Page 22 of Theirs to Crave

She sighed. “Never outside the village without an adult.”

“And?” he pushed, pointedly flicking his ears as thunder boomed overhead.

“No going out in a storm unless it’s an emergency. But it was! They were in danger!” Her voice was indignant, but her ears flattened and she ducked her head at his steady, unblinking look.

“You didn’t know that when you left the den. Were you in danger then?” He was implacable, and when she slowly shook her head, he huffed. “What will you do next time?”

Svixa thought for a moment. “I’ll wake my parents so we can go together!”

Revik narrowed his eyes, lip curling.

Svixa sighed. “I’ll wake my parents and stay in the den where it’ssafe.” She rubbed her cheek against each of us, apology shining in her eyes.. “I’m sorry. Did you get hurt?”

We assured her we had not. Sky fire danced above us, and the rain returned. I turned my attention to the strangers gathered across from us and watched the mud and blood slide off their small forms. I’d feared that the patchy ones suffered from some disease that robbed them of their fur, but now I saw the distinct patterning and thought they might be that way naturally.

The one who’d protected Svixa stood beside another who shared her golden skin and dark fur, and I tipped my head curiously. Even among her own kind she was unique, short but sumptuously cushioned.

“They fell from the sky,” Svixa said, her voice rapt. “The large ones were cruel to them. They hit them and hurt them with sky fire trapped in their necklaces. I followed them from the sky rock. The large ones were bad. These ones were kind to me.” Her words tumbled over each other as she rushed to see her new friends safe.

A shiver ran up my spine, lifting the fur there. I pushed down the urge to shape the warding against death. Creatures from the sky or no, I would judge them by their actions, not superstition. I ran my hand over Svixa’s ears and chuffed. “We owe them a great debt.”

Zaf dropped to the ground beside us and cast a glance burning with curiosity over the strangers. His eyes lingered on Svixa’s protector, then roved over Revik and I, looking for wounds. Finding none, he settled in to care for Svixa, his light tone masking real concern.

I rose, slowly, watching the strangers for signs of fear or aggression. They watched me back, tense but calm, so I stepped closer. They were around Svixa’s height, some shorter, some taller, but looking at them now, their proportions felt mature. Their actions, too, were not those of children. When the closest was just beyond the reach of my arm, I dropped into a squat to keep from looming over them.

The group of beings rippled, then one of the Svestrix-like people stepped forward. They bent gracefully from the waist; their hands pressed together in front of their chest. Their eyes glowed with star shine, beautiful and ominous.

Hoping it was a gesture of greeting, I copied them, my one hand open over my heart.

They dipped their head, seemingly satisfied, and lowered one arm, leaving the other matching mine.

“Yin,” they said, tapping their chest with the hand that rested there. “Yin,” they repeated, then gestured towards me and turned their hand palm up, waiting.

Ah! I tipped my head at them and said, “Yin.”

They dipped, cooing something encouraging.

I gestured to the others. “Yin?”

They shook their head, named themself again, and then the others.

The one who’d protected Svixa was called Estrayuh. I silently repeated the name, finding it pleasing. Fitting that this woman would have a name so similar to that of our people. Estrayuh. Teterayuh. Kin.

Some of their names were stranger, with sounds my mouth struggled to form. In particular, Estrayuh’s sibling—I assumed them to be siblings, they had the same coloring and were close without the intimacy of lovers—had a name I could not wrap my lips around.

“Litha,” I shared, pointing to myself. Then, pausing to allow each to nod at the strangers, “Revik, Zafett, Svixa.” I indicated all of us with a single motion. “Teterayuh.”

Yin’s starlight eyes gleamed.

Their language was strange and hard to pronounce, but I learned that their people were called Kyusalk, while the patchy ones were called Hyunan. They only snarled when asked about the enemy, but I understood that whoever they’d been, there weren’t any more lurking in the jungle.

Behind me Svixa whimpered, Zaf murmured, and Revik stood guard over them both, silently supporting whatever decision I made. I considered the strangers. They didn’t seem dangerous. They’d been ferocious in battle, but not particularly skilled. And they were all wounded, though none seemed mortally damaged. They reeked of fear and foulness, but I smelled neither anger nor deceit.

We needed to get Svixa back to the den. I looked to the sky. Being this long in the open was making me twitchy. We needed shelter. The strangers needed healing, cleansing, rest. Probably food and as well. We would see that they got all they needed, but it would not balance out the great debt we owed them.

But first.

I paced carefully forward, tail and ears up to show goodwill. Stopping before Estrayuh, I repeated the greeting gesture, holding her gaze. Her eyes were fascinating. The night sky in reverse, they were spots of darkness in a pale field. Her pupils wereroundof all things, and as I watched, they grew until the warmer color that surrounded them was only a thin ring. Mesmerizing.

---