Boundless

Of Memory and Touch

Ah'kaedh found himself in one of the many nooks in the internal gardens at the Mothers' Seat at his Clan Lands, waiting for his grandmother.

Moss covered the outer walls and some floor stones and crawled up tree trunks - the same moss medics used to formulate their salve.

Ah'kaedh caught the noise of steps - a group of six to eight individuals, judging by the sound. Once the Clan Mothers were closer, he stepped out of the tree shadows into the moonlight. A couple of them were startled - silent and well disguised against the night hues- his greeting made them aware of his presence.

"New Mothers?" He asked once the group left them.

"Two of them, yes", Kay'ja huffed.

Their clan kept any constructions well integrated with the environment. The presence of the Yautjas was usually enough to keep beasts at bay, but sometimes, a predator would wander too close.

The Mother Seat was fairly safe since they always had Yautjas on active guard duty.

The public gardens at the Seat also had people in and out all day and night. Those two would, in time, get used to this new piece of reality.

"You asked to have this meeting in person", Ah'kaedh was terrible at small talk.

"Come, the others are waiting," she said, guiding him through the gardens to the path leading to the complex's center.

***

There were seven Yautjas waiting for them, albeit two made themselves present long-distance - Jakhar and his aide since the Elder was responsible for managing their Clanship.

Among the physically present were Jan'tya of the faded red scales, Gor'gol, the ancient Arbiter, and Ra'jesh'kta, their clan leader for the past two centuries.

Following the meetings' protocol, Ah'kaedh waited for the Elder to make their wants and wishes known, even if there was no mystery as to the reason for today's meeting.

Here they were, reunited to discuss the matter of the one ooman prisoner the dark Enforcer wanted to keep: his Girl

***

The Matriarch's hall was equipped with the best their technology could offer and had ample space for large meetings.

The central table now had a myriad of data on display, most of it courtesy of the Dark Blade.

An extensive report signed by Lar'jar was projected to the far left and showed detailed track of the ooman's health and progress.

"Heat", Ra'jesh'kta grumbled, as if trying to digest the concept of a mutated ooman specimen.

"It's not unheard of," Gor'gol seemed far too unworried by the subject.

"The only accounts we have notice of were provided by the Dark Blade", Jan'tya pointed out (who was not known for being trusting). And she despised that clan for more than one reason.

"I met one female with the same condition during my early years as an enforcer", Gor'gol quipped. "A hunter of the Desert gave his blood to a female ooman. She smelled... different".

"Were you pursuing them?" Jan'tya inquired.

"Distress call", the male clarified. "It was not my place to decide their destiny. I dropped them by the Nomads' Temple".

"The existence of other cases is not important at the moment", Ra'jesh'kta looked over Jan'tya, silently commanding her to drop the pettiness.

"Ah'kaedh says the female will be useful in the pursuit of the remaining four Bad Bloods".