Expanding the Tribe

Expanding the Tribe

--

The softly muffled giggle alerted me as I walked into the courtyard closing the gate behind me. The summer sun still beat down on the gravel and flagstones reflecting the light and heat back up to me. It cast deep shadows by the wall and under the foliage that bordered the walled courtyard. I stopped in my steps and looked carefully around the small garden. In the corner behind a potted tree I noticed a pair of pointed black ears quickly poke up from behind and then quickly duck back down. The giggling started again but softer.

I made a show of looking around the garden. "Is someone here?" I asked. The giggling resumed. "I am sure I heard something." I said to seemingly no one. "Maybe there is an intruder. I should check. It is always wise to be careful."

I slowly walked around the garden starting at the opposite corner from my 'intruder' making sure to make a lot of noise and 'nope not here either' sounds. The moment I made it to the pot that he hid behind the 'intruder' bolted making a run for it. I grabbed him around the waist and pulled him to me. He struggled and thrashed trying to break my hold giggling the entire time.

"AH HA! I have caught the miscreant." I cried out.

My captive yelled, "NOOOOOO!"

"Now let us see what we have here," I said in a mockingly stern voice. "No. no, I am sure I would recognise this intruder if I had seen him before. I think it is a thief." I sighed dramatically, "It is best if I check with Seshen, perhaps she will know."

I latched onto the 'intruders' ankles and turned him upside down facing away from me. He thrashed and squirmed his arms flailing, trying to break my hold. Wildly giggling the entire time. I had to hold the 'intruder' out from me so I would not be hit by his thin arms. I walked into my home.

I entered the dim inner courtyard of my house. The thick walls and shaded interior reduced the heat considerably but made the sweat on my body condense into a muggy perspiration all around me. From a room further in I heard the sounds of a knife chopping on our cutting board. The smell of dither-bird and spiced nagee tendrils wafted out and I found myself hungry. These were the sounds and smells that I loved at the end of a long day. My award for my hard work.

As I walked closer to the sounds of cooking my 'intruder' thrashed harder trying to get me to let go. But all to no avail. "Seshen, I have caught something in the outer courtyard. I think it is an intruder. Perhaps a thief. Could you check it for me." I held the intruder at arms length by his ankles. The moment he saw Seshen he stopped moving and lay limply in my grasp. His arms dangling like noodles from his shoulders. He sighed, resigned to his fate.

Seshen set her knife down on the cutting board and walked over to me. She knelt down and looked at him carefully, squinting at his upside down face. She got up and examined him from several angles. She tilted her head this way and that and then said with a tone of finality. "It... looks oddly like our son." She sighed dramatically. "But I know that is just not possible. You found this... creature in the outer courtyard you say."

"Oh, yes." I nodded.

"Like I said, it looks oddly like our son. But that is impossible." She waved the air away from her nose like trying to shoo a fly. "You see, our son is supposed to be cleaning his room at this very moment. This... child cannot be our son." She abruptly turned her back to my son and I, and walked back to her cooking. "Throw it out, it is clearly impostor," she said in a no nonsense tone.

"Momma!" my son wailed. Seshen looked over her shoulder at him still dangling from my hands.

"Yes, creature that looks like my son but is not because he is quietly cleaning his room even now."

"It is me. I am your son!" he cried out.

"Oh, creature that looks like my son. Are you sure?" she asked ironically.

"It's me!" he cried out.

"Oh, then tell me son that no longer looks like a creature. Why were you in the outer courtyard and not in your room doing as I asked?"

"I was playing," he said in a long suffering sigh.

"I see." she sighed a 'hmm' and blankly looked at him upside down. "I see," she said again a little more slowly. "Perhaps you should finish cleaning your room. If you don't, your dinner will be cold by the time you finish, and you will have to eat it cold."

I turned him over and set him on his feet holding onto his shoulder to support him until his light-headedness ebbed. Once it did he scampered off to his room in a sudden sprint, arms flailing. I watched his tail floof and stick straight out in his haste. He stopped abruptly at the corner, turned and slid on the smooth stone floor, his arms out for balance. His aim was a bit off and he hit the wall with his shoulder but bounced off and continued off to his room.

Seshen shot an annoyed look in the direction of his retreating form. "Djen! What have I told you about doing that?"

"Sorry, mama." he shouted back to her.

"No he's not," I huffed.

"No. No, he is not," she agreed, and laughed lowly.

I walked up to my life mate from behind and pulled her slender form into an embrace. It was amazing that after these past seven years we were still in love. Our initial introduction had been... not good. We had met in the bowels of the Water Lord's cells under the City of Stone and Sand out under the Great Red Desert's 'Pan'. Me, a convict on the run from my father. And she, a gladiator-slave betrayed by her people. I nuzzled her fuzzy pointed black ear while she chopped purple long roots. I enjoyed the feeling of her leaning back into my embrace.

"How long until dinner is ready?" I asked.

She glanced at the water-clock by the wall, "Perhaps... thirty minutes."

"Then, I will go help our son," I said.

"Please don't," she sighed, "I told him to clean his room an hour ago," She resumed chopping the long roots.

"I think he was waiting for me to come home," I said into her fuzzy ear.

"Well, you are his favorite parent," she teased in a sing-song tone.

"Maybe, but you are the one he goes to when he has a bad dream. Even if I am the 'Great and Powerful Tower Mage'." I intoned with a serious bass voice. She laughed at my joke.

I held her a moment more before releasing her and wandered into my son's room to see how bad the disaster was. I was not disappointed. An entire chest's worth of small toys were scattered around the room along with an overturned basket of dirty clothing. Books were scattered about randomly. I knelt and started to help, more by keeping him on task than actually doing any work. As he worked we chatted about our days. I told him about my students and what we were doing. He told me a fanciful story about flying over the ocean and catching a fish. Then bringing the fish back to eat in the sun on the rocks by our home just above the sea spray. I noticed Seshen peek in once or twice and I think she paced dinner to coincide with the moment he finished.

As I closed the lid on his toy chest and pushed it into the nook built under his bed she called out to us. "Boys dinner is ready." The power of her demi-human dog ears.

We ate dinner in the dying rays of light in our little kitchen dining area. The sun going to sleep into the sparkling ocean inlet out our back window. It's light painted our home in a pale pink pastel wash that made everything a little more pretty. Seshen even more so. The meal was simple. Weekday food. Some roasted bird, grains, mashed roots, and vegetables. My life mate and I chided our son for not eating his greens. He eventually did but only after a bribe of the little sweet cakes Seshen had made earlier in the day. After eating Sheshen, Djen, and I played counting games with dice for a while. Even though the game was pure chance and luck I had to fall on my sword and let my son win a few games. It was a beautiful end to the day.

"Okay, bathtime," I announced to my son after we finished playing the last game.

"Noooo!" he whined.

"Yeeees," I responded, picking him up and holding him under my arm like a barrel. As I walked him to the bath, he flapped his arms like he was flying and made odd chirping and meowing sounds. Seshen looked at him with a funny face when he did this. All I could do was shrug. I was just as clueless.

When I had purchased our home I insisted on turning one of the rooms into a proper Nyeal style bath, like the ones from my homeland. A small waist high rectangular pool sat in one corner. A pair of low stools and spigot in the other with some soaps and shampoos on a shelf. A high window in the ceiling let out any steam. Other than that it was a simple whitewashed room.

After washing Djen's hair and tail, I made sure to scrub him all over and dump a bucket of water over him. Once I was sure he was clean of suds I picked him up and dunked him in the heated pool.

"Dad, aren't you coming in?" he asked me.

"Later, with Seshen."

"Eww, kissy stuff." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. My son was not a fan of his mother's and father's moments of adult time. We had to sneak around him when we wanted to get frisky.

I watched as Djen make weird bird-like motions with his hands then dive them into the water like a bird of prey. The meowing was off putting. By the time Seshen poked her head into the bath, Djen's fingers and toes were all wrinkles. As Seshen watched I pulled him out of the tub and helped him run a comb through his tail fur. The thick black fur seemed to hold an entire bath's worth of water and was the main reason why Djen disliked taking them. It took forever to dry without magic.

I started to enchant the spell to dry his fur, but Djen stopped me. "Daddy, can I try?" he asked.

"Do you think you can?" I asked.

Even at age four my son had demonstrated some affinity with air magic, even though he had yet to awaken the Rune of Air. Unlikely before the age of ten or so. But he had used little magics that are natural to all children who possess a mana pool. Flashes of light. Gusts of air. Once even a weak flash of lightning when scared by a feral rat.

He thought hard for a moment then pronounced, "Yes."

I smiled at his confidence. "Okay, follow along."

I slowly helped him form his mana into the spell I wanted watching and correcting as he went. It was slow going, difficult for a four year old. The drying spell was not overly complex but his little mana pool would be emptied by it. And besides he could never manage it on his own. I held the shape of the spell while he enchanted it. I gently touched his back to lend him some of my mana so he would not falter. Little by little the magic took hold and our skin, his fur, and our hair dried. I supported the spell so it would not collapse and near the end when he was panting from the effort of carrying it I gently took over and finished it. Djen sniffed. Apparently to Demi-humans magic has a smell.

I am not sure what it was, the drain of the magic, the heat of the long day, or the food followed by the bath, but it took little to encourage my son to go to sleep. By the time the story I was reading him was finished he was already lightly snoring. After kissing his forehead I opened the little window above his bed to allow the room to stay cool, and spread the mosquito net around his bed. As I left I lit the little light by the door with a sliver of my mana and walked back to the bathroom.

--

When my life mate returned to the bathroom I had already cleaned myself and had started to soak in the tub of water he had insisted on building in our house. By the time we had enough money to buy the small home I thought it an idiotic waste of water having grown up in the desert. But now I appreciate the luxury.

He stood at the door watching me with a hungry look in his eyes. My life mate. The father of my child. My protector. The man who stood by me in the arena when he could have walked away and helped me win my freedom against almost impossible odds. He was my lover. My partner. My helper and the one who listened to me late at night when my worries overwhelmed me. I loved the care he showed for my son and myself.

My (amazingly still perky after one child) breasts, slim shoulders, narrow neck, and head were the only things not submerged. I loved how he still wanted me after these many years. It fascinated me how something as mundane as seeing my breasts and nipples could excite him. I had grown up in a desert demi-human tribe where nudity was so common no one ever commented on it other than to point out how odd outsiders looked fully covered in fabric. I watched in appreciation as the bulge of his cock hardened in his trousers and pushed them out.

"My, something appreciates the sight," I mused looking longingly at his erection.

"Are you sure it's not 'someone'?" he asked.

"That is a path yet to be traveled," I quipped back at him. I smiled hungrily at him. "We will have to see." I licked my lips in a very naughty way. "Won't we." He smiled lustily at me. I smiled back.

I emerged from the tub of water enjoying the way it felt sliding off of my skin. Stepping out I never let my eyes leave his. The connection was like a pull between us. I felt like 'hunting' tonight, and saw the meat I wished to consume. I just needed to stalk my prey.

I slowly slinked over to him. As I did so I fingered the only thing I still wore, my fertility hex, A small enchanted medallion on a leather band on my wrist. I wondered if tonight was the right time. Slowly circled Djet, letting my finger run along his arms and chest. I leaned in, stood on my tippy toes and nipped his chin. With practiced fingers I undid the buttons of his linen tunic and let it fall off of his shoulders. His chest was muscular despite having a job teaching children and sitting at a desk studying magic. I admired his lean body and subtle musculature. I let my hand travel to the bulge on his pants and caressed it for a moment before moving on.

"Tease," he said lowly. His eyes smoldered.

"Oh, yes. Tonight I have all of the teases."

I circled behind him and pressed my chest to his back like he had earlier this evening. It didn't work the same way. The top of my head only reached his clavicle. Such were the injustices of life, I thought to myself. Instead of nuzzling his ear, I bit his back and shoulder softly with my fangs while I untied the tie of his trousers. I made sure to rub my breasts against his arm and back. When they fell to the stone floor along with his small clothes his cock stood proudly out from him. The foreskin a tight band around the length under the head.

I encircled his cock and with my still wet hands and twisted my fist around the head for a bit. After swallowing a profane oath under his breath he hunched over my shoulders and held me.

"Too much too soon?" I asked.

"...yes," he answered.

"Sit, let me wash you." I purred to him.

I carefully wet his skin with the bucket we kept by the tap. I then fetched the bottle of soap from the shelf and began lathering him. I spread the soap and pressed my chest to his back and pushed the suds around with my breasts. While I did so I lathered his chest with my hands and arms. After a bit I just hugged him, resting my chin on his shoulders.

"I love you Djet. It is still a wonder after all of these years that I do. But I love you." I nuzzled my face on the side of his head. More cat in this moment than dog.

"I love you too," He held my arms in his own embrace. "Where is this coming from? What is on your mind?" he asked.

"I have made a decision, but can we talk about that later?" I asked as I slid in front of him. He seemed intrigued and maybe knew what was on my mind but kept his peace other than a grunt of affirmation.

His cock was still magnificent. It stood out hard and rigid. His balls hung like a soft peach between his legs. I really tried to not inhale the scent of his musk but couldn't stop myself. I really wanted to restrain myself as I washed his legs and stomach. But it was there and so was I. Without thinking my mouth found its way around the head and I sucked on it while my tongue rubbed the underside in the back and forth motion. I watched his eyes to make sure I would catch the moment before he came so I could stop. He stopped what he was doing and held my head in his hands gently. Spying the telltale look in his eyes, I pulled my mouth off of him.

"By the gods! You are a tease tonight!" he loudly said.

"Shh, you'll wake Djen." I jumped up, slipped into the hall, and poked my head into his room just to be sure. Our son was still snoring lightly as the breeze from the open window ruffled the mosquito net. I smiled at the sight of our love child. Our baby was growing too fast.

By the time I made it back to the bathroom Djet was finished washing his body and was rinsing with a newly refilled bucket of water. My mate looked handsome dripping wet, his hung cock pointing proudly out.

"You are holding your tail high. Is there something on your mind?" he asked.

"Yes!" was all I said and let it wag slightly.

I took the bucket from him and rinsed myself again before once again submerging myself in the bath. We didn't make love in the water. The... fluids... from our bodies would mean the need to replace the 'dirty' water with clean and I couldn't stand the thought of wasting so much. Instead I straddled his hips and pressed is cock against the folds of my pussy lips. His hands made their way to my bottom and I held his neck and chin with my hands as I made out with him. The heat from the bath, or the heat of our bodies made, I am not sure which, made me woozy and after a bit of kissing I had to get out and rinse again with cold water. Djet looked at my naked wet body, his eyes blazing with need. I admit I posed for him.

My Mate emerged from the water like a kraken, his cock still erect and leading the way. I filled the bucket one last time for him and when he walked closer I wet him down to cool his body off. His hair and beard were wet but sexy. I pulled him into one more kiss and then kiss-bit my way down his chin and neck.

After Djet used the spell to dry us I poked my head one more time into Djen's room just to be sure he was sound asleep. I couldn't afford to be interrupted for what I had in mind tonight. Djet had already opened our own window and was fluffing the mosquito net around our own bed. It made a white tent and draped out onto the floor. It reminded me of the desert tents we traveled in when we first met many years ago.

After he entered the tented bed and laid on his back I entered but knelt on the side next to him. I ran my hand up and down his chest. His hair was soft despite how thick and coarse it was. The trail of hair leading to his cock called to me. But I knew if we started our love making before I let my words out, I wouldn't tonight.

"My mate. It's time," I held my wrist out to him.

"Time?" he asked.

"Yes, time for a new child," I answered.

"A new child?" he asked as he pushed a sliver of mana into the fertility hex he had made me after our first child and the difficult birth, unlocking it from my wrist. "Are you sure?" he asked. The hex fell off of my wrist and I tossed it to the corner of the bed.

"Yes, Djen needs a sister," I answered. "We need to balance the tribe."

"Tribe, there are only three of us now. How many children are we speaking of?"

I leant over and bobbed my head on his cock a few times to wake it up. It thickened in my mouth nicely after less than ten strokes. I pulled back and straddled his hips. "A sister for now..."

"...or a brother." He quipped. "You don't get to order them like meat skewers."

"Then we will keep trying until we have a sister for Djen." I slipped his engorged cock into my folds and let it settle. I loved the way it stretched me. "Even if we have to try many, many times." I slowly rocked my hips on his lap, letting the pleasure from our earlier kissing in the bath rebuild slowly.