CHAPTER SIX

 

“Rin, Xar won’t take me with him to get the others. You can carry me, though, right?” She tried to give him her best “little sister” look. By his expression, she failed. She didn’t have a sister, and from the way Rin was regarding her, she must be doing an excellent impersonation of a confounding creature with two heads and a spinning top hat.

Giving up on him, she turned to Torox. He was the clan leader. “Torox. Please, could you allocate someone to help me with this?”

He was giving her the two-headed-creature look as well. “Your mate is there to help you. What do you say, Xar?”

“I will not risk my mate like that,” Xar said at once.

“As I expected. No Xenshi male would.” He smiled indulgently at Madison. “I am not fool enough to get between a male and his mate. Do not worry, I am sure he will take you exploring another time.”

Madison was furious but didn’t feel as comfortable showing her anger to the rest of the clan as she did with Xar. He’d made it clear he’d accept her no matter what, but she was still a guest of Torox’s clan and she didn’t want to risk turning him against her.

Once again, she stalked off in a huff. She was running out of places to stalk off to. There were multiple platforms in the home tree, but she couldn’t get to most of them by herself. She stood at the edge, looking down, wondering if she had any chance of climbing to the ground and living to tell the tale.

“I hope you’re not thinking of jumping.”

She wasn’t entirely surprised that Xar had followed her. “I’m trying to work out how to climb down. If none of you will carry me, then I might decide to go on my own.”

“That would be inviting death. Even a Xenshi wouldn’t be foolish enough to travel on the ground. You’d be vriax breakfast before you could so much as scream.”

She knew he was telling the truth. After all, he’d gone to great lengths to keep her and the other women off the ground. She still wasn’t happy about it though. “So what I want doesn’t matter?”

“What you want matters a great deal, but if you wish to endanger yourself, I’m afraid I can’t allow it.”

“I’d like to be alone now.”

Xar briefly touched her shoulder before retreating to his room. Madison watched morosely as the majority of the clan swung through the trees, on their way to rescue the others.

It wasn’t long before she became bored. Xar had promised to teach her about life on Xenshar, but she was still mad at him for not letting her go with the others. She wandered aimlessly around the platform for a while. The vibration of her footsteps must have been disturbing someone because a Xenshi woman emerged from another vine-enclosed room. Madison remembered seeing her the day before but couldn’t recall her name.

“Are you well, Madison? I am Zazora, the healer.”

Madison shrugged. “I’m not sick, thank you. Xar has been taking good care of me.”

“Yet you seem unhappy.”

Madison didn’t want to complain, but Zazora took her arm and led her to what looked like a sick bay. There were tall cupboards full of herbs, and two raised beds.

“Tell me your troubles. I am an old woman. I remember much that others have forgotten. Perhaps I can ease your mind.”

Zazora’s manner was comforting, and Madison couldn’t deny that she wanted to talk to someone.

“It’s Xar. I thought we were getting along well, but then he refuses to allow me to go to rescue the other humans. Refuses! Like I’m his property! Is that how your people do things? Men are allowed to control their mates? Decide what they can and can’t do?”

“No, child, that’s not how it is at all. Here, have some tea, and I will tell you about it. Have you noticed how your mate is different to the other males?”

“He’s mostly rational, but when it comes to me, he sometimes goes a bit crazy, whether it’s about my safety, or someone insulting me, or making sure I have everything I need.”

“He was not like that when he was taken. He is a mated male. Something changes in the mind of the male when they find their mates. I remember studying it when I was younger, when matings were common. It is like they are filled with a fire. Their minds and bodies change. I think you know more about this than I do.”

“You mean he’s changing chemically? His instincts are powered by physical changes he can’t control?”

“Yes, child, that is what I mean. These chemicals, they are the substances in our bodies that control our emotions and reactions, yes?”

“Yes.” Madison thought Zazora understood a lot more than she gave herself credit for. “I guess maybe I’ve been a bit unfair to him. He’s really been wonderful to me. It’s just so frustrating when he goes all controlling like that.”

“He will learn to manage his instincts. Just give him time. I doubt he will ever be happy letting you put yourself in danger, but once he is thinking more clearly, the two of you will be able to work out solutions that give you what you want without endangering yourself. It is what all mates do.”

It sounded so reasonable when Zazora put it like that. Madison wondered if Xar was just as mad at her as she was at him. Perhaps she should have found out more before exploding at him.

Zazora was watching her intently. “Do not worry, child. Finding a mate is a learning experience for both. You will get there.”

“Thanks, Zazora.” Madison drained the last of the tea, which tasted strangely but pleasantly like cocoanuts. “I think I’ll go talk to Xar now.”

“That is wise, Madison. Good luck.”

Madison stood sheepishly outside Xar’s room, not sure how to knock when the only door was a bunch of hanging vines. Before she could come to a decision, Xar appeared, parting the vines easily with a hand.

“My mate. Why do you wait outside?”

“I wasn’t sure if you’d want to see me.”

“I always want to see you.”

He made it sound so simple. Madison fidgeted with her hands as she sat down on the beautifully carved wooden chair. “Are you mad at me?”

“No, but I am worried for you. This is not the world you know. There are dangers here that you know nothing of. I worry you will hurt yourself before I can teach you everything you need to know.”

She nodded, still not meeting his eyes. “I talked to Zazora. She explained a bit more about how your people change when you find a mate, that you can’t always control your instincts at first. It doesn’t happen that way for men on Earth.”

“I expected as much. Our people are very different. I understand your frustration. In times past, when we had pups, they would beg endlessly to be allowed to run free. Parents wouldn’t allow it until they’d learned to climb well enough that they wouldn’t fall. If you’d like, I can start teaching you now.”

“I would like that.”

There was a lot to learn. First, she helped Xar string vines so that she could get to the bathroom herself. If “help” could be defined as tagging along and watching him do it. She was too short to reach any of the branches.

He showed her the different types of vines hanging all over the tree, explaining which ones were good for what. Some were strong and stiff, good for swinging from. Others were thin and delicate, used to string up small objects. Others were greener and suppler. These they used to create walls and doors.

After that, they worked on ladders. Xar taught her the simple design for a rope ladder. Thick sticks had holes drilled into them and were then strung onto vines, tied into rungs with knots in between each one.

They sat side by side, using hand-held drills, which were basically sharpened, elongated rocks, to drill holes through the wood. Xar had other sticks drying by the fire, and Zazora had agreed to fetch some more of the vines for them.

Madison hadn’t realized how long it would take to make just one short rope ladder. Making enough to allow humans to move freely in the home trees seemed an enormous task, though Xar assured her it would go faster once the others came back and helped. Madison wondered just how upset the clan would be when the humans took off for good.

 

* * *

 

As they worked, they talked. When Xar wasn’t educating her about life on Xenshar, Madison worried aloud about the flying cave. While her people knew much about the stars, it seemed they had experience with the device the yellow creatures used to transport them.

“And as far as I know, none of us is an engineer, so we’ll really be stumbling around in the dark. With the pilot dead, our only chance as I see it is to try to see if the ship has an onboard computer that can instruct us on repairs.”

Xar didn’t know half of the words she used, but he nodded anyway. “I will help you.” The words burned on the way out. The thought of his mate leaving felt like having his heart wrenched out. How could he deny her this, though, if it was what she needed to be happy? Her Earth certainly sounded safer for humans than his home was.

“That’s sweet, but I’m not sure you can. You don’t know any more about it than I do.”

“The cave has many heavy and sharp broken parts. At the very least, I can lift things when you need it.”

She gave him a glowing look. Xar basked in her happiness and resolved to do more things to make his mate happy.

“You are learning fast. It won’t be long before you know enough for me to take you away safely, though I’d have to carry you until you learn more.”

As he expected, her eyes lit up. “We could go and help the others? Meet them on their way back?”

Xar hesitated, debating with himself. His instinct was to keep Madison here where she was safe, but he hadn’t been lying about her learning fast. She grasped the dangers well and took seriously any warning he gave her. It should be safe enough, as long as they stayed in the trees and he didn’t let her out of his sight.

“If they are not back tomorrow, I will take you, but I think they will be back by then.”

“I hope so. Is Zazora going to be ready for them?”

“She has been collecting herbs all day. I don’t think she’s had this many patients in years. I know she’s eager to learn more about human bodies and how to care for them.”

Madison gushed. She did this at the strangest times, as though the simplest things, such as helping stranded strangers, was a wonder. Xar remembered something else he’d resolved to do and got up.

“Wait here. I will bring us some food.”

It took him some time to return. He raided every food store, taking samples of everything. He would find something his mate liked. Remembering how much she enjoyed the hubaka nectar, he brought a wide variety of sweet fruits, hoping she’d enjoy them.

Madison was still working on the ladder as he carefully laid everything down. She tried it all, giving him her honest opinion. She hated the bitter roots of the curo bushes, which were a staple in most meals, but loved the rare purple fruits of the jooma tree.

Xar let her have both. They had a stock of six or seven more, which would serve as sufficient meals for her until he could go hunting for more. The jooma fruits were big, and she was small enough that one filled her completely.

She was ambivalent about some of the other foods. Xar hoped she would like them more if he sweetened them with some of Zazora’s powders. She wouldn’t eat any of the meat he provided, but she assured him she liked meat, just not ones with such a strong taste.

The simple haliki were large but easy to kill and made up most of their meat stores. He suspected she would prefer the meat of a gora. It was harder to catch and kill, but he recalled Zazora giving it to those recovering from wounds because of its mild flavor.

By the time the sun was setting, they’d finished a ladder long enough to reach down from most of the platforms. If the other humans were like his Madison, they’d have to affix stout poles to all of the places where the ladders were attached to the platforms. She was unsteady getting on and off it, and clung to him, fearful of falling. The humans needed a lot of things to hold on to.

They sat side by side, their backs against a sturdy branch. Xar had his tail wound around her waist, just in case she was caught by a bout of the wobbles. She looked more relaxed than he’d seen her in a while. She looked around the forest with eyes filled with wonder. Having heard more about her world, he knew he’d find it just as astonishing as she found his.

“Today was nice.”

“For me as well.” He looked at her and marveled at how beautiful she was. Xar couldn’t resist her. He brought a hand up to her face. Madison leaned into him, smiling at the touch. Was she finally welcoming him?

There was only one way to find out. Xar stroked her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her. Her eyes, which had drifted closed, flew open as their lips met.