Chapter Fifteen
Nara
When our omega sees our town square, she is surprised.
A tiny gasp comes out of her gorgeous pink lips as we come around the corner of the path to the clearing that is the Setias town square.
She looks incredible in that rich purple shade that I had chosen for her, and the end of the dress swinging over the ground, her shoo-ez peeking out as she strides, comfortable in the forest.
The town square is ringed by various community buildings in the reddish lumber of the Glohas trees that we felled to make the clearing.
One is a kitchen and dining space, one is a community hall for events and dances and things, one is the group office and work space, and the last is the refinery for our Glohas sweetener operation.
Between the buildings, ropes run, with colored triangles of fabric interspersed with ebret bulbs. An uslaquin vine runs up several, adding tiny blue leaves along the twine.
Several large tables are set up under tents. Various members of our community bring extra supplies to trade or “sell” for tokens. Grains, edible fruits, foraged fungus and nuts, carved or built furniture, preserved foods, clothing, all manner of things that folks might create or gather.
Elizabeth looks excited, happy and she reaches out and grips my hand, interlacing our fingers.
I look down at our hands, stymied, but leave her touch.
“Much is simply shared, while things that are more time-intensive are traded for leelus, tokens for favors owed or given,” Wells explains to our little human.
“Libby,” I grin, saying her shortened name, “What is this?” I lift our hands.
“Oh no, do you all not hold hands?” She exclaims. An adorable giggle escapes, before she explains, “It’s a casual sign of affection. You really only do it with lovers or children–to keep them safe.”
I beam, loving that she’s quietly claiming us. She smiles back up at me.
“So what do you all usually bring to market?”
Zallan snorts. “Me? Nothing. Ry? Furniture sometimes, or fixed machinery. Nara and Wells manage our garden and foraging.”
She wrinkles her nose and I smile gently down at her. I’m falling in love with her, I realize. That’s insane, I hardly know her.
And yet I am. Damn hormones. She’s ours, it’s simple.
“Anyway, it is much larger than I was expecting!” She grins, obviously delighted but the thought she had had kept private.
“Ah,” Zallan says, “Hello, Atiox,” he greets the aleron of one of our founding packs.
Atiox’s horns grow more or less straight upward, and he keeps metallic chains draped between them. His skin is very green. He’s a bit of a show-off, but he has a good heart.
Elizabeth’s eyes goes from his feet to the tips of his horns and she instinctively steps a bit behind me. I squeeze her hand, looking down at her as I start to gently purr. Ryson notices.
“Well met, Gathea!” Atiox responds jovially. “I wasn’t expecting to see you. Figured you all were rather busy.” He grins and Elizabeth slinks further behind me.
Ryson steps in front of her, blocking her view of Atiox. His hand cups the back of her neck and he leans in.
Zallan, Wells and Atiox talk of the most recent group forage.
Ryson whispers, “Do you feel threatened, omega? You are unclaimed so it would not be surprising. But trust me that none of the alphas you’ll see here today would try anything.
And even if they did, all four of us are certified Fulquuis.
No other Celnoe, nor any alpha, will ever touch you, little one. ”
She takes a deep breath and nods, squaring her shoulders. “Okay. Thank you, Ry.” Her voice is low but determined.
Her hormones are making her nervous around other alphas. Understandable, but I’m kicking myself for not thinking to warn her ahead of time.
“You’ll feel better about being around alphas after your heat and our bonding. And after you meet some more Celnoe. We are... good folk,” I murmur.
Ryson nods but gives me a look. Shit.
Atiox and my pack finish up their conversation without acknowledging Elizabeth, still tucked behind Ryson and I.
Wells crosses to her other side and takes her other hand in the manner in which she holds mine. “We did not introduce you, and you are unbound. He would not speak to you under such circumstances if he wanted to keep his cock attached to his body.”
She snorts in response. “Silly,” she mutters half-heartedly.
We approach Endinn, an ufura in a newer pack of the Setias Community. The sides of her head are shaved and her navy blue hair is braided down her back.
“Endinn!” Wells greets, his hand going to Elizabeth’s back. “Well met, friend. This is our omega, Elizabeth.”
I see Endinn’s nose twitch, smelling our omega, but her eyes stay neutral as does her body language. “Nice to meet you, Elizabeth. You are a human, yes?”
She nods tightly but smiles. “Yes.”
“Perhaps once you are settled, your pack might join mine for dinner at our home. We would love to hear more about your planet.” Endinn smiles at Elizabeth but quickly drops her eyes, so as not to be threatening, to our omega, or us.
We’ll all be less on edge once we bond through Libby’s heat.
We should speak more of it.
“That sounds lovely, thank you, Endinn,” Elizabeth says politely, and her smile is warm. She doesn’t seem too stressed.
We say goodbye and Elizabeth is drawn to one of the booths.
“Ohh, look,” her hand strokes a blanket made of triiku hair. It’s brown and soft.
“Do you like it, my wedari?” Zallan asks. “We can get it, if you would like that.”
Her head turns, a smile on her face, “It’s not so much that, though it is so soft. I had been wondering when I saw the foot coverings you got me. Tell me more of your animals. This is animal fur, woven and knitted, is it not?”
A small, gray-skinned omega, with long, loose hair steps behind the table. It’s Nimme, from one of our few packs with omegas. They are well settled and not afraid of us, so I greet them.
“Nimme, how are you doing?”
They nod, an easy smile on their face, “Good, Nara, thank you for asking.”
They turn to Elizabeth, a big grin on their face.
“Hi!” They trill, their gills lifting excitedly, “I’m so happy you came out today!
I’m Nimme and you are Gathea’s omega. We omegas must stick together so as soon as you claimed, we are going to spend time together with the two other omegas of Setias. ”
Elizabeth laughs, nodding. “That sounds lovely, Nimme. There are only three omegas here? Among thirty some packs?”
They grin, rounded, flat teeth showing, “Well, four now. And we’re going to be best friends.”
Another laugh from our omega, which makes me grin in pleasure.
“Aleron Zallan.” The voice is deep, rich, and I know it to be from the aleron of the pack we are closest with, Pack Osils.
But Elizabeth goes stiff. Both Nimme and I notice. Their arm reaches across the table for her even as I curl her against me, my arm over her shoulder.
My touch eases her but before the Osils aleron can say anything else, a nanoflier zips in between us, chasing a dolrgr, no doubt, who is after our sweetener.
The nanoflier hovers, rotating in mid-air, searching.
Elizabeth’s eyes are locked on it and Zallan notices.
He steps behind her, an arm banding around her waist easily and pressing her against his body in comfort.
“A nanoflier?” She breathes, eyes still tracking it as it zips back and forth in front of us, searching its target.
“Indeed, wedari.”
“Is its prey near?” She asks.
“Prey?” Wells asks from nearby.
She makes a noise in her throat. “The thing it is after?”
“Oh, its target. Yes. a dolrgr. There must be one near,” Zallan answers.
“I want to see one,” she responds.
Zallan purrs, “Anything you wish for, Libby, we will provide.”
She leans back against him harder, her happiness evident.
WE ARE INSIDE THE SWEETENER operation, partially showing the workings of it to our omega, and partially in search of a dolrgr.
“They sometimes come in, though the little assholes have learned to bore into the Glohas trees,” Zallan explains.
The sound that escapes Elizabeth is contemplative.
I tilt my head, something tickling at the back of my brain.
“Remind me, omega, what you spent your time upon on Earth doing?” I ask.
Her eyes dart around the space, clearly searching for a dolrgr.
“Wildlife biologist,” she answers without thought.
Wells replies, "Explain in other words, please.”
A single dolrgr zips into view.
Elizabeth tracks the tiny critter for a moment and frowns.
“Is it... venomous? Poisonous?” She asks, continuing, “What does it normally eat?”
“No,” Zallan answers, shaking his head. “A fruit that is edible to Celnoe but not palatable.”
“What is its range? Is it a widespread species? Does it have any known symbionts?"
I blink, and look at Zallan. He raises an eyebrow.
“What are you thinking, wedari?” Zallan says quietly.
Elizabeth finally looks away from the dolrgr as it flies off.
She chuckles, “No nanoflier in sight. What is their capture rate?”
“Capture?” Ryson asks, “They kill them.”
She waves a hand, “Expression.”
She turns to us, her eyes alight, “What are its natural predators? Erm, I mean, what eats it in nature?”
Zallan head shakes. “It has none.”
She frowns, her little forehead wrinkling. “What keeps its population in check?”
I exchange a look with Wells. I need to research what exactly a “wildlife biologist” does.
Wells offers, “I think the answer to the question you’re asking is that before they started drinking Glohas syrup, their main form of food was fairly rare. So many starved. But now...” he trails off. Elizabeth nods, her face contemplative.
“Do you have any information on them in the library at home?”
She called it ‘home.’ I beam. “If we do not, we can acquire some from the city,” I offer. She crosses to me and tips her face up, clearing wanting to be kissed.
I bend down and press my lips to hers softly as her tiny hands wrap around my waist and my heart soars.