A Holocene Affair

The tribe was divided up into small nuclear families within the much larger clan structure. It was common for a Mok to dwell with each family as a sort of beneficent hygienist. The Wet Foot people recognized, as other tribes of the time did, that the Mok were responsible for the health of the people and their uncommonly long lives.

Dem himself was the personal Mok of the daughter of the Chieftain. Dem habitually referred to her as 'princess'. He lived within the ruling family and was doted on by his caretakers. His mate, a Mok named Rin, was the chieftain's wife's personal Mok.

The society of the Wet Foot was typical of the tribes of the area. Dem's view of the world was much wider than the average Mok's or even the average humans due to his involvement with the ruling family. Even in the stone age, politics was still a thing.

Those politics were turned completely on their ear when a new people entered the Berengian isthmus.

The largely peaceful society described by Dem contrasted sharply with the newcomers. Over the course of a handful of seasons, the invaders, known for their stone-tipped spears, aggressively rooted out the more peaceful tribes of the region and routed them. I recognized the Clovis people, the original North American colonists from his description.

The chieftain confessed his concern to Dem. The survivors of the attacks told of how the newcomers would rape the women and kill any Mok they could find. While the humans were enslaved as often as not, the Mok were invariably put to the sword.

It was only a handful of years before Dem's tribe was attacked. The invaders quickly overwhelmed the camp. The chieftain and his wife were executed. Their daughter, the princess, sneaked away in the chaos with Dem and Rin and took flight into the frozen lands to the east.

Dem's story of what amounted to a fugitive race was nearly unbelievable. If empirical evidence at hand hadn't supported it, I would have called him a liar. The princess stole several weeks of stored food and set off on an epic journey to the east.

While she could not have known it, she crossed the Berengian land bridge into North America. Berengia then occupied what was now the Bering Strait. Sea levels were hundreds of feet lower due to the glacial advancement locking a huge portion of the world's water into the several massive Ice Sheets. Notably, the massive Laurentide Ice Sheet would have covered most of North America, with glacial advancement as far south as lower Illinois. The princesses enemy at the time would have been the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, the Laurentide's western sibling.

What was most daunting, however, was the nature of the journey. The glaciation during Dem's time in the late Pleistocene would have been almost two miles high in some places, with the sheer weight of ice actually deforming the continental shelf on which it lay. The early human woman, with two dependents, had actually made the climb onto the ice-shelf itself and journeyed into a frozen, inhospitable wasteland.

Anthropologically speaking, there was much debate as to the timing of human migration from Asia to North America during the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. What was accepted as fact, however, was that extreme glaciation kept early humans from accessing the interior of the continent for another five to seven thousand years. So for the princess to make what amounted to a thousand mile trek on the most hostile terrain the planet had ever produced was unheard of. Not to mention that a thousand miles was an as-the-crow-flies figure. With all the valleys, crevasses, mountains and rivers, the sheer amount of backtracking involved probably doubled the figure.

Dear god, I thought, she basically did the equivalent of trekking halfway across Antarctica. Twenty thousand years before thermal underwear were invented.

According to Dem, the princess's reasoning had been more of a leap of faith. She believed that the gods themselves lived beyond the ice. She had intended to make the case before them for the survival of the Mok. She meant not only to enlist their aide, but to take a husband in the new world and start over there, recreating the tribe of the Wet Foot in a more peaceful land.

I could have wept for her ignorance. She died having made it only a fraction of the distance to habitable land to the south. Habitable though that land may have been, it was generally agreed by anthropologists that no humans had made it to the interior at that time. Since the Mok apparently required their hosts to be human, their species would have gone extinct anyway.

For Dem and Rin, the journey had been a freezing nightmare. The princess had essentially carried both of them along with an ever-dwindling amount of supplies. However tough she had been, there was only so much body heat to go around. Rin and Dem took turns holding onto her while she traveled and only got into the bag to sleep.

For Dem, his journey had ended there one day, nearly four months after the fateful night of the attack. According to him, the princess had managed to get out of the glaciers into a refugia, a valley that had not yet completely frozen over. Inside that narrow valley, there had been a cave. They had chosen to take shelter within as a massive winter storm had arrived that evening. That night, a rumbling had heralded the arrival of an avalanche of wet snow and freezing water. The flash flood caught the travelers completely unaware and killed them within minutes.

Dem froze to death within within a handful of seconds, the icy water quickly entombing him within the leather bag he'd taken to sleeping in. The three of them would not be found or disturbed for another twenty thousand years.

As I sat with Dem's arms around me, feeling him shiver at his memories, I slowly stroked his head and body, giving him time to recover from the pain of his recollections. The Pleistocene, however distant to me, was just a couple weeks ago for him. The emotional weight of that knowledge was only now beginning to sink in.

I knew I had an important question to ask.

"Dem..."

The shivering had subsided. "Elena?"

"You know you and Rin are the only Mok left in the entire world."

"Yes, Elena."

"If we can bring you two together..." I blushed. "Will you be able to have children?"

Mok rubbed his head against my breast and didn't answer at first. "Perhaps," He said finally.

I had to push. It was too important to leave alone, now matter how sensitive the subject. "What does that mean? Are you both the same gender?"

"Mok no man or woman like humans. Rin can give Dem children. Dem can give Rin children. Need to find Modala se bata first."

"What is a... Modala se... what was it? Bata?"

Dem told me. It took some time. By the time it was over, I understood why the Mok were not universally accepted by the ancient tribes. Moreover, I realized that my hypothesis of symbiosis didn't go far enough. The Mok were indeed another species, but their evolution was so intertwined with humankind that they were completely helpless without us.

The ramifications cascaded through my thoughts like falling dominoes.

The Mok were a scientific breakthrough of monumental importance, far beyond finding another intelligent species. They weren't just an accident of evolution whose paths crossed with human-kind for a time. They had to have evolved along with us from the very beginning of speciation, their lives intertwined with ours in the most fundamental way.

As I thought about it, I realized that not only had the Mok evolved for this highly-specialized interspecies co-option, but that humankind may have evolved to take advantage of it as well. Or not evolved, as the case might have been. Anthropology was about to be rocked to its core. The unexplained, especially about certain parts of the human body, might finally be explained by this incredibly close symbiotic relationship.

To become a Modala se Bata was more than a leap of faith. It was a fundamental re-evaluation of my self. It broke every possible taboo I could think of for a woman. Yet, I knew that as the future of the Mok depended on someone taking this leap, I had no choice but to do so. Indeed, I felt a strange sort of anticipation.

In the end, I knew what my answer was before Dem worked up the nerve to ask me.

*******

In the distant past, among the tribes of eastern Beringia, becoming Modala se Bata was a change in societal status much like getting married. Instead of a life-long bond between man and woman, it was a commitment between woman and Mok. It wasn't lifelong, per se. Just very intense. Also like marriage, it had a ceremony between the participants.

Dem agreed to forget the more primitive aspects of the ceremony. But the process was as much physical as it was ceremonial. I had to be... readied. So did Dem. I had thought that this would wait until after he was brought into contact with Rin, but apparently not. The sooner, the better, he told me.

I swallowed my nervousness back. What I was proposing to do would land me in jail in any court in America, regardless of the scientific merit or evidence. Some taboos were too deeply ingrained. Except in myself, apparently. Ten days ago, Dem had fed from me for the first time and I'd felt like I'd fallen down a rabbit hole. Now wonderland was unfolding before me and it was a strange place indeed.

Unlike our regular interactions, this one couldn't be interrupted. To that end, I chose the lab. It had a heavy door with a lock that would be impossible for a casual visitor to force. I moved the decrystillizer assembly to one side of the room. Normally, I'd have taken hours to carefully categorize the wires as I unhooked them and treated the whole thing with extreme delicacy. Now the whole thing was shoved into the corner, wire bundles draped carelessly over the laser assemblies.

I threw a blanket down and covered it with every clean towel I owned. A pillow completed my makeshift love nest. I looked around the lab. It was about as romantic as a staff meeting. I chuckled to myself. Dem looked up at me quizzically.

"Elena okay?" he inquired, perhaps a bit too conscientiously.

I grinned as I pulled my robe off, tossing it casually over the computer desk. "You think I should light a candle and put a rose down to liven the surroundings up?"

"What is candle?" Dem asked, not having run across that word yet.

I shook my head, my whimsy dispelling the last of my nervousness. I laid down on my makeshift bedding and got comfortable. Dem crawled on top of me, his arms holding most of his not inconsiderable weight off of me. I expected him to get straight to it, but instead, he took a moment to get up close, face to face.

Learning his facial expressions had taken some time, but I'd done it. His gaze was gentle but intense. "Elena. Uesoon for you." He looked away a bit guiltily and than back. "This time, Uesaan ne for Dem also."

Right. Up until now, the 'sex' between Dem and I had been a side effect of his feeding, a sort of natural conditioning to encourage compliance in human partners. Effective as hell. This time, however, it was the real deal. Dem wasn't a clear-eyed giver anymore. He was going to be in the mix as well.

"Yes, Dem. I know. I'm ready." I was. My choice was made and my path set, which enabled me to put my qualms aside. I was a forward momentum kind of person. I didn't stop once I was in motion.

Dem began to touch me with his tentacles. His pod tipped ones unfurled into their leaf shape and he used them to massage my body. They exuded no fluid this time, but that didn't stop them from being soft and sensuous. I relaxed and let him work on me. My body had no trouble recognizing what was potentially in store. I could feel arousal begin, my nerves waking from head to toe.

The foreplay continued, Dem displaying an inhuman (naturally) amount of patience. My experience with male lovers in general was a sort of unspoken desire to get to the main event. Foreplay required a certain amount of restraint, which most men gave, but only grudgingly.

Dem, though not technically male (I'd learned that Mok were functional hermaphrodites, though self-fertilization was both stigmatized and functionally difficult) still presented enough masculine characteristics that I'd mentally labeled him as such. His voice was male in pitch and tone. He also had what I'd come to think of as a penis tentacle. It was his thirteenth appendage and sprouted from the lower center portion of his body. While it was generally retracted and tucked away, now it was fully extended. It was thick and snub-nosed, with a foreskin covering the extremely blunt tip. I knew I was going to experience its biological purpose soon.

Curious, I extended a hand towards him and cupped the phallus in my palm. The tip was enclosed within a foreskin, which didn't surprise me. Dem reacted only with a slight inhalation and continued his ministrations on my body. Emboldened, I slipped the foreskin back to reveal the head. It was blunt, almost concave. The head was pink and soft with a small orifice in the center. Dem made a shuddering moan and used a tentacle to gentle steer my inquisitive hand away. Fair enough.

Rational thought became much more difficult as tentacles began to approach my groin. I spread my legs apart in anticipation and watched with fascination as Dem positioned himself above me. His tendrils snaked forward and I groaned as I was penetrated. He snaked three different tentacles into my vagina, squirming and entwining within me. Yet another two began to tease my anus, firmly massaging the ring of muscle there.

Sensation pulsed through me fast and heavy. Leaf-tipped tendrils massaged my breasts and nipples. Another one slid between my lips, now drenched with wetness and covered my clit. The soft nodules on the underside began to rhythmically contract around it, producing a sensation I didn't believe was possible. My internal temperature spiked and I placed a hand on Dem's backside.

"Elena?" he whispered hoarsely.

I groaned again, my moment approaching fast. "Keep going, Dem."

He didn't ask again. His movements changed slightly and I realized that instead of a quick finish, he was drawing out my pleasure. The agony of it was nearly unbearable. "Finish me," I whimpered.

Dem didn't answer, but instead retracted his tentacles out of my pussy. The sudden empty sensation so close to release was just shy of painful. He lowered himself closer to me. I leveraged myself into a semi-reclining position so I could get a better view. I was just in time to see his thick pseudo-penis disappear beyond the horizon of my pubic mound. A moment later, I felt him press against my opening and force the fleshy member inside of me.

It was different and the same. Except for that nearly concave tip, the phallus felt like a penis. Same girth, same near-rigidity. It was tactility distinguishable only because it, like the others, it could writhe inside of me. It did for a moment and I couldn't help but undulate my pelvis to encourage his penetration of me. I was so close to the edge, just a tiny push would send me over.

Dem had other plans, though. His penis twisted and squirmed, but seemed to be seeking something within me. I knew approximately what he was going to do, but not how it was going to feel. My nervousness returned, dovetailing with my pre-orgasmic enthrallment.

I found out soon enough. There was a strange sensation of the tip sliding into place over something within me. I realized belatedly why the tip was concave. Dem tightened his other tentacles around my waist and thighs, holding me in place. I tried not to squirm.

We locked eyes one last time before the moment. Dem whispered throatily, "Elena ready?"

I reached between my legs and cupped his body with my hand. Perhaps to provide some illusion of control or maybe as reassurance and encouragement. I wasn't sure. I wasn't completely rational at that moment. I let my head fall back and gasped, "Yes. Do it."

A moment of exhilaration and fear as I felt Dem's body clench under my hands. Nothing for a second and the the slightest pinprick of sensation deep within me. The pinprick was replaced by a another penetration and a feeling of a smooth sliding in a place I'd never felt before. I gasped. This was it. He'd done it. I lifted my head to affirm his success when suddenly every tentacle that was grasping my legs and torso tightened almost painfully. Dem's eyes were unfocused and in a tight groaning voice he said, "Uesaaaaaan!"

I felt his organ pulsing inside of me and that was enough to put me at the precipice once again. It went on and on and I felt a fullness inside of me that I'd never felt before. He was cumming in me! It was no small amount either. The sensation of fullness triggered my orgasm and my groin clenched rigidly as pleasure exploded from within me like the light of a newborn star. I screamed my way into my orgasm, unwilling to compromise the experience with an attempt to stay quiet. I could feel my vagina pulse and contract around his own throb, a counterpoint of pleasure.

Just as I felt I could take no more, he slid free, pulling his member all the way out. A gush of fluid accompanied his exit. I watched his organ in fascination. It was much changed. The head was exposed. The orifice was occupied by a long thin pink tentacle that was coiling and writhing slowly. The tip was still ejaculating a pale creamy seminal fluid that was falling upon my vulva in warm drops. It emptied and slowly retracted into his penis, which was also finishing its emission.

Bemused, I stared down at my sex, splattered and coated in the results of our mutual orgasm. Despite myself, I was deeply aroused by the sight.

I looked at Dem to confide this just in time to see him sway on his 'feet'. He tottered forward, unstable, before falling on on my stomach, unmoving, tentacles limp.

*******

An hour later, a recovering Dem sipped from a bowl of water. I'd bundled him in towels, wetted with warm water (dry cotton did not mix well with his skin, which was sensitive to desiccants). He looked as exhausted as I felt.

"You scared me there, fella," I murmured.

"Dem scare Dem, too," he admitted. "Modala Uesaan take lot. Use Dem up."

I winced. I hadn't really thought about the physical side effects. If a human woman had been frozen in time for eons and someone successfully revived, having a baby probably wouldn't be a smart move two weeks into recovery. "I'm worried. Maybe this is a bad idea. You could use more time to recover. Heaven only knows what side effects are still in store for you."

Dem shook his head. I was getting better at reading his expressions and I caught the wince. He was quiet a second before responding. "Elena say Rin sick. Could die. Could not. If Rin die before Dem be with her," he said slowly, "Miss only chance."

"But what if it is too much for you?"

"Also chance," he admitted.

"This is as much your choice as it is mine," I said. "Whatever you decide, I'll back you. One hundred percent." I belatedly wondered if he knew that a percent even was.

If Dem did or not, he obviously got the sentiment. He smiled a bit sadly. "Modala Elena. I know you now. You warrior. Never see woman warrior before, except princess. You like princess. You go to place you know not and see no fear. Do right at all cost. Dem follow princess and find Elena. Dem follow Elena, who know what Dem find next? Dem not follow Elena, Dem find nothing. Miss only chance. So Dem follow. Maybe find death. Maybe find life. Maybe find god. Dem know only this. Mok need human, but human need Mok. Elena do right for Dem. Mok do right for humans. All humans."

It was the most profound thing I'd ever heard Dem say. A statement of both intent and consent. I'd lived a quarter of a century and still not met another person confide so earnestly and honestly their innermost feelings. He'd laid himself bare in those pidgin sentences.