𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝘿𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙭

|7| Mom & Sister

TAERIC

I instantly go on guard, expecting it to be another creature like the one that had come after Emara earlier. But rather than scratching and yowling, I hear happy yipping and watch as the giant creature licks Emara on the face. She tries to push the animal back with one arm and uses the other to rub her face clean of the creature's slobber.

"Wait, wait, Bear! No kisses," she says, trying to sound stern through her laughter but failing. "What, did you miss me that bad?" She scratches behind the creature's ears.

I relax, realizing that this creature must be a vasdus. Even on Dervidix, we have creatures we adopt and take in to take care of. Many males on my planet did this to have some sort of company and others for added help and protection when defending their kin.

"Baar?"

She looks up, remembering me again. "Ahh, yes. This is Bear! He isn't a real bear. That's another animal. He is my pet dog, and I've had him since I was a kid."

I wonder why she did not bring her creature with her while out. It could have helped protect her! My question is answered as a small kit runs to her, cutting her off. His eyes are wet with tears as he clings to her leg. She scoops him up and hushes him, patting his back soothingly.

"Mommy!" the young kit wails.

Mommy? Does she have a mate after all, then? My heart drops at the thought. She would be perfect for any male. I couldn't have expected the first female I stumbled upon to be my mate, anyway. That was preposterous. Unrealistic. I have only known her for a few hours. And yet it seems my heart still hoped.

"Sorry! I was trying to clean up the toys we had been playing with and-" another female says before she spots me. Another one comes up behind her. Their fear washes toward me in waves. "Mara, w-who is this?" the older-looking one asks.

"Come on, let's go sit by the fire and get warmed up, and I will explain." Emara adjusts the small boy on her hip, grabbing the soft toy from the girl's hand. She sets him between the two small females and gives him the stuffed creature.

I sit on the floor and watch as she lit the fire. The room starts to warm as Emara sits in a big chair next to the fire. The small boy crawls off the couch quickly and into her lap, seeming to melt into her.

She lets out a deep breath. "Well, where do I start?" She absentmindedly rubs the boy's back. "Sorry for leaving you upstairs for so long. I was helping him because he saved my life. This is Taeric." The two girls whip their heads in my direction, all fear gone from their wide eyes. Amazement and wonder fill them instead. "Good news is, we are gonna have plenty of food tonight since I got a two rabb-"

"Woah, woah, woah, are you just going to skip over him SAVING YOUR LIFE?" The older one asks.

"Well, there was a mountain lion and-"

"A mountain lion!?" the younger-looking kit screeches, squishing closer to the older one. The small boy shakes at her outburst and hides his face in Emara's neck.

Emara is quick to soothe their fears. "Don't worry. He is dead. Taeric helped me carry him home. I am going to use every bit I can."

The young females nod with relief, and the smallest kit seems to calm a bit. "Yeah, we are ok! We have Bear, too!" The younger female says as she pats the vasdus's head.

"Exactly!" Emara says with a confident smile. "As for who he is... I don't know how to say this, or if you will believe me. But he is an alien...as in, from outer space. His ship looked like it crashed in the water?" She looks at me for confirmation before continuing, and I nod my head. "The mountain lion came out of nowhere, and he had to save me." The girls stared in awe. "He got a little cut up. I brought him back here so that I could help him." The young females gasp a bit at hearing I had been hurt, and I smile over their kindness.