“Good idea,” Christian says, pulling his empty mug down and joining me at my cabinet, double checking we have enough bandages and antiseptic salves for when they return. Despite having everything we’ll need, I can’t help but hope we won’t be needing it. Timalah and Ghenie better make good on their promises.
Chapter Two
Timalah
Ghenie hums beside me, his tail slapping the back of my thigh as we walk, the sting of it making me hiss.
“Yes?” I ask, raising my brow at him, trying to hide my amusement.
“What’s going on with you and Miles?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Are you asking me as my best friend? Or are you asking me as my Toralleh?”
“Would the answers be different?”
My own tail wraps around my upper thigh, moving carefully as the path narrows and we begin walking single file towards the wall. “No. Of course not. Nothing is going on between us,” I tell him seriously. “He’s. I don’t know, Ghenie. He’s just Miles. I like to check in on him from time to time.”
Ghenie hums again. He’s incredibly hard to read sometimes and it drives me crazy. I reach my tail out, poking him in the ribs. He gives me a small smile as I wrap it around my thigh again, not wanting it getting in the way of the others. I might be fine with poking Ghenie but I’m sure some of the humans wouldn’t like my tail poking at them. “Don’t just hum like that. What are you thinking?”
Ghenie smiles. “I’m thinking that you,” he pauses. “How do they say it? You like him.”
“Who do you like?” Gendry, one of my close friends and comrades, asks, raising his head over Ghenie’s shoulder to look at me.
“No one. Mind your business,” I tell him, looking forward again and trying to stop this line of conversation before it can really get started.
“Ohhhh,” he says, not backing down. “Is this about that human? Miles? I’ve noticed you smile more when we have to walk past his house for training.”
“Is that so?” Ghenie says, his voice ticking up in interest.
“Are we here to fight sherdars? Or are we here to tell stories?”
Gendry shoulders past me as we finally get to the stone wall that separates our city from the swamp lands. Even from here I can hear the chirping of insects and the splash of water creatures. Gendry doesn’t waste any time leaping into the air and catching himself against the stone wall, making sure his feet dig into the small divots embedded into the wall made just for this. His movements are quick and practiced, climbing onto the top of the wall in a matter of seconds. He makes it look easy. Once he’s on top he smiles down at me. “Why can’t we do both, Timalah?”
I growl at him, baring my teeth and snapping them shut with a loud click. His dark purple skin darkens around his cheeks as he smiles wide, seeing he’s getting a rise out of me. He gives me a wink before dropping down on the other side.
Ghenie pats my shoulder as he walks past. “If you didn’t get heated, we’d have nothing to tease you for.” It’s my same thought. I should learn to curve my emotions and tuck them away, but that’s not necessarily something I’ve ever been good at.
As far as I could tell, humans were not like us. The males paired up with females. Where Layperries were all men, all capable of both carrying our children and fathering them. I don’t think Miles would ever develop feelings for someone of our kind when there were many suitable human women in the city he could pair up with. And that’s without thinking about all he has waiting for him if he chooses to go back to Earth.
Plus, there’s the matter of our maturous trial. At a certain age, every warrior such as myself is put in front of our people and any Layperry who deems themselves worthy of the warrior’s partner volunteers to complete the maturous trial. In front of everyone and our ancestors, whoever comes out the other side first is allowed that warrior’s hand as their life partner. I’m not sure Miles would even want to put himself through that trial. I shake my head, trying to stay focused on my brothers around me.
I climb up the wall, careful to put my feet and my hands in the correct notches before vaulting over the top and landing on the other side on my feet. I look over the swamp lands, getting my bearings, ignoring the way a few of my fellow warriors watch my every move, their eyes lingering a little too long to be strictly brotherly.
It doesn’t take long before the rest of the recruits jump over the wall, the humans not landing quite as graceful as my people, not used to the way we move. They’ll learn, I have no doubt. Like all things in life, this takes practice. Which is why we are here.
“We do not harm the babies or the mothers if at all possible,” I explain, pulling my spear off of my back and getting it in a proper grip. “The sherdars are the smallest monster in these swamps and the easiest to practice on. Only kill those you can carry back. We will not be killing just to kill. They will be our practice tool to teach you our ways before coming home with us to fill our bellies and clothe our backs. Everything must come to an end someday but that doesn’t mean their death is for nothing. We will use every single part we take. Understood?”
Everyone nods their understanding and through the bond I share with my Toralleh I feel a glimmer of pride that makes me smile despite myself. As a Layperry, I share a telepathic connection with all of my kind. That’s not to say I can feel them all the time, only that if needed, our Toralleh, or our leader, is able to speak to all of us at once. We all have closer bonds that we actively keep open and feel. Like the bonds I share with my fellow warriors in battle, or the bonds I share with Gendry and Ghenie since they’re my closest allies.
I turn back to the swamp, going through the familiar motions of finding a sherdar. I’ve done this a million times for practice and hunting and training. My steps are sure as I run through the tall grass, feeling the way the land shifts under my feet. Once the grass turns soft and mushy, I vault myself into the air, landing on a large, broken tree that’s half buried within the swampy waters. Then I pause, taking everything in, using every sense to gauge what’s around me. I keep my eyes moving, scanning over the water, waiting for some movement or bubbles.
There are vines dangling from a large tree and I wrap my hand around it, using it as leverage as I leap to a new stump. Getting my footing, I squat down, putting myself even closer to the water. My antennae twitch as I focus, trying to find any sensation of movement below. The blue of the water is almost the same shade of my skin. I blow against the surface, watching as ripples form, waiting for anything to happen below.
Nothing but the water matters. Which means I’m so focused on the water in front of me that by the time I sense something in the tree above, it’s too late.
“Timalah!” Ghenie’s voice calls out. I don’t look to him. I already know something is wrong. Through the bond I share with my fellow Layperry brothers, I feel panic and fear. I push it away as hard as I can in order to keep my footing. I block everything out, relying on my fighting instincts, letting my years of training take over.
A mighty roar fills my ears before I’m spinning on the spot. A large denstree leaps at me from above. I don’t even have time to wonder why a creature like this is in the swamp lands. I raise my spear to defend myself, stopping it before it can get its long talons into my skin. Its mouth opens in a hiss, its teeth are razor sharp and dripping with spit.