Page 5 of Tender Captivity (Human Pets of Talin)

The meeting with Committee Citizen Sornlian went as well as he could have expected.

Sornlian agreed to open an investigation and would be interviewing everyone, including talking to Jinna at a later date.

He’d accepted that the human was traumatized and needed time to recuperate before being questioned.

The moment he could, he concluded his meeting with Sornlian and hurried the man out of the house so he could get to Jinna.

He felt a little foolish when he burst into the room to find Jinna sound asleep on a reclining mat while Renalan sat on the floor next to her reading something off his Ident Cube.

Grabbing the heavy, ornate door so it wouldn’t crash against the wall, he remained where he was while Renalan hastily stood and walked over to him.

“Jinna was very good for the healer,” he whispered. “I asked the healer to make note of injuries and submit them to Committee Citizen Sornlian.”

“That’s good,” Holian praised him. “What did the healer find?”

Renalan’s tone turned grim. “She has bruising all over her back and sides. An old cut on her thigh is infected, and she has evidence of repeated trauma to her face.”

Even after a lifetime of practicing strict control over his emotions, Holian almost sounded an enraged rattle. He took a few deep breaths before speaking. “Anything else?”

“Other than the injuries, the healer said she was in good health. Not malnourished or underweight. But she did stress Jinna shouldn’t be bred because she’s of an age where carrying a pup could be problematic,” Renalan explained.

“I took the liberty of telling her you would never allow that to happen.”

“You’re correct. She’s only having a pup if she wants it enough to take the risks.”

“I also told Jinna you had no one but a son in your life, and he’s busy establishing himself, so you see him rarely. She was shocked to find out that Ianino is your only family left. No living parents, no spouse, and no siblings. Like her, you’re alone also,” Renalan said.

Holian repressed a sharp rattle of displeasure. “That hardly sounds like a suitable topic.”

“She was feeling desolate and asked about you. Now she knows you understand how she feels,” Renalan said without remorse.

He dropped his gaze to focus on Jinna. He didn’t want to talk about feeling alone, so he focused on her health. She was curled up on her side, her face relaxed and hair lying in a halo around her head. “Did she fall asleep after the healer left?”

“The healer gave her something so she wouldn’t be awake while the cut was being cleaned and closed,” Renalan explained.

“I prepared the room next to yours for her. The soft bedding for her nest hasn’t arrived yet, but I found as many pillows as I could and piled them all together on her bed. I hope that will make her happy.”

Holian suppressed an amused rumble. “I’m sure it will be perfect. Don’t get too attached, my friend. She might leave us to go live on Kalor. Or Sorana.”

“I’d hoped this one would stay with you,” Renalan responded, surprising Holian. “Especially after she smiled while you rubbed your bonding oil in her hair.”

Holian sounded a soft, inquisitive rumble, encouraging Renalan to continue.

“I might not see you often, but I can tell you’re lonely,” Renalan said.

“You care for everyone else but keep nothing for yourself. Perhaps give Jinna a chance before sending her away. She’s already attached to you.

She kept glancing at the door, looking for you.

And I think she’s a strong one. She faced the healer with her head held high, even though I could tell she was afraid. ”

Holian tried to squash his budding attachment to Jinna.

It hadn’t even been a full rotation yet, and he felt closer to this human than he had any other.

“You know I let the humans decide where they want to go. And now, with the colony of Sorana so close to Delorta space, they have an avenue to escape Talin ownership only a short shuttle ride away. She might want her freedom back.”

“I only ask that you tell her all the reasons she should stay,” Renalan said mysteriously. That’s when Holian felt something trickle down his check. Wiping his face, he realized the scent glands in his cheeks were so full of bonding oil that some had ended up leaking down his face.

Most Talins would be beyond humiliated if this happened in front of a witness, but he and Renalan had known each other far too long for him to feel any shame.

He did feel a bolt of shock go through him that had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with surprise. His scent glands had never produced bonding oil for anyone before.

“I see your body has already decided,” Renalan said before leaving the room with a quiet, happy rumble.

*****

Waking in a panicked rush, Jinna sat bolt upright. Arms flailing out, she sent a dozen objects flying. Only after gasping in air for a moment and wildly looking around did she realize she’d been sleeping in a nest of fluffy, soft pillows, most of which were now scattered on the floor.

Taking a deep breath, she rubbed her hands over her face as she took in the room around her.

Having a nightmare rouse her from sleep wasn’t uncommon, even before she became a pet.

The difference was this time she got to wake up panicked and confused.

She wasn’t in the outside cage with only a thin mat for a bed where’d she been sleeping since being abducted.

Instead, she was lying on a soft pad in a dimly lit room with an open door. Not a bar or gate in sight.

And even stranger, nothing hurt. She didn’t feel any of the aches or pains that had become familiar companions. In fact, she felt better than she had for years. Even the normal stiffness in her neck from an old injury was gone.

Memories of Holian, Renalan, and the healer came back to her. They must have left her to sleep after the healer was done.

Wide awake now, she stood up and stretched.

It felt good to move without a single part of her body protesting.

After stretching and shaking out her limbs, she picked up the scattered pillows and set them all back on the bed.

She shook her head at the sight, the bed now so covered in pillows you couldn’t see anything else.

By the look of it, she was in a bedroom. That made her wonder who normally slept here and why they needed so many pillows. Not that she was complaining, but still, it was weird.

She was still wearing the wrap from earlier and felt a little grimy, but she was hesitant to use a cleansing room.

The open- air area built for cleaning in her enclosure had run only freezing cold water.

She didn’t know whether that was because Talins didn’t feel cold or because they didn’t bother warming water for pet humans.

The temperature in this room was cool. If she had to take a cold shower, she’d be violently shivering before she even finished. Better not to risk it.

If she wasn’t going to take a shower, what to do? She could curl up in the bed and try to go back to sleep. No, that idea didn’t hold any appeal. She was very much awake and feeling a little alone. She wanted to set eyes on Holian.

No, that was partially a lie. Yes she wanted to see him again, but she also wanted him to hold her and tell her she was safe. But she’d settle for getting a glimpse of him.

Her bare feet made little sound on the stone floor as she padded down the hall. Most of the vast house was dark and silent, but light was coming from an open door a little further down.

Peeking in the door, she found Holian sitting at a table with a built-in display. His full concentration was on the display, so she gave herself permission to study him.

He wasn’t as tall or broad as most of the Talins she’d interacted with so far, but even sitting there staring at a display, he had an aura of command. They called him commandant, and she could clearly see him leading soldiers into battle.

He wore the pants, belt, pouch, and Ident Cube that all Talins wore.

The hard keratin plates of his chest had a few scars on them, and the armor plates on his right shoulder were rippled, as if they’d been slightly deformed by heat.

She knew the full, intact sets of quills on his forearms were considered a sign of beauty among Talins, but she wondered if the deep red color meant anything.

She found herself wanting to run her fingers down the length of those long, shiny quills. Actually, she wanted to touch him all over. Feel the different textures of his plates, quills, and that small slip of skin visible on either side of his neck where the plates of his shoulder and neck met.

Without looking up, Holian spoke. “When you get tired of standing there, you can claim a spot in one of the chairs, reclining mats, or my lap.”

“I didn’t think you saw me,” she said, stepping fully into the room.

“I didn’t,” he said, finally looking up. Pushing his chair away from the table, he sat back and tapped the skin next to a nose slit with a finger. “I smelled you.”

She frowned. “I’m sorry. I probably stink.”

Holian was quick to argue. “No, little flower. You have a lovely human scent. But you also smell a little like me.”

Giving in to temptation, she walked over to him and climbed into his lap. The moment she was settled, his arms wrapped around her and he started purring. She closed her eyes and relaxed. If she could stay like this for the rest of her life, she’d die a happy woman.

“Do I smell like you because you’ve been holding me?” she asked, snuggling against this chest.

“Not quite. I found your registration paperwork; you haven’t been among us long. Do you know anything about Talin physiology?” he asked.

“Not really.” She felt around blindly for his neck. When she found a little strip of soft skin, she started running her fingertips over it.

He took in a sharp breath at her touch. Alarmed she’d accidently hurt him, she sat up and withdrew her fingers. He was quick to capture her hand and place it back where it was. “Please don’t stop.”

Watching his face, she started rubbing again.

His purring intensified and his eyes closed.

Both sides of his face started to glisten, right in front of his earholes.

She reached up with her free hand and ran a finger over one of the spots.

He jolted slightly at her touch, but by the sound of his purrs, she was sure it wasn’t from pain.

The substance on his face felt like a light oil. Rubbing it between her fingers, she brought it to her nose.

“Apples,” she murmured. “You smell like an Old Earth fruit called apples. I’d wondered where that smell was coming from.”

Holian’s eyes opened and focused on her. “Do you like apples?”

She was pretty sure they weren’t talking about food now. “I think I do. We got one as a holiday gift when I was a child. We sliced it into sixteen pieces so everyone in the household could have a bite. The smell means happiness to me.”

Drawing her closer, he brought his cheek to her head and rubbed his face across the top of it. The scent of apples filled the air around her and cemented her correlation between that smell and the sensation of being safe.

“This is why you smelled like me,” he said as he moved his head to rub the other cheek on her. “I shouldn’t do this, but I’m powerless to resist you, little flower.”

“It feels nice,” she murmured.

When he stopped, she lifted a hand to touch her hair.

It was saturated with the oil he produced, but it didn’t feel heavy or gross.

And it even soothed her scalp as she ran her fingers through her curly strands.

It reminded her of the product she used to buy to keep her curls from becoming unmanageably tangled.

When she dropped her hands back into her lap, Holian tightened his arms around her and drew her in to snuggle against his chest. Neither spoke as his purrs filled the room, and a contentedness she hadn’t felt in years nestled in her heart.

Sleep snuck up on her, and as she dropped into unconsciousness, she couldn’t be sure she heard him speak or if her sleepy brain imagined it.

“I’ll always give you a choice, little flower. But I hope you choose me.”