Chapter 9
HAL
Walking into the medical room, I expect to find Dawn resting, only to discover it empty. “DAWNNN!!! Troza???”
“Lord of Light, youngling, what has your fur in a twist?”
Troza walks out of one of the other rooms, followed by Eirwen, who is so large she is practically wobbling.
“Where is Dawn?”
“I am assuming still soaking in that hot water.”
I cannot help but smile at the distressed look on Troza’s face, as she has never been one who liked to immerse herself in water, hot or cold. Then Dawn’s weakness hits me.
“You left her alone?”
“HaL, she is more than capable of washing without my supervision.” She turns away from me. “Eirwen, I will see you in three risings, if this little one does not show up sooner.”
I nod in acknowledgment to Oset’s mate before my beast dismisses them as he turns me toward the refreshing room.
I know I should knock or at least announce myself before I enter, but my brain does not seem to function properly when it comes to Dawn, so two steps later I am walking through the other doorway only to stop in my tracks.
Dawn is upright with her back to me, trying to wrap the water-absorbent material around her small frame with one arm, while standing unsteadily in mid-thigh-deep water.
The sight of her long, fiery hair brushing the tops of her luscious bottom cheeks will follow me into the Great Beyond, as the image permanently burns itself into my brain.
My cock hardens instantly, but it is what she does not do that has me hesitating in the doorway.
She does not scream or yell at me to get out, as I expected.
Dawn instead turns a little to the side, a small smile on her face when she sees my eyes devouring her small, curvy form.
She holds the drying cloth out slightly in her hand, her arm barely hiding her ample breasts from my view.
In the next heartbeat, I am by her side, lifting her out of that water before she can slip and into my arms.
“Well, hello handsome. Would you mind helping a girl out here?”
“If it requires me setting you down, then no.”
“I’m dripping water everywhere, HaL.”
“It is a refreshing chamber; it was designed to handle such matters.”
Her bright smile makes me realize she is completely bare, and my eyes devour her small, fragile form, amazed by the fine hairs rising across her arms.
“Your hair is not adequately long enough to warm you if it is trying to grow.”
Her eyes follow my own, only for laughter to echo through the room. “Here I am, buck naked in your arms, and just when I think you’re checking me out, you are looking at my goosebumps.”
Without thinking, I pull her closer as I look around the room for the intruder. “What is this animal you speak of?”
“Oh, calm down, sweetcheeks. It’s only an expression and the hairs on my arms and legs are simply reacting to the change in temperature. It’s completely natural.”
“Your mammary glands are also stiff.”
“Wow, what a way to turn a girl on! … You mean my nipples are stiff? Now that could be because of the cold, or the fact that this handsome yeti picked me up all caveman style and I thought things were finally going to get frisky with us, but I will let you think on that further.”
Her reactions and words startle me as I have never been addressed in such a private or personal way. Even though I fight the urge, the small bright red patch of curls hiding her breeding entrance keeps drawing my eyes, and of course, she is watching my every move.
“Sorry about the shrubbery, HaL. I need a good trim. Wasn’t planning on getting any action anytime soon, so I’ve been slacking in the grooming department.”
I pull her closer, my beast enjoying the feel of her naked hip as it slides against my own uninsulated form. “Your words do not make sense, Dawn.” She looks away for a tic, and her skin starts to turn colors.
“Heaven help me, can you not see the blush already spreading across my neck and up my face? I’m not one to be bashful HaL, as I do believe I’ve mooned half of North America in all the hospital gowns I’ve worn over the years, but a girl can be embarrassed when one as perfect as you is blatantly staring at her pubic curls that need a good trim. ”
Horrified and slightly angry, my words come out rough. “You cut your female curls?!”
“Well, yeah … most guys don’t like to track through the thick brush in order to get to the fertile plains!”
“I absolutely forbid it … Why would you mutilate your body in such a way?”
She raises an eyebrow at me and her expression shifts from laughter to slightly angry. I realize I have said something she did not like, and I immediately log it in my mind as something not to do again.
“Okay, first of all, HaL, you can’t forbid me to do jack shit …
it’s my body, but I’ll take into account the fact that a good trim bothers you.
It is very common, and even expected, to shave regularly in my world; hair is seen as unclean and unkempt.
It’s not like it hurts me; does it bother you when your hair is cut? ”
I am even more horrified at the thought of someone trying to remove my hair.
“I have no clue … at no point do we cut ours … ever. And I apologize for overstepping. I simply do not want you to hurt yourself. Our worlds have very different outlooks on things, it appears. I would prefer you leave your curls alone, but it is your body.”
“I’ve had a lot of weird conversations in my lifetime but being naked in a hot yeti’s arms while talking about what did you call them …
my female curls, is topping the list in the unexpected.
You think you could help me wrap this towel thing around me so that I’m not flashing everyone? It’s slightly chilly in here.”
“We must get you proper garments. This is one of the warmest areas you will ever be in, and I can feel your body trembling against mine.”
Dawn jerks when I yell, “TROZA!”
She must have been close because the door slides open only a few tics later.
“Hold your fur on, what are you grumbling about now, HaL?”
“Dawn is already chilling, her nipples are hard, and the goosethings are trying to escape her arms and legs.”
A sharp laugh leaves Dawn’s lips right before she tucks her head into my shoulder. Her whole body shakes from the laughter she is trying to hold back. Troza also has a grin on her wrinkled face, but I am not sure what either of them finds so funny.
“HaL, you are in luck.” That is when I notice the garments lying over her slender arm. “Since I was on my way in here with these anyway, I will forgive you for acting like a heathen with no manners. Merra and Neve just finished these two garments, so let us see how they work out.”
Standing here holding Dawn in my arms, I fight the urge to simply run off with her to my den, but I know she needs protection from the elements that the rest of us do not so hesitantly, I set her down.
Troza holds up two different garments, each in pale silver. She opens the self-sealing seams on the side and motions for Dawn to step into the legs.
Dawn starts to giggle. “It has built-in footies … I feel like a kid running around in a onesie.”
Troza looks up at me, and I shrug. Neither of us has a clue what she is talking about.
Dawn sways lightly, and I slip an arm around her back, steadying her as I help Troza maneuver the material around her tiny frame. We work it into place until the seals begin to close.
Once Troza has finished, I reach down and help her back to her feet, where she had been kneeling in front of Dawn. I watch her for a moment, wondering what she is looking for. Every few steps, she stops to tug at a section, smoothing it down or adjusting its position before continuing around Dawn.
Dawn wobbles again, and I tighten my arm around her.
“Easy,” I murmur.
Troza barely acknowledges me, completely focused on what she is doing.
“How does it feel? Is it too tight anywhere?”
“No, it fits pretty well. I will admit that it being all one piece is going to suck when I need to pee, though.”
“Here is the part you are really going to enjoy.”
Troza has smiled more in these last few risings than I believe I have ever seen, and I wonder whether she is as fascinated by Dawn as I am, or if it is something else.
Dawn’s small hand has remained on my arm this entire time, as if her body is reassuring itself that I am still here.
She glances up at me with a look of wonder on her face when the suit starts to heat up.
“Oh my heavens, the heat … Ughh, it’s wonderful! I don’t know how it works, but this is damn awesome. I want one in every color.”
“We have silver.”
Her smile dims for just a tic.
“Then I will have to settle for that, won’t I? Do you guys have a grievance against other colors in the spectrum?”
“No, but silver helps us blend in and at one time on Hallister, that made the difference between life and death.”
“Is that going to be a problem for me, as my hair is somewhat noticeable among this white world of yours?”
Troza looks up at me, neither of us entirely sure how to answer that.
“Okay, you both have these funny looks on your faces. What are you hiding from me?”
“You have just awakened and are still healing, Dawn. You have nothing to fear, as I will never be far from your side. There are some large predators on our planet, but unless provoked, they tend to keep to themselves. Your coloring is hard to miss, and many will stare simply because they have never seen anything like you before. It is not like this is a vacation spot, and we get a lot of visitors on Hallister. Most have never and will never leave planetside.”
Troza interrupts.
“Speaking of healing, you need to get back in the bed, as you call it. That arm still needs a full rising before I can take the cast off, and your vitals are not yet stable enough for me.”
“Can I keep my onesie on?”
“I would prefer you to keep the warming suit on whenever possible.
Right now, it is the only reliable way we have to regulate your body temperature and continuously keep you warm.
We have kept all these rooms warmer than usual because we are trying to accelerate your healing, but once you are released, most of the places you will be staying in are going to be considerably colder.
You will need to be careful with HaL, too. He can become ill if he is kept overheated for too long. The problem is that his beastly form will instinctively endure the discomfort rather than risk making you uncomfortable. He’ll suffer in silence if he thinks it means keeping you warm.”
“Troza, we should not bother Dawn with such trivial matters.”
“Your life is not trivial HaL, and I know you will wither away before causing her an ounce of distress.”
“Hey y’all, invisible redhead standing right here, so stop talking about me in the third person.
Thanks for telling me Troza, since I don’t just know things.
I’m a stranger here and have no idea about your customs or dangers.
Please don’t forget that fact. I’m destined to screw up many times, but knowledge is power.
The more you guys tell me, not only about yourselves but also your culture and this world, the fewer mistakes I’m gonna make.
The last thing I want is to offend a creature/person that could break me in half with very little effort on their end. ”