Ice Planet Holiday (4 page)

“Not mates?”

“Not for a long time.” My cheeks heat. I have no idea why I volunteered that, but the sa-khui don’t have the same sense of shame around sex that humans do. It’s no big deal for someone to comment on their sex life, or lack thereof. Still, I feel the need to explain even more, to somehow seem less fickle in his eyes. “We haven’t shared furs in several months.”

“Surprising.”

I snort. “Not to me. I’d rather sleep.”

There’s a soft, low sound and it takes me a moment to realize he’s chuckling. “Then clearly Bek needs practice.”

My cheeks feel hot despite the chill. “I didn’t mean—“

“Yes, you did. Do not worry. I won’t tell.”

I smile over at him.

“I have known Bek since we were both kits,” he says after a moment. “He has a hard time accepting another’s choice, especially if it does not agree with his.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

Ereven looks over at me and pauses his slow walk. “Do you need protection from him?”

I stop, too, and stare up at him. “Protection? What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you wish my help? Shall I court you? If he sees you responding to another male’s attentions, he will eventually back off.” His expression is carefully neutral.

Oh. After a moment, I realize what he’s offering. A fake relationship, purely to get Bek off my back. I love it. I smile brilliantly at Ereven. “You’d do that for me?”

He tilts his head, studying me. “I would.”

For a brief moment, I experience a pang of regret. I wish that this handsome man with his arching horns and his tangle of short hair was interested in more than just pretending. That instead of being gallant, he was actually really interested in me. Ereven’s easy demeanor is utterly appealing, and there’s something about him that draws me like a moth to a flame. But I feel tainted by my past with Bek. Friendship’s all I’m going to get, but I’ll take it. “Then I say yes.”

He nods slowly. “Tomorrow, then?”

“Tomorrow,” I agree. And the knot of dread in my stomach eases for the first time in days. Maybe months.

“
D
id you find it
?” I ask Tiffany the next morning from my perch on one of the stools by the decorated tree. Claire’s stringing more garlands and I’m working on making a rattle out of a leather pouch with some of her discards.

Tiffany pulls off her cloak, dusting snow out of her thick black curls, and holds her basket aloft. “You wanted
hraku
, you got it, girl.”

“Yay!” I cry out, loud enough to make Rukhar hiccup in his cradle at my feet. Oops. I’m supposed to be watching the baby while Harlow does more of her surveys, but the hraku makes me excited. According to the ship’s computer, the seeds have a molecular structure not unlike Earth-sugar, and we’re all excited at the thought of a test drive. “Bring it over!”

Tiffany settles in next to me and reveals the long tubers. “There’s a whole ton of them growing on the side of the hill by the stream. I think they’re sheltered from the wind there.” She pulls one out and sniffs it, then offers it to me. “You sure about this? They smell awful.”

I take one stem of hraku from her. Most of the plants on this planet are rather spindly with even longer roots that reach below the snow. This one is no exception, but instead of thin, long roots, these are plump, fingerlike ones that look wholly unappealing. I wrinkle my nose and sniff it, and Tiff’s right - it smells like stinky socks. “Woof.”

“I know,” Tiffany says. She pulls out her knife. “The computer said the seeds, right?”

I nod and lean in close, curious as she deftly cuts one root open from top to tip. Of all the humans, Tiffany’s the one that excels at everything. While others might be competent in one or two new skills that we’ve picked up, like Liz with her hunting or Megan with her macramé leather working, Tiffany is good at everything. She’s beautiful, too, with dark skin the color of rich bronze. I’d hate the bitch if she wasn’t so awesome.

She pulls the tough skin of the root apart and reveals the interior seeds. The sweaty sock smell wafts over us, and we both gag. That, combined with the greasy sheen of wet goo covering the seeds? I’m starting to second-guess what the computer told us.

“You want to try it first?” Tiff asks.

“Me? Hell no! You do it.” I push it back to her. “I’m pregnant and have a sensitive stomach, remember?”

She snorts. “Bullshit.” Her gaze skims the cavern. “We need a test subject. Where’s Josie when you need her?”

I giggle. “Be nice.”

“That was nice,” Tiffany says with a grin. But when Claire takes another section of garland from my hands, I study her. “Hey, Claire, you want to try this root for us?”

She peers down at me, all big eyes and silky brown hair. “Not really?”

“Come on,” Tiffany coaxes. “It’s supposed to taste like sugar.” She fishes out a seed with the tip of her blade and offers it up to Claire.

I expect her to flinch away, but to my surprise, Claire plucks the seed off the knife and puts it in her mouth. She crunches, her face scrunched up, and then shrugs. “Doesn’t have much of a taste. Do you need to cook it? Like pumpkin seeds?”

Tiffany looks at me and shrugs. “Can’t hurt.”

Stacy has a metal skillet that Harlow made for her from metal parts on the ship, and we coax it out of her to fry up the seeds. By the time the first batch is ready, the cavern smells like sweaty socks - and sugar. There’s an appealing scent coming from the cooked seeds, and there’s no need to cajole anyone to try them. We all take a few, burning our fingertips in the process.

I pop one in my mouth and a sweet, buttery taste like candy bursts over my tongue.

Tiffany’s eyes widen. “It tastes like toffee.”

“Oh my God,” murmurs Stacy, and she plucks another out of the skillet. “She’s right.”

The seeds are gone in an instant, and we pull out more of the hraku stems to cook up more of the treat. “We should take this outside,” Tiffany says when one of the elders passes by, waving a hand in the air. “It’s kind of fragrant.”

She’s right. We all bundle up and head outside, starting a small fire in a makeshift pit close to the entrance. I make sure tiny Rukhar is nestled tight in his furs, and we sit in a circle outside, eating seeds and chatting as the day goes on. Tiffany is in charge of cooking, and Stacy brings out a pair of tongs so we’ll stop burning our fingertips.

It’s one of the best afternoons I’ve had in a while.

A few of the hunters come outside, curious. “I brought these for you,” Hassen says to Tiffany, and holds out a handful of fresh-plucked plants. “They are not poison.”

Oh lord, again with this. I roll my eyes. “I cannot believe mistletoe is so hard for them to grasp.”

Nora giggles so hard that she snorts.

“Thanks,” Tiffany says, a smile on her face. But she doesn’t reward him with a kiss and he eventually wanders a short distance away, clearly confused by the ritual.

A few moments later, Taushen arrives and offers Tiffany another handful of plants. Her eyes narrow, but she gives him the same polite response. Then, Vaza, one of the elders, also arrives with plants for Tiffany.

I hold back my smile as Tiffany shoots me a ‘kill me now’ look and thanks him for the plants. “I’m good on not-poison now, but thank you.”

He nods as if he’s doing her a favor, and then waits.

Tiffany pretends to be really interested in seed cooking.

Rukhar burbles, and I bounce him on my knee. “Hey, Vaza? You know, if you want to give Tiffany some not-poison she’d really enjoy some more hraku.”

His lined face lights up, and he rushes off before the others can join him. Both Hassen and Taushen look annoyed at this privilege. Tiffany’s doing her best to ignore both of them. Poor Tiffany. It must suck to be the sexiest single woman on the planet.

Poor Josie. No one’s chasing after her. Probably because she talks too much. Her life seems to be an endless quest to needle the crap out of Haeden. Maybe that scares suitors off.

A few more people drift out of the caves to see what the humans are up to, and I notice that one hunter - Ereven - puts his cloak on Claire’s shoulders and she blushes furiously. So cute. I hadn’t realized she had a new boyfriend after breaking up with the last one, but it’s a definite improvement. Ereven is easy-going and friendly to everyone, unlike the hot-tempered Bek.

Hassen and Taushen are still standing around, and eventually Tiffany sighs. “Why don’t you guys go hunt or something?”

“I’m staying around the caves,” Hassen says, glaring at Taushen.

“And I,” chimes in Taushen.

“There’s plenty of food for tonight,” Ereven says, and plays with a lock of Claire’s hair. Her face is bright red, but she looks happy.

Unlike Tiffany, who just looks miserable at all the attention. Even more so when Vaza returns with a handful of hraku roots, and Salukh and Rokan arrive to see what the fuss is about. “Why don’t you guys play a game?” I offer, ever the peacemaker. It’s my job as chief’s mate to try and smooth things out when he’s out on the hunt, like he is right now. “Do you have something you play on, um, days that you don’t hunt?”

“We compete,” Taushen says boldly. “Shall we compete for you?”

“Sure.” I tuck the restless baby against my arm and rock him, watching as Tiffany starts a fresh batch of the tasty hraku seeds. I’m focused on her slim brown hands.

BANG
!

The sound’s like a car crash, so loud and violent that I jump, nearly dropping Rukhar. I clutch him close and look up in shock. Taushen and Hassen are shoving each other, then retreat backward a few steps. They crouch low, one nods, and then they fling themselves together again.
BANG
! Their horns clash and they both stagger backward.

“Holy crap,” whispers Tiffany, staring.

I stare, too. It’s like a pair of rams from a nature documentary. They smack into each other with another loud crash, retreat, and then do so again. This is…a game? Rukhar starts to cry, and Nora has a pained look on her face, clutching her stomach. Yeah, this is not the peaceful afternoon I had in mind. I reach out to Claire, grabbing her hand. “Why don’t you show them how to play um, football or something?”

“Football?” she squeaks.

“Whatever,” I tell her, getting to my feet with the wailing baby. Nora gets to her feet, too. “Just anything but that,” I tell Claire, and head into the cave, soothing Rukhar.

“Hey Georgie,” Nora says, and I turn to see she’s a few steps behind me still. Her face is pale, and she flinches when another loud
BANG
comes from outside. Her hands go to her stomach again, and I realize that something else is bothering her.

I gasp. “Is it—?”

She nods and then bends over, her breath hissing.

“Maylak,” I cry out. “We’ve got a kit on the way!”

Me teach football? I don’t know much about the game myself. I stare at the faces of the hunters around me. “Um.”

“Show us your human game,” Ereven encourages. “We wish to learn.” His gaze is steady but warm, making me feel valued despite my panic. He puts a big hand on my back, and even though I can’t feel his skin through the thick cloak he draped over my shoulders, I feel…cuddled. It’s weird. It’s not unwelcome, though.

“All right,” I breathe, thinking hard. “There’s a lot of rules to the human one, but I’ll show you a modified version.”

Josie bounces up to us, clapping her fur-mittened hands. “Can I play, too?”

Oh jeez. My mental images of tackle football with the seven foot aliens goes out the window. If Josie wants to play, they’ll crush her into itty bitty bits. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

Her face falls with disappointment, and nearby, Haeden snorts with approval, like crushing Josie’s hopes was his favorite thing today. And I change my mind. “We’ll do European football.”

“European?” Josie asks.

“You know, soccer.”

“Oooh!” She claps her hands again. “I’m so in!”

An old waterskin is found and packed with leather scraps, then sewn shut. As the ‘ball’ is prepared, I designate the field and the goals. I can’t remember how many people play on a soccer team, so we end up going with two teams of five players and a goalie. I don’t bother with positions, mostly because I don’t know them. The object? Get the ball in the other person’s goal to score a point. And since we don’t have clocks, we pick a number: first team to five wins. We do a schoolyard pick with Josie and I as team coaches, since we’re the ones that know the rules. Tiffany and the other humans continue to cook up tasty seeds for the spectators, and we get on the field and play.

“Shirts versus skins,” Josie bellows to her team. “We’re skins! Mostly because I don’t want to have to stare at Haeden’s half-naked self any more than usual.” She shoots an arch look over at my team.

Haeden’s on my team (I think Josie would have committed ritual suicide before picking him), along with Ereven, Rokan, Salukh, and skinny Farli, who’s small but wanted to play. Josie’s team is Taushen, Vaza, Aehako, Zolaya, and Cashol. Dagesh disappeared inside the caves with his mate the moment he heard Nora was going into labor, and Bek refused to play.

Josie’s team strips their shirts off, all except Josie. She’s minding the goal so we bend the rules and say it’s fine for goalies to be covered head to toe. I let Farli mind the goal for our team and run out on the field with the others. From the moment the ball hits the field, it’s mass chaos. Everyone forgets the rules constantly - Aehako grabs the ball as it goes flying toward him at one point, only to be tackled by Ereven for cheating. Actually, there’s a lot of tackling, a lot of smacking and shoving, and not a lot of actual footwork.

It doesn’t matter. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in forever. Everyone’s enjoying themselves, and when Farli slaps away the ball as it heads toward her and our team cheers, she glows with happiness.

My team’s ahead of Josie’s by two points, and with one more goal we can win. It’s clear that Josie doesn’t have the stamina to keep up with the sa-khui, and she’s panting hard. I am too, but it’s easier for me to fall back and let the others run (and shove) the ball down the field. Rokan gets the ball from Vaza, and then charges for Josie’s goal. He crashes into her, knocking her to the ground as he makes the final point for our team. Poor Josie lies flat on her back in the snow, and Rokan holds the ball into the air, grinning wildly. “We win!”

A low snarl, and then a moment later, another sa-khui slams into Rokan from the side, knocking him to the ground. The ball flies out of his hands and he tumbles backward into the snow, even as Josie sits up and shakes the snow off her body.

“Hey,” I call out. “Stop! No fighting!”

The male leaning over Rokan’s fallen form is none other than Haeden. He gives me a narrow-eyed look, glances over at Josie, and then stalks back into the caves, clearly in a foul mood.

Well, that was weird. I jog over to Josie’s side and help her up. “You okay?”

“Nothing a quick trip to the healer won’t fix,” she says cheerily. “I think I’m done playing, though.” Her hand goes to her side and she winces. “Yep. Definitely done.”

She uses my shoulder for a support and I walk her over to Tiffany’s small fire, where the other pregnant women are seated. Room is made for Josie, even as Rokan jogs over, an unhappy look on his face. “Did I hurt you, Joh-see? I did not mean it.”

Josie beams a smile at him. “I’m fine, really. Just kinda told me that I need to sit down and let you wrecking balls play against each other.”

“Ray-king bahls?” he asks, parroting the human word.

“Just trust me.”

“Sub someone in for both of us,” I tell him. “You guys have the rules down now. We’ll watch from the sidelines.”
And try not to get trampled
. The sa-khui are definitely competitive. They’ve taken to the sport with fierce enthusiasm. Already others are waiting to get their turn to play, and hooting encouragement on the sidelines.

I squeeze in next to Josie, only to see Bek arrive at the campfire, a scowl on his face as he glares down at me. I become acutely aware that I’m wearing Ereven’s cloak and have been laughing with him all afternoon. That I picked him first for my team. That Bek’s probably been watching the whole time.