Upon a Savage Shore Ch. 15

"Agreed," she said and took the knife from him. "I'll use this one. You have your own."

"Alright," he replied, eyeing her. There had been something in the way she had said that and the way she had removed the knife from his fingers. "Is that a hint about how I'm handling the situation?"

"You are beginning to pick up on my subtleties," she smirked. "Yes, it was a hint."

"Do me a favor and talk straight," he grumbled, taking out his combat knife.

"You have expressed a serious concern over what the Fauns might do to us, directly or inadvertently." She cut the fins and head off the fish he had gutted. "What if we take the initiative?"

"Keep talking until I understand," he said, cutting open another fish.

"Instead of waiting here for them to make the next move," she went on, "let's go down there and introduce ourselves."

"We're outnumber by about thirty to one, Commander," he said dubiously. "Those are not good odds, in case you were wondering."

"Would it not be better than sitting here in doubt?" she asked.

"I'm trying to look at this from your perspective," said Liam. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think you suggested it because you've seen me in action. You know I like to take the fight to the enemy."

"That is part of it," she admitted. "Another part is that the longer you brood over the uncertainty, the more restless your mates will become. They are sensitive to your moods. They look to you as their Guardian and Defender in a very literal sense."

"So their morale will go to crap if I don't do something," he said.

"I'm saying it will go to... crap... if you don't begin acting as you did before we came here," she said. "Tem'Ma'tel has already expressed dissatisfaction with your behavior since the day of the hunt. I did not press her for particulars, but something she said told me all I needed to know. When was the last time you lay with her?"

He hesitated and then admitted, "Four days ago. The night before the hunt."

"And did you initiate the... encounter?" she asked.

Liam did not say anything, only split open another fish.

"Have you initiated any of the encounters with either of your mates?"

Liam cut the head off the fish, refusing to look at her.

"That is another reason their morale is suffering," she said and took another fish from the pile.

"Both of them?" he asked.

"Less so with Clot'ilda," M'pel E'kmel said. "She does not laugh as much as she did except when Rover is with her. Is this normal for Human males?"

"Is what normal?" he asked.

"Waiting passively for the female to make the approach."

Liam frowned and sliced the fins off his fish.

"No," he admitted. "No it's not. Normally men have to pursue women for weeks or months before we get anywhere with them. Sometimes, when both know it isn't anything serious, it just takes a few drinks and a couple of dances, and then it's off to the races."

"Humans have some very strange expressions," she said, shaking her head. "If that is the case, Sergeant, why have you not initiated sex with your mates?"

Liam shrugged. He felt her gaze on him and sighed.

"I don't know," he said, finally. "There's been a lot to do. Hell, up until the other day, Tem'Ma'tel was more of a threat than a potential partner. My ribs are still sore from the thumping she gave me."

"You thumped her fairly hard, as well," M'pel E'kmel pointed out. "You won her respect. Do you wish to lose it?"

He gave her a hard look.

"You must not remain passive," she said earnestly.

"Wait a second," he said, raising a hand. "What's this got to do with the Fauns?"

"Nothing and everything," she said. "In both cases, you must decide on a course of action. In both cases, passivity will result in a loss of respect for you."

Liam frowned at that. He could see what she meant. The truth of it was that he did want to go out there and take the bull by the horns with the nomads. The only reason he did not was his responsibility to his wives and M'pel E'kmel. From what the commander was saying, from their perspective he needed to go out there and take the bull by the horns. And apparently he needed to stop being so lazy when it came to having sex with his wives. That was good to know. Up until now, he hadn't been sure how things were supposed to work in his relationships. Or was there just one relationship? He shrugged that thought away for future consideration.

"All of us going out there is too dangerous," he said finally.

"We will all stay behind these walls where it is safe, then?" she asked. Her tone was mild enough, but clearly she did not agree.

"I'll take Tem'Ma'tel with me," he said tightly, biting down on a harsher reply. "You and Clot'ilda can cover us with the rifles from the wall. Those things could land shots inside their encampment from here."

"They can," she said with an approving nod. "It would be sheer chance if we were to hit what we aimed at. Their camp is beyond the accurate range of a qui'istle."

"We'll go down to the place we first met the hunters the next time we see them out there." He scraped the mess of fish parts onto a board and set it by the door. "We'll wait in the open. I'll wear my armor. If the shit hits the fan, Tem'Ma'tel can run for the gate while I cover her. I doubt the nomads can do much to me in my suit."

"And if we were to fire a few rounds at them, I think they would take you for some sort of supernatural being," M'pel E'kmel said evenly. "A good plan. At least a good starting point of one. Will you go tomorrow?"

"Probably," he said and gave her a look. "We need to work out some more details before we try it, though."

"Then I suggest we eat dinner on the parapet," she said and peeled the skin off one of the gutted fish. "All four of us can discuss it while keeping watch. And after dinner, Sergeant, you should take Tem'Ma'tel. If you are up to it, that is."

"If I'm up to it?"

"You were with Clot'ilda when the nomads arrived," she said, her ears flicked and her eyes twinkled.

"You heard us," he said with an ironic smirk.

"I think every living thing in the valleys heard Clot'ilda," she replied, her mouth spread into a wicked smile and her tail flicked like a whip. When he blushed she broke out in a full-throated belly laugh.