Page 43 of Planet Zero
“The smell of blood is faint now, and I suppose she’s not as bad off as she was.”
Addie’s heart warmed. “This is great news,” she couldn’t keep from smiling. “Please tell Oma how glad I am that she’s recovering. I was worried about her.”
His wide brow furrowed. “Why do you care about Oma?”
“Where I am from, it’s called compassion. She is a young woman and she shouldn’t be dying. I am sorry about your baby, Hunlath. It is very sad.”
He hastily looked away, and it hit Addie. This large male animal was suffering. He was grieving for his dead baby. He was tormented about Oma’s condition, and he had absolutely no idea what to do with those feelings except hide them.
Acting without a thought, she reached out and placed her hand on top of his. “Was it a boy or a girl?”
“It was a girl. Oma wanted to name her Maali. But she never drew breath, never cried. The birth was silent. It was the worst kind of silence.” His hand lay still under Addie’s touch. “And then Oma bled and bled. And cried. She hadn't said a word to me until this morning.”
Addie gently squeezed his hand before letting go. It was the first time she voluntarily touched a male For outside of administering first aid. The familiar feel of skin and muscle under her hand took away some of her fear of him and somehow made them equal.
“Oma will recover, I’m sure of it. Would you like to try some of my meat, Hunlath?” She switched the topics on purpose, striving to lift his spirits through normalcy.
He looked at her very seriously. “I won’t take your meat. I brought you this knife.” He reached into his boot and pulled out a long sharp stone blade polished to a high sheen.
Addie had never seen anything like this. If she didn’t know better, she would have assumed the knife was molded at a factory. “This is amazing. But I can’t take it without a trade. I want to pay you.”
Hunlath made a negative motion with his head. “For Oma.”
“But I didn’t do much of anything, Hunlath, I want you to understand that. There wasn’t much Icoulddo.”
“You went to her and cleaned her bed. You made her talk. It was enough. You did more than I.” There was remorse in his statement.
“You should tell her yourself.”
“Tell her what?”
“That you’re glad she is better. That you don't want her to die.”
“Of course I don’t want her to die. Why would I need to tell her those things?”
“Because she believes you’re angry with her and that you wished she died.”
He looked absolutely floored. “It cannot be true. She doesn’t think this.”
“Well, just tell her. It will make her feel better, I promise you.”
He rose to his feet, shaky in his disbelief.
Addie rose as well. “Wait. I’d like to give you some of my meat for Oma.” She went into her teepee to select several pieces that she wrapped in a strip of cloth she could ill afford to give away. Every item in her tiny household was precious.
Hunlath was waiting for her patiently. “Grateful.” He bobbed his head in his weird way. “What else should I tell Oma? To rest?”
“Yes, she needs to rest until the bleeding subsides. Then she should start moving around, but nothing too strenuous. And no relations until the bleeding stops completely.”
“Huh?”
“No mating, I mean.”
For some reason, this last bit of advice was proving to be a sticking point for Hunlath. “For how long?”
“My experience is with human births,” Addie broke off, not sure how to explain the numbers. “When as many days as you have toes and fingers pass that many times,” she raised four fingers, “you can return to your mate’s bed.”
He looked nonplussed. “That’s a lot of days.”
