Chapter 21
Fire Flower overheard the conversation between her parents and Brave One and became very incensed. She thought he was handsome but, she didn't know anything about him. She hadn't seen him in ten years and she was only ten at the time. What were they thinking? They couldn't have been thinking in her mind. She wanted this to be her decision and not theirs.
"We'll see about that" Fire Flower was beyond furious and wasn't sure if it was her being human that was the real problem or if she felt as though all females should get to know the males that they are thinking about mating with.
Climbing down from her home, she found her parents talking excitedly about the match between her and Night Fire. Sighing heavily, she made her way over to them with her fists balled up at her sides and her face as red as her hair. She saw Night Fire approach and that didn't even deter her from her mission.
"Don't I get a say so in whom I choose to mate with or is that right taken from me?" she blurted out before she could even think.
"Of course you but, he just merely asked if he could be your first and we all agreed to it" Sanah said in a calm voice but, she could already tell Fire Flower wasn't hearing it.
"Obviously not!" she growled at them as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"What's the real problem?" Sahara could see that something was really wrong.
"I don't know him. All I know is his name. I know nothing about him. This is the first time I've seen him in ten years" Fire Flower groaned as she pointed a finger right at Night Fire who seemed a bit shocked that she was unhappy over his desire to be her first.
"Daughter" Little Knife tried to console her.
"She's right" Night Fire spoke up, realizing that she was still human and had human feelings. Humans normally took the time to get to know someone before hoping onto the mat with them. He was going by centuries old Yaut'ja ideas on mating and was treating her as such. He knew now that he needed to approach her as a human female.
"Of course I'm right. Wait! You're agreeing with me?" Fire Flower turned to look at Night Fire and watched as he nodded his head.
"Yes. You're still human and I forgot that part of you because, you were raised Yaut'ja" Night Fire stated as he placed a hand on her shoulder. He was actually surprised that she stood almost six foot tall, making her a little over a head shorter than him.
"I'm confused and I know that. I know how this mating ritual is suppose to go but, I don't feel as though it's right. I want to know more about you as a Yaut'ja not just the warrior" Fire Flower said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm not saying I want to mate with you tonight. I'm saying that I would like to be your first but, if it means getting to know one another as individuals then, I am willing to do so" Night Fire used his soft spoken voice while he addressed his, hopefully, future mate. As the humans would say, the ball was in her court now.
"I'd like that very much" she agreed and walked away from them.
"So would I" he stated as he watched her walk toward the ceremony.
"Better hurry up. Don't want to miss the show" she said as she took off at running speed to where several other females were already dancing.
She ended up being stuck in the middle of all the females where no male was really able to see her. She didn't care about being front and center like some of the others. She just wanted to dance and live her life in the moment. As she shimmied and shook her hips from side to side, she saw several blooded males come up and try their hand at nabbing a female from a top of the line bloodline. She laughed when they would occasionally be rejected. Once the female accepted the male, he would take her out of the dancing area and find a private place to mate with her.
In her mind, there didn't seem to be any concern over whether or not they were compatible with each other. To them, it was all about the mating and no true knowledge of each other. Also, the higher ranking the male the more the female wanted to mate with him. Night Fire may want her but, he had to be more than just a rank. He had to show her that he really cared about her and wanted her more than just a notch on his belt.
"May I?" as if almost knowing where her thoughts were at, Night Fire appeared behind her in front of several envious females.
"Of course" was all she could think of to say as she turned around and placed one of arms on his shoulder, letting the others know that they were both spoken for.
"I wasn't too sure if you were actually mad at me for being so bold" Night Fire whispered in her ear as he slid his massive hand from her cheek down onto her shoulder.
"Not mad. I just think we should take this slow" she murmured to him as she glided her lithe body up against his muscular one. She felt his hot breath against her neck and his arm wrapping around her waist.
"I'll go along with that. Only truths between us" he said as he felt her body meld against his. He knew that this was as close as she was going to allow him to get until further notice.
"Agreed" she barely recognized her own voice as she whispered into his ear. She felt his clawed hand connect with her hand as he slowly ushered her away from the dancing arena. They walked hand in hand back to her home.
"Night Fire?" she was breathless as he led her to the base of her tree home. She turned to face him as she leaned her back against the tree and looked up at him.
"Yes" he was willing to answer any question she had for him, if only for the air to be cleared between them.
"Why me? Out of all the females you could have, why pick me?" she asked.
"There's just something special about you that I like and it's not because you're human" he admitted.
"Name something that you think is so special about" she figured she would just put him on the spot.
"You're inquisitive which is very different from other females. You're bold. Daring. And quite the rule breaker" he answered truthfully with a mild chuckle.
"Oh, I'm not that bad" she shook her head in disbelief and then looked down at her bare feet.
"Yes you are. Now, your turn. What is it about me that fascinates you?" he asked as he placed a hand under her chin, causing her to look up at him with her large green eyes.
"You're different from the other males. You don't seem to follow tradition. You've even brought a few human mannerisms back with you" she giggled as she looked up into his warm, golden eyes.
"I know that's true. You better get some rest. You and I have some bonding to do while I'm here" he said as he pointed to her home.
"I know. Good night" she said as she turned around and began to climb up the ladder.
"Good night" he whispered to her as he made sure she got into her home before heading back to the ship to get some sleep. He knew the next few weeks were going to be full of learning about each other. He knew that even if he didn't mate with her on this cycle, he would be able to on the next and he damn sure wasn't going to wait ten years to do so.
As Fire Flower stripped out of her dress, she thought about what she and Night Fire would want to talk about. Obviously hunting was on the menu but, did he have other interests and if so, what were they. Crawling naked under the blankets, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep and dreamed about Night Fire.
I know this is a short chapter but, I hope it helped to slow things down a bit between our two new love birds. Unfortunately, there isn't much information out there on Yaut'ja mating habits/rituals so I'm making this up as I go along. If anyone has any input please feel free to let me know. Many CYBER HUGS.