A Big Shiny Blue Marble Ch. 38

She reached up and toyed with his hair for a moment, "I want to go with you," she said, "Whether you go to hunt or bathe in a stream, or anything. I want to be there beside you, Rohkanh."

He smirked, "Where else would you be? You cannot see anything if you are behind me," he chuckled, "But I know why you ask, I think. I want my -"

"Wife," she grinned up at him, "This is as serious as we make it, and right here, I'm very serious. I need to know this."

"Then know," he said, "that I would take my wife everywhere with me."

Rachel smiled then and reached up for him, the last piece having fallen into place for her. A whole new relationship begun in hours because they were different, but they fit somehow.

She left him with a kiss as she got out of his bed for a quick wash before she went back to where her son slept, deciding that from now on she was going to sleep next to him and that this was the last night that she'd be without a pair of arms around her. Rohkanh had already promised her this, and it was enough for her.

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When she crept into bed and eased herself down, Rachel couldn't resist slowly snaking her arm around her son to pull herself against him. She left a soft kiss on his cheek and laid down.

After a minute, Sariel raised his head a little and spoke in a sleepy voice, "So are you gonna be with Rohkanh now? I heard you talking with Simmit outside a long time ago."

Rachel was surprised but she answered. "Yeah," she whispered quietly. "You going to be ok with that?"

"Uh-huh," Sariel yawned wearily, "I don't know much about him, but I kind of like him and -- I like all of them, I guess, Simmit and Copper." He groaned, "And I even like the little guys -- some. I'm happy if you're happy, Mom."

She smiled, glad that he seemed to be feeling better, though she was wondering what had gotten into him to make him this accepting.

"Sariel, honey?"

"Yeah Mom?"

"Well, seeing as you're so happy -- because I'm happy -- can I hug the warmest kid in the world?"

She heard his smile in the dark, "Sure Mom. G'night."

"Goodnight," Rachel said as she pulled herself against his back and closed her eyes.

Three minutes later, her eyelids flew open and she knew why her son was so agreeable and accepting.

It was the Bradley, Copper's mechanized marvel.

"Did Copper let you drive that tank of hers?" Rachel asked.

"Only a little," Sariel yawned, "It was fun. I only almost tipped it over one time, too. That's when she wouldn't let me drive it anymore today."

Rachel's eyes were wide open now, "Please tell me that you're stringing me along here."

"I'm just spinning you a yarn," he grinned as he pressed himself back a little and put his head back down.

"I'm onto you, you know," she smiled as she kissed his head, "You're lucky I love you so much. There's a hundred pound bag of potatoes that are gonna need peeling for dinner tomorrow night. A bag like that will give enough potatoes to go with two meals, since Rohkanh is so big and all. You ought to be done enough for one meal by the time that Vadren shows up here in the morning to take you back to Cheyenne Mountain."

"Really? Aw, Mom ..."

"Well that's what we all planned at first, but I got you out of it. All you have to do before you go is to make the bed here -- and peel a basket of onions."

She let Sariel groan only once before she hugged him and told him that she was kidding and that he'd better get some sleep. They said goodnight again and in a few minutes, she heard the shift in his breathing that told her that Sariel was asleep.

She smiled and kissed the back of his head very softly, a little sad that he was finally too big and old to sleep with his mother anymore. It was a hard thing to let go of, but just like watching him sleep when he was little, saying goodbye to something like this was a part of being a boy's mother.

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Rachel waited in the heat of the thick jungle for Rohkanh. She looked around a little idly as she watched, taking in the scenery -- what she could see of it anyway. She'd never been here before, but in the past week and a half, she's been a lot of places with Rohkanh that she'd never been before.

Her attention was diverted to where Rohkanh rose up out of the mine, dragging a weakened Azrael by the mane to drop him face--first onto the ground. When Azrael raised his head, his eyes widened to see Rachel standing there with a large package. She stepped forward to place it in front of him.

"Merry Christmas, I guess," she shrugged, "It's full of food and there are a couple of canteens of good water too."

Azrael looked from the package back to her, "Thank you for this. I didn't think that I'd ever see you again."

"You won't anymore," she said, "I just came to see you alive and to say goodbye. We're done, Azrael. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a brother anymore.

Don't ever come back to Colorado. We all took a vote and you're out. Ksyusha put new wards on the doors that'll summon REAL hellhounds if they're tampered with. I've already divided up your golds among the others -- after I set aside half for Simmit and her sons, Sariel and me.

"That's not fair," Azrael said.

Fuck you and I don't care, in whatever order you want to hear them," Rachel said, "We were all a little amazed at how much there was, so it's not exactly as though you were fair when you split up the take. And you can thank my new husband here for the food. I would have brought you a canteen of water and a bag of sawdust. You'll make out fine, you always do."

"You're a little quick off the mark aren't you?" He asked weakly.

Rachel shrugged, "Don't open that door, Azrael. We were paired on only our word, and you burned that down pretty good, I'd say. Dahlgren found the half-drunk mayor of the town back there, and a few golds and a couple of kegs of Copper's ale and he found that he liked Rohkanh's looks enough to marry us before he passed out again. He woke up in his office and wondered if it really happened. It's a little odd for what we are but I wanted a piece of paper for the hell of it and it was a lot of fun.

I've been wanting to change my last name for a while anyway. I knew what you were probably doing, even without the proof. My new last name sounds a little odd for the middle of Colorado, but I like it just fine - Zhu-ahn Rohkanh. I'm Rachel Zhu-ahn Rohkanh now. When I'm not at Cheyenne Mountain, I'm over at Yuan's place. You remember her, the dragon lady with the nice ass?

I live with my husband and every once in a while, he bangs his other females when they ask him for it, but I'm his wife and he always comes back to me afterward. He sleeps with me every night and for once, I've got a male who holds onto me instead of making me feel like we need twin beds."

She chuckled a little, "I tell him that he's been a good boy and then he takes me where you've never been with me. I've even learned to like making out with Simmit or Copper. We're the heart of the family, us girls, and moms rule in my book. My male here wouldn't want it any other way. He's big but he's not stupid. He takes me places and he asks me for my opinion. Since we're from different places, we never run out of things to talk about.

He's not much like you and I like that about him," she said as she stepped over to Rohkanh and turned to Azrael as she reached up behind her to caress the side of the beast's face, "I said that I thought that our arrangement was a little bit unfair and the next thing I knew, he was talking to his friend Vadren and after two days of the strangest negotiations -- I guess you could call them, I've got a boyfriend who I was always a little hot for, Rohkanh's got another girl in Ksyusha and Nika's over the moon with Simmit and Copper. We've only gotten together twice so far, but it was awesome, and it's only been a week or so. I can't see me getting tired of this any time soon. We all agreed to it and any changes need to be spoken of the group. Nobody sneaks around, Azrael.

I'm not a lonely homemaker anymore. I'm in charge of me. I've fucked them all, Azrael. I've even had Rohkanh and Vadren at the same time. Not bad for a girl that you lost interest in, huh?

I ought to thank you, I think," she smiled, "I can't believe how much time I wasted trying to be what you said wanted but really didn't. But that's over now.

If you think that you need it said, Rohkanh will tell you in English that he'll kill you if he ever sees you again.

So this is goodbye," Rachel said, "I won't tell you to take care of yourself, since you've always taken care of yourself first anyway, and I really couldn't give a rat's ass what you do. Just stay away from me and Sariel."

As he watched them walk away, he saw the demon who had beaten him and taken his female and his son pick his sister up. They were gone the next instant in that strange way that the large one could move. Azrael dragged the parcel into some shade and opened it, looking for one of the canteens of water.

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After a moment, Tohkanh looked down at Rachel as much as he could, "You still hold the blanket that we brought."

Yes," She laughed, speaking loud enough to be heard, "I didn't bring it for him. There are beaches all over just a little farther on. I thought that you might like to fool around with me in the dunes on a beach. He's in a jungle. He won't need a blanket."

"Those was quite a story that you told him of us with Vadren, Nika and Ksyusha," he chuckled, "It made a nice picture in my mind."

Rachel shrugged, "He's told me enough stories. I thought I'd leave him with one of mine for a change.

And anyway," she smirked up at him, "maybe it's a little dream of mine. You get three girls the way we are now. Maybe I'd want to make this a little more even for me. I've always liked Vadren. You never know, maybe it's a little dream of mine to have the two of you at the same time."

She'd said it as a little bit of a challenge to him just to see what he'd say.

He nodded after a moment, "Tell me when you wish for me to speak to Vadren."

Rachel almost lost the blanket right there, but after a moment, she began to laugh.