Page 6 of Tharn’s Hunt (Barbarians of the Dust #2)

INSTRUCTIONS NEEDED. THE FEMALE IS AWAKE (NOW WHAT?)

THARN

T he female rests now.

I crouch at the edge of the cave, careful to keep my distance, watching the rise and fall of her small chest. So small. Small but loud. Dust, so loud .

Jah-kee. Sister-female of Jus-teen. A miracle .

She shifts in her rest, making a small pained sound that grates against my ears even as it makes me instantly alert. Her face tightens, brows drawing together. Pain? Hunger? Thirst?

I reach for my waterskin. Surely, she couldn’t need more so quickly. She’d consumed the water I offered like a creature dying of thirst, gulping so quickly I'd feared she might choke. Already, she’s consumed enough to last me seven sols.

Female ? I project the thought carefully, keeping it gentle. Jah-kee ? Are you in pain ?

Nothing. Not even a flicker of recognition in the mindspace.

I try again, louder.

JAH-KEE. HEAR THARN ?

She doesn't stir. Dust! Jus-teen could hear me. She could hear Rok. What am I doing wrong? How did he get her mindspace to open?

I shift closer, carefully. When she first became aware of me, she attacked. An attempt that would have been amusing if not for the terror in her scent. Then when I'd restrained her...

My skin prickles at the memory. That strange light. It had filled me, racing through pathways I didn't know existed in my own body. And it had hurt this time. Hurt, yes, but also… felt good ? It awakened something. Something I feel deep down but can’t quite grab hold of.

I settle back on my haunches, sniffing the air, cataloging the scents clinging to her. Fear. Exhaustion. Pain. Hunger. The sharp tang of injury…

Wait. Lifeblood?

Fresh lifeblood.

She is bleeding.

I shift closer, panic thrumming with every beat of my dra-kir. If she is injured, I must find the wound. I have firebloom left; I can crush the leaves again. I’m already reaching for it when the female cracks one eye open.

The moment she spots me, she scrambles upright like a startled rock jumper, her back hitting the cave wall with a painful thunk . Her hand claws for her pathetic weapon—that jagged scrap of metal she’d tried to stab me with earlier—as her mouth spits sounds at me. Loud, sharp sounds.

Like a dust crab snapping at a predator ten times its size.

Ain .

My poor ear holes.

Still heavy with exhaustion, her gaze darts wildly around the cave before landing back on me. Then, inexplicably, drops lower.

Her nose wrinkles.

Ah.

She’s looking at my pouch.

My member is not visible. Not like Rok’s now is. He has… changed after claiming Jus-teen.

A hot rush of something sharp floods my veins.

Is that why Jah-kee doesn’t recognize my mindspeak?

Because I haven’t… presented properly? Jus-teen entered the mindspace because Rok claimed her.

I found Jah-kee in the dust, so now she is mine.

The mere act of my finding her means I have claimed her.

That is the law on Xiraxis. As simple as Ain rising each dawn and going to sleep before the dark.

But perhaps I need to claim Jah-kee in a way she understands. Perhaps that is how she will enter the mindspace.

Hmm. Females are strange; their customs even stranger. I am still learning. We all are .

Perhaps the sight of my member is… reassuring? Or maybe it’s an offering? A gesture of goodwill? I’ve seen Jah-kee clutch the strange creature trapped in crystal for comfort. Perhaps females need to see things to trust them.

I tilt my head, considering. That would explain why her gaze lingered there, why her nose wrinkled. Perhaps she finds my lack of… presentation offensive. Or disappointing.

I stiffen, spine straightening. The thought of disappointing this strange soft thing is one I DO NOT like.

How do I do this? Do I need to… display it, like a gift?

I huff softly. This is complicated.

But if laying eyes on my member will bring Jah-kee into the mindspace, I must try. For her sake. For… understanding.

I curl my claws around the edge of my pouch, ready to slide it free, when a pained whimper cuts through my thoughts.

Her face tightens as she shifts, the movement pulling at a wound along her wrist. One still weeping faint streaks of rust-scented blood.

I go still.

I’ve ripped apart many a kill to know the look of a wound made by my own claws.

No .

My gut twists.

I lean forward without thinking?—

"Stay on your side, Goldilocks!"

—and freeze when she brandishes her weapon, her arm trembling but her glare searing.

I don’t need mindspeak to understand that.

Slowly, I retreat, settling back on my haunches. She eyes me for another breath before slumping slightly, her grip on her weapon loosening. But not releasing. Never releasing.

Angry, stubborn, loud little thing.

Her vocalizations, thank the dust, go lower. She’s still angry, still stubborn, still loud , but at least my ear holes aren’t ringing anymore.

"Thanks for your help, but we’re not friends, okay. You’re still a stranger. Still a male—" (another glance at my pouch) "—kinda."

Her words may be meaningless, but her actions are clear enough. She doesn’t trust me. Of course, she doesn’t. She doesn’t understand me, and she cannot hear me in the mindspace.

And that… that is my failure.

She must be claimed. Perhaps exactly like her sister-female was.

I recall the moment all too clearly. Jus-teen broadcasted it. The image of Rok crouched between her thighs, his tongue moving. The wet slurping sounds.

She shared water with him…from between her thighs.

The entire clan had seen it.

Water-sharing is sacred. If I drink from Jah-kee, she will be claimed. She’ll hear me. Understand.

Or perhaps I must do both. Present myself first, then share her water.

Hmm. This is logical.

I square my shoulders. " JAH-KEE ," I project, gesturing first to my pouch, then emphatically at her thighs. " THARN WILL PRESENT AND LICK. FOR CLAIMING . YOU WILL ENTER THE MINDSPACE AS YOUR SISTER-FEMALE HAS."

She blinks at me blankly.

Dust .

“JAH-KEE. THARN CLAIM NOW. MAKE YOU HEAR.”

Nothing.

I huff. Clearly, I must demonstrate. I crouch abruptly, claws retracting.

" I’ll lick you now ," I announce. Uselessly, because she only blinks at me. Which is why I need to do this. " Open ."

When I gesture firmly at her thighs, her eyes do an alarming bulging thing.

"EXCUSE ME?!"

Ain’s wrath . I’m sure her exclamation just burst a vessel in my ears.

She scrambles backward so fast her elbow cracks against stone.

"Oh my God, no. NO. Whatever the hell you're thinking— stop ."

The shiny weapon is back in her grip, jabbing the air between us.

I tilt my head. Is she not producing water there ? Perhaps if I reveal my member, hers will produce water, and I can lick?—

"I WILL STAB YOU IN THE EYE."

The vocalizations, though strained, don’t miss their mark. She points her weapon at me, close enough that it’s directly in line with my right eye.

Why is she rejecting this?

Strange female. Does she truly mean to pierce my eye?Rok did not mention this as a possibility.

I pause, reassessing.

Perhaps I cannot go about it like this. Perhaps she needs to understand that belonging to me will be good. I will feed her and shelter her. I will make sure no harm comes to her in the dust.

“ Relax, female. I will not harm you .”

It’s clear she doesn’t hear even a shadowy imprint of my thoughts. Even with my directing them straight at her. Her weapon remains raised, and she rubs at her wrist with a hiss, her fingers coming away smeared red.

Dust and bones .

I’ve hunted injured prey before. But this? This tiny, bleeding female glaring at me like I’m the threat when she can barely keep her eyes open?

This feels…wrong.

This is harder than tracking a sand serpent through the plains.

At least then I know what to do. Track. Hunt.

Kill. Simple. This... this is not simple.

My claws dig into my thighs. Hunters don’t apologize.

Don’t fret over scratches. But… I hurt a female .

This miraculous, precious thing. And the way her scent sours with pain only feeds the guilt. I must fix this. Somehow.

I snatch my waterskin and toss it at her feet.

She jumps, then squints at me.

What does Rok do with Jus-teen again? Right, he has this new thing of baring his teeth at her, but not in a snarling way. Females do not like it when you snarl at them.

So I bare my teeth at Jah-kee, careful not to snarl.

She pales.

Dust . Wrong expression.

I try again, forcing my features into something softer.

She eyes me like I’ve grown a second head.

"Nope. Nope. Still terrifying." She weakly waves the shiny weapon. "Cave’s big enough for two, okay? You stay over there, I’ll stay here, and we’ll have a staring contest until you’re ready to take me to my sister."

Then she does the most curious thing. Her mouth stretches wide, revealing small, blunt teeth and a pink tongue. A long, wavering sound escapes her, and her jaw snaps shut with a click. Her whole body slumps as if the act has drained what little energy she had left.

“ ...Did…did you just unhinge your jaw ?”

I watch, fascinated, as her head bobs. Once. Twice.

Then she’s slumped against the wall again, weapon still clutched in her limp hand.

Resting. Mid-threat.

A fascinating, impossible creature.

Now, without her glaring at me, I shift ever so slightly closer, peering at the wound on her wrist. Shame fills me. I did that. It wasn't intentional. I'm not some untrained fool who can't control his strength. But females are so fragile…

My chest feels strange again, tight and uncomfortable. Is this... concern?

Hunters don't feel concern. We feel hunger, satisfaction, pride in the kill. Not... whatever this is.

Bones . I will make it up to her. I will make it right. As soon as I can, I will hunt. Bring her fresh meat. And not a small sand runner next time. I must bring her something bigger. Make a poultice to help her heal. And then we will head to her sister-female.

Whatever you find in the dust is yours. That's our way.

I found Jah-kee, so she is mine. But... not like a kill. Not something to throw over my shoulder and drag back to the clan caves.

No, females are different. Special.

This is a lesson my brothers will have to learn, too. Rok had no time to explain much, but I had observed. Jus-teen stayed with him willingly. Walked beside him, not behind or in front. Touched him without fear. Communicated with him.

“ I’ll protect you ,” I project, more to myself than to her. “ I’ll bring you to your sister-female Jus-teen. To my clan. I will keep you safe. ”

A strange mixture of pride and... something else rises within me.

Something that makes me want to hunt every shadowmaw on Xiraxis just to see if she would make that sound again. The one she made when I handed her the creature trapped in crystal. That small gasp of hope.

I've never cared about sounds other than those that help me hunt. Never cared about the reactions of others unless they affected the clan's survival.

But I want to hear that sound again.

Want to be the cause of it.

I settle in for the long dark ahead, watching over the small, fragile female who somehow makes me feel both powerful and completely helpless at the same time.

I've never felt helpless before. Never had reason to.

I am Tharn, second hunter. First tracker. I take what I want. I find what I seek.

I do not fail.

Jah-kee .

Precious female .

My new hunt.

The strangest hunt of all.