Olivia (113 page)

“Not…like Tobi?” he was saying, his hands clasped comically before him, his eyes darting hopefully from one to the other.

“No!” Anita half-shouted, apparently for the umpteenth time.

“No, silly,” Beth sighed.  “Just to keep me company and keep her out of the women’s tunnels.”  She rolled her eyes, caught sight of Olivia, and waved her over.  In English, she said, “Would you please tell this walking shag carpet that I’m not gay?”

“What?”

Anita shook her head, rubbing at her temples.  “I’ve been living with her for about a month now.  Wurlgunn just found out.”

“What happened to Truunal?”

“Some big idiot picked a fight with him and Truunal lost.  I marched myself off to the tunnels, where I fully expected Truunal to come and get me.  Imagine my surprise when he didn’t.”  Anita permitted herself a small scowl, then quickly waved it off.  “Like I can blame him.  Truunal is about two hundred years old, and frankly, he made the one attempt to get some sugar going and then gave up.  I mean, two hundred years old!”

“They can’t all be Kurlun, I guess.  But he didn’t come and get you?”

“Not with six or seven younger males prowling around just waiting for him to do exactly that.  And I’d have been horrified if I’d had to watch him get the snot knocked out of him twice…two hundred years old!  I gave those ladies my best shot but I just can’t work that hard!  So I asked Beth if I could move in with her until Murk came back.”

“You mean Beth’s still living in Wurlgunn’s cave?  On her own?”  Anita’s tale notwithstanding, Olivia found the idea of dainty little Beth flying in the face of gullan convention even more impressive.

“I never left it,” Beth admitted, blushing.  “Wurlgunn kind of forgot to line up a fella for me, and I sure as heck didn’t remind him.  I tried to keep a low profile for a while, but…”

“She’s young enough to scare most of them off anyway,” Anita added.  “But Ullnath called her on it after Wurlgunn left the second time.  She had a fantastic defense.  She burst into tears, dropped to her knees, and begged him not to take her from her Wurlgunn.  Ullnath was so horrified, he threw food at her just to shut her up and went sprinting back down the tunnel.  I was impressed and I asked if I could move in with her.  And how will our returned hero deal with this news?  Let’s watch.”

Wurlgunn had withstood the English dialogue manfully.  Now, only half-convinced of Beth’s sexual orientation, but clearly optimistic, he slipped his arm around his mate’s shoulders and said, “I suppose if Olivia doesn’t mind, I don’t mind.  Call me before the tribe.”

Olivia ascended the center stone, received silence, and began by announcing the birth of Levonal, son of Gormuck and Liz.  After assuring the gullan that Levonal was indeed early, but healthy and under Tina’s care, she promised to present him as soon as the tribe’s healer allowed.  After a lengthy pause for cheers, she called for Wurlgunn.

He jumped for the rock, lost his footing, toppled over and knocked himself briefly unconscious.  There followed a groan from Beth and a series of mutterings and sighs from the gathering in general.  Beth eased herself down to her knees with a long-suffering expression, and began to pat his face until he opened his eyes.

“Did I say it yet?” he asked thickly.

“No, sweetie.”

He rocked onto his side, crawled onto his kneels, and then ascended the rock carefully.  “This is Anita,” he said, pointing.  “I take her as my mate until Murk’s return.”  He nodded once and began to climb carefully down.

A number of males exchanged glances before Ullnath stepped forward and laid his hand on Wurlgunn’s wing.  “Have you forgotten something?”

Wurlgunn glanced at the hand restraining him.  “No.”

Ullnath released his hold and stepped back, eyeing first Anita, and then Beth.  He licked his mouth, mostly, thought Olivia, as an excuse to bare his teeth.  “It is customary to put aside the one before taking the other.”

Wurlgunn reached out and Beth came in under his arm at once.  “I have no intention of putting my Beth aside.”

“But—”  Somewhat derailed, Ullnath backed up before pursuing the issue.  “But you will take two when the rest of us have none?”  He looked around for support from the elders and encountered Damark, grinning hugely.

“That’s my son,” Damark growled, and fanned his wings flirtatiously at Amy, who snickered.

Ullnath rolled his eyes and made the mistake of sending his next appeal to Olivia.

“I was under the impression the female always has the right to choose,” she said evenly.

Ullnath growled, looked despairingly at Doru in mute supplication.

Doru, leaning against the near wall, shrugged one massive shoulder, an idle gesture belied by the keen gleam of his eyes.  “I don’t see the problem here.  Wurlgunn can take two mates or twenty for all I care, as long as he can feed them.  When was the last time I saw meat on
your
spear?”

Wurlgunn tried to snap his wings out, with only partial success as he cracked his left one into the wall. 

“Down, tiger,” Beth sighed.

“Come with me, Anita,” Wurlgunn huffed, rubbing his wing.  “I’ll carry your things.”

“It’s okay,” Beth was saying as they left.  “Not even Wurlgunn can break a blanket.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Bodual muttered, coming to stand behind Olivia.  “I’d trust Wurlgunn to find a way to fall off the floor.”

“Poor Anita,” Olivia agreed.  “She’s going to regret this the very first time he steps on her head while getting out of the pit.”  She allowed one hand to drift back and through the soft pelt over his lean chest while she spoke.

Bodual leaned into the touch, fanning his wings slightly.  “And speaking of pits,” he began.

“Hush.”  Olivia gave Bodual’s chest fur a slight tug, then removed her hand to her lap and frowned.  One of the males was moving quietly towards her.  When he saw her watching, he stopped, considered her, and then moved away. 

“Want me to stomp on him?” Bodual asked, flexing his talons.

“Only if you’re trying to make her laugh,” Doru interjected, easing into place at Olivia’s side.  “Want
me
to stomp on him?”

“Not right away,” Olivia said after a moment’s thought.  “We humans have a saying—Give him enough fishing line and he’ll hook himself.  Or words to that effect.”

“Nice saying,” Doru commented.  “I take your meaning exactly.”  He faded back and vanished into the crowd, an impressive feat for one so big.

“What should I do?” Bodual asked eagerly.

“Get back and look unattached.  Doru’s going to handle this one.”  Olivia leaned back on the bench and rubbed at her eyes as if tired.  She was vaguely aware of Bodual’s retreat, but after that there was such a long period of quiet that she thought her would-be admirer had sensed what was coming and abandoned her.  Eventually, however, she realized that someone was crouched in front of her, waiting.

Warily, she looked up just enough to meet Hodrub’s eyes.  “What do you want?” she asked, just as if she didn’t know.

He straightened, reached into his belt pouch and drew out what her mind first tried to see as a piece of bark, then as a strip of dried meat.  At last, she recognized the writing on the face of it and realized she was staring at a Hershey’s chocolate bar.  Sounding faintly smug, Hodrub said, “Take this, Olivia, and come with me.”

Sarah J.’s voice sounded at once—“Do it!”—and was hushed from several sides.  She looked around, cross.  “I’d do it!”

Olivia forced her eyes off the offering and made herself glare at Hodrub.  Behind him, she could see a huge, dark shape striding silently and evenly forward.  “No thanks,” she said.

Hodrub’s mouth widened in a smile.  “I am paying you court,” he explained patiently.  “Take this—” He offered the chocolate with greater confidence.  “And come with me.”

One massive hand closed around Hodrub’s entire shoulder and spun him around.  Very calmly, almost nonchalantly, Doru took Hodrub by the throat and lifted him a good two feet off the floor.  “And where,” he inquired, “are you thinking to take my mate?”

Hodrub stared at him, kicking a little, then rolled one eye back at Olivia.

She drummed her nails on her knee and looked expectant.

“…sorry,” wheezed Hodrub.  “…my mistake…”

“Damn right it is,” Doru said conversationally.  “And it’s the sort of mistake that gets a gulla killed.  Good thing I’m not a jealous man.”  He thumped Hodrub back on his feet, then turned him around and gave him a shove towards the far end of the room.  As an afterthought, he reached down, picked up the fallen chocolate bar, whistled for Hodrub’s attention, and tossed it at him.

Hodrub caught his gift, frowned thoughtfully, and then cast a hopeful eye back at Sarah J.  He cleared his throat.

Sarah J. was on her feet in an instant to give Hodrub a winning smile.  “That a Hershey bar in your belt pouch, or are you just happy to see me?”

Doru took a seat beside Olivia as Hodrub began his opening argument.  He was still making the salient points as Sarah led him from the cave, gnawing on her chocolate as she went.  “What a cute couple,” he remarked.

“Thanks, Doru.”

“Well, I understand the experience with Sudjummar has probably soured you on the subject of mates…and this isn’t the way you’d want such a thing announced anyway.”

She dropped her hand over his and squeezed lightly.  “I said, thanks.  That means you get to sit quietly and look protective.”

Doru swelled his chest, fanned his wings, lowered his horns, and growled with mock menace.  Several males slid back from both of them.  Doru chuckled as he watched them retreat, then put an arm around her.  “If you like those little brown things, I can bring you some,” he said.  “What are they for?”

“For fun.”

“Hm.”  He laughed.  “Truth, Olivia, I’ve been working so hard at feeding this crowd, I can hardly imagine eating anything just for fun.” 

“You’ve never wanted to sink your tooth into something sweet just for the taste of it?”

“Not really.  I mean, I like those meat-stick things, but they’re more salt—Hang on, that was a…a
come-on
, wasn’t it?”

“You idiot,” Bodual said disgustedly, coming up beside him.  “Of course it was.”

Doru shot Bodual an affronted glare before returning his attention to the human snuggled against him.  “Well, I can still…come back, can’t I?”

“‘Fraid not.”  She closed her eyes and leaned into his chest.  He wasn’t Vorgullum, he didn’t lean back, but he was warm and safe and welcome.  “We humans have another saying: Opportunity taps only once.”

“Well, damn it.”  He sounded mildly, but genuinely, aggrieved.

“But we’re done here, right?” Bodual looked from one to the other of them and then out at the few gathered gullan remaining in the commons.  “Nobody’s stomping anyone tonight?”

“No, but speaking of stomping on people.”  Olivia sighed and got to her feet so she could look him in the eye.  “Doru, a brief word?”

“What’s the word?” he asked amiably.

“Pit?” suggested Bodual.  “Bedding?  Bench?”

“Tobi.”

“Tobi?”  Doru scanned the commons, failed to find his former mate assembled, and frowned.  “There must be another word involved.  What is it?”

“Hm,” said Bodual.  “Bam?  Hunt?  Um…
La Vida Loca
?”

“Baby,” stated Olivia.

Doru’s face underwent a gradual darkening.  “Impossible.  I haven’t coupled with her for more than three moons.”

“What a coincidence,” Olivia said.

He was on his feet in an instant, hackles raised and wings fully spread—the same demon that had charged so impressively through the Midvalley Midwifery building, only now he was facing off against her.  “She is three moons gone with my child?” Doru demanded at a roar.  “She was hunting moose just yester—”  He broke off, lowered his voice to a growl and smacked his rock-hard fist into the flat of his palm.  “I’m going to chain her to the damn wall.”

“Relax.  Tina just got back, so she’s in for the night at least.”

Doru’s expression became even blacker.  “She knew?  Tina knew?  And she said nothing to me?”

“She only found out today and Tobi made her promise not to tell you.”

He took a moment to think about that.

“Very well,” he said, growling between clenched jaws.  “But if Tobi thinks she’s leaving this mountain tomorrow, I have a surprise for her.”

She had never seen him really angry, and she had a feeling she wasn’t seeing it now, either, but this was as angry as she ever wanted to see him get.  A defusing of the situation seemed appropriate.  She stood up and slipped against his chest suggestively.  “Gee, Doru,” she purred, slipping her hand unobtrusively against his loins.  “Is there a surprise in there for me?”

He cocked an eyebrow at her, his jaws loosening in a thin smile.  “Woman,” he said, “I am working up a good rage, here.  Go bother Bodual.”

“Yes,” Bodual agreed.  “Come bother me.”

Olivia turned and leaned back against Doru’s body, rolling her hips in a smooth, graceful dance, exploring the hardening contours of his figure.  “Bodual can watch,” she suggested.

“That’s good, too.”  Bodual fanned his wings out slightly and folded his arms, giving every impression of being prepared to stand there all night.

Doru caught the low thrumm before it could fully escape his throat and put one hand on Olivia’s shoulder, no doubt to propel her firmly away.  She caught him by the wrist, turned her head and sucked lightly at the tip of his finger.  Doru withstood this treatment for a few seconds more, then shook out his horns violently.  “Oh what the hell,” he said cheerfully and tossed Olivia over one broad shoulder.  “But I warn you, woman, my passions are not so easily appeased as my wrath.”

3

Doru lifted his head sleepily off the pillow he’d made of his left arm and said, “Whoever has their cold feet on my back, please roll over.”

Olivia woke up as much as necessary to ascertain that he wasn’t talking to her, poked Bodual in the side, and crawled just far enough to reach the can of flat cola she’d left near the pit a few hours earlier.  She took a few sips, passed it around, and tossed the empty can at the coals.