I asked for weights.
Gilrack's father stared, his confusion obvious even if he kept his mind waves carefully tucked away.
Gilrack, bless his soul, just nodded.
"Shall I bring them here or take you to the training grounds with me when I train?"
Was that just me or did I hear a mite of hope.
Horack slid a glance towards his son, long ears rising curiously.
"What about the eggs?" I asked, starting to tense up just thinking about it.
"Father can watch them."
"But they'll hatch in a month, right?"
"We will be here for the last week. I can still bring weights up here."
I once more questioned my request for weights. I could always Uncle Iroh it and just work out with my own body, which is what I had been doing. But Uncle Iroh had had bars in his prison cell and rafters to hang from to do his upside down crunches and pull ups. I had nothing but smooth stone, and my anxiety wanted to speed along the swol.
So, thus, it was really just a weighing of which anxiety was stronger: leaving my eggs alone for maybe an hour a day while I go have a day date with Gilrack to the training grounds, or not being strong enough in the possible chance I get cornered by some idiot male alien without Gilrack and Co. around to kill them.
"Won't there be others at the training ground?" I asked.
"I hide you," he said, puffing up and stretching his wings to their full expanse, which nearly made the entire length of the nest.
Even I could see the amusement in the way his father looked at him.
"Then you won't be training," said Horack. "We can set a time in the training room for her. Your other fathers can guard her."
Gilrack deflated and brought in his wings sheepishly.
I didn't know what the word for 'training' was at first, but I learned it then and got just a little bit excited.
"You guys have a dojo?" All sorts of images of aliens doing kung fu played out in my head.
Of course, they had no idea what I was talking about, so I guess seeing was just believing.
So, I went with the hour from the nest to get swol. It helped calm my anxiety a lot that I'd be homebound for the last week of their incubation anyways.
Course, when Shahtit heard of our plans, inevitably because, well, she was chief and her first mate was essentially the general of all their forces and a squealer, she blew in during dinner to announce that she would be incubating the eggs while we were gone. Gilrack got all puffed up, ready to fight, but she wouldn't have it. She practically begged, ears fluttering like a second pair of wings and short tail wagging like a dog. It was a strange way to be seeing the regal chieftess. I gave Gilrack a look and he wilted.
"She's not going to hurt them," I said.
"And it will mean your father can guard Jolene," she added, only to still. "You thought I'd hurt them!?!"
No, he just didn't like his mom, which I was starting to get tired of, probably because I'd heard her side of the story with how he was raised. I liked her plenty. She was pretty great as far as mother-in-laws go. Not to mention her excitement at just the thought of getting to hug eggs again was adorable.
Gilrack finally gave in, though he was still brooding about it when we went to bed that night.
"You know, your mother does care about you in her own way. She was hard on you because she wanted you to grow up right."
"There are more reasons," he said from where he'd tried to stuff his horned head beneath my breasts, as though he could hide from the world between them. Too bad not even my large knockers could achieve that.
"Like?"
He harrumphed, tickling my breastbone.
"How she treats my father," he eventually said. Look at me, being such a patient wife. "Multiple mates...hurts."
"Only the royals are allowed that, right?"
"And in times of...less males...or females, though that has yet to occur."
"You mean, like if a bunch die in war?"
"Yes. And females want eggs."
"But your dad agreed to it, didn't he?"
Gilrack didn't respond, nuzzling up so that now his mouth would be covered by my squish.
I sighed and went to petting his hair. He erupted into loud purrs that tickled my whole chest, increasing in intensity whenever I rubbed along the base of his horns.
"I felt his sadness as a child," muttered Gilrack when he had to pull his face away to breathe. "Loneliness."
"Probably wasn't what he was expecting?"
"Mother got third mate."
"Ah. So the third husband is her favorite?"
"..."
"Was your dad her first?"
"Yes."
"Ah."
There was a thoughtful pause between us. I couldn't imagine having to watch my spouse take on two others.
"I take it that means you're the eldest brother?"
He puffed against my chest, probably annoyed that I was interrupting his enjoyment of drowning in breasts to talk about unpleasant things like annoying little siblings and his mother.
"No. I came from her second brood with father. The first brood..."
"The first brood?"
"A sickness. Only one egg survived to hatch. My sister." He puffed again. "She is bossy."
I laughed, and his purrs returned to their usual loudness at the sound.
"Most big sisters are," I said.
"Other broods are from her other mates. Her last brood before she left laying was with father. A brother and sister. They are dedicated to the army, though as smithies. They both inherited my father's slender build, so they are not very big or strong, but are nimble like him. Good with their hands. Red like him too. Red is a strong color in the blood."
I don't know why I was surprised when I heard that Gilrack's people did metalworking. They lived underground and new about all sorts of minerals and materials. While not at the same level as humans, and a bit different due to the curious way they liked to mix minerals, it was still enough to make basic tools and weapons. Mostly, though, they preferred stonework, as basic carving tool could be attached to claws to chip and scratch through most of the rock of their mountain. I had plans to look into the blacksmiths once I didn't have to hug eggs all the time, so it excited me to hear Gilrack had some siblings that were in the know.
As for the red coloring, I assumed that meant red was a dominant genetic trait. Gilrack's brood brother that was green, on the other hand, he must have gotten the recessive gene, just like Gilrack with his purple hands, lower legs, tail, and hair.
"I never met your mother's other mates. Do you like them well enough?"
He just grunted and slung a leg over my hips, even though he knew I'd be shoving it off in a few minutes from overheating.
"Why are you so uninterested in your family? Do you not like them?"
"I like them well enough," he grumbled.
"You don't really talk about your siblings."
"I have other things to talk about. You don't talk about your siblings."
"...Touché."
So I told him about my own bratty little brother and sister until his mindwaves started leaking out from his dreams. I'm not sure how much he actually heard, but it just went to show how hard he'd worked that day. That, or I had some serious sleep powers. Even so, there wasn't much to tell. They both didn't have much to do with me, being caught up in their own lives and families, and it wasn't like I'd ever see them again. Technically they were even older than me now, biologically speaking, since I'd been in cold sleep for the twenty year trip here.
But Gilrack's siblings were here and present so he should have more reason to talk about them, shouldn't he? But I guess he was busy with learning how to be married to me and raising eggs and then all the chieftan stuff...and complaining about his mother trying to wheedle herself into the nest and his life just because he had eggs with a divine being. It wasn't like she had didn't have other grandchildren, though no eggs at the moment. According to Horack she'd been just as excited when the others were born too and still made sure to take her lunch breaks with the passel of babies. I wish Gilrack had mentioned that part. Shahtit was getting cuter by the day, I swear. I wanted to have a lunch with her and all the grandbabies. Though even around kids Gilrack was wary to let me be seen.
"You might ruin them," he said.
"Uh, rude."
"No, if they grow up used to your beauty it will ruin their expectations of future mates. They will all be too ugly."
"...I think you're being paranoid." Buuuuuut I wasn't sure enough about that to fight my clinginess to my nest to go hunt down the kids myself, even if I was curious to see what younglings looked like. If anything, they'd probably ruin me with expectations of what my own babies should look like.
I got to training the next day precisely an hour after I'd eaten breakfast, which was when Gilrack left.
Shahtit was already waiting in the doorway, wings fluttering and tail flicking.
Gilrack took one look at her, then sighed heavily.
"They're in the nest," he said.
And she was gone. It didn't matter that she had lost the flexibility that those without wings had and more mass due to said wings, she slithered like a bullet-snake past us and into the nest, all a coo with cries of 'Blue! Blue! Such pretty blue—so warm!'
I couldn't help but giggle. Seriously, she was so freaking cute.
Gilrack just snapped his tail on the floor in irritation. Then scooped me up into his arms without so much as a warning. It was still impressive to me that he could do that. Yes, he was huge compared to me, but I was dense, yo.
"A little warning next time?"
"Sorry."
And we were drifting down the polished tunnel once more towards the great light of the massive light stone chandelier.
Once we made it past the lights I could make out the ruddy tone of Gilrack's father, along with two other males, based off their longer, tufted tails and broader physics. One was a bright bronze while the other was a dark brown nearing black, like fertile soil. Both were larger than Horack, but had the same kind of slight bow to their upper backs that I'd come to recognize as a sign of age among them. There would probably be crow's feet wrinkles around their eyes once I got close along with a few white hairs scattered throughout their manes.
Aged they may be, the two new ones still stared plenty when I came into view, even more with my bare feet poked out from my silk skirts as Gilrack put me down.
"Fathers," said Gilrack, lowering his spines and head in respect. "This is Jolene, my mate."
Both had their nostrils flared and ears high. Next to them, Horack gave his best impression of a human smile. It was nice that at least one of them was use to me. Getting stared at and, well, sniffed was never pleasant.
A crack of Gilrack's thorns against the hard floor snapped the two elders out of their revere.
"Urish," said the bronze one, lowering his head of curled, pale goat horns, even turning his head a bit as he did so to reveal his neck. The utmost sign of respect, next to just downright submission by flopping on the floor with their belly up. The 'shh' sound at the name of his name went long, like the sound of sand sliding down a hill.
"Corket," said the black, also bowing his head and revealing his neck. His black horns were long and straight, unlike the curling of his fellow next to him. His eyes were a brilliant light blue, almost silver, that stood out from all his black colorings and lingered on me, even as his head turned. "You...are so strange."
Horack's and Urish's ears went flat and their spines rose. Urish slapped his darker brethren with his tail, making him jump.
"Ah, uh, forgive me," he clicked, turning his head till I could see the bob of his Adams apple.
"It's fine," I said quickly. "Strange is putting it nicely." And it was. I saw myself as an absolute freak among these people. I mean, pfft, just look at my pudgy dough-boy legs. Probably looked like worms compared to their strong, draconic legs. And a tail would be sick, but, alas, my ass was empty.
The dark Corket seemed relieved at my words, though it was hard to tell with their mindwaves solidly blocked. It once more made me self-conscious about my own, even though I'd been practicing with the waterfall imagery. I concentrated then, imagining the white noise wrapping around me like bubble-wrap, hiding my feelings.
Horack smiled again and nodded. "You're doing well, Jolene."
I beamed.
Both Urish and Corket then looked at Gilrack expectantly.
He sighed, though quietly from his nose, and loosened up enough to rest an arm around my hips.
"Urish is General of the Warriors. He's the one who set aside the training room for you."
And it showed. The guy's body was bulging with muscles and his bright bronze skin was broken in silver-pink scars from head to toe. He had an especially nice slashing one across his right bicep. I wanted a cool bicep stripe.
"Corket is Overseer of Growing Things," or in human speech, King Farmer...or if I'm being a snood: President of Agriculture. "The anjee fruit you got were a gift from him."
Corket's tail tuff wiggled, something I noticed Gilrack did whenever he was hoping for a kiss from me. It was more gray than black, like Corket's mane. While not skinny, Corket wasn't as muscled or broad as Urish. When I glanced down, I noticed the claws on his lizard-like toes were sharp and curved, unlike the blunted pale chips that were Urish's. Made sense if he was among soft dirt while Urish was running and climbing stone. They were still the most deadly looking things I'd seen yet, reminding me of falcon talons.
Then I remembered I was supposed to be thanking him.
"Oh those! Those were delicious, thank you."
His ears went straight up and those deadly toes wiggled.
Urish rolled his head around, the equivalent of a human eye roll.
"You're a married man," he said quietly.
Corket's everything went flat and he hissed, like a cat, at Urish. Turns out his teeth were just as sharp as his claws. I thought Gilrack had fangs, but damn.
"We best be getting along," said Horack, straightening his figure. Despite being more slender and shorter than the other two, they immediately focused their attention on him and straightened as well. When Horack started walking towards the entryway that would take them to the dock, the other two did as well, almost like soldiers.
I leaned in towards Gilrack. "So, your dad's the boss?"
For the first time, I saw a bit of smugness in the way Gilrack's eyes curved and his ears flicked.
"First mate." He prodded me along. "And, well...a quiet hunter's anger is to be feared."
I glanced back at the little train we were following, led by the sinewy form of Horack. There was a grace in the way he moved, like flowing water, that I noticed the other two lacked. Corket especially couldn't help his long claws from clicking with each step. I had thought that Gilrack's ability to move absolutely silent, despite his claws and large form, was just part of his species. But it turns out it was a skill inherited from his father.
In a brief flash I imagined a younger Horack: fast, stealthy, and deadly.
"You've never told me what your dad is in charge of," I said off handedly. "Does he do jewel cutting like you?"
Gilrack looked offended, but the smug curving of his eyes and lilt of his ears didn't go away.
"That's a secret," he whispered.
"Hardly," said Corket in front of us, only to be whapped by his fellow's bronze tail again.
"If the chieftess hasn't told her we have no right," hissed Urish.
Now they just got me all interested.
_________________________________________
Because we all love assassins and we all wanna be buff. At least I want to be buff. I have genetically thick legs that will be thick no matter how skinny I am, so I decided that, if I'm stuck with it, I might as well make sure it's all muscle and not fat. Like 'I crush the men's skulls between my thighs' Zangeif style.