly, the sway of her hips, the swing of her brown braid as she leans over, the curve of her tailless bottom.
She straightens and returns to my side at the fire, and I feel a surge of joy that she will choose to spend more time with me.
I cast about, trying to think of something new to speak of, something that will make her bright smile light up her face. Perhaps food. “Are you still hungry?”
Stay-see raises a hand in the air and shakes her head. “I’ve had all the smoked meat I can stomach for now, thank you.”
I know how she feels. While smoked meat is not my favorite, fresh meat is harder to come by in the brutal season. We will be eating smoked meat for many, many days on end while the snows whip through the land. “I wish I had something else to offer you.”
She sits down next to me and pats my knee. “It’s fine. I’m just glad we have plenty of food to eat. We don’t have the luxury of being picky.”
Even so, I am already mentally planning to dig up a few more of the not-potato for her tomorrow. “What did you eat back in your human land?”
Her eyes widen. “Oh, wow. Gosh, a little bit of everything, I suppose. Noodles, rice, burgers, pizza. All kinds of stuff. So many different types of food.” She gives me a little smile. “You know what I miss the most, though? Breakfast.”
“Break-fast?” This sounds familiar, and then I realize what she speaks of. “Ah, the morning meal?”
“Yes! I would kill right now for a big batch of scrambled eggs.” She clasps her hands in front of her heart. “Maybe some pancakes and toast with butter, but definitely eggs.”
“Eggs?” The thought makes me queasy. “You eat eggs?”
“God, yes.” Stay-see closes her eyes in bliss at the thought. “A big, steaming pile of scrambled eggs was my favorite.”
And humans think we are strange. “Did you eat the shell?”
“What? No.” She opens her eyes and laughs, giving me a puzzled look. “With all the weird stuff you guys eat, don’t tell me you don’t eat eggs?” Her brows go down. “Though, come to think of it, I haven’t seen you eat many eggs. What’s up with that?”
“They are unborn young.”
“You sound so shocked. I’m pretty sure we’ve eaten young dvisti before.”
“Hunters try to take the kills that will not affect the herd overall. I would not rob a mother of nursing young, nor would I steal an egg. What if there are less animals to hunt in the next year if I do so?”
She laughs again, clearly amused by my reluctance. “That’s kind of sweet, I suppose. But no, we have animals—chickens, mostly—that are kept just to lay eggs. They lay an egg every day and people go and gather them.”
I am shocked. “You keep the animal captive and steal its young every day?”
“It’s not as bad as it sounds, truly.” Stay-see giggles again and reaches over and pinches my cheek as if I am a kit. “It’s cute that this is your line in the sand. You eat your meat raw and you eat everything on the animal. Why is an egg different?”
“Because it is,” I say stubbornly. It just feels…wrong. Especially now that I have a kit of my own.
“Well, I am going to find an egg-layer or two on this planet at some point and then we are going to have scrambled eggs out the wazoo.” She tucks her head against my shoulder and puts her arms around my waist, snuggling close.
I am so surprised by this that I do not move for fear that she will get up and leave.
“There are creatures that lay eggs here, aren’t there? ”
“Sky-claw,” I say, gently placing my hand on her shoulder. “And scythe-beaks. And some of the creatures that live in the great salt lake.”
“Well, shoot. I don’t want to see any sky-claw. And we’re not going near the ocean. What about scythe-beak nests? Where do they make their homes?”
“On the sides of cliffs.” She’s so warm as she curls against me. Her hand rests on my belly, and I want it to go lower. Now I am thinking of what she did last night when she pulled off my loincloth and caressed me with her hands and mouth.
“Mmm. I guess it’s too much to hope for a few eggs, then.” She sighs. “It was nice to think about, though.”
“I will get you eggs the next time I go hunting,” I vow. “Once you and Pacy are settled in the new cave-home.”
“No.” Stay-see pats my stomach. “I don’t want you to do that. If they’re up on cliffs it could be dangerous. We’ll just skip it.”
“Shall I get you other kits to eat for your early meal?”
She giggles. “You make it sound like I’m a monster devouring the young.” She raises her hand and makes a mock-claw. “Rawr. Though I don’t know why I’m the fearsome one. You’re the one with fangs.” She reaches up and pokes one of them with a fingertip.
I do not move. I do not breathe. Her hand is too close to my mouth, and she feels warm and soft and lovely against me. I want to stay like this forever.
She studies me, and her fingers move from my teeth to my lips. She traces them gently, and then licks her own lips. “You don’t remember kissing, do you?”
I shake my head. “What is it?”
“Mouth on mouth?”
Ah. I have seen the others push their mouths against their human mates and thought it was a strange gesture. “Do you want to do that?”
“You don’t sound all that interested.” She seems amused.
“I would rather put my mouth on your cunt and—”
Her fingers press over my lips, and her expression is shy. “You go from zero to a hundred, don’t you? There’s no ramp up for you.”
Ramp up? “If we are talking about places to put our mouths, I am telling you my favorite.”
“But you might like kissing, too.”
I shrug. “I will kiss if you wish to. I will do anything you wish to do, Stay-see. My greatest desire is to please you.”
“Then we start with kissing,” she says, stroking my cheek with her soft fingers. “And we move on to the other stuff when I’m ready again.”
I nod. “Then let us do kissing.” We can start there. I want her to be comfortable with me. I want her to crave my touch like I crave hers.
She shifts and sits up, watching me. “Why don’t I take the lead?”
Is she worried I will do it wrong? “Did I do kissing before?”
“Oh yes.” Stay-see gives a dreamy sigh. “You were a great kisser.”
“Tell me more about that.”