Page 24 of Hunter’s Harvest

My first thought was, wouldn’t all this life call in the scourge? But then I remembered that New Franklin had already destroyed the nest at the center of their town. We’d all gotten news of it. That would afford them some protection. But still, there were other nests around, and flyers were known to travel long distances to find prey. How did everyone here stay safe?

Whatever they did, it worked.

The humans here didn’t even give me a second glance, and when they did, it was to look at the tattered state of my loincloth and equipment. They were used to working with hunters.

Nellie shifted in my arms, clearly self-conscious that we were still stuck together. Did she not want it announced to the settlement? Had there been a male she’d been interested in before? The thought made me want to fight, but there was nothing to fight right now. As Mal’k had assured me, we were welcomed here.

“Nellie!”

Nellie turned her head, and it was like all the tension and sadness fled her body. “Kim!” The single syllable sounded like a squeal.

Then she was pulling, driving me toward a woman who’d just come out of one of the buildings. She ran toward us, her dark hair flying behind her. This must be Nellie’s sister. She didn’t look anything like my female, and if it hadn’t been for her reaction, I would’ve never guessed.

I picked Nellie up and hurried a few steps over so she could be with her sister faster. It was awkward as the other female pulled her into a crushing hug, and me with it. But the two didn’t even notice me there, even though I weighed more than both of them combined.

When her sister finally pulled back, her eyes flicked to me. “So you found yourself a warrior, huh?”

Nellie stiffened. “It’s a long story. Let’s talk about it… after.”

Tightness coiled in my chest. She did not wish to be mated to me. I understood that now that I saw the other hunters, hunters who still had their shuttles and their communicators. Hunters who knew how to live and work with her kind. I suddenly felt woefully inadequate.

She changed the topic. “I’m sorry about the oranges,” she said, finally releasing her sister.

“Don’t worry about the trade. Shit happens. We’ll figure something out. I’m sorry. I heard about Charles.”

Nellie’s shoulder slumped. “He was a good man. And Marisol is still missing. I should’ve gone back sooner, and—”

“Stop! Nellie. None of this is your fault. The only people to blame are the NEM assholes. Meghan and Mal’k are going right back out again to keep looking once the flyers clear. They’ll find Marisol.” She forced a smile. “I got you a place to stay at the new hotel. Well, it’s not new-new, but it’s been redone post-bug. But that was before I knew you got hitched with a warrior. It’s only a double bed so it might be a tight squeeze, but it’s got a working shower with hot water.”

“A hot shower!”

“They are also welcome to stay at the mothership.” I turned to see a familiar warrior, his dark hair tied back at the nape. “Var’n, it has been a while.”

“Kan’n. They told me you were alive.”

I would clasp his arm, but my arms were still stuck around Nellie. Surely the other hunter understood.

“After you flew west and we lost contact, we got the news that you were taken by hostiles. We searched for you.”

“I was held prisoner by a group some distance away. But that’s all in the past. I tried to contact you once I was freed, but you all disappeared.”

“We moved and then went silent,” I admitted. “Also, hostiles took down our shuttles. I lost mine, but recovered the power source and other equipment. Hess’n’s shuttle is intact, but nothing works.”

“If the power source is still intact and functional, they can build you a new shuttle in the mothership building. The humans here hacked it so we can print out parts for our shuttles.”

Nellie had said something similar last night. With a shuttle, I could protect her better. Perhaps her trade team needed a hunter escort to get their goods safely to their destination.

“Can we check out the hotel first?” Nellie asked. “I’m sure you want to see the mothership building, but we’ve been running around for days, and I stink. And we’re still stuck together.”

“You do not stink.”

“Says you.”

“Congratulations on your mating,” Kan’n said solemnly. “Having a mate is a challenge but very worthwhile. I’m mated with half of the Tech Wizard combo serving New Franklin and the Great Plains group.”

Mal’k had explained how it worked on the trip here. Tech Wizards were a Xarc’n military designation and something we hadn’t had since our predecessors left a destroyed and unsalvageable Xarc. But humans understood our technology more than we did, and they were able to adapt and invent new ways to use it. It had resulted in novel ways to fight the scourge, including a biological weapon that weakened the scourge’s symbiotic fungus, and the sonar repellent Nellie had shown me.

“It is strange to have human Tech Wizards, but they do understand our technology.”