This was my mate.
She did not seem to recognize me as unambiguously as I did her, for she blinked a few more times in rapid succession and screwed her face up into a scrunched little ball and screeched just as loudly as the ranook had.
She tried to crawl backward as if to escape me, but didn’t seem to notice the cliff edge just behind her. I jumped forward and pulled her against me as she thrashed and attempted to claw at my arms.
I held in a chuckle. Did she think her thin little nails could even scratch my thick flesh? Nevertheless, I did not want her to hurt herself, so I pinned first one arm under my armpit, thenthe other against my chest. She kept struggling, but I turned us carefully so she could see the edge. I knew she understood the danger as soon as she froze in my embrace, going from a struggling creature to one made of stone, and then all at once she went limp as if giving up, but I did not trust it.
I held her tight for a moment longer, enjoying the feel of her soft flesh pressed against me and loving how perfectly her small, round frame fit within my larger one, then I shifted her position on my lap and stood with her in my arms. She tensed and let out a sweet little gasp as I tucked her tighter against me and carried her back into the safety of the forest. I probably carried her a little farther than necessary, making sure she was fully out of danger of any lingering ranook before I reluctantly set her down against an old, wide aloon.
I crouched before her.
“Alright, my mate, tell me how you came to be so deep in the forest. Did the great mother Monai send you here to find me?” I asked with a grin.
“Ohmanyoudontspeakenglishdoyou?” she said in a soft, melodic voice that was the sweetest music my soul had ever experienced. Utter gibberish, but I could listen to her babble all day.
“You don’t speak a language I recognize, but maybe you know another?” I asked and repeated it in a few other languages. She blinked but did not seem to recognize any of them. I rubbed my chin in thought, then grimaced and looked down at my hand, then my bare chest. Her slime had transferred to my own flesh. That was unpleasant, but she was my mate, and if her kind always self-lubricated so liberally, I would adapt.
“Sorryiknowimsogross!Ineedabathandlikeabrickofsoap.Likeindustrialstrengthsoapwithlotsofchemicals.”
“It is alright, dear one. I do not mind your excretions, but I imagine you need to hydrate often.” I unhooked my canteenfrom my belt and handed it to her, but she just looked at me with the same wide expression. Maybe she was not familiar with my method of holding water. I uncorked the top of the hollow gourd and shook it so the water sloshed, then took a sip to demonstrate before handing it back. Her eyes lit with excitement, and this time she took the canteen eagerly and drank. After a moment, she lowered it and closed her eyes, sighing softly as she licked her lips. Then she took one more quick drink and handed it back.
She said something again in a long breath of nonsense.
I grinned, thankful I could provide for my mate, and secured my canteen back on my belt. I placed a hand on my chest. “Kex,” I said clearly. I reached out and touched her slimy shoulder, lifted my eyebrows, and waited.
“Oh!” Her eyes brightened, and she tapped her chest. “Emily.”
“Mmmly,” I repeated, and she grinned and shook her head oddly.
“EM-uh-lee,” she said again slowly. I waved my hand, and she repeated it a few times.
“Emma-lee,” I said again, and she grinned and moved her head up and down in a jerky fashion. “Emily.”
She smiled, and I felt like a warrior. “Yesthatit!” she said quickly. Then she straightened up and pointed a small finger at me. “Keex?” she said, as if unsure.
I repeated the shortened version of my name for her, and she got it on the next try. Grinning at my first successful attempt at communicating with my mate, I tapped her shoulder again, and then my chest. “Emily, Kex.”
She grinned and repeated the motion. “Emily, Kex.”
Elated, I took a moment to study her carefully. She was much shorter than me, maybe coming up to my chest, so her legs were also shorter. We would be slower navigating the forest, but she was not equipped to stay out here without even natural defenseslike my claws. Monai’s deep forest did not hold many dangers to one of my size, and I would be enough to keep her safe. She was adequately covered, with thick foot coverings, a stretchy black fabric covering her legs while showing off her shapely hips and thighs, and a brown shirt with an image of some kind of fluffy creature loosely covering what had to be a lovely pair of breasts. The slime caused the fabric to cling so tightly to the globes, and I had to force my eyes away. The fabrics were all of a make not natural to the forest, which alone told me she was not supposed to be here, but no part of me cared to be offended at her presence as others of my people might.
She had hair on her head, like me. It was long and would perhaps be a soft yellow if it was not covered in slime.
“Youjustgonnasitthereandstarebigguy?”
My Emily’s voice reached me through my contemplative haze, and I met her eyes. She was examining me just as closely as I was her and I suddenly noticed my loincloth was feeling a bit tight. While well-woven, the leaves making up my covering were not indestructible, and if I was not careful, my cock might make itself known quite spectacularly. I forced myself to think on the next problem.
Clearing my throat, I pointed at her, then I pointed at myself and made a walking gesture with my fingers. “Emily and Kex walk back to my hut,” I said, then stood and offered my hand to her.
“Imeanidontreallyhaveanywhereelsetogo,” she said, and I worried it was a denial, but then she placed her slimy little hand in mine, and my heart filled with warmth. I gripped her tightly and pulled her to her feet. She let out a little squeak and stumbled into me, her free hand going to my chest. I grinned. My cock throbbed at the touch, but she gasped and stepped back, dropping her hand immediately.
“Okaythenshallwejustbeoff?” she said before gesturing to the forest and walking straight off into the trees.
I chuckled and tapped her shoulder, then gestured in the other direction. Despite her confidence, I doubted she had shelter nearby, so mine would have to do. She bounced her head up and down oddly, which I interpreted as some type of acceptance, and I led her in the direction of my hut. At her smaller stride, it would take us a few days to reach it, but it would be more comfortable for her than staying in the open, and once we had shelter, maybe I could think up what to do with her long term.
four
. . .