Chapter 18 #3
“Mithter Kehldor?” Rosa’s oldest asked with her cute little lisp from the front teeth she was missing. Lifting a small, hand-made looking book out to him, he knelt to take it from her.
It was a children’s book. There was a Krampus similar to Kehl on it, and it was dancing. While I didn’t recognize the book, I knew who had written it.
Dace. But… how? When?
“Ith dith you?” Kehko asked.
“May I see that?” I asked.
She nodded and handed it over as Rosa came up behind her.
“It was Dace’s idea. She made one for every family with a child in the village while you were recovering,” Rosa explained. “She thought it might help them understand.”
Written in English, Spanish, what I assumed was French, and in the Creeson symbols of the Lo denaii, a story of a dancing Krampus-Lo denaii who was a little different but still the same as everyone else, a cute little easy to understand story for little ones unfolded.
I was fighting back tears as I finished it and handed it back to Kehko. “That sounds like Kehl,” I confirmed.
Her little face lit up and she grinned up at Kehl. “This is me, too,” she told him, hugging the book to her chest. “I’m didfrent but same too! Like my daddies and bruvers!”
Kehl opened his mouth as if he meant to say something, frowning slightly, but then snapped it shut when she beamed up at him happily.
Turning with a happy sound, she squeezed past everyone to cry out as she rushed back to her siblings, “Itth him! Poo thaid itth him!”
This was her third set of “permanent” teeth, according to her mama. The poor thing just kept losing them and they kept growing back in. They were going to go broke financing the tooth fairy business.
Clasping her brothers’ hands, Kehko and her brothers all danced in a circle, just like the hybrid Krampus in the book did.
“Thank you for that.” Rosa smiled at Kehl. “That book is all she’s talked about since they were distributed. She swore he must be real.” Leaning in, she mouthed, “He’s like Santa to her.”
“Sandy Claweds bad. Not nice. Kehl not want scare bebehs,” Kehl whispered, looking absolutely horrified by the idea. “Sandy Claweds scary, hunt beasts.”
“Huh?” I blurted.
Rosa blinked, gaped, but then recovered quickly. “Earth Santa. The nice one. She doesn’t think you want to murder her, I promise. She would not be smiling about that,” Rosa spluttered out as she spoke fast. “There’s only the good Earth Santa at our house.”
“Wait… there’s a Sandy Claws and he’s bad?!” I blurted, thoroughly confused.
Kehl shuddered.
“I’m just now hearing of this?” I whispered. Was it some kind of secret?
“There’s a reason for that,” Rosa responded with a grimace.
Glancing around and finding a similar reaction amongst several Lo denaii, apprehension, revulsion at hearing the name Sandy Claws spoken, and worry, I whispered quietly, “Does this Sandy Claws guy live around here?”
Kehl shook his head. “Long times ago, portal leads to Bad Sandy Claweds close. Leave Krampuses escape here trapped. Sandy Claweds bad like Krampus, but badder.”
That sounded super not good, especially if Krampus were the perceived villains of Yetidom.
“Be-ed goot or Sandied Claweds come, eat face, Da say,” Doogie chimed in from Carrie’s side.
“One of your daddy’s scared you with that?” Carried asked.
“Not nice,” Elle grumbled. “Elle maman no like talk scare babies like that.”
“I don’t like it either,” Carrie admitted uneasily.
“Who said what to my babies now?” Dorothy called out.
I’d never seen a group of tall, super sized beast males disperse so quickly to get away from such a small woman in my life.
The look on Dorothy’s face promised there would be hell to pay when it all came out.
I admired how dedicated she was to her children, even as they were adults now.
Heckes looked to be the culprit the way he kept ducking behind Mosau and Griever.
Marching up, Dorothy wagged a finger right at Doogie. “Don’t even think about scaring my sweet grandchild with that nonsense, do you hear me, young man? You aren’t too grown to toss you over my knee.”
“No wiggle waggle at Doogie. Doogie no do it!” Doogie’s hands slapped to his chest and he gave an affronted huff.
“Grandma has spoken!” Joanie called out laughingly.
“Go grandma!” Mal seconded.
“Amen!” Dorothy shot back.
Walking up to Carrie, Dorothy grinned and waved at little Orrie. Carrie smiled, knowing exactly what Dorothy wanted, and handed Orrie over.
“Thank you kindly. I’ll have her back in just a little bit here.
Grandma wants a visit. Have yourself a rest, hon!
You know you’ve earned it putting up with that one,” Dorothy told her as she jerked her chin at Doogie.
Turning with a smile at Elle, she made her way over to Rosa’s brood to dance like the dancing Krampus with them.
“Pff. What Doogie do?” Doogie spluttered.
“Doogie stop the yappies and come find place sit with Elle and give the loves to our Carrie,” Elle harrumphed.
“Good ‘dea,” Doogie muttered. Scooping up Carrie, he grinned. Silencing his mate’s squawking protests with a kiss, he bid us a happy mating and good night and took off for a cozy spot.
“Should we take off too?” I asked, glancing around. Would it be rude to? I mean, they were all but giving us the go ahead a bit ago…
Kehl bent to scoop me up.
We were stopped by a small Lo denaii-hybrid child rushing up to us.
“Mama says you’re a good Krampus, not a bad one,” the little boy announced, though he looked like he wasn’t sure.
Kehl paused and knelt. “What makes Krampus bad?” he asked.
“Hurt for no readson. Kill peoples in village,” he rumbled out softly. Expressive little face slipping into a scowl, he rumbled, “No want bad guys hurt my mama.”
Khel held his arm out to him and rumbled in English, then beast-speak, “Kehlor never harm for no reason.”
The little boy paused at that. “Promedis?”
Kehl nodded. “Promedthis.”
Reaching out, the little one clasped his forearm, dipped his head, but then started giggling like something was funny and ran away. “I touched him! I touched him!” he called out as he scampered off.
Kehl’s eyes widened as he watched the little one rejoin his family grouping.
“You’re your own theme park attraction, hot stuff,” I frowningly muttered as we stared after the little one.
“Touched who?” I spied his mother calling after him.
The brunette scowled as he excitedly pointed at us and jabbered a mile a minute. Shaking her head, she appeared to be giving the small male a dressing down, assisted by his fathers.
Kirch, who I’d met because of Rek, briefly, was one of Bia’s group, who was Mina’s mate.
With a pair of large Lo denaii I’d seen but never actually met trailing her, one who was just absolutely enormous, around Kehl’s height but much larger in breadth, and another with a bow and arrow always at the ready, the woman had the little one by the back of his soft looking shirt collar so he couldn’t squirm or twist and take off, marching him straight over to us.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman, Mina, began. She looked as flustered as I felt. “That was incredibly rude.” She gave her son a look. “Wasn’t it?”
The small male jumped when the larger male with Mina let out a growl that screamed apologize or I’m whoopin’ buns. “Lottie say Berk too scaredy kitties touch Dancing Krampus. Say Berk big baby.” Huffing and puffing, he grumbled. “Not scaredy baby.”
“Is Lottie here?” I asked.
The little one nodded, then turned to rush off. Caught up in his mother’s grasp, he let out a gurgling noise and froze.
The larger male barked, “Come, Lottie!” in beast speak and not two seconds later a sweet faced little cherub came dancing up to us. Again, it was obvious she was a hybrid child, less hairy than the others but still enough to keep her more warm than a human. “Yes?” she asked sweetly.
The male was not moved by that angelic face. Motioning between them, he growled, “Say him scareded cats for Kehlor?”
Lottie shook her head. “I say him scared of touching the Dancing Krampus.” Her eyes widened comically. “Him not real.”
“Is he?” Mina asked. Her eyebrows shot up and she arched them at her daughter.
Lottie turned to glance at her mother. She didn’t appear to have noticed me or Kehl yet.
Kehl let out an uncomfortable rumble, like he was worried Mina might use him to scare Lottie, and Lottie quickly turned at the sound. Large eyes blinking, Lottie’s mouth parted and she openly gaped at Kehl.
“I touch him. You scarededy,” her brother taunted.
Veck growled at him to stop but he was already done.
Lottie just stared, her gaze darting between us. And stared. And stared a bit more.
Finally, she made to step closer to us but stopped.
“He’s not going to hurt anyone. He’s just like you and me,” I said quietly.
Her hand lifted and she reached out, but it wasn’t to touch Kehl.
It was to touch me.
“No fur ‘fore,” she murmured.
“Ah, no.” No, I did not.
Her gaze darted between me and Kehl curiously. “Have furs now,” she rumbled out softly.
“I had furs- uh, hair before, when I was little, on my head, like your mama, but it all fell out,” I started to say.
Lottie gasped and her hands fell to her long braids. “It falled out?”
“She not eat veggebed-alls, like mama say,” the larger male rumbled out with a grin.
“Veck!” Mina barked.
The male just laughed and brushed one of his thick fingers over her cheek teasingly. She slapped it away with a glare, blushed, then broke and laughed too.
“Eat all vegged-ed-alls, it growed back?” the male with the bow and arrow rumbled out questioningly, mystified.
“Uh, yup,” I lied, playing along. I was not about to get into the possibilities of my sudden furriness surrounding my mating with Kehl with anyone outside of my inner circle. It was nobody’s business but ours, really.
Lottie gave a sniff and her brother followed. “No, she not,” her brother announced.
“Wants find out?” the bow and arrow toting male rumbled out.
“Tarnk!” Mina spluttered.