Page 5 of Redeeming Captivity (Human Pets of Talin #7)
Chapter 5
Tarquin
Watching Lena eat filled Tarquin with a deep sense of satisfaction. She ate almost as quickly as she had the night before. He hoped as she received more regular meals she’d slow down. He still worried about her choking.
He couldn’t wait to report back everything he’d witnessed. He’d carefully recorded Lena’s condition and fearful reactions. Hopefully Jafinium would be recalled to Talarian to face charges by the Committee of Pet Welfare. Now he was working on finding anything else he could report back. It would be so much better if he could have Jafinium stripped of his honors and command for something he did here on Wulnum.
“I thought you might like to make use of the bathing unit today,” he said. Yesterday when she’d gone in there it was to hide. Most of the humans he’d met liked to bathe regularly, and he assumed Lena was no different. The state of her mane told him that they hadn’t given her access to a bathing unit or the items a human needed for personal grooming.
She didn’t look up from the platter of food he’d fetched while she slept. He’d been happy to note she was still slumbering when he got back. The scent of food woke her soon after he returned.
As usual, she didn’t respond to his comment. Undeterred, he continued talking.
“It’s deplorable that you only have two wraps and no omnie. If you change to your other wrap, I can have the one you're wearing laundered. I’ve been told there is a tailor machine in the only town here on Wulnum and it caters to both Ossiso and Talin. If you feel well enough, we can visit the town and purchase you a few more articles of clothing. I’m sure none of it will be good enough for you, but it will have to do.”
As he talked she paused eating and glanced up at him. It was brief but made him sound a soothing rumble.
“My inspection will be finished in ten more rotations, and then we’ll be leaving,” he explained. She seemed to freeze briefly when he mentioned leaving. Was she scared to leave here or did space travel intimidate her? He didn’t have any information on her journey to Wulnum, but it might’ve been as traumatizing as what she experienced once reaching the planet.
“I’ll be with you for the entire trip,” he reminded her. “You’ll never be on your own or trapped anywhere.”
He wasn’t sure, but she seemed to relax slightly. Hoping to give her something to look forward to, he described Kalor, Commandant Holian’s colony. He couldn’t tell her the secrets within the colony planet, but he made sure to describe all its nice attributes in full detail.
Once she ate her fill, he set the tray out of the way. He’d served it in the same way as the night before so she was still in her nest. She looked adorably rumpled but not very rested. He could only hope she slept better tonight. Even if the nightmares came back, he’d be there to soothe her every time.
“Are you ready to bathe?” he asked. Reaching over, he picked up the bag of items he’d brought with him to give Lena even if he found her happy and content. “I have several products specifically made for a human’s body and mane.”
She watched with silent intensity as he pulled everything out and set it in a line on the edge of her nest.
“I worried my gifts would be redundant, but now I think you might need all of them. We can sit there in the sun and wait for your mane to dry after you’ve used the cleansing unit. I’ve been told the drying function on these units are horrible for a human’s mane.”
When she didn’t move, he nudged the fluffy towel he’d brought her until it toppled over into her nest. “It’s all yours to keep.”
Those seemed to be the correct words because she snatched up most of the items and ran into the bathing unit with an excited smile on her face.
As she bathed, he ate all the leftover food and checked on the documentation Jafinium sent him. One of the things he was supposed to be inspecting was the fleet stationed here, but over half of them were over in Ossiso space training with the Ossiso military in a joint defensive drill. The mutual protection treaty between the Talin Empire and the Ossiso Civilization of Souls was new and not popular with many Talins. The Ossiso allowed slavery and that was considered a backward and atrocious practice by most Talins.
Although he, and a small minority of other Talins, would argue that having human pets was a form of slavery, most Talins saw it differently. Without a homeworld, humans were a vulnerable and easily exploited species in the universe. By bringing them into the Talin Empire they were kept safe, cared for, and allowed to continue reproducing.
Tarquin could understand his fellow Talins’ logic. When first introduced almost five hundred solars ago, humans quickly became popular pets among Talins. Who wouldn’t want a human pet? Showing and receiving affection among Talins was taboo and, in some instances, illegal. But humans needed to be hugged and held or they suffered.
Humans were a way to have tenderness that most Talins never experienced with each other.
Forcing himself out of his philosophical thoughts, he focused back on the documents. The reports Tarquin was reading made the joint defensive exercise appear legitimate, but as he looked closely, he found some suspicious numbers. He wanted nothing more than to be able to reveal incompetence or malfeasance in Jafinium’s command.
He messaged Jafinium’s clerk for several more documents and equipment lists when the cleansing unit door slid open. Lena stood there looking clean and wrapped in nothing but the large towel he’d brought. The towel was big enough that even though it was draped over her shoulders, it still trailed on the ground as she stepped out of the unit.
“Did you enjoy the bathing unit? Were all the products to your liking?” he asked, standing up and setting down the information square he’d been using. He looked down at his Ident and checked for messages. There were no meetings scheduled for today, so he could devote all day to caring for Lena.
She didn’t respond to his questions verbally, but she met his gaze and gave a little smile. It was barely a lifting of the corner of her lips, but for him it was as good as a giant grin.
“I’ve placed some blankets and pillows on the boulder. So you can sit in the sun while you groom your mane and dry.”
Walking to the nest, she picked up the comb he’d set out earlier and walked to the door. He was quick to catch up to her before she could leave. The moment he got close she froze, her head dropped, and she hunched her shoulders.
He sounded a loud, soothing rumble. “I was only going to ask if I could carry you to the boulder. You’re not wearing your slippers and the path is dirty.”
She looked up at him, then out the door. Staring back down she took a step sideways, putting her on the open door’s threshold. The move felt like a test.
“You can walk, but let me fetch your slippers first,” he requested, taking a step toward the bathing room.
She lifted a foot, and he honestly didn’t know if she was going to step into the dirt or not. If she really wanted to walk barefoot to the boulder, he’d let her. She’d done it once already. He only worried that every time she walked barefoot she ran the risk of stepping on a sharp rock and cutting herself. Still, it was her choice to make.
She touched a toe to the dirt, then went still.
What was she doing?
She remained still, toe in the dirt, waiting.
Oh, she was waiting for his reaction! He almost sounded an amused rumble.
“If you really want to get your feet dirty, I guess you can always use the cleansing unit again later.”
That must’ve been the right thing to say because she pulled her foot back in and turned to face him. He wasn’t sure if that was permission to pick her up or fetch her slippers. Taking a gamble he moved closer and crouched down with his arms open. She didn’t flinch away, only turned sideways so he could more easily pick her up.
“Thank you, brave Lena,” he said as he straightened up with her in his arms. “You don’t know how happy this makes me.”
As usual, she didn’t respond, but she didn’t have to. He knew she heard all his words, and perhaps she was starting to believe them.
Once they were settled on the boulder, she started grooming her mane. It was badly tangled, and the time in the cleansing unit might’ve made it worse. It was clear within several submarks that Lena wasn’t being patient or gentle with her mane. She started pulling the comb through it mercilessly, even as her facial expression registered pain.
As much as he wanted to give her autonomy, he couldn’t take it for long.
“Lena?”
At the sound of her name she stopped and looked at his knee. He was getting used to her avoiding eye contact, but still hoped she’d learn it was okay to meet his gaze regularly.
“Would you let me try grooming your mane?” he asked. “It would make me very happy, and if I’m not doing it right you can always turn your head away and I’ll stop.”
She remained still, staring at his knee for a full submark before she held the comb out to him. The moment he took it she turned her back, pulled her knees up, and hugged her legs to her chest. He wasn’t sure if that was a comfortable position or a defensive one.
Moving slowly, he gathered her mane and tried to separate it in two. He immediately realized the entire mass was tangled.
“I know I can fix this,” he told her. “But it’s going to take some time. If you get tired, hot, or thirsty, simply move away and I’ll know you want a break.”
At his words she let go of her legs and stretched them out in front of her. It was a more relaxed position, so maybe she wasn’t feeling anxious about his offer any longer.
He started by detangling the ends. Once he was left with the middle tangle, he started separating small pieces from the sides. He wished he had packed a bottle of the oil some of the humans liked to use in their manes. It would’ve helped the process.
Then it struck him. The scent glands in his cheeks had been aching ever since he first caught sight of Lena. He knew that bonding oil had many of the same properties as the bottled oil. Could he risk using it on Lena?
Every time he picked her up, he had to fight the instinct to rub his cheeks on her hair. She wasn’t his human. He couldn’t scent-bond to a human so traumatized she couldn’t even speak. That was unconscionable.
Among his small group of Talins, humans were acknowledged to be their intellectual equals. Actually, he’d met a few humans that were so smart he thought they were a little intimidating. Dalt’s human, Lakin, knew way too many ways to disable ships. Then there was Lakin’s opposite, Zia, Palforma’s human, who seemed to be able to fix anything!
Knowing humans were smart meant that he and his group did their best to give them as much freedom as they could within the Talin Empire. That’s why the colonies of Kalor and Sorana existed, as places for humans and Talins to live real lives together.
But he couldn’t tell Lena any of this yet. He had to wait until they were off-planet. He didn’t think she’d deliberately betray him, but things could happen that were out of her control such as crying out in her sleep.
Rubbing bonding oil on someone was an intimate act. Except this wouldn’t be him rubbing his face against her mane. He was only going to collect some with his hand and use it to help ease her tangles.
Put like that, it was only logical.
Pressing fingers to his scent gland, he felt a gush of bonding oil dribble down his face. He quickly scooped it up and applied it to her mane. Then he did the same thing to his other scent gland.
Lena took a deep breath. She could probably smell his bonding oil. He was told that when a Talin was mate material for a human, their boding oil smelled familiar and enticing. If they weren’t meant to be mates, the bonding oil would smell soapy.
He paused, waiting to see if Lena would respond to the scent. Except for taking a few deep breaths, she didn’t react.
He forced back a rumble of disappointment and focused on his task. He needed to stay focused on his true mission—Lena’s healing and happiness.