Grace of An Elder

Chapter 21

It felt like an eternity before A'ytu arrived with a small syringe full of bright orange fluid and pumped it into the arm opposite of the one he'd stuck earlier in the day. Dahdtoudi had made it very clear that she did not appreciate the added discomfort in the middle of her crisis, and A'ytu had paid the price with his shin. Had she been a Yautja, the kick could have very well broken his leg, and for once the healer was glad she was so much smaller than the rest of the population.

It was several hours before Dahdtoudi felt any kind of relief from the so-called "fever pains", but when the second serum finally kicked in, it was a relief to everyone involved. A'ytu had informed Tah'kath and Daih'kea that the orange fluid would lesson the side affects without counteracting the initial serum's abilities. After they were sure the girl was in the clear, A'ytu left them to "discuss" the issue.

The couple had assisted Dahdtoudi to her quarters and then placed an administrative lock on the outer control panel to avoid Zaiyu intruding on her.

"Explain. Now." Daih'kea's tone was harsh and more than a little threatening, but Tah'kath didn't flinch.

"Dahdtoudi requested a serum to slow her aging process, and A'ytu was able to develop it, but we weren't sure if her system would actually accept it. Worst case scenario, nothing happens. Then I remembered how she always wanted to be able to birth pups of her own, and..."

"And you modified the formula." Daih'kea crosses her arms over her chest as her mandibles flared in anger.

"I asked A'ytu to modify it, yes. We assumed the worst case would be that it wouldn't work. Best case would be-"

"This?!" The female gestured towards the human's quarters with an outstretched hand, cocking her head to the side for added emphasis.

"That it works extremely well, yes." His expression was solemn as she stared down her mate. After a long moment she rubbed her forehead and let out a frustrated trill of clicks.

"She cannot leave the dwelling until this passes, Tah'kath. If it pans out like I'm hoping, she will recover and then have an extra week of training before the chiva trial battles." The Elder nodded in understanding before his mate voiced another thought. "I'm just surprised it hit so hard...usually the heat will ease into a female's body and then intensify gradually. I am very surprised it got so bad within an hour."

"Two minutes." He corrected. "It kicked in within two minutes. T'ahrou was affected immediately, but he wasn't crazed like Zaiyu." Her eyes were wide with angry confusion again.

"What was T'ahrou doing there?!"

"I asked him to help me with something, and his hand was cut in the process. We went to see A'ytu to get medi-gel for his wound."

"What exactly was he helping you with?"

A heavy silence fell between them for what felt like several minutes, and Tah'kath swallowed hard. "Finding an excuse for me to be in A'ytu's laboratory...I didn't want Dahdtoudi to know that I was there to see if she was getting the injection, so I needed an excuse. So we...I cut his hand."

Daih'kea threw her hands in the air before turning to walk away from her mate. "You are psychotic, Tah'kath!" She stepped into the dining area to prepare a plate of fruit and meat with a large container of fruit juice. "All of this chaos, and what chance does she have of actually having a chance to be a mother?! No one will take a human as a mate!"

"I know...I figure if nothing else, we could speak with A'ytu of artificial insemination." Daih'kea let out a threatening growl, and Tah'kath's posture straightened as his face took on a serious expression.