24 Night Crawlers (1/2)
Talia is leading the way with Greywolf, Wildcat and Roar right behind her. All she wants right now is off this mountain. Roar feels guilty for dragging her along and tries to think of a way to ease the blow of a fourth mate on Richy. Greywolf can smell Talia's exhaustion even though she's not exhibiting any outward signs of it yet. Wildcat is also concerned about how Richy is going to react. And then there's Talia's hair. To Wildcat the platinum blond streaks look like something terrified her half to death or she just barely survived some other traumatic event. And Talia won't talk to him about it. She's being tight lipped about what happened between her and Chief Windwalker. All three men know the obvious part, Windwalker made himself Talia's fourth mate. Which means they won't have to worry about other chiefs now, chiefs don't co-mate with other chiefs. And a chief co-mating with men that aren't from his own tribe is a new situation. All Wildcat can figure is Chief Windwalker must be desperate for Talia for reasons he's unwilling to share. Desperate enough he's willing to be her fourth and share her with mates that aren't even from his own tribe. Desperate enough that he will come to her because she won't stay with him.
Exhaustion finally makes Talia dizzy. She loses her footing and slips off the edge of the trail ledge they're making their way down on. It's a long way down, but Greywolf grabs her by her wrist and pulls her back to safety on the trial.
”Dearest, are you alright,” asks Wildcat very concerned as he strokes her hair.
”I'm fine,” answers Talia calmly.
”Well I don't think I am,” says Roar, ”I think I nearly had a heart attack.”
Talia responds with a shrug as Greywolf holds her, ”I would have been fine.”
”Would have been fine,” repeats Roar in disbelief. He glances over the edge at the distance he believes Talia would have fallen, at the outcropping of rocks he thinks her body would have crashed into and says, ”I don't think so.”
Talia yawns.
Wildcat asks her again, ”Dearest, are you sure you're alright?”
Talia looks a little confused, ”My shoulder didn't dislocate when Greywolf caught my wrist.”
”You're exhausted,” Greywolf tells Talia, ”I'll carry you,” and he scoops her up into his arms.
”Windwalker must of rode you all night,” speculates Wildcat.
Talia yawns again, ”Pretty much, till he got what he wanted.”
”What did he want Dearest,” asks Wildcat hoping she's tired enough to let information slip, ”Why'd he lock you in with him all night?”
”Air must have its secrets,” Talia answers drowsily.
”Dearest is there anything you can tell me about it,” ask Wildcat.
Talia snuggles against Greywolf's chest as she shares, ”He showed me something I didn't know about myself… It was the most painful experience of my life… I screamed.”
The three men are quiet as they watch her eyes close. Then with her eyes closed, she says, ”Get me off this mountain please. Don't stop till we're off… I don't want to be here anymore.” Then her breathing slows and softens.
”Let's keep moving,” says Greywolf resuming the pace with Talia sleeping in his arms. ”I don't want her to wake up and find we're still on the mountain. Besides, we're making good time without any children with us.”
Wildcat and Roar follow Greywolf, who increases the pace to a jog.
”What do you think it means,” Roar asks Wildcat.
”It means Windwalker did more than just make himself her fourth mate,” answers Wildcat. ”And whatever he did was so traumatic, it left those white streaks in her hair.”
It's dark by the time they're off the mountain and entering Night Crawler territory. A bolt of lightning illuminates the sky and is immediately followed by a booming roll of thunder. Then it begins to pour rain on them. Wildcat hurriedly pulls a skin out of a backpack. He ties it around Greywolf making sure Talia is completely covered and protected from the rain. She's slept this entire time in Greywolf's arms, occasionally whimpering helplessly in her sleep. He's very worried about her. Free folks seldom get colds, flus and infection, but when they do get such things, they're bad, often bad enough to kill the afflicted person. Windwalker bit into her shoulder hard and deep, didn't allow her hardly any rest, and didn't ensure she ate. Then there's whatever happened to put those white streaks in her hair. Wildcat's afraid her resistance is low. And when free people become ill, it's always serious.
”We've got to find shelter for the night,” says Wildcat. ”We need to keep her warm and dry, get her fed too. She hasn't eaten or drank anything since we left Air, just slept.”
Greywolf nods his agreement with Wildcat, ”But where? I am totally unfamiliar with this area.”
”I don't know where to look either,” says Roar glancing around.
”We'll head to the river,” decides Wildcat. ”We should be able to find a cave near the river.”
So they begin to head for the river. And as they're making their way to it, a figure emerges before them. The scent is male. He equals Roar in height, and has two males with him. They have large round black eyes and their faces resemble the long ago extinct gorilla. They're dressed in loin clothes, leather leggings and moccasins.
”Do you need shelter for the night,” asks the first Night Crawler.
”Yes we do,” answers Roar. ”Can you help us?”
He nods yes to them and tells them, ”Follow us.”
They follow the three Night Crawler males to a water fall, and then behind it into a cave. There's a warm fire going in a pit and deer roasting over it. Torches on the wall help light the cave. There are about half dozen women and several children. With the three men that guided them, there are only about a dozen or so adults living in the cave.
”Ooo,” says a domesticated woman, who looks like she's in her early twenties, ”company. We've never had company before.” She's one of two women that have children, and she's the only domesticated person present.
Their first male guide finally introduces himself, ”I am Nighteye. Welcome to Dark Pack of the Night Crawler Tribe. Please make yourselves comfortable.
”I'm Daphne,” says the domesticated woman, ”Join us,” motioning them to a generous pile of furs and blankets. There are two small, a bit fur covered children sleeping side-by-side, and a toddler sleeping on her lap.
Wildcat, Roar and Greywolf sit down. Wildcat and Greywolf uncover Talia.
”I am Roar, chief of Animalistic. Thank you very much for your hospitality. This is my number one elder advisor, Wildcat. This is Greywolf, one of my guardians. And this is my sister Talia, Wildcat's mate.”
”She's sleeping like a rock,” states Daphne as she lays her youngest with her other two children. ”Is she alright?”
Wildcat shrugs, ”Not sure. I hope so… So who's your mate?”
Daphne shrugs, ”I guess all of them, or at least they all mate with me. Nighteye's our alpha male. Sanguine and Owl are his second and third in command I guess you could say. Mephala's our alpha female,” she points to the only other woman with children.
The three Animalistic men look around. Night Crawlers live quite simply. And they seem to prefer to walk around looking like Chewbacca. Except for one male who looks to be in his mid-twenties. But they can smell he's not domesticated.
”How did you come to be here,” Roar asks Daphne.
Daphne smiles, ”I ran away from home, got involved with the wrong kind of people, became a drug addict and a prostitute to support my habit. I pissed off the wrong guys who brought me out here to off me. I ran like my life depended on it because it did. I got away from the bad guys but of course I was lost out here. I was sixteen at the time… And when Nighteye found me, I was violently ill because I was going through withdrawal… I was terrified of them at first, but they took care of me, nursed me back to health. I've been here with them ever since.”
”Don't you ever want to go back,” Roar asks Daphne.
”Go back to what,” asks Daphne, ”being a drug addict? Being a prostitute? To a mother who drank too much and ignored me? To being raped by my stepfather? And what about my children? I couldn't take them with me. They'ld be sideshow freaks out there… No, thank you. I'm better off here. I'm part of a real family here. No one abuses me here.”
”Is there anything you miss,” asks Greywolf curious.
Daphne thinks for a few moment, then answers with a smile, ”Fast food, I'ld love a cheeseburger and fries with a triple thick milkshake. But I wouldn't give up my life here for any of that.”
Nighteye brings over a stone platter of roasted deer, roasted roots, roasted nuts and fresh fruit, ”We thought you must all be hungry. So my mate, Mephala, put this together for you.”
”Thank you,” says Roar appreciatively accepting the platter, ”We haven't eaten since about midday.”
”Mephala's your mate,” Wildcat curious, ”Who's Daphne's mate? She seems unsure.”
”Mephala is my mate because we are both alpha,” explains Nighteye, ”Sanguine and Owl have privileges with her. They have each fathered a child with her and the other two are mine. Mephala and Daphne are Dark Pack's only two breeding females. But Daphne is a community mate. All males have privileges with her. I am the father of her oldest, the youngest is Sanguine's and her middle child is Bat's”
”The other females all look and smell old enough to breed,” observes Wildcat.
”Eli can explain better than I,” admits Nighteye. He motions Eli, the young man who looks like a normal human, over, ”Eli explain why the other females have no children for me. I'm not sure of the correct words… But all the females are available for mating with guests. As guests, you may even use Mephala.” Then he returns to his furs and Mephala.
Eli sits on the furs with them, ”So what would you like to know,” he asks pleasantly.
”Why Mephala and Daphne are the only women with children here,” answers Wildcat.
”Our alpha female's scent actually stops them from being fertile,” explains Eli, ”None of them are having a cycle because of the alpha female's dominance. Daphne's not a Night Crawler, genetically speaking, so she's not affected, but her granddaughter's will be. Females who are more than half Night Crawler genetically are affected. It's why we live in packs instead of in one large tribe. Only the most dominant alpha female would be able to breed. We also attempt to counteract this by shuffling childless pack members around. I'm originally from Full Moon Pack.”
Wildcat nods his understanding. ”Let's wake Tali up, feed her and make sure she drinks plenty of water. I don't want her dehydrating.”
”Why ain't you like the others,” Greywolf asks Eli.
Eli shrugs, ”Each of my parents are half tame, so this is my primary form not the other form like the others. But if it's making you uncomfortable, they can take on their secondary form.”
”That's not necessary,” insist Roar, ”We're fine. You're our hosts. You're already being more than accommodating.”
”Talia Dearest,” Wildcat giving her shoulders a slight shake, ”… Talia Dearest… Wake up please…”
Talia scrunches into Greywolf's chest and they just barely hear a soft helpless whimper from her.
Greywolf strokes her hair, ”Maybe we should just let her sleep.”
Wildcat would love to just let her sleep, ”She needs food and water… especially water… Talia Dearest, I'm sorry, but I need you to wake up for me.” Then he remembers her feet are ticklish and runs a finger along the bottom of her foot.
Talia jerks to sitting up on her own. She blinks at Wildcat and glances around. She doesn't know their exact location. Yet she's sure they're in Night Crawler territory in a pack's shelter. Air lives in luxury compared to how this Night Crawler pack is living.
”Are you with me Dearest,” asks Wildcat.
Talia nods and her voice is barely a whisper as she answers, ”Yes.”
”Dark Pack has been kind enough to give us shelter for the night,” Wildcat informs her.
”That's quite generous of them,” responds Talia stretching a bit against Greywolf. She tilts her head back and gives Greywolf a kiss, ”Thank you for toting me so far.”
”It wasn't any trouble,” responds Greywolf. Then he nuzzles her neck.
Wildcat hands Talia a cup of water, ”And I want you to eat for me too.”
”Okay,” Talia agrees. Then she drains the cup of water, ”More please,” she's very thirsty.
Wildcat refills the cup and pops a piece of roasted root into her mouth.
Talia chews, swallows and sips at her water. ”So who are our hosts?” She opens her mouth for Greywolf to pop in a piece of roasted deer.
Wildcat answers, ”We haven't learned all their names yet, but over yonder is Nighteye and his mate, Mephala. They're the packs alpha male and female… Sanguine and Owl are Nighteye's second and third in command. Their children are sleeping there… This is Eli. And this is Daphne and her children.”
Daphne is near enough Talia shakes her hand, ”How do you do?”
Daphne's amused. It's been a long time since anyone has shaken her hand and she asks with an amused smile, ”What? You're not going to sniff me?”
Talia tilts her head a bit puzzled, but returns Daphne's smile, ”I can smell you just fine from here.”
Daphne laughs, ”I like you, Talia, a wild woman with tame manners.”
”So,” Eli asks, ”what brought you through our territory to visit Air?”
”You visited Air,” states Daphne with an excited smile, ”Chief Windwalker and his brother Breeze are so hot. But I've never seen Breeze smile. He always seems really sad.”
Roar answers Eli's question, ”We escorted Breeze's mate and children to him.”
”Ah,” Eli nodding understanding, ”we were discussing the familiarity of the boy's scent. We were sure he was Air.”
”So you saw us on our way through to Air,” states Wildcat.
”Yes,” confirms Eli, ”we seldom get other tribes passing through so we observed you.”
A male Night Crawler whose name they don't know yet steps up to Daphne and taps her shoulder. She leans over on one arm and hikes her leg up. The male gets down on his knees and frees himself from his loin cloth. Then without any foreplay begins to shove himself inside Daphne.
”Would you like to do me next,” Daphne asks Roar.
Roar's never been with a domesticated woman and considers it a rare opportunity, ”I'ld like that very much.”