“What time are we leaving tomorrow?” Taylor asked as she ate the evening meal. We were all seated at the tables surrounding the cookfire and discussing the plans for our journey to the ship.
“We should leave at first light so we will only have to make camp once before getting to the ship,” Brexl suggested.
“First light it is,” Kayla sighed. I had observed that she was not a morning person. She wasn’t the last person to get up from the furs, but she was close. I liked that though. It gave me time to prepare her stimulant drink. I’ve gotten a lot of things wrong with Kayla, but making sure her morning drink is ready by the time she wakes up seems to be the one thing I’ve gotten right.
Participating in the larping seems to be another thing I got right. Chasing Kayla around the kala and hearing her laughter fill the space was the most fun I’d had in seasons.
And I could have sworn there was desire in her eyes when I fell to my knees before her. I’d gladly geton my knees before her if she would look at me like that again.
She seemed less irritated with me now that I had finished her chariot, but I wouldn’t say she was pleased to be around me. We were in a strange middle ground between dislike and friendship and I hoped this trip to the spaceship would push us toward the latter.
“I better start getting ready for tomorrow then,” Kayla got up from the table and headed to the storage cavern where the human females slept.
“Yeah, me too,” Taylor agreed.
I finished my dinner and sat on a chair against the wall and sharpened spears. I didn’t need them, but it was a pleasant thing to do with my hands. The elders used them when they went out on hunts, so I tried to keep our stock of spears high.
“Shall we retire to our cave?”
Gab-bae was sitting on Tarak’s lap when he suggested they leave the main cavern. His hand had remained on her stomach for the entire time she sat with him. It was a wonder of wonders that one of us not only found a mate, but will soon have a sietling as well. To go from outcast to sire was no small feat for us shifters.
I had forced myself to stay away from such dreams. Even with Kayla constantly on my mind, I still didn’t dare to think that I could have what Tarak does. I knew I had messed things up with Kayla, and at this point I could only hope for friendship with the female that dominated my thoughts morning, noon,and night.
I got up from my chair with the idea that I would head to my private cave, but instead I found myself walking toward the hu-man’s cavern. Laughter rang out down the hallway and I could hear Kayla’s voice among the others.
“He did not,” she said.
“Oh yes, he did. This man told me that he never paid for his date’s meal because he wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to end up with a gold digger,” Anusha explained.
I strolled past the door and witnessed nearly all the hu-mans plus Neelu and Drondia gathered around Kayla to unbraid her hair. They all sat on the floor in their bonnets and night clothes.
“Was he rich?” Sarah asked.
“No! He told me he worked in finance, but halfway through the date, he admitted he was an entrepreneur.”
“We all know what that means,” Ashley added.
“What does that mean?” Sarah looked confused as she undid another red braid.
“It means he was unemployed,” Kayla explained.
“Oh,” Sarah still looked confused, but she asked no more questions.
Their activity looked like a traditional bonding experience for females, but I still wished I could join in. I’d love to sit with Kayla for hours, working her hair to perfection.
“All done. That was the last one,” Ashleyremarked as she undid the final braid.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed out their shoulders and wrists, everyone but Hai.
“Let’s brush it out and get to braiding!” Hai encouraged.
“Uh, uh, uh,” Neelu held up her hand, and the women paused.
“Be mindful now, and brush blessings into her hair.”
“And with each new braid, speak life or a wish over Kayla to lock in good luck and joy for her future.”
Kayla’s eyes turned glossy with unshed tears. “Thank you.”
