I sucked in a breath, hoping the Sky God did not take offense.
“Apologies,” the Sky God replied to my relief. “I should have told you to expect that.”
One by one, first Sahm and then the others, sat down and wore the helmet. All except the last male, whose name I forgot, who first had to lie down and have much table tapping and lights shone into his eyes from a stick in the healer’s hand.
I didn’t pay much attention to any of that. I was too busy enjoying this moment, standing off to one side, Rah-bee looking up at me, his arms around my waist and mine around him in turn. We said nothing, each of us simply savoring this moment, knowing that from now on, we’d be able to speak with all the words.
Rah-bee was the one who chose to break that moment, his lips quirking up.
“So, I hear we’re mates? That you giehz have only one and you can tell by scent.”
“Yes,” I replied hoarsely.
“And you’re really happy that’s me? You really like me for me and not just how I smell?”
“Yes,” I replied again, wondering why now that we had all the words between us, that was all I could seem to find to say.
He gusted out a sigh, looking relieved. “Cool. Because I really like you. Um, and not just because you’re the really nice guy who saved me. It’s more than that. Yes, at first I think I was, um, drawn to you for the safety you gave me, but then I saw through your differences, to the hot bahd and how I felt when you touched me, and looked at me, and oh, shit, I’m not doing this right.”
I chuckled. “Are you trying to say that you find me appealing as a mate, my Rah-bee?”
He flushed that delightful shade of pink that meant he was embarrassed. It was as adorable as always.
“Yes! So, um, how do we do this?”
“Do what?”
“Get mated.”
I blinked down at him. Was my Rah-bee a virgin? Did his people not explore bodily pleasure? It was quite usual to enjoy the bodies of friends until we scented our mate. A mate who very well could be someone you knew, and their scent one day simply changed. It had become rarer, with fewer young being born as a result, but with the hoomuns here and Rah-bee being my mate, perhaps that would change. Perhaps some of the females would also turn out to be mates of some from our village.
“It’s like getting mayrheed, right? Like, do we say vows in front of our friends and then it’s recognized by everyone? All leeghul and shit?”
“Vows?”
“Yeah, you know, in a ceremony.”
Understanding flooded me. “Ah! No. Claiming a mate is private. And all will know because our scents will change so we will always smell like ourselves and each other.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He looked disappointed, which would not do.
“How do hoomuns organize their mating ceremonies? Does your village chief or Council organize them? And is it for all who have found their mates but not had a ceremony?” Whatever this ceremony was, if my Rah-bee wanted one before he would let me claim him, then I’d make certain he got one.
34
ROBBIE
It looked like I’d opened up a whole new can of worms.
“Um, sort of. We have to get a license…umm…that is written permission to get mar- I mean mated. Then we find someone approved by, uh, our Council, to be the celebrant. That’s the person who tells everyone what we’re all there for, prompts us to say our vows to each other at the right point, and then we kiss, and eat a lot of good food, and there’s music and dancing. And um, then the Council makes a record of our mating and gives us a piece of paper saying that we are officially a mated couple.”
“Like a keepsake?” He asked, his brow furrowing.
“Yeah. But also needed in case we have to prove we’re mated. Some of the, um, really big Councils oversee a lot of um, smaller Councils and chiefs, so they like to make sure someone isn’t already mated to someone else.”
“But we only get one mate.”
