Page 16

Kala

I left my village only meaning to make things right with Iris.

Not once did I ever expect she would be returning with me as my future mate and momo for Sorin.

Still, despite her reassurances, I worry I will be unable to provide sufficiently for her.

I worry that somehow she will be taken from us.

The worst of it is, I do not know if I could survive that.

No matter what she says or believes, we cannot have a true mating. She must understand I will not risk her life. We must both settle for whatever kisses we decide will be ours. Neither of us can have more no matter how much we might wish otherwise.

We have finally reached the level area where we branch off the path to where our village lies in a clearing between a small grove of trees.

“It is just up ahead.” I point in the direction where smoke is barely visible.

Iris nods. Her nervousness is evident and understandable.

She is arriving at a village filled with Krijese, a people who are far different than the ones she has been residing with.

We number so few and we do not have all the resources she might have grown accustomed to while living with the Tavikhi.

Our food supply is not nearly as robust, although there is a fresh, clear water source close by.

Also, the tent she was given there is bigger than the one I share with Sorin. I hope Iris is not too disappointed.

She always appears relaxed when she and Sorin hold hands, so I do the same with her. It must be the correct thing, because she glances up at me and gives me my favorite kind of smile. Until her, I have never held a female’s hand.

Affection is not something Krijese show. It is not because we do not feel it inside, but because it is just not our way. I suspect Iris will wish for it often and I discover I want to provide her with it.

We step out of the trees and into the clearing where our small village sits.

From what I can tell no one has noticed our arrival yet, although it appears nearly everyone is around the main fire eating.

I know we should have scouts monitoring for intruders the way the Tavikhi do, but we do not have enough warlords to do so.

They are all sent out hunting to make sure we have enough food for our stores.

At last, someone spots us, because heads lift and tribespeople point in our direction, and even from here, their voices reach me. I scan for Sorin and spot him sitting beside Ashrif who nudges him. He turns and there is only a brief pause before his eyes widen and he scrambles to his feet.

“Iris?” he calls out. “Iris!”

Sorin rushes around the outer perimeter of the circle where everyone sits and runs at us faster than I have ever witnessed him move.

His mouth slit is spread wide and he displays all his teeth in his not-smile and does not stop until he collides with Iris.

I have already freed her hand and she throws her arms around him just as he does her.

She lays her dark-colored cheek on the top of his head so she is able to look at me.

Tears fill her eyes and spill from their corners.

But she is smiling so I assume they are the tears of happiness.

They embrace for several long moments before Iris finally loosens her hold and she stands upright. Sorin turns to press his side against her and faces me. The tarnished specks in his eyes shine once more.

“Gogo, you brought Iris.”

“Aye. She has agreed to be your momo if you wish her to be.”

He jerks his head and looks up at her. “You will be my momo?”

Iris squats down to his eye-level—something I notice she has does often—and lays her palm against his cheek. “If that’s okay with you.”

“Every evening when I go to bed, I have said a prayer to our god that he would bring a momo. From the moment I saw you, I knew he had answered my prayer. I have prayed every evening since then that you would realize it as well.”

She sniffs as the tears fall from her eyes. “I’m sorry it took me so long.”

“It does not matter. You are here now.” Sorin takes Iris’s hand. “Come, momo, I want to introduce you to our tribespeople.”

He leads her away from me and toward the fire. I fall in line behind them as she glances over her shoulder at me with uncertainty. I nod in encouragement and try to convey without words that I will not leave her side. Several members of our tribe have risen to their feet as well, including Moshi.

Sorin brings her to the head of the circle and stops. Pride shines from him. “Tribe-brothers and -sisters, this is Iris. She is my new momo.”

Iris inclines her head and scans the small number of people. “It’s nice to meet all of you. I’m so happy to be here and to call this village my home. I hope you will teach me your ways, but also be patient with me if I stumble.”

Moshi slowly makes his way over and stops directly in front of her.

As one of the elders, his opinion is extremely important to the others.

If he does not approve of someone, it is some times difficult for them to be accepted.

He reaches for Iris’s arm and holds it between his hands.

Although she trembles, she does not jerk it away from him.

Instead, she waits for whatever Moshi will do next.

To my surprise, he lowers his head and presses his brow bones to the end of her arm, which is a sign of the greatest respect. He remains in that position as he speaks.

“Greetings Iris, momo of Sorin. I am Moshi. We welcome you to our village and are grateful for your presence.”

He stands upright and Iris inclines her head. There are more tears, but they do not fall. “Thank you for your warm welcome and your kindness, Moshi.”

One-by-one, several more tribespeople approach and offer her the same respect given by the elder, until nearly everyone has welcomed her.

The only few who remain are a few of the elders who have difficulty getting up and down.

She speaks softly to Sorin and the two of them walk around the circle, stopping at those who have remained seated.

Iris lowers herself and it is she who takes their hand, presses it to her brow, and greets them until there is only one elder leftto receive her.

“Sorin tells me your name is Ashrif. It is an honor to meet you.” Iris moves to lift his hand when he stops her.

Instead, he, like Moshi, is the one to take her incomplete arm in his hands and honors her the same way. “You are a worthy female and I am glad our god answered young Sorin’s prayer.”

“I am equally as glad.”

Now that introductions have been made and Iris has been both accepted and welcomed by our people, it is time for us to eat.

“Sorin will get you food while I take your belongings to our tent. I will return shortly to join you.”

“All right.”

While my kit leads her to the fire to prepare her meal, I walk to our dwelling and place her bag next to my pallet.

Tonight, I will sleep out beneath the moons and Iris can use my furs until I can gather enough for her own use.

It has been over six sun cycles since I shared a pallet with a female.

Near the end of Teeva’s life, she had been far too sick and was placed in our healer’s dwelling for care.

I slept alone after that, except for when Sorin would crawl into my pallet with me during the cold seasons in order to stay warm.

I make my way back to the main fire where nearly everyone has already finished eating except Iris.

Sorin and she are seated where he and I always sit together until he was angry with me.

They have left room for me to join them and my hearts warm at how pleased he is that Iris is here with us.

I have not enjoyed the silence I have received from him no matter that I understood why he did not speak with me.

Iris glances up at my arrival and she pats the ground next to her. “We got you a plate already.”

“You have my thanks.” I lower myself next to her and she passes me the platter of food. It holds far more than hers does and I am a little ashamed I do not have more to offer her.

“Sorin was telling me several of the warlords brought back a small herd of dreri.”

“That is welcomed news.”

“He said after the evening meal they will all be skinned and prepared for storage. If you or someone else can show me how, I’ll do my best to help,” Iris offers.

“Momo, I can show you.”

She strokes the length of his floks. “Thank you, sweetie.”

Sorin cocks his head. “What is sweetie?”

“It’s a pet name. A name of affection,” Iris clarifies when he continues to appear confused.

“You have given me an affection name already?” he bounces slightly and she makes her sweet sound.

“Of course. Unless you don’t like it or want me to only call you Sorin.”

“I love this affection name very much.” He glances over at me and back to her. “Do you have an affection name for Gogo?”

Iris turns her gaze in my direction and studies me for several beats. “What do you think? Does your gogo look like a honey or a dear?”

The scraping rock sound exits his throat. “I think he is honey.”

She taps the tip of her finger on her chin. “You might be right about that. What do you think, Kala? Can I call you honey?”

I will take any name of affection Iris grants me, because she gave it to me. “Honey is acceptable.”

She nudges Sorin. “Did you hear that? It’s acceptable. That’s right up there with sufficient.”

That is the word I used regarding her form the first time she threw Sorin’s war axe when she was practicing with the kits. “Are you…teasing me again?”

Iris gasps and widens her eyes. “Would I do that?”

Beside her, my kit continues to produce the rough sound in his throat. If I did not already have strong emotions for her, I would now if only because she makes Sorin laugh. “Yes, I think you would.”

She grins widely. “You’re right, I would.”

“I like that you tease me.”

“Good, I’m glad. We all need to be teased once in a while, so long as it’s done playfully and not in a cruel way.”

“You will tell me if anyone ever teases you in a cruel way.” They will never tease her—or anyone else—ever again.

Iris leans over and places her arm on mine. “I doubt you’ll need to worry about that, but thank you.”

Long after she removes it and returns to eating, her touch is seared into my flesh. I do not know how I will resist more of her touches for the rest of my life.