Page 41 of Their Human to Entice

Lyath

60 Days Later

The storms finally stopped for the season a few days ago. There were enough small patches of light rain where Beren could run to get more food from the tribe, but it was never long enough for him to feel safe with Nia or me joining him. We still sat on the porch, comforting one another until Beren returned a short while later, out of breath and tired from running through the trees. I am sure he has proved to be the quickest male in the whole tribe. He told us he refused to be trapped in the great hall ever again without the two of us.

Now that the storms are over until the next season, we need to continue work on the farm. The crops are already growing very well, and if we are lucky, the first harvest will be ready soon after the first of the humans arrive.

Today, I am working on assessing the damage to the irrigation system since we have not used it in many, many years. I hope that the system only needs to be cleaned and maybe repaired in small parts. I am doing this when two males come out from the tree line, a young male hidden behind a taller male who looks as though he has recently gone through the changing because of how awkward he moves.

Beren is at the great hall, grabbing more seeds that should have arrived earlier today. Nia is with him to check if there is more fabric so she can keep making clothing for her future sisters. So I am left alone at our home and alone to deal with these almost strangers. The only reason I am not more concerned is that the small male, hiding behind the grown male, has a broken horn that I remember belongs to the young who is living with Toron now.

“Can I help you?” I stand from where I am looking over the watering system.

I wipe my dirt-covered hands on my pants as I walk over to the two males and notice that neither is looking at me. In fact, they are very purposefully looking at the ground in front of them as though they do not feel comfortable speaking to me at all.

I am almost positive the young staying with Toron is turning into a little terror, so I do not know why he is shy now. The other male, his brother, if I remember correctly, is small even for a grown male, so I understand why he might be more intimidated by speaking with me.

“Are you lost?” I ask, trying to keep my voice light so they won’t look so frightful.

I remember what it was like when I first went through the change. I still felt like I was a small male, even if my body was much larger and I could handle myself. This male in front of me still does not trust that he is a strong male. It does not help that he is about the size of Dath before he went through the transformation to be one of the goddess’s chosen warriors. Meaning he is a small male even if he is fully grown.

“You must be lost,” I say, nodding to myself. “Come with me. I will show you the way back to the tribe. My mate is working on making a path, but he is slow about it since he has been busy with—“ I cut myself off, remembering that there is a young hiding behind the larger male.

“No,” the grown male says a little too harshly and then winces like I might strike him. I take a step back, holding my hands up by my head so that he does not think I am a threat. “Sorry, no, we are meant to be here.”

“Here?” I ask.

I look around my farm as though something will help me understand why they are at my home. Maybe they are looking for another brother or some plants for Dath to make paints out of. Surely, they do not mean to be here since I do not know what they could want from me or my home.

“Yes, uh, Toron said we could be of use,” the older of the two says.

He doesn’t get to tell me anything else before the young male pushes past him and stands between us. His arms cross in front of his chest and he holds his head high as he meets my eyes.

“I was told I had to earn my keep to stay in the tribe,” the young says, a hint of defiance in his voice that has a smile pulling at my lips. Yes, this is much more like the young I thought him to be. “Toron says I am in his debt because I kept his Alice safe, but all of the males from our tribe have to help if we want a female. I do not want one, but my brother should have one because he is lonely, so we are here to help.”

“Is this so?” I stand with my hands on my hips, looking from the young to his brother and returning my gaze to the young since he’s better at speaking to me. “You are here to help on the farm? Your wardens know this?”

“We were told to wait for your mate to show us the way, but he was taking too long. I told Marron I could find it,” the young says and then looks around the farm like he is just now realizing where they are and what kind of work they might have to do. “I am Thro, but you probably knew that. Everyone in the tribe knows me now. I think I am a favorite— the most favorite male.”

Marron rolls his eyes, the first hint of any personality that I have seen from him. I cover my laugh at what Thro has said with a clearing of my throat and then cock my head to the side. “Fine, I could use your help. You know this will be hard work, yes?”

“My brother is strong, and I am clever. We can do anything between the two of us,” Thro says, walking toward me, hands on his hips like mine. He stares up at me and tilts his head to the side in a mimic of how I am looking at him when he gets close. It is clear he is waiting for me to say or do something more.

“This way.” I motion for the two of them to follow me. “I am checking the watering system for the fields right now. So far, everything looks good for this field, but it needs to be cleaned. Your job for today is to clean the small ditches in the fields. They have been unused for many years and are filled with dirt, rocks, and all kinds of stuff.”

I kneel down next to the first of the ditches. I dig through the dirt and push it off to the side until I reach the bottom of the small trench.“They are coated in a layer of tar to keep the water from leaking, so when you get to it, you have cleaned a section well enough.”

“That is all?” Thro narrows his eyes as he kneels next to me and begins to clean the next section. “This seems much easier than I was led to believe it would be.”

“How much work do you want to do?” I ask, leaving it up to him to tell me how much he can handle. I am surprised when Marron answers instead.

“We will do whatever work needs to be done,” he says, not looking at me. His words have a conviction that reminds me of Beren when he talks about keeping Nia and me safe. “We know we are lucky to be housed in this tribe, and we will do whatever we need to make sure you do not regret allowing us to stay.”

I narrow my eyes on the male but do not say anything else. He has things he needs to work through on his own, but I will be here if he needs to talk. I will not pry, though, because that is what the rest of my brothers will do in the tribe.

Part of what I love about working on the farm and in all of the small gardens I used to keep in the tribe is that I would have time to myself to think about all the things that troubled me without anyone bothering me. Maybe that is what Marron needs, so who am I to interrupt his solitude?

“I will be working on inspecting the other watering systems,” I say as I move to stand again. “I ask that you take care when you move since these are still growing crops.”

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