Page 37 of Taken to Kor
Erobu grunts noncommittally, like he doesn’t believe me. Likely, he doesn’t. Erobu is older than even I am and has participated in countless shekurrs, two of them even successful.
But only two of dozens. And neither of those produced a litter, like the shekurrs of our sires’ sires’ sires. It’s been three generations since more than a single kit was produced by a female. Before, females could produce a dozen kits at once.
“To take a female outside of shekurr is a great dishonor. You dishonor her, Rhorkanterannu,” he spits, all petulance. But that does not stop me from wincing.He’s right. I shake my head.Centare. He’s wrong. And either way, it doesn’t matter. The needle in my chest will swing like a mallet if he even so much as suggests to rut Deena with his filthy shroving…
“Consider what Rhorkanterannu is saying,”Quintenanrretsuggests, voice even and contemplative. He approaches everything like the scientist that he is. “If, to you, this may seem like an honor, consider the Lemoran species. Proud and honorable as well, they still take their mates in pairs.”
“We are not the Lemoran. What the Lemoran do on their filthy rock doesn’t matter.”
“Have you seen the filthy rock the humans live on? Maybe you should think with your big empty skull,” Herannathon blusters. I roll my eyes as Erobu’s shoulders tighten and his fingers form fists.
I hiss loudly enough to avoid imminent disaster. These are my most trusted males, yet they’re still a pack of animals. I grin wildly at the thought. “The humans are like the Lemoran, is the point that Herannathon’s trying to make. They mate in pairs, producing one or two kits at a time. It won’t get us far, but it will get us somewhere. The Rakukanna was revolted by the idea of participating in shekurr and the other human I bought from the Human Council leader was even more terrified. But, I know for a fact that the Rakukanna has given birth to a healthy Voraxian child.”
“Their medical facilities aren’t even as nice as ours are. We should have no problem birthing many more with the humans we have. Maybe even a litter could be produced.”Quintenanrret’s eyes sparkle. So do Tevbarannos’s and Gerannu’s.
Gerannu agrees. “We could put together something quite nice. Different from the traditional birthing houses, we could make them for…forpairs.” He sounds the word out like he’s never used it before. Maybe he hasn’t, I think with a grin. I know I haven’t. Not until Deena. “You and Deena could use the first house. Do you think she might be with kit already?”
My lungs inflate until they’re set to burst. I exhale just as dramatically. “Centare. I haven’t rutted inside of her yet.”
My proclamation is met with silence and my embarrassment is renewed. My plates lift. Erobu gasps, like I’ve just confessed to murdering the female. “You haven’t…If you’re not going to share her, then what are you waiting for!”
I snarl up at him, the first sign of true irritation creeping up my spines. I fight for calm, remembering that Erobu has no experience with human females. All of the others, with the exception of Tevbarannos, were with me on the first Voraxian raid when we stole the Rakukanna from her home and brought the wrath of the Raku on our heads. It was…not a good solar for us.
“Perhaps he is following some sort of human custom,”Quintenanrretsuggests. Helpful, but wrong.
“Deena does not feel worthy to be taken as a mate.”
Gasps. Six of them. One of them is my own. I haven’t said the words out loud before and hearing them now makes them sound preposterous, even to me. Herannathon is the first to laugh. The rest fall in line. Even the stiff Erobu chuckles.
“Is this a joke? I’m not quite getting it,” Tevbarannos says, sweeping his gaze around at all of us. He’s smiling, but his brow is still muddled in confusion.
I don’t need to tell them that Deena has been harmed in the past. Or that I love her. Or that I worry that she can’t love me without first understanding that I want her and not just to use her body. Because she’s been hurt in the past and because I love her and because I worry that she can’t love me because she’s been hurt in the past and because of that, is not capable of understanding that I love her. It’s all very confusing. Wild assumptions made on my part. But to voice them now and be wrong would be to diminish her and I would never do something like that.
So I give them something small. “It seems to be something with her leg.”
The laughter dies in one easy stroke.
Gerannu is first to say, “You’re serious? A female likethatthinks herself unworthy because of…what did he say?” He glances around at the others.
Erobu says, “He said something to do with her leg. Which leg? What is wrong with it?”
“Don’t tell me it’s a tentacle.” Tevbarannos shudders. “I don’t like it when they have tentacles.”
“Not a fan of the Oroshi?” Herannathon laughs, making a face. “They are a, uh…unique species to couple with.”
Tevbarannos’s face makes the room erupt in laughter, this time mine among them. “Don’t tell me you’ve mated with an Oroshi!” He screeches.
Herannathon laughs so hard liquid starts to pool along the lower rim of his eyes. He wipes it away with his upper hands while his lower hands smooth over his stomach. “Centare, are you mad? They don’t even have females.”
“That is incorrect. They have dozens of different genders, many of which would align with our definition of a compatible female. Their species is incompatible to breed with Niahhorru, though…”
“You ran tests?!” Tevbarannos clutches his throat, his chest, his jaw, his abdomen. The laughter increases as he jumps from his chair and shakes his fists atQuintenanrret. “What on Kor for?”
Quintenanrretscoffs, “To breed with, obviously. If we could produce viable kits with a species, it should be explored, even one with tentacles.”
“The tentacles! Could you imagine taking one of those…those tentacles in shekurr? Oh shrov!” He starts pacing around the room while Herannathon bangs on the yeeyar exterior of the ship with two fists while the other two grab at his side. My stomach is aching with the force of my laughter now.
“It wouldn’t be so bad,” I chime in. “Just imagine. A pliant, supple,wetbody on the shekurr table, entering her cold…entrance.” To be honest, I don’t even know how the Oroshi females are formed or how you’d even go about entering one. From the outside, they look like the Oosa, but only if the Oosa had three tentacles growing out of one side and two more growing out of the top. They have no faces, no eyes to peer into. I believe they might produce eggs? But I honestly have no idea.
