Page 20 of Feral Tamed

He sighed, pursing his lips so that the double rings piercing his bottom lip glinted brightly in the light. “And you felt the need to hide her from me? When I asked you to look for her?” He wanted to know why I had done that, why I had hidden Fluffy from everyone on the ship. It was hard to think of good reasons why exactly I had, it was hard to articulate, just instinct. What stood out most was the worry that they’d wanted to lock her up, in case she tried to harm another being.

“Fluffy is harmless,” I started, “You might have locked her up. But she poses no risk to anyone… she didn’t kill Meian.” It was like a weight had lifted from my chest, coming clean about this. Lying, and hiding things, from my brothers had always felt wrong. I couldn’t let them think that Fluffy was a danger, I wouldn’t let them take the Riho from Hina. They had bonded.

Thorin’s eyebrows went up, “What makes you say that? Riho venom was found in his system. That’s rather obvious evidence don’t you think?” My mind flashed back to that night almost immediately, going over the events that had led to my confrontation with the pirate. I had been shocked to run into him, because he was an unfamiliar male, one I’d never met before. He’d smelled foul, had cursed at the Riho when she’d given him a merry chase across the ship. He’d only been able to follow her because of a tracking device.

I’d stumbled onto them, watched as the bastard had grabbed her by her scruff, and shook her until she mewled in pain. I’d been on him before I could curb the impulse. I’d punched him until he’d turned toward me, and then I’d snatched Fluffy’s deadly tail from his grip and slammed that barb in his belly. So yes, of course, there was Riho venom. That’s what had done him in, but it wasn’t Fluffy who’d stabbed him with her barb.

I explained this in a few short sentences, hoping at least they wouldn’t consider Fluffy dangerous now. Even if they might think I was unhinged, unable to control my impulses, killing that pirate without hesitation. The truth was, sometimes I thought I was a little out of control, more animal than man. Look at how I’d already growled at the Doc just now, how I’d snarled at Jakar a bunch of times since my return, just because I knew he was eager for a mate.

“Hmm,” Thorin sighed, he shared a look with Ziame, “Did the pirate say anything? Did you realize who he was?” I shrugged, unsure what information they were looking for, and at this point eager to get the conversation over with. “Come on Fierce, help us out here, why didn’t you come forward and tell us what happened when we found the body?”

Now that the secret of my camouflaging skill was out, it was even harder to control the instinctive shifts, especially now that I felt cornered. The instinct to strike back was even stronger, “What does it matter!? He was a pirate, he tried to harm a tiny helpless creature!” I shoved away from the medical cot, ready to stalk out, my skin shifting to partial camouflage.

If any of the males present had tried to stop me, I feared it would have ended in a fight. My instincts told me to strike before they struck me, but it was Camila. No matter how angry, and how worried I was, I wasn’t about to harm Thorin’s female when one blow could kill her. She stepped bravely into my path, her fists on her hips, and her chin tilted sharply at an angle. “Hold on Fierce, we’re not mad about him being dead, you did what you had to. We just want to understand why.”

I fought to reign in the growl in my chest, the urge to push her aside, and leave this room. Looking down at her I noted how dark Camila’s eyes were, so similar to Hina’s though the similarities ended there. Hina was all delicate and small, with softly rounded edges and tiny perky breasts compared to Camila’s voluptuous curves. I’d envied Thorin his female before because she was so strong and brave, and she seemed to fit with him just right.

Now I understood that brave could come in many different forms. Like facing a strange alien that you couldn’t understand, jumping into a raging river, following a stranger into the dark, and selfless caring for others. So I owed it to Hina to try and make this right, to myself too, to salvage this damn mess I’d created. “I thought you’d kick me off the ship,” was hard to say though, to admit that I feared that I was the danger.

Camila shook her head, “Why would we do that?” She didn’t get it obviously, but when I looked over my shoulder at Ziame and Thorin, I saw their dark frowns. They did, they worried. I’d broken the trust between my brothers and me. A lifetime of hiding things, things I cared for, and things I’d done wrong so that my slave owners wouldn’t punish me or take it away. This is what I had created with that behavior. I couldn’t blame them for not trusting me, not at all.

So I shrugged, moved around Camila, and hurried from the med bay as fast as I could. Behind me, I heard her call out, “What the hell is Fluffy for a name anyway? Your naming skills suck.” I could tell it was meant to be a taunt, a tease to pull me out of this dark mood, but as it was Hina who’d called her Fluffy, I wasn’t about to admit I thought the name was silly too.

My instincts were to locate Hina, to stake my claim again in front of everyone. I headed for the brig instead, hiding, feeling like I wasn’t good enough. I had messed up everything, and I had nothing to contribute aboard this ship. My brothers didn’t trust me and rightly so. They hadn’t said they wanted to kick me off the ship, but I feared that they’d decide on that anyway. If not just because of my crime, but also because I was a burden, bringing in more and more mouths to feed.

Chapter 13

Hina

I was a little apprehensive about following a guy I’d just met who looked much like a real-life gargoyle. He was both terrifying and ugly, with tusks protruding from his mouth, and a glower on his face that seemed more unfortunate than on purpose. He had excellent manners, even if the huge wings made him seem almost as big as the green-scaled guy with horns, who was close to eight feet tall. Knowing all of them had been gladiators before they escaped their master only made them look more fearsome.

“Jakar and Da’vi have been working to set up hydroponics in ten of the unneeded crew quarters. They hope to be able to grow some of our own food,” the male rumbled at me in a voice that sounded like rock sliding across rock. It was all gravel and grit, much like his appearance.

Hydroponics sounded like a great idea, for a ship this size they probably had the space. If I understood it all correctly, this was only a small group of people. Not even ten gladiators, and a few human women. Growing food for a small group like that was absolutely doable. I wondered how much these two men knew about growing food and if they could use my help. As a xeno-botanist, it was only loosely related to my area of expertise, but I was sure I could help.

“I can’t wait until they grow some actual tomatoes, nothing beats biting into a fresh, juicy tomato if you ask me,” Abby sighed from behind me. I sent her a smirk, knowing what she meant, though I couldn’t stand tomatoes myself. Fresh cucumber though, pickled and spiced in a salad, that sounded heavenly right now. I still vaguely recalled what was supposed to pass as my last meal back on Earth, soggy, thin mashed potatoes, rubbery steak, and wilted green beans. I had considered passing up on it because it was so unappetizing.

We stepped into a corridor lined with doors, one of several we’d already traversed. One of the crew quarters was open and I could hear banging and muttering coming from inside it. Sunder, the gargoyle male gestured with his arm, “They converted all these rooms I believe, although they have yet to try and grow anything in the hydro pods. Hey Jakar, you got a moment?”

The banging seized immediately and not one but two heads peeked out of the room. There was the younger, red-skinned male, with a splattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks that were brightly colored yellow. A short mop of black hair topped his skull in that bedhead fashion. Though instead of studiously applied and kept in shape with product, this was no doubt genuine. He looked like a guy fresh from the military, healthy, in shape, and eager. Like the Spacies I’d see in bars back on Earth after they were first released from basic training, when they hadn’t yet seen anything, hadn’t been through any kind of combat for real.

The other male was the complete opposite, with a deep frown, and closed-off expression. He had a mane of thick purple and black hair in braids, two horns spiraling up from his forehead, and his black skin seemed cracked and marbled with glowing purple lines. He wore a coverall stained with grease streaks, his hands wiping at a cloth to clean them, which is when I realized his hands were robotic prosthetics. Segmented and shiny black, they were so realistic that if he hadn’t drawn my attention to them with that cloth, I would have never noticed.

“What is it Sunder?” the younger of the two asked, he stepped out of the quarters they were in and spread out all four of his arms. “Can I help with anything?” He seemed incredibly eager to please, practically bouncing on his feet. His eyes were not on Sunder but on Abby and me, then they darted down to take in Snarl, who’d followed me out of the med bay and was now sitting at my feet.

“I have some plant samples here that I’d like to get into some dirt so they might make it,” I said and I jiggled the bag overflowing with vines and blooms. I loved that Fierce had gone out of his way to fetch me some of these plants, just because I’d eagerly pointed at them, and mentioned they reminded me of my favorite plant back home. I’d wanted to take many samples down on that planet, but just having one was making me happy.

The grumpier guy, who I assumed was Da’vi, huffed before jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. “We just installed the last set of pods but we hadn’t yet decided what to grow where.” He eyed Jakar, “If anything breaks, let me know.” Then he stalked away, a tail with a sharp point at the end lashing the air behind him as he walked, everything in his posture screaming ‘leave me the hell alone’.

“Don’t mind Da’vi,” Jakar said, then added with a chuckle, “He’s all Doom and gloom most days.” His laughing eyes shot from Sunder to Abby, “Get it? Doom!” Then he laughed uproariously at his own joke. I didn’t get what he was laughing about, was Doom the guy’s nickname or something? If so that seemed a little mean to call him behind his back.

Abby snorted, “Doom was the name Da’vi fought under as a gladiator.” She jabbed Jakar in the upper shoulder with a hand, “Behave kid, we still need to convince Hina she wants to live here with us lunatics.” That sobered the guy right up, his freckled face going from yellow spots to deep orange.

He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and gestured me into the small room with another, “Sorry Abby. This way Hina, you can pick a pod and put your plant in. I don’t mind which you pick.” He took my bag from my hands without asking as I passed him, cradling it gently in both lower hands as he indicated the various pods and how the system was set up with his other two.

I liked the kid, and he’d clearly worked hard to learn the system, and as much about growing things in them as he could. He was eagerly showing what he knew, and offering me as much space for my not-wisteria samples as I liked. They were climbers, so I needed to make sure that when other things got planted, this plant wasn’t going to start strangling anything. To that end, I picked a pod at the end of the small room, previously this area had held lockers which they must have removed, now there were lots of screw and bolt holes left I could have the plant climb along. If it took hold that is.

Soon the two of us were lost in working with the plants, exchanging ideas, and working out various methods of planting to maximize the chance of one of these shoots actually growing. Abby had long since disappeared and while Sunder had looked on for a while longer, he too left at some point. Now it was just me and Jakar, which was pleasant once the young guy got over his initial combination of shyness and eagerness to please me.