Upon a Savage Shore Ch. 05

Author's note: First, let me thank everyone who has either sent me a message or left a comment. You've all been very supportive. I also want to let you all know there may be a delay for the next few chapters. Something has come up and I will be away for a time. I will update when I can. Never fear, I have several chapters already in draft and they will be posted. I will finish this story.

Until I return, please enjoy chapter five. I especially enjoyed writing the last conversation.

*****

The fire was burning well and Liam's improvised spit was working perfectly. He had chosen to build the fire on the dead trunk of the tree rather than down on the ground where the smoke might have drifted into the hollow trunk and choked everyone. The height of the dead trunk would also provide some protection from predators that might wander by and attack while he was focused on cooking. It had been a bit of a chore to carry enough stones up to where he wanted to roast the meat, but once done is was worth the effort. A few minutes with his knife and some branches had produced serviceable cooking implements. Now he slowly rotated the savory smelling meat, watching to be sure it did not char.

Tem'Ma'tel sat in the opening of the tree watching him tend the meat. He didn't know what to think of her. She was not so much friendly towards him as she seemed to be assessing him. He felt her eyes turn his way every few minutes, though every time he looked up she had already turned her head away. It was almost like a game.

"It's been years since I cooked anything like this," he said to her, knowing she could not understand him. "Used to hunt with my brother and a cousin. We took bighorn sheep every winter. Place I grew up was terraformed. All the wildlife came from Earth. Cold where we lived."

He glanced up and for a change she was looking his way. Her expression interested.

"You don't speak any English, do you?" he asked. She frowned in reply, but continued to look at him. He pointed to the fire and said, "Fire."

Tem'Ma'tel raised her eyebrows.

"Fire," he said again, careful in his enunciation. "Fire."

She looked away into the night and he shrugged. He was about to sprinkle more water on the meat when he heard her whisper something. He looked at her.

"Ffhhire," she said loud enough for him to hear.

"Fire," he said with a nod.

"Fire," she said, more clearly this time.

"That's right," he said with a smile. "I wish I could speak your language, but the last time I said anything in it I got engaged."

She narrowed her eyes at him as if trying to puzzle out his words. He pointed to the meat and said slowly, "Meat."

"Meeet?" she asked.

"Meat," he replied as he would say it normally.

"Meat," she said. "Fire. Meat."

"Very good," he said and sprinkled water on the roast.

"Coood," she said.

"Good," he told her. "Gu...Good."

"Cood," she said and looked at him for approval.

"I should teach you German, instead," he told her with a smile.

"Cood?" she asked.

"Your accent is too strong," he told her. "I can understand you, though."

"Cood?" she asked more insistently.

"Good," he said, hoping she would be satisfied.

"Good," she said after a long pause. Liam blinked at her and then resumed turning the spit.

Tem'Ma'tel straightened her shoulders, pleased she had impressed the Human. His language was so strange she was not sure she would ever be able to learn it, but she was determined to learn at least enough to make herself understood and to understand SarJ'ant. If they were eventually mated, it would be important in order to express herself. She must be able to tell him when she was pleased and to ask if he was pleased. Her mother had taught her that such things could make a relationship strong.

Her attention was drawn back to the Human when he drew his knife. Its edge glittered in the light of the fire and she watched curiously as he cut into the meat, examining the inside. She would have liked to test it herself, but she needed to rest and so she remained on watch. She grew even more curious when the Human sliced off a portion of the roast and popped the bit into his mouth. He seemed to be focusing on the flavor and then he smiled.

"It's not bad," Liam said and stood up, taking the spit from above the flames. "A little tough and gamey, but not bad. Want some?"

Tem'Ma'tel leaned in his direction and sniffed. The meat smelled satisfactory. It certainly was better than the rations they'd been eating. When the human cut another piece she waited for him to eat it, but he did not. He was bringing it to her! To her? They were not mated yet! What was he doing?

"Here," he said, holding the small piece of meat out to her casually. "It's hot, so be careful."

She hesitated, wondering if Klat' eil' Da would be offended if she accepted and then deciding it would be alright. It wasn't as if he'd put the meat in his teeth. This seemed more of a friendly gesture than a gifting and he had not put the meat on anything sharp. She accepted the small portion and carefully put it in her mouth. It was hot and very good, though tough. And real meat should help her leg wound heal much faster than the poor stuff they had in the rations.

"You must give some of this to the others," she tried to tell him and then pointed down into the darkened hollow of the tree.

He glanced the way she pointed, narrowing his eyes.

"I upset her earlier," he said. "Klat' eil' Da. I offended her. Or hurt her feelings."

"Klat' iel' Da?" Tem'Ma'tel said. "Her?"

"I know you don't understand," he grumbled, still looking into the darkened interior of the tree. "It's just... Hell. It's not like I even know her. She was just being a smart-mouthed kid."

"Gid?" Tem'Ma'tel asked.

"Look, I'll cut you some meat and then take the rest down to the other two," he said, standing up and pulling his knife out again. "I'll come back up here and relieve you. I bet you want some sleep after sitting up here this whole time."

She was amazed when the Human tried to give her a slice of the meat as big as her hand. She shook her head violently and pointed down into the tree. The Human looked confused again and tried to hand it to her, but she held up her palm in refusal.

"Klat' eil' Da!" she said softly but urgently. "Klat' eil' Da!"

He seemed to understand and nodded.

Clot'ilda sat in the dimness of the tree, still sorting through the supplies they had hauled back from the shelter. She was also sorting through her feelings. It had pleased her greatly to have been mated with the Human, but his strange ways worried her. And she had to admit her ways must be strange to him. She had completed only two of the required cultural classes for her specialty before this mission to map this system had come up. Nothing she had learned in them had addressed Human interpersonal relations in depth. She did not know what they might consider offensive or how they might react.

She looked up when she heard soft, rotted wood crunch under a boot heel. There he was coming straight to her, and he was carrying something that smelled wonderful! It was the meat they had taken from the predator. Her mouth began to water and she wondered if he would let her have any of it.

Liam went to one knee a pace away from Clotilda and drew his knife. In the dimness, illuminated by a single hand lamp, he could make out that her eyes were on him and her posture suggested she was paying attention. With his knife he cut a sliver of meat as long as his finger and placed it between his teeth then carefully leaned closer to her.

Clot'ilda hesitated, hardly believing her new mate was doing what he was doing. She had only ever seen older mates, mates that had been together for years and years, perform this ceremony. And yet, this Human was very strange. Clot'ilda's heart practically melted at the understanding that her mate valued her and wanted her to be happy. She leaned into him, opening her jaws and carefully took the meat from between his teeth. She sat back on her haunches and chewed, tears welling in her eyes.

"I'm sorry I upset you," Liam said and placed his hand on her shoulder. He was startled when she grabbed his hand and began rubbing her face on it the way she had done earlier. After a very long moment of that she subsided and he placed the rest of the meat in her little palm.

"Meat?" she asked, sounding confused.

"That's right," he said. "That's yours. There's plenty for everyone and we need to eat it before it goes bad."

"Your meat!" she said and thrust it back into his hands. "I... I cut meat. My meat. I cut meat. M'pel E'kmel meat. I cut meat. Tem'Ma'tel meat."

"You're going to serve both of them?" he asked, thinking he understood. "Okay, here's the knife."

She took the blade, still finding the handle oddly shaped but serviceable. Before she left to tend to the meat she leaned in and gave him a hug the way he had hugged her after the animal attack. He heard the purring she could not suppress and was glad for it.

Clotilda was gone for only a few minutes before she trotted past him on her way to deliver the fresh cut roast to her commander. They exchanged a few friendly words and then Clotilda was back and gone up the tunnel once more. Again she was gone for only a few minutes and then she was sitting in front of him offering Liam his knife back.

"I guess you meant what you said," Liam said as she sat down. "M'pel E'kmel gets the first serving and then Tem'Ma'tel."

Clotilda made happy chewing noises, but said nothing. Liam had to work to tear mouthfuls from the roasted flesh, but it tasted better than any rations he'd had recently except for the one Clotilda had fed to him before they made love. He smiled at that memory and then chuckled at the happy sounds she was making. In some ways she was like a kid and in others she was like a boozed up prom queen. And then there were some ways she was like a deadly killer. The meat was proof enough for that.

"I need to take over watch for Tem'Ma'tel," he said finishing his last bite of meat. "When you're done you should go down and relieve Commander M'pel E'kmel. They've both had a long day. And you should have this stuff back."

He fished in his pocket and came out with her study guide and the other things he'd taken from her when they'd first met. She accepted them with a smile, purring happily. As Liam stood Clotilda suddenly surged into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Take later," she breathed into his ear and hunched her hips on his belly. A little off balanced he clutched her around her slim waist and held her close for a moment before leaning his head down and kissing her lips. She purred and returned the kiss. When he let her go Liam was expecting some reluctance, but there was none. She allowed him to set her down.

"Later," he said softly. "Work first. We have to stand watch so they can sleep."

She nodded her understanding and he went up to where Tem'Ma'tel sat watching the night.

"I'll take the watch," Liam said to her as he came out of the hollow. "You need some sleep. Go rest."

The jZav'Etch blinked up at him and then seemed to understand. She handed him the rifle he'd brought to her when he'd come to cook the meat then shifted around and crawled down the slope to her nest.

Liam allowed the fire to die, munching on a piece of what remained of the roast. The cats had not left very much. He figured between the three of them they'd eaten about eight pounds of cooked meat. He'd had less than a pound and felt fairly full. And then he wondered why people still reckoned meat by the pound instead of by the kilo. It was an odd holdover.

"Sergeant?" whispered Commander M'pel E'kmel from the darkness behind him.

"Yes?" he said, turning.

"May I speak to you for a moment?" she asked.

"Sure, Commander."

"I think when day comes again we should try to secure one end of this tree," she said, walking uncomfortably into the light of the dying fire, a hand on the wall to steady herself. "Keeping two of us on watch all day and all night is not efficient."

"I agree," he said. "There just wasn't time to do anything about it today. How long was the day, anyway? Do you know?"

"I'm not certain how to calculate it in your time," she admitted. "We keep our time in our ships based on the length of the days on jZav'. I think they are roughly twenty seven hours in your calculations."

"I think that's right," he said. "Our fleet remains on Zulu time which is a holdover from ancient Earth. Our days are based on twenty four hours."

"I would say the daylight lasted about that long," she said after a moment's contemplation. "We can expect the night to be proportionately as long."

"My pod didn't have much data on this world," he told her. "Just its location and what sort of environment it has. That and a general survey it took while I orbited."

"My ship was sent to scout the system and map the planets," she said. "All of that data is still in its memory banks."

"We'll just need to see how things go, I suppose," Liam said and glanced around at the night shrouded forest. "Commander, I have some questions that I'm not sure how to ask. I don't want to be offensive, though."

"My mother always told me the way to ask an offensive question is to ask it politely," she said with a slight smile and sank down on the tree near him. "I will not take offense. Please ask."

"I will try to be polite," he said with another smile. "Why is it that you do not wear boots?"

"I thought this was going to be a question about mating!" she said nearly choking with laughter. "We do not wear boots because they are uncomfortable. Our claws need the natural wear of everyday use and when we wear boots we have to maintain them. It is more to our liking to let nature take its course and simply touch things up during our grooming."

"What about your clothing?" he asked. "I mean, jZav'Etch are covered in fur. I can't imagine clothing like your fatigues is comfortable."

"Oh, but it is," she said. "If we were to try to wear fatigues like yours it would be quite a different matter. Ours are designed to be worn over fur and to allow us freedom of movement."

"So why does Clotilda not wear her top?"

"Because it is too warm for her here," she said. "She told me you asked about her shedding fur. Soon she will have a coat very like mine and Tem'Ma'tel's. Still, she will feel too warm. Her people come from one of the colder regions on jZav'. And she was raised on a planet with a very cold climate over most of its surface. Sheets of ice cover nearly a third of the land mass."

"So why doesn't she shed her trousers and be more comfortable?"

"Because you are a male and a female does not expose herself in that way, even to her mate," M'pel E'kmel said somewhat amused. "I know she did not put her trousers back on after her bath, but she was still soaking wet. It would have been even more uncomfortable for her."

"She has shorts to wear," Liam observed. "Why doesn't she just go around in those?"

"Because they are..." She paused as if the thought had never occurred to her. "You know, I'm not sure. Perhaps I should suggest it. It would be considerably more practical except she would have no pockets."

"Maybe she could just cut the legs off her fatigue pants in that case," he suggested.

"Maybe," she said and went quiet.

"Did you want to ask me something?" Liam asked when she did not speak.

"Do you like her?" she asked.

"Clotilda? Yeah. She's funny and sweet and a little devil."

"And what of Tem'Ma'tel?"

"I don't know yet," he said honestly. "She seems a little standoffish. I can't really get a read on her. Do you think she would really try kill me if I don't mate with her?"

"From what she has said," M'pel E'kmel said. "I believe she is favorably interested in you. However, that does not mean she would not choose to kill you if you do not make the demand of Ka' chasck, formally."

"But you could order her not to," Liam said seriously. "You're still her commander."

"I am. And I could," M'pel E'kmel said with a nod. "It would cost me a large portion of her respect, though. My authority would be undermined."

"If Tem'Ma'tel kills me, Clotilda might try to kill her," he said, fishing for a way out of the potential confrontation.

"She would not," the commander said, looking away from him. "Your death in a fight would prove you were not as worthy a mate as Clot'ilda believed. Your refusal to demand Ka' chasck would damage your standing with Clot'ilda, also."

"Damned if I do. Damned if I don't," Liam grumbled.

"Why are you so hesitant, Sergeant?" M'pel E'kmel asked, turning curious eyes on him. "Tem'Ma'tel is a true soldier. She was raised to the fight as my people would say. The fact that you have displayed your cunning and your strength has gone a long way towards attracting her."

"Really?" Liam asked. "I was under the impression jZav'Etch thought Humans were cowards for wearing armor."

"Our soldiers wear armor, also," she pointed out. "It is your lack of claws that convinced some of our soldiers that you were cowards. We've been at war with you for six years by your calendar. Our soldiers have learned you are not cowards."

"We knew your people weren't cowards the first time we fought you," Liam said seriously. "Kicked our ass right off LV 427."

"And then your fleet destroyed a dozen of our battleships at W01F 426," she countered.

"You mean the Battle of Lhyme?" he asked. "That was a rough day for both sides."

"As was LV 427," she told him seriously. "Since it is of no matter now, I will tell you, Sergeant, had your forces held out one more day we would have retreated. In that battle we took so many casualties as to make it nearly a defeat."

"And we were so badly mauled the general staff almost ordered the sector abandoned," he said.

"You did not answer my question," she persisted. "Why are you reluctant to take Tem'Ma'tel?"

Liam shrugged uncomfortably. He wasn't sure himself. Finally he said, "I've never been all that good in relationships. Having a single woman to deal with and trying to figure out where I stand has always been tough. Aside from the fact the three of you are jZav'Etch, there are still THREE of you. Three times the complications. Three times the uncertainty."

"I have another question for you, Sergeant," M'pel E'kmel said, switching gears. "This one is about sex, I'm afraid."

"Um... Okay," Liam replied uncertainly.

"When Clot'ilda came to me earlier, before you mated, she was frightened."

"Yeah," he said and felt dramatically more uncomfortable.

"She said you were not as long as a male of my species, but you were hugely thick," she went on carefully. "How exaggerated was her perception?"

"I... Look, Commander, I have no idea how your males are put together. I don't know how to answer that."

"Well," she said, considering how to put what she wanted to say. "Our males are about as long as this," she said and held her fingers about twenty centimeters apart. "And they are about as big around as my finger."

Liam laughed, partly in relief and partly in embarrassment.

"I'm not quite that long," he chuckled. "But I'm a hell of a lot thicker than your finger. About three times as big around."

She sat there shocked at his answer. Was it possible the little Pah'Tht had been telling the truth?

"I'm sorry, Sergeant," she said hesitantly. "Do you mean to tell me that you were able to put your... self into a Pah'Tht?"

"A what?" he asked.

"Clot'ilda is a Pah'Tht," she said. "Her people are jZav'Etch but her breed is Pah'Tht."

"Oh. Um... Yeah. I was able to... do that."

Her eyes went wide. She put her hand over her mouth and looked away from him trying to imagine what it must have been like.