"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Carlisle, but we need help. I've forwarded a video, from our work trucks in South America, via email."
•••••••••
A convoy of trucks lumbering down an old dirt road hauling heavy equipment was definitely something to behold.
"How far is it again?" One driver piped over the CB radio.
"Five kilometers." Shane Price said from the lead truck.
About four minutes later, they pulled up to a pile of rock blocking the road.
"The hell? Hey Charlie! Get the dozer!" Shane yelled.
"Yes sir!"
Suddenly, the pile of rock exploded and the video cut out.
••••••••
Darron Carlisle cleared his throat.
"I regret to inform you that only Shane Price survived and he will not be able to return. The others died in the blast. There will be nothing for my people to recover."
"What are you talking about?"
"Our archives are public. Log into your EROL account and enter 474398 in the search bar. Look for a headline reading Codename Esper. You'll find all we have on her."
. . . . . . . .
[474398: CODENAME: ESPER]
Subject name: Exara (Ē•zâr•uh)
Subject description: Female humanoid jaguar.
Height: 5'11"
Weight: Unknown
Disposition: Strong hatred for changing land for any purpose.
WARNING: DO NOT ACCOST!!!
SUBJECT DISPLAYS PHYSICAL STRENGTH IN EXTREME EXCESS TO SUPER HUMAN.
Exara shoved an M208 Brahma off of the mountain with one hand and did the same to numerous other armored vehicles.
For reference, the M208 is a quad track twin turret tank that weighs 782.44 tons and she pushed it sideways with minimal effort.
_______________________________________
He awoke in a daze. He couldn't see, his head was pounding and he felt like he might die.
He tried to take stock...
(Blindness, severe headache, no sense of smell, no hearing, severe pain in his ribs, abdomen, and extremities.)
There came a fresh stab in his left hand and the pain vanished.
{Sorry about that. I never intended for you to get caught up in the blast.} A female voice calmly stated.
He couldn't place the voice. It wasn't audible, yet "sounded" odd, like a large predatory feline if one could speak.
He was just about to ask for water when one was placed in his hand.
He took the cap off and drank thirstily.
"Where am I?"
{A holding cell. You are Shane Price. Age 34. And you live in the United States of America. Correct?}
"Yes."
{My name is Mirai (Mï•rye), daughter of Exara. I brought you here to my village in the forest that your men were going to cut down. You will be tried for your crimes and dealt with accordingly. If you are deemed worthy to be released, your sight, smell, taste and hearing will be returned to you. There is a second option, but most do not do it because of the unknown. To respond, simply think.}
(What is this second option?)
{Marrying me, your captor, and I must admit that you marrying me without knowing what I look like isn't fair. If you agree to it, you are allowed your senses while we are together, but the rest of your time here will be in sensory deprived confinement. I humbly apologize for that, but it's the law.}
(Why would I turn down the offer? I've never met anyone who wanted to even be my friend.)
{What are you saying?}
(If you want to marry me, is there a set time for the ceremony, or are we allowed to become familiar?)
{Oh! Courtship is for as long as each party agrees.}
(I'd like that.)
{Really!? You. . . I'm not human.}
(Don't care. The fact that you can read my mind should have told you that.)
{It did, but I had to be sure. Your next reply must be yes or no. Do you accept the law of matrimony?}
(Yes.)
"Yes."
He was suddenly able to see, hear, smell and taste again.
Before he opened his eyes, he could smell the scent of an animal.
When he did open his eyes, his gaze was met by stone gray eyes that shone with specks of white and ice blue.
The fur that surrounded the eyes was a black so glossy that it appeared like glass.
Then Shane realized that he was looking into a feline face. Not entirely so, but definitely feline.
Though her features were that of a black jaguar, they were much more refined and less feral in overall appearance.
"Mirai?" He asked.
She smiled.
"Té mík Mürrâí. Tâ mík Shāñé."
(I can't understand her. . .)
"Té'â âtmí zhét. Ârré?"
{Let's try this. Better?}
"Yes. That is better."
{Hät. Zhét mík ârré.}
"Wait! How am I hearing two languages?"
{Rrâ! Zhó mík té zhâñarr päs shprâq?}
"Té mík zhâñérr zhét ârr tâ mâk té'â shprâq. Ēóqétz zhânadvíérr téâ shprâq ârré zhét éturr."
{I am translating it for you as we speak. People learn our language better this way.}
. . . Two weeks later. . .
"So, you call this a fork?" Mirai asked.
"Hät. Zhét mík ürr." Shane confirmed.
{Yeah. That's right.}
"You are getting very good." She praised.
"As are you." He said, smiling.
She dug into her meal the "human" way as she called it. Happy to have learned numerous ways of living with humans.
In four days, Mirai turns 25 years old and, after requesting leather and other supplies, Shane also requested that he be permitted to keep his senses in order to make a gift for Mirai.
Tolerating two guards holding their spears inches away from him was worth it.
After he was finished, a few days later, he wrapped it in white leather and asked one of the guards if she would hide it from Mirai and only bring it after she has arrived here on her birthday.
That completely shattered the guard's stern veneer as the other scoffed.
"Hä'bú? Té mík érrtérrâ âttürr zhét ârr tâ!"
{Really? I would happily do that for you!"}
His world went dark and he felt the package lift out of his hands.
He started to feel depressed until he felt one of the guards help him stand and hug him.
{She'll love it. You do her proud. I'm looking forward to seeing you free from this. Not all of us like the laws we enforce.}
As she helped him back down, he felt so happy that he began crying.
"Dâñé tâ." He said.
{Thank you.}
*Mirai's birthday.*
Shane saw her wearing a green ankle length skirt and a brown blouse when his senses were restored.
"You look beautiful." He said.
Her ears dropped sideways.
"Thank you."
She sat down and he said.
"Mirai. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?"
Her eyes widened and she jumped up. The smile on her face was his only reassurance before everything went blank again.
{No! I'll be back. Free his senses. I'm getting my mother.}
He heard.
"This is getting old. . ." Shane whispered.
"I agree." Came the guard's voice.
"Oh, Keeléí (Kee•lay). You know English?"
"Here. This is even better because she'll be even more surprised since she won't have seen me give it to you. I learned your language from my commander ages ago. I just don't use it unless I think the person is worth it."
Mirai entered with her mother, Exara.
"So. You asked my daughter to marry you. Do you intend to live here indefinitely?"
"I told Mirai that she could decide."
"Why were you going to cut down our forest?"
"I was following the orders of my employer."
"So you really aren't at fault. Alright, I accept your proposal to Mirai."
Turning to her daughter, she asked.
"He said that you may decide where to live."
"I choose to live with him at his home in Northern Idaho in the USA."
"It gets extremely cold there, daughter."
"I know. He told me that jaguars are not very well adapted to survive the cold."
"Normal jaguars aren't but we aren't really jaguars. We're humanoid feline polymorphs. We change appearances to suit our climate. You'll change too, Mirai. Your fur will become thicker. So much so that you might look fat. Your ears will grow tufts and your facial fur will hang down from the jaws."
"A lynx!" Shane interjected.
"Yes. Why, Shane? Will it become an issue?"
"Yes. I won't be able to keep my hands out of her fur."
Mirai's ears went more and more rearward until that last comment when they shot up.
She shivered, sharply exhaled and gasped with her tongue hanging out of her open mouth.
"SHANE! Why would you say that to my mom!?"
"She asked if it would be a problem. I had to explain."
"I personally don't see it as an issue." Exara said grinning wickedly.
"After all, it's up to you two to alter the future from how you knew it. I'm sorry to say this, Shane, but your home no longer exists or, rather, doesn't exist yet. What year was it when you were taken?"
"2008. Why?"
"One thousand and nine hundred years. See, son. When in this village time outside fluctuates wildly, but goes backwards far more quickly than time's forward path outside. We found this area, in the forest, that seemed as though plants shrank rather than grew. We stay here until our existence ceases from a critical series of events that makes the future better. It's currently 100 ad in the outside world. The USA isn't a nation anymore or, rather, it has yet to become a nation."
Shane felt nauseated. Then, he smiled.
"Were any of my belongings brought here when I was taken?"
"Just your waist bags and the contents of your pockets. Why?"
"Your people exist outside of the influence of normal time so, you've been undoing the damage before it could happen by having prior knowledge of critical events. Christopher Columbus is going to find a nation that is already well established by the time he arrives."
"That is brilliant. And with the forest deity's influence on you, it will be amazing, for them, to see a human who never dies."
"Ehhhh Wut. . . ?"
"You are marrying my daughter, deity of flora and fauna. For as long as she is alive, so too will you be."
He looked at Mirai.
"I don't want to marry you only to lose you in a few decades. I was hoping to spend centuries with you, even millennia."
"You. . . You care about me that greatly?"
"Of course I do. I wouldn't have brought my mother here if I didn't want to marry you. I love you, Shane."
He stood and handed her the wrapped item and Keeléí grinned.
Milai looked confused.
"Please wear this for our ceremony." Shane said.
Her eyes shot wide and she unwrapped the soft leather and fabric garment.
Letting it unfurl revealed a wedding gown with genuine jewels sewn into "pores" made into the leather.
Milai looked at her mother with tears streaming down her face.
"Did I not tell you that this one would prepare you when you, yourself were unprepared?"
"Yes, but. . ."
"We've never adhered to human's social norms, so, as long as he doesn't mind."
"Mind what? Shane asked."
"To a few human cultures, premarital kissing is almost just as bad as premarital copulation."
"I'm against premarital sex, but kissing?"
He stood and approached Milai. Gently cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her.
"I love you." He said after the kiss ended.
It wasn't forced or anything. The lack of senses and her being present any time he had his senses caused her to be his only focus.
That coupled with the treatment he had received made him feel safe enough not to worry.
He'd had no family to speak of when he was taken and had no bills or expenses.
"Alright. Have you two got an idea when you wish to marry?" Exara asked.
"Please allow me blue and white leather and fabric, along with five days to prepare with my senses intact."
"Do you believe that you need to be supervised? You will not attempt to escape?"
"I would like Keeléí to help me prepare. I won't run and that should also put your minds more at ease."
"A very thoughtful compromise. You do care, don't you?"
"Of course I do. I would also request that you visit us on occasion."
"Once Milai leaves this area of the forest, time will remove her existence from my possibility to remember. However, she won't leave because of the laws of parody."
"But."
"There will be a double who never left because a different timeline will be forced to converge on this one. My memories will be altered and your presence here will not be remembered."
"But. . . What about Keeléí?"
"After the wedding, she will be indefinitely reassigned as Milai's personal guard. Her duties will be overseen by you."
"I wish to test her combat prowess."
"That can certainly be arranged."
. . .
The arena was below ground level and the top open to spectators. The entirety of the village was in attendance.
The man helping prepare Shane scoffed.
"Finally, we get to see another human die. At least, this would have been how you died. This isn't really a fight to the death."
Shane walked into the arena. Milai looked absolutely terrified as she watched her fiance. Her ears were straight rearward, tears flowing from her wide eyes and her pupils we're fully dilated.
Keeléí stepped out and asked.
"On a level of one to ten. One being barely bruised and ten being severely injured."
"Three."
"Alright. You do have to be in attendance for your own wedding after all. So, no claws out, scrapes and bruises."
"I don't have claws, but you're free to do as you wish. I, personally, won't go above level three.
Exara stepped onto a dais and shouted.
"Level three combat. Combatants at the ready! Fight!"
She, then, struck a gong.
Shane held up his hand.
"Just one moment, I need to announce something."
Keeléí stopped just as she was about to attack.
"Alright. Go ahead." She said.
Looking to Exara, Shane said.
"I won't fight above level three. Keeléí is free to fight at any level."
Exara nodded. "Duly noted. Keeléí, what level are you to fight?"
"Level nine. However, I will follow level three victory rules, such as immobilization and threat of final blow."
Exara Struck the gong afterward and the two readied.
Keeléí charged quickly and Shane dodged just as quickly before slamming his elbow against her back.
Keeléí fell and Shane was on top of her, both ears held tightly in one hand as he held his fist ready to strike at the back of her neck.
The gong sounded and Shane got up.
Keeléí stood and was looking slightly angrier than normal.
"That was dirty."
"That was tactic. I'll teach you to fight in the same style."
"Hold on. Were you military?"
"Five years in the US Marine Corps, black ops."
"Round two of four. Fight!"
The gong sounded again.
Keeléí stood her ground, watching and waiting.
Shane calmly walked toward her with his hands behind his back. He kick flipped a wooden staff in her direction.
"Use it. If you touch me with that, I will concede defeat."
She quickly moved and swung.
Shane dodged blow after blow.
"You have decent form but you're too slow."
He struck with his left knee and snapped the staff in two. He was, then, about to kick her in the abdomen. However, not wanting to risk injuring her internally, he swept her legs and pinned her shoulders with his knees.
He placed his hand around her neck, gently and held his fist ready.
The gong sounded again.
Keeléí shouted.
"He was able to take me down twice. The second time he did so after disarming me. I concede to the greater warrior! I would never be able to win in any level of combat, despite my greater strength, and there is no one who can in this village!"
The gong sounded three more times.
"Victory conceded. Shane Price wins!"
The crowd roared in approval. The vast majority of warriors could tell just how much restraint he'd shown against Keeléí. After all, he soundly beat the strongest fighter in their village and she was once their war leader.
He received all of her possessions and title of royal guard as the fight was considered for honor because Keeléí fought above level five.
Levels one through five are minimal injury, generally used for sparring and training.
Levels six through ten are injuries ranging from cuts to maiming.
Levels eleven through fifteen are from maiming to life threatening.
Levels eight through fifteen are honor fights to settle disputes.
Levels sixteen through twenty are death matches only and, instead of severity, are gauged from quickest to slowest.
The last five levels are for criminal sentences.
That being said, Shane would have been uninjured, irrelevant of combat level and everyone there knew it. They were all grateful that such a warrior chose the most peaceful conclusion to each round with Keeléí. He didn't want to actually hurt her.
If he'd known just how physically strong she was, he might not have shown as much restraint, if any.
. . .
The victory banquet signified Shane's exoneration and promotion.
Going from being a prisoner to royalty made his head spin.
"Well, Shane. That display was definitely interesting. Not only are you marrying my daughter, you've won Keeléí as a concubine."
"No way. See, Keeléí is always going to be my sister. I can't dally with family, after all. Besides, I'm a one woman man. No side action for me."
"Really? That must be painful to hear, Keeléí."
Surprisingly, Keeléí smiled.
"Not at all. He's being respectful in his own way and I'm grateful for that."
Milai was hanging onto Shane's arm. Completely and utterly unwilling to let him go again.
She smiled.
"Mine. . ." She whispered.
Shane, repeating her, yelled "Mine!" and bit down on her ear.
She squirmed and urinated in her seat.
Exara cleared her throat.
"Shane, I am aware that you are unfamiliar with us. However, biting her ear induced complete vulnerability and weakness against her will. The fact that she hasn't tried to claw you should attest to how comfortable she is with you. I would like to request that you allow her to clean herself as it must be uncomfortable for one to sit in their own urine."
He'd let go and was about to apologize when Keeléí thought to him.
{Sir! Please, do not apologize, publicly, after you assert dominance over your fianceé. That could make her feel uncertain about your intent and may also invite additional opposition from others.}
Shane looked down at Milai and saw her worried expression.
He smiled and thought.
(Alright. I won't.)
He escorted her to the stream and she disrobed. Keeléí stood, her back toward Shane's.
After getting cleaned, Milai stepped toward them, still nude.
Shane took his coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"You're one promise after another, aren't you?" Keeléí smiled.
"Huh? How so?"
"Promising to be her protector by bitten assertion then you promise shelter and warmth by dressing her. You do realize that every female in the entire village wants you, right?"
"Too bad, so sad."
"Wow. You really do only want her. Anyone who would have challenged her right to you won't do so for fear that you might volunteer in her place."
"I can do that?"
"Bitten assertion means that you are her defender now. Any challenge to her may be subjugated by you. That gives you the total right of counteraction. On top of that, you defeated me in combat and, because I lost while fighting at an honor level, you are now her personal guard in my stead. That is also because my loss is legal proof of incompetence. Our laws are absolute and indefinite on these matters. You are aware that she hasn't spoken a word since you bit her but she's smiling anyway. She's happy, but is following the enslavement law anyway."
"Enslavement!? Milai. You have the indefinite right to speak freely without reprimand. You may act freely in the same manner. You have the right to speak or remain silent as you so choose and as long as you wish."
"Wow, Shane. Go ahead and make every male in the village look like garbage." Keeléí said.
"Keeléí. Please leave us, beyond hearing, for now."
"No problem. I just ask that I be allowed to become pregnant."
"Why are you asking me?"
"You are royalty. I lost the privilege to choose. Those who aren't royalty require permission."
"Your duties, rights and privileges are for me to decide?"
"Yes. I became pesant class when I lost to you."
"As will be your right from hereon, I expect you to see to your own happiness in all matters exclusive to yourself unless you are otherwise unable to do so. If you need something that you can't get on your own, I'll help when I am able and willing to do so. Am I understood?"
"Perfectly."
After Keeléí went off to the table that the male warrior class was seated at, she whispered into a particularly muscled male's ear and he stiffened before excusing hisself from the table to cheers from the others.
Shane laughed, then looked into Milai's eyes.
"This isn't considered public now, right?"
"No."
"I would like to apologize for making you urinate on yourself."
"Thank you. Feeling vulnerable around everyone was terrifying, but you make me feel safe. I don't hold it against you, especially because you didn't know what you were doing. I am glad that you didn't reverse it in front of the others, though."
He kissed her.
"You are mine alone. I'm glad that I publicly claimed you."
"I am too."
"Come on. Let's get you dressed properly."
He led her in the direction of his cell and said.
"Besides. I made you something that I wasn't able to give to you before."
Her ears stood straight at hearing that. She wants no clothes unless he makes them, as he promised to be her exclusive provider by clothing her when she was nude.
The guard opened the door and said. "Everything is ready, sir."
They walked in and he picked up the folded garments. Handing them to Milai, he stepped outside and allowed her to dress in private.
When she stepped out, she was wearing a full length forest green dress and a brown caped leather jacket.
"You look beautiful, my love."
"It's very modest. I love it."
"I'm glad. I hoped that you would."
They returned to the banquet and found that Milai's soaked seat hadn't been cleaned or replaced.
"Exara, may I ask why this is still here."
"Her urine is your property. No one else may even sniff it without severe consequences."
"My property?"
"No one expected you to bite her after claiming loudly that she's yours. We're still going to hold the traditional human marriage ceremony, but she became your wife as soon as she submitted to your claim instead of fighting back."
"Are you joking?" Shane asked.
"Most of our laws are very straightforward and simplistic. You did accept the law of matrimony in lieu of punishment. On the face of it, it's a life sentence with your captor. The law states that, should any male bite either ear of a female after a bold claim of possession and she does not resist, they are legally married."
Keeléí arrived back at the table and proceeded to scarf down anything in front of her. A few other females tried reaching for the food until Shane stepped forward.
"All who believe that they have become pregnant and those who are obviously pregnant may proceed."
Exara guffawed.
"You stole the exact words from my lips to the letter, young man. I believe that you could have been a wonderful candidate as my replacement."
"That reminds me. Where is Milai's father?"
A hush fell over the village.
"He died in a fire."
Shane saw no sadness. No pain behind those words. Exara was almost too levelheaded. It wasn't an accidental death.
"Totally understood."
She smiled.
"There is a reason for everything good or bad, a good reason for a lot and an excellent reason for death to befall a few select individuals who chose to commit egregious atrocities involving young children."
"Madam, I couldn't agree more."
"Anyway, if you want her seat clean and dry. You are the only person, now, who has the right to do anything about it."
"Alright."
Shane tipped the chair back and dumped the urine on the ground.
Kicking dirt to cover it, he grabbed a napkin from the table and dried the seat before tossing it into the fire.
"Mine." He said.
He then hugged Milai and kissed her in front of everyone.
They sat down and Milai noticed a drowsy looking Keeléí.
"Are you alright?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Juss tired is all. So. How is your night going?"
"Great! We're getting married tomorrow and then we'll set out to the North US area to settle in what will be Idaho. I don't know what Shane has planned, but it's sure to be something great."
"Well, Shane. What are you planning for us?"
"I plan to build a stone fortress. In one of my bags is a US flag. Five feet by nine and a half feet. It will fly on the highest rampart."
"How will you build it?"
"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out. Before then, I will build us a shelter. It will have plenty of space and be sturdy enough to survive many long winters."
"Ooh! We can hunt large game for you to clean and butcher! We'll cook for you and take care of cleaning and stuff while you build the cabin and fortress. That'd be fun!"
"How large of an animal can you kill?"
"What's the largest animal in that region?"
"Game animals? That would be elk and caribou. Predators? Bears, wolves and cougars."
"What is a cougar?"
"Like feral jaguars that're about half the weight and are the color of sand. Wait. You know what a lynx is, but not a cougar?"
Exara spoke up.
"I know all cats. They know what they ask about."
"I got ya. That makes sense."
"You don't think that we're stupid for not knowing?" Milai asked.
"Lack of knowledge, but a willingness to learn is called ignorance. Someone who lacks knowledge and is not willing to learn, now that is stupidity. You are not stupid at all. In fact, your willingness to learn makes you more intelligent than someone who is stupid."
Milai hugged him and nuzzled his neck.
A male, who was watching Milai, slammed his fist on the table and shouted.
"I challenge you for her hand in marriage."
"What are your terms?"
"Right now and to the death."
Shane picked up a steak knife.
"Begin!" He shouted and the male pounced.
Before he could reach Shane, the steak knife was buried in his trachea and the tip broke off in the vertebrae of the neck.
Shane had thrown it and turned back to ask Exara.
"What now?"
"Basically, you get everything he owned. Guards! Please dispose of the deceased."
"Yes ma'am!"
The male's body was carried off and thrown into a pit full of branches and dry grass.
One of the bearers threw a burning piece of oiled cloth in and a few minutes later the pit was a roaring inferno.
"Air intake pipes or tunnels near the bottom. There must be for it to burn so hot."
"Very observant, Shane. Not many understand how or why fire burns."
"Well, it's getting late. I'll see you both tomorrow. First, however. I know that you only want tomorrow's ceremony because of the dress that you made for Milai. However, you must consummate your claim on Milai, before midnight, tonight, for it to be valid."
"I think that can be arranged."
Milai's eyes widened as her ears shot back.
"Since you claimed her as a sister, Keeléí can be your witness. She doesn't have to see it. Her hearing will be sufficient."
"A little intrusive, but tolerable."
Exara excused herself and headed for her home, as did most of the others.
Milai stood up after Shane and was about to walk behind him until he picked her up.
She yowled in surprise and clung to him.
Keeléí grinned, wishing for someone to treat her the same.
Instead of the cell, Shane carried her to her home and Keeléí opened the door.
He wondered why she stayed outside until Milai lit a lantern after she was set down and disrobed herself.
Shane looked around, having divested his own clothes.
There were no rooms.
She'd just hung the lantern when he hugged/groped her from behind, burying his nose in her fur.
When he inhaled, she arched her back and moved her tail to the side.
He ran his fingers down her spine to the base of her tail.
"There's no need yet. I'm quite fond of a different position and I want you to be more comfortable."
"You care if I'm comfortable?"
"Of course I do, sweetheart."
She tried to hide her tears and failed.
He gently took her hand and led her to the bed.
"Lay on your back with your tail between your legs and over your body."
She did so and he got into a position over her.
"Now put your tail down between my legs."
When she did, he moved closer to her, placing his forearms under her back and holding her shoulders.
He tested to see how receptive she was and felt no resistance. She was practically soaked from him smelling her after she'd hung the lantern.
"Please go slowly." She begged.
He did so. With minimal resistance, going slowly at first wouldn't be a problem.
It took him nearly a full minute to push past her hymen, stretching it instead of tearing.
That's when a smell that he knew from working with large felines hit him. A particular musk smell that only a female produces.
"You're in estrous."
"Y. . .yes. Is that okay?"
"Yes."
And he didn't lie. He knew that there was no chance at getting her pregnant, right?
Then again, as long as she lives he does too. Maybe there's a win for her as well. . .
A full hour later, she was spent, worn out and exhausted. She was thrown into yet another orgasm and, this time, he finally showed signs of getting close to orgasm.
Right before he did, he held her tighter and tighter.
"I. Will. Get. You. Pregnant!"
He said, then roared, not giving a damn if anyone heard.
After the high wore off, he kissed her, saying.
"I'm sorry, love, but I don't think I'll be very useful for a while."
He then fell asleep beside her.
She licked the sweat from his face and neck. Then said. "Trust me, my love, I do not mind." Before going to sleep as well.
She awoke to a soreness. . . and numbness she'd never experienced before.
She tried to stand but couldn't. However, her stirring woke Shane.
He immediately realized that she couldn't move.
He picked her up and carried her to the washroom.
He turned on the shower while easily supporting her weight.
She relished in his greater strength.
"After we shower, we'll see about getting you moving again."
"You knew that this would happen?"
"Look down."
She did.
"How! So large! It's not natural."
"Of course it is. You were tighter than any human I've been with."
"I have never been with anyone else, but you do last a long time."
"Will that be a problem."
She pondered that for a moment.
"No. I love you and, if waking up sore and lame is the extent of it, that's better than being abused."
"Waking up sore and lame sounds like the result of a beating." He said as he cringed.
She leaned her forhead against him.
"Best beating ever." She giggled.
"So. What is something that would hurt you if I said it to you."
"Pussycat or pussy."
"Well I never planned on saying those. I just didn't want you to get hurt if I called you my little kitty."
She stiffened and pressed against him harder.
"No. . . I know that it's not an insult if you say it."
"Is it usually an insult?"
"That one really depends a lot on context. But yes, it can be. Playfully said? Not at all. Saying it at the end of a command or demand is usually what slave owners do. You. . . You don't think of me as a slave, do you?"
"Auf keinen Fall. You are my wife, partner, helper and equal. We stand side by side through life and fight to the end. Whatever end may or may not be. . ."
"I'm glad that you feel that way. Also, German?"
"More than just German, especially since I came here. If, when other people do come to the USA, we are around them in public. We will only speak your people's language to each other. We'll set up the entire western hemisphere as the United States of Haven. Both North and South America."
"Just what kind of nation are you aiming for?"
"One with absolute and legally enforced freedom beyond the scope of typical government. I plan to make it punishable, by death, to attempt to form any structure of authority over citizens outside of our own and we won't tell them how to live their own lives."
. . . . .
Four days later.
. . . . .
"Goodbye mother. I love you."
"I love you too, daughter and Shane. Make sure that the children are well looked after."
"Of course. Both ours and Keeléí's."
"Well, then. We've brought a cart laden with everything of Keeléí's and Saben's."
"Who is Saben?"
"The male you killed with the knife. He had a few weapons and other artefacts from slipping through the time gate to explore in our past. Times were 2720, 2289 and 1999. His children are to be done with as you see fit, but I doubt that you will mistreat them."
"Of course I won't."
"He also had two concubines and, while I am aware of your strict monogamous relationship with my daughter, their children were under Saben's power and are still traumatized by that."
Shane seethed with fury and snapped.
"Why was this allowed to happen!? Couldn't you have done something about it?"
"No. They weren't abused in that way and, as such, I would have been ostracized or possibly killed for interfering. It is part of our culture to do such things."
"You're right. I'm sorry for yelling."
"Quite understandable."
"Where is the cart?"
"Next to the stables. There is a team of eight good horses. I can see them suffering if they're taken too close to where you are going, so might I recommend you set them free once you reach their native territory."
"Definitely can do."
"There are no people in the western hemisphere yet as you've been here long enough that it's just before the ice age that exposes the northern land bridge."
"Ice age. . . But that's. . ."
"Yes. Twelve hundred BC."
"I've often wished to meet Jesus in person."
"I wouldn't recommend it. He'll know that you are not from your original timeline. I don't know what his reaction would be."
"I wouldn't want to disturb the events of the Bible anyway, so I believe that I'll keep out."
"It's for the best."
"Wait. You believe in God?"
"Of course we do. We were created by humans six thousand years after your coming here. In accordance to your timeline, but we gained a devine knowledge that they weren't capable of."
"I'll hate to see you go."
"Same."
Exara said, then looked sad. Deeply and genuinely sad.
She hugged Shane.
"Thank you, son. I wish I could say that I will remember you, but the timelines are too divergent and opposite. I love you and thank you for being such a blessing in our lives for as long as you've been here."
He wrapped his arms around her.
"You're welcome and thank you just as well."
. . . . .
They crossed the dry bed that would become the Rio Grande eventually, and said.
"Welcome to the Texas region. Population, us."
As they continued North, they were met by many wild animals. Oddly, deer were curious and quite playful. Bears lacked aggression and Bison were just as gentle as they look.
It took almost two and a half months to get to the greater North Idaho area and another week to build a cabin with everyone helping.
Saria and Reye's children really took to Shane once they realized that he wasn't anything like Saben.
They weren't punished for anything and didn't really try to cause trouble anyway. They were just children who wanted to explore and play.
Despite her slim build, Keeléí nearly weighed two hundred pounds. Shane began training here to use the Barret M108 rifle he'd found with sixty cans of ammunition.
She's smaller than Milai, who weighs close to a fifth more at two fifty.
They made him feel light considering both are about five feet of solid feline muscle.
He'd noticed that, the further North they'd travelled, the shorter their tails became and the thicker their fur got.
The children were likewise affected.
While Milai's fur remained as black as soot, Keeléí's became lighter. Her spot pattern diminished and took on a lynx pattern.
After the cabin was finished, they all sat down to eat and he looked at them.
"So unfair. . ."
"What is?" Keeléí asked.
"You guys have fur."
"Um. Shane. I could make you grow fur."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. That's why I don't bite you. You would become one of us."
"If that's true then, wouldn't. . ."
"No. It has to be a conscious decision on my part and it requires that an injury be inflicted. I love you as you are. I don't want to change you."
"Then I will stay as I am. I don't want to change if doing so might hurt you. I love you too much for that."
"You mean it?" She asked, crying.
"Of course. It's taken me years to get out of a warrior mindset and I finally feel free. No sense destroying that by sticking my wife with a man she never fell in love with."
The way she looked had him leap from his seat and come around to her side.
"Has that possibility really been bothering you this much?"
She nodded.
He picked her up and cradled her in his arms.
"Don't ever fight anything alone. I'm right her, you got that? You never have to do it by yourself anymore."
Keeléí growled, slammed her milk and cracked the glass on the table.
"Ugh! I want a man like that. Milai, I swear to you. If you ever hurt him, I'll steal him! You hear me!"
She sat there staring at us for a few more moments before storming off in jealous frustration.
"Keeléí! Get back here."
"What!?" She growled.
"Seriously. Are you alright?"
"No! Why would I be!? I am alone because of your damned principles!"
"You know that I won't hesitate to knock you unconscious. I understand your frustrations, but don't you dare take them out on Milai, or anyone else!"
She looked at the floor for a moment and then back at him.
"You're right. I am way out of line. If it weren't for you, I'd still be stuck as a royal guard. I hated that so much and wished for a way out of it. Then, when a way out finally came, look how I show thanks. . . I'm sorry. To both of you."
"Thank you. You know, if you can be patient, I'm sure we'll have a son or two. Eighteen years. Milai's influence affects us all, right?"
"No. Just you."
"How come?"
"The law of the forest. As long as you never break it, you'll live forever as her, technical, servant. You're doing more than any servant and that's only a loose title. Her influence only reaches you. We'll live just as long as we don't violate laws of natural order."
"Which are?"
"Never kill needlessly.
Never kill for pleasure.
Never kill for sport.
If you kill, let it be for food."
"Have you done any of those? Also, are there stipulations?"
"I took pleasure in killing pedophiles and killers."
"Exara gave me the book of natural law. It says not to kill for pleasure but to take pleasure in justified killing. Never kill for sport, but in good sport, kill only for food or justice. I don't think that you have violated those laws."
"You have the book of the laws of nature?"
Shane nodded.
"May I borrow it?"
"Sure, it stays here in the dining room to be read at the table."
"Thank you."
She went and took it off the shelf and quickly sat back in her spot to read.
Later, she closed it with a calm yet satisfied expression.
She placed the book back on the shelf and went to the bathroom. She looked at the carved stone toilet.
"Such things have yet to be invented, and here we are using them like they're commonplace."
After she finished her business there, she went to the living room.
"Well, I poured through the law. I'm not guilty of violation."
"Told you."
She stuck her tongue out at Shane.
"Oh no! The law of decency has been violated! Kids! Punish the criminal!"
They pounced her and began tickling her.
"Hey! No fair using children as executioners! You'll pay for this!" She laughed.
She began tickling them back.
When they playing eventually stopped, Keeléí said.
"I hope that I am worthy of becoming the wife to one of your sons."
"Yet I hope they grow up to be worthy of you."
"Yeah, right. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Her Royal Highness's Guard in Arms."
"Ouch. Okay, you win."
Milai was teaching the youngest child to read. . . as well as Reye and Saria.
Shane had built the cabin with an awning on the side and the cart was under it.
It wasn't too difficult finding replacements for the horses he'd freed. Elk were abundant and it only took a few days to get them used to the harnesses.
Shane dug out a leather bag with steel wedges and a five pound maul.
Going up into the mountains with a single elk pulling a smaller cart, he began digging to expose the rock. After prepping the site, it was time for lunch.
He tossed two apples and some carrots to the ground in front of the elk.
"There ya go, Lady. Help yourself."
He then began eating a sandwich from his lunch bag.
Afterward, he drew a number of lines on the exposed stone and began hammering the steel spikes along it until it split into a single piece.
Then, he took a device he'd made and stuck it onto the split off rock before tying a length of rope to it and the elk's harness.
Leading her away, she easily pulled it past it's point of balance and it fell.
"Now to make this into smaller blocks. Her ya go, girl."
He held out a cup of raw sugar cane sap.
"This won't last forever, but not too far north of here is a forest of sugar maple. It would be nice to have some syrup."
She nuzzled him.
"Sorry. No more."
She quit and began grazing.
"Wait. Can you understand me?"
She raised her head and bobbed it up and down.
"Woah! I can't wait to tell the others!"
For the rest of the day, he split blocks of stone and stacked some on the cart before heading home.
After unharnessing Lady, Shane unloaded the cart and went inside.
"Milai. . . Milai?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are you?"
"The washroom."
"Are you alright?"
"I'm pooping."
"Sorry."
After she finished, she came out and said.
"Don't apologize. What is it?"
"Lady understands me when I speak. . ."
"You're the deity of flora and fauna's husband. What did you expect?"
"Uh. Normal human things that I grew up knowing to be facts. Such as: talking to animals makes you look crazy."
She laughed, then said.
"If they get comfortable enough around you, you start hearing their thoughts. I do, but I don't know, for certain, if you will be able to."
"Woah."
"Oh, hey. I thought that you would like to know that I'm nearing the end of the third trimester."
"Already!? But you don't even appear pregnant."
She took his hands and placed each on the front sides of her abdomen.
"Keeléí is ahead of me, so we need to prepare for the both of us."
He felt movement, but was confused.
"Where, exactly, is your womb?"
"We have two, like our feral counterparts, and I've been able to identify at least four children."
"Four!?" He asked, excited.
"We rarely have more than two, so. This will be new for me too. Just one will fit in your hand easily when born."
"So tiny! Will they be alright?"
"Of course. They're not exactly fragile like most infants. They still won't be able to handle direct sunlight without problems, but they will be able to be carried and handled without issue."
"Wow!"
She laughed at his reaction.
"I'm sure you noticed that my features are softer than the others of my kind. My father was human. I was the only child. Single births for my kind do not happen. . . Ever. Except for me. I don't know what the difference between my mother and I are, aside from our compatibility being higher, obviously, but I fear that they may look even less like me."
"You're afraid they might look unsettling."
She nodded.
"They're ours. Not much we can do but love them."
Her gaze shot in his direction and she inhaled deeply before kissing him."
When she let him go, he asked.
"What was that about? Did you fear that I would reject them?"
She nodded.
"My brats are my brats. I don't care what they look like. They're mine. I love you and I'll love them too.
. . . . .
A few days later saw the first snow of winter. Reye, Saria and Keeléí we're practicing writing in English as the children were playing with wooden toys that Shane had made.
Keeléí had her two newborns wrapped up and in her lap.
Milai and Shane laid together in bed and she was decidedly uncomfortable.
It wasn't how she was laying. She was leaning back against Shane as he held her. Her head resting against his chest.
They were laying on elk hides to prepare for the birth.
"Now?" Shane asked.
"Yes." Milai said.
"Keeléí! It's time."
As planned, she brought in a bowl of warm water and soft cloth.
She also had a pair of small scissors and, just as Milai had done for her two days prior, she waited patiently for the first child to be born.
Shane bit down on Milai's ear.
She flinched hard as a contraction rocked her and her water broke.
She moaned in discomfort and dug her claws into Shane's arms.
Shane, while much more so than an average human, still hadn't healed completely from supporting Keeléí, but Milai was definitely more gentle in comparison.
As he'd been instructed when he helped Keeléí, every ten seconds, Shane would clench his jaw, adding pressure to the bite and triggering another contraction.
After about two minutes, Keeléí said.
"Okay, I can see the first one. Push now."
Shane clenched hard and Milai yowled, writhing in pain as her first child was born.
As she recovered from the first delivery, Keeléí cut open the birth sack and cleaned the newborn, getting his breathing started.
She then bundled him in one of the cloths and placed him in a basket beside her.
As with Keeléí's births, Shane felt nauseated but held strong. Another reason that he was also laying down.
All in all, the four children were born in under an hour.
Two boys and two girls.
As Milai laid there, Shane instructed Keeléí on mixing up the same drink he'd had Milai make for her.
Keeléí was greatly impressed by it as she'd been able to recover her strength and energy far faster than normal females post birthing.
She brought it back and gave it to Milai who promptly gulped down the full liter of fluids mixed with electrolytes, sugar and Shane's plasma.
Both had demanded what he was doing when he cut hisself and allowed blood to flow into a bottle a few days prior.
As he'd explained while wrapping his wrist, he was going to ensure that they were both well taken care of and that he hadn't cut into an artery.
This prompted more questions and more explanations.
The glass bottle was a nearly perfect cylinder and tying the cork in place helped secure it for centrifugal spinning to separate the blood and plasma.
Carefully extracting said plasma, Shane placed it into two 400 milliliter vials for later use. One for Keeléí, the other for Milai.
All of the ingredients: plasma, baking soda and powdered sugar were pre measured and labelled in mixing steps.
When Keeléí drank hers, she felt strong enough to get up and use the restroom after fifteen minutes.
Milai was feeling better after five minutes but went to sleep on Shane instead.
"Keeléí. May I ask a favor?"
"Of course."
"Please clean Milai as best as you can."
She smiled.
"Is that all. Again, of course."
Shane fell asleep a few minutes after the newborns we're laid on Milai to feed.
Milo, Kolga, Mína and Mai.
<End: Lost In Time arc>
