Radioman (A 2/19th Spinoff) - Complete

A Leather Pouch

...my mother does not approve of one of her blood becoming a kelly...

"But without her, many may have died and been taken by the mountain, by Alfenwehr. Her weird led her to us, in darkness and blood. She has been saved and has saved," I stared at her, "She is important to me, mother of my heart."

"Apologies, Paul, son of Foster, son of Germaine," Tauth du Aine said gently, pulling her hands back. Her face seemed to shift slightly, becoming slightly more human.

"I felt my daughter's love for you, felt your joining, in the glade I reside in," She said gently.

One of the big dogs growled.

"And I wanted to see the one who thinks they can enslave my daughter to their will," Her voice was soft and deadly.

"She has ensnared me, mother of my heart," I shrugged, "Not the other away around. There is no enslavement, merely love," I shrugged and held up my hands, "I've seen her, the reality of her, bathed her in blood and fed her uncooked meat soaked in blood, and I have no fear of her."

The teapot began to whistle and I moved over and brought down a china cup with flowers and ivy painted on it. I dumped in the contents of the pouch and then poured in water.

It looked nothing like tea. It smelled strange, stinging my nostrils and making my sinuses go numb. Instead of making my eyes water the smell made them go dry and itchy. Whatever it was, I doubted I'd find it next to the Earl Grey or the Camomile in Safeway.

After I set down the kettle I brought back the cup and the pouch to Matron Aine and set it down. I got myself another bottle of orange soda before moving over to the other side of the table and sitting down opposite of her.

My nakedness bothered me slightly, made me feel slightly vulnerable, but some small part of me believed that putting on clothing would be seen as an act of weakness by the creature in front of me.

Tauth du Aine sipped at her tea, watching me over the rim of her cup with those too wide, slightly tilted, too old eyes. Her eyes were unreadable, but what could you expect with something that wasn't human. I took a long drink off of my soda and leaned back, not staring at her, but looking in her direction.

Her eyes were a deep, forest green that glowed softly in the dimness of the kitchen.

"Your time together will be full of pain," She tried.

I nodded slowly. "Alfenwehr excels at dealing out pain. The military is pain. But together the pain is endurable where separate it might be too much to bear," I said gently. "Aine has already seen people she cared for die, has held the dead and dying in her arms and has cried bitter tears over them, and been close enough to death to feel its chill more than once herself."

Tauth du Aine nodded slowly, her face solemn. "Words will not dissuade you, Paul, son of Germaine, will they?"

I shook my head, "No, Tauth du Aine, words will not. Even in death I will still love her."

She stood up slowly, carefully, and moved around the table. I watched her, keeping myself still even though a small part of me want to run in fear. She walked around the table and rested her hand on my shoulder. The burning pain, that reminded me of stinging nettles, reminded me of her daughter and I felt an urge to go back to my bedroom and wake Aine up with sweet words and gentle kisses.

Her mother laughed, squeezing gently, and stepped back. "I could tell you your weird, Paul, son of Germaine, but I doubt that will dissuade you."

I just stood up and shrugged. "No, mother of my heart, it would not."

She shook her head slightly, cruelty tinging the smile that played at the corner of her mouth.

I decided to cut her off. "I know, I know, I'll die alone, without Aine, in pain, and it'll take me a long time to die." She frowned at that and I shrugged. "Like we say, we're not getting out of this alive. We've all known from our first footsteps on that accursed place that we will all die there, in one form or another, all of us in pain, our minds, bodies, and spirits broken upon its cold rocks. But right now, we have each other."

Tauth du Aine smiled sadly at that, reaching out to touch me again. I noticed her hair was moving, tightening up, something I learned from Little Aine was a stress reaction.

"Will you see me out, young one?" She asked.

"I will, mother of the love of my heart," I said, moving forward to stand next to her. I held out my hand and she looked slightly surprised before she took my hand. I walked slowly to the door, then stopped, lifting her hand and kissing her knuckles. She made a purring noise then reached up and laid her hand against the side of my face.

"She wants a baby from you, young one," She said softly. Her inhuman eyes glittered with unshed tears and her hand dropped from my face as she lifted up a small pouch pulled from some strange unknowable place. It was made of soft tan leather, with sigils burned into it, stitched with red thread that I knew was made from human(ish) hair.

"Make her tear from this. Share the tea with her, then join together," She sighed softly. "If your hearts join, she will swell. Your obvious love for my daughter has convinced me that your feelings come from the heart, not from your loins."

"I thank you for this gift that you have given the two of us,  mother of my heart," I took the package with care. It didn't surprise me that without her mother's help/permission she couldn't get pregnant.

Tauth du Aine stepped out of the doorway, back into the cold windy night, and slowly walked away, the shadows of the yard wrapping around her. I stood in the doorway, naked, and watched as she slowly vanished into the darkness. I kept my position, holding still, until the glowing green eyes of the massive hounds that had accompanied her blinked slowly several times and then closed a final time, not reopening even after I drew ten breaths.

I closed the door softly, carefully, without bothering to lock it, and went back to the kitchen table.

My hand shook slightly as I rinsed out her cup and put it in the dish-rack to dry.

That done, I sat in the darkness and stared at the small leather pouch in my hand, drinking my orange soda.

I had met her mother, a creature that only wore the guise of humanity, and had survived to tell the tale. I wondered briefly how many people had approached her, been rude to her, and been eaten, their bones left to grow moss in some quiet forest glade.

My soda finished, I set the pouch on the table and stared at it, wondering how to bring it up to my little Aine. I wanted to brew the tea, wanted to share it with her, wanted to see her belly swell, wanted to hold the new life we could create together.

For the first time in my life, I wanted a child.

Warm arms went around me at the same time as the scent of apple blossoms surrounded my. Her lips grazed the back of my neck.

"I love you, Paul Foster," She said softly, nuzzling the back of my neck. "Let us sit and drink tea, then feast upon one another's pleasures."

"I'd like that," I told her, standing up. I turned around and gathered her up in my arms, lowering my mouth to hers and kissing her deeply.

"Wanna practice first?" She giggled when the kiss broke. I nodded, my mouth dry. She wiggled loose from my arms and hopped up so she was sitting on the table. She opened her legs and held her arms out to me. "Let's be naughty," She smiled.

She wrapped her arms and legs around me when I stepped forward and kissed her again.

Outside the rain started, but it was dry in the house, and warm in her arms.