Scientific Fantasies (Wattys2015)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Finally, they came to a decision. Natalia was going to stay, with the fledglings and her father, while Sam and Aiden would find a place in town to stay for the next couple of days. Linda had called back, and was happy to stay with her family a bit longer.  As night began to fall, some of the fledglings became more animated, most of them waking from the exhausted sleep they had fallen into from the trials they'd been through. And they were starving.

It made for a chaotic dinner, but Natalia felt better than she had in weeks, freely laughing, and barely any dark thoughts coming to her. She even ate more than she normally did, although she was always conscious of Sam's watchful gaze on her, making sure that she did sit down and eat.

They avoided talk of the decision they'd made. There was no point in going over it again when they'd exhausted every argument, and Natalia was firm in her decision. She was going to stay in the valley if she could. If not, she would make the house she bought suitable for the fledglings to hide in, and be safe. There was no other way she would consider it.

Alise still stayed close to Natalia, holding onto the edge of her shirt as she moved around the kitchen, trembling whenever one of the men came near her. Eventually, Natalia picked her up, carrying her instead, and the added closeness seemed to calm the girl. She finally relaxed enough to rest her head on Natalia's shoulder, watching everything that was going around her with wide eyes.

The conversation was full of laughter and jokes, and tiny pointed barbs at Sam, but he only returned them, laughing as well. But the atmosphere helped to relax Natalia, helping her get rid of the stress and tension that had been building up in her over the past few months, and that had begun to manifest in nightmares and insomnia.

As the night grew older, though, she retreated outside, confident that Linda would soon have all the fledglings comfortable and sleeping. Needing some time to herself, and with Alise once again fast asleep in the room she was sharing with Natalia, the young woman lay out on the grass, looking up at the stars. Mel and Jet came over to her, trying to get her to play, but when she didn't move, they lay down beside and on top of her, falling asleep with her.

Talon found her there after a while, still staring at the stars. She knew he was there, as did the dogs, but she didn't move. She sensed him hesitate before he finally made up his mind, and settled near her, sitting on the grass. Jet transferred his affections to the boy, lying over his lap. It made Natalia smile slightly, but she still didn't speak.

They sat in silence for a while, and Natalia let her thoughts roam, not thinking about anything in particular. Talon was the one who spoke first, softly, like he didn't want to disturb her.

"Why are you doing this?"

She didn't answer straight away, thinking about it. At last, she stirred slightly, still not looking at him. She merely moved enough to fondle the dog's ears. "I have to," she said, just as quietly.

"But why?" He shook his head slightly. "I don't understand."

She tried to say it so that he could understand what she wasn't sure she could explain that well. "We hurt you," she said, slowly, thinking it through. "And that was wrong. I want to help you now, because I hurt you before." She rubbed a knuckle over Mel's head, making the dog grunt softly in pleasure. "I don't expect you to understand. I barely understand why."

He was silent, and she didn't disturb him. A companionable silence fell between them, made only more comfortable by the sounds of the dogs when they shifted in their sleep. Natalia was pretty sure that it was the first time they'd been in the same place without some sort of tension between them. For the first time, they could both relax, with no fear of what was going to happen to any of them in the near future.