I always believed that if I found a woman, that I would gratefully take her home. Now I can’t see myself returning home ever, and it doesn’t sit right within me. It’s like I am breaking an agreement with my tribe.
But a human woman cannot bear Honey children.
Does that make the situation different? It’s not as though any of us imagined meeting humans.
This is one of those things we debated around the campfire many times. One of the reasons we did not cross the ocean and return home is because we are so used to being brothers. Going home means separating, and as much as I love the familyI left behind, they do not understand me the way my banished brothers do. We have fought together, hunted together, crossed the ocean and found the mythical continent and an even stranger people…
As much as the number of people is overwhelming, I am enjoying learning about them. Though I would rather hunt every day than wash and mend clothes.
There’s a soft tap on my door.
It’s Harper. The electrical charge of her heart is familiar enough for me to sense her without seeing her. I unlock the door to let her in.
“Errr…” Her gaze drops from my face and skims over my chest, then lower to where the colony pants cling to my meq. I am glad I gave myself some pleasure before showering, but even so, my body responds to her nearness.
“Come in.” I don’t want to talk in the hallway.
She steps in and shuts the door. “Did you want to finish getting dressed?”
I hadn’t been planning to put a top on. I only pulled the pants on because Edilk said Harper wanted to see me, otherwise I’d be naked. “I am ready for bed.”
“Oh…I’m sorry I…” Her gaze jumps away.
“I invited you in. It is fine.”
“Is it? Really? Because from talking to your brothers, I got the impression that it’s all a bit much.” She waves her hand. “I don’t want to add to it.”
“You are correct, but you are not adding to it. You wanted to see me because we argued?”
She presses her lips together and nods. “I didn’t want to leave things so tense.”
I sit on the edge of my bed, and she sits opposite me on the chair. Her eyebrows pull together. “You aren’t wearing your device.”
Shit.I took it out to shower and didn’t put it back in. “My English is good enough for a conversation.”
Her eyes narrow even though I practice my English with her when working together. “You like to let people believe you can’t speak English very well.”
“It’s always better to let people underestimate you. Would you prefer I put it in so that we can talk more easily?” In our little village we stopped using the whisperers. We used English with the human mates, and if we struggled, we communicated by touch, learning whatever word we needed.
She shakes her head. “Unless you need it? When did you learn?”
“We had months, and we didn’t want to rely on technology that was going to end up failing.”
“How did you learn?”
I consider her for several heartbeats, then I hold out my hand. “I’m not going to shock you. But that same charge allows us to communicate silently, not only with my brothers at a distance, but with humans if we are touching.”
She cautiously reaches out a hand and places it in mine. Her hand is so much smaller, though her palm is as rough as mine from work.Did you come here to try my jerky?
Harper laughs. “Oh my god. I heard your voice in my head. How is that possible?”
I don’t know. You don’t have kams, but you appear to be sensitive to the charge. Enough that it works by touch. Also, I’m using my language.
“Wow. And that’s how you learned?”
I release her hand before I become too accustomed to touching her. My body wants to do more than hold her hand. My meq hardens, pressing against my pants. I wish I had put on a shirt to hide the growing bulge.
“That is how I learned. Though there are plenty of words that I am missing—like washing machine and shower—so it is useful to wear.”
