Upon a Savage Shore Ch. 15

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The nomads arrive.
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Part 15 of the 23 part series

Updated 11/02/2022
Created 06/29/2014
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RipperFish
RipperFish
2,512 Followers

Author's note 8/24/2014: I made the necessary edits to the chapters and have completed the first draft of chapter 20. Sorry for the delay but I had to fill in several plot holes and fix a few other things. Chapter 20 now makes a lot more sense and actually moves the story forward instead of bogging it down.

As always, thanks to those readers leaving comments or sending messages. Thanks also to Payenbrant for helping with a particular issue.

*****

"Three days since our hunt," M'pel E'kmel said, coming onto the platform at the south western corner of the villa. She was bringing Liam a fresh cup of hot morning tea. Her hood was up and she had her hand over the cup, guarding against the light rain that had earlier been a downpour. "Anything new?"

"Still no sign of any nomads. I did see more space junk last night before the rain started, though. Seems to be a lot of that lately," Liam said tiredly, accepting the proffered tea. It was just past dawn and he had been on watch for eight hours already. To pass the time he'd cleaned the spare EP 12s while sitting under a canopy he had constructed from some branches and a poncho out of the life pod's survival gear. Water trickled off the lower edge of the poncho in a steady stream. "Think we might be wrong about them?"

"I think it is too soon to know," she replied, taking the fero-plas rifle from where it leaned against the low parapet. She adjusted the sights for maximum magnification and looked through its scope at the distant camp. There smoke mixed with rain, obscuring much of what little activity was to be seen.

"I just have this feeling they're going to come over that southern horizon, out of the plains and march right up to our doorstep," Liam grumbled. "We'll be hip deep in Fauns, or whatever you want to call them."

"A little dramatic," she said dryly, still looking through the scope. "We are keeping watch. They will not go unseen. What are Fauns?"

"Mythical beings from ancient Rome, or maybe it was Greece. I can't remember right now," he said and took a drink of his morning tea, glad for its warmth on this damp and dreary day. "And I'm not worried about unseen. I'm worried about them setting up for the rest of the season or maybe longer. There's enough game for us to live pretty good. Lots of roots and fruits to eat. If a bunch of natives move in, though, there might not be for very long."

"What do you suggest we do if these Fauns do come and camp on our doorstep?" she asked. She had already been thinking along these lines and had come up with several possible answers, but Sergeant Carter had been more than clever about fortifying their camp in the tree. He was very resourceful and likely had some solid ideas of his own.

"We need to start packing away food." Liam stood and put his helmet on, using the scope to look around the valley. "If we could find a salt lick, we could preserve some fish and meat. How's your new smoker coming along, by the way?"

"It's nearly complete. The clay is drying, or at least is was. I think it might be ready for a trial run tomorrow depending on how well the clay sets. Thanks to your stonework, this one is not so crude as the one at the tree." M'pel E'kmel turned to face him, propping her rump on the wall only to instantly change her mind and stand. The seat of her trousers was now wet. "Speaking of fish, Tem'Ma'tel and I would like to go down to the pool at the bottom of the hill. We feel... I think your phrase is 'cooped up'. We want to get out for a while."

"In this weather?" he asked with a puzzled grimace.

"It is sometimes better to fish in the rain," she said. "I think we will have more luck as the fish will be out and feeding."

Liam considered for a long moment before answering, "Take weapons. Don't take chances. Take a radio for each of you. And be careful."

"No argument?" she asked, surprised.

"Three days and we haven't seen any sign of the hunters around here," he said with a shrug. "The closest they've come is the place we met them the day of the hunt. They got a pair of antelope yesterday. Pretty good with their bows. One of them was using bolas. Pretty good with that, too. Knocked an antelope down in full stride. I'm thinking I might make one."

"What are bolas?" she asked. Obscure words had not been taught in her language course.

"A weapon for hunting. It's made with three balls on the ends of ropes attached at a center point," he told her. "You hold one rope near the ball and whirl it over your head to get the momentum going. When you're lined up on your target, you throw it. The balls give it weight and stability and when it strikes the target, the ropes wrap around the animal's legs or the neck. If you're trying to capture an animal rather than kill it, they can be pretty handy."

"And why do you wish to make one?" she asked.

"I was thinking we could explore the hills and those mountains a bit. I'd like to know more about the hunters and their habits before I do, though," he said. "We might be able to find something like goats. If we could capture a handful of them, we could keep them in a pen. Raise a few for meat. Keep them alive until we need them. Maybe we could explore the plains and find something like rabbits or even pigs. Might be easier to raise. Either way, it would be better than needing to go hunting every week."

"But we like hunting," she said with a frown.

"I do too," he said. "But what if we get stuck up here without food?"

"You can't believe the Fauns will lay siege to this place."

"Not really, but I do believe they could," he said. Taking off his helmet, he paced back and forth a few times, the rain causing his hair to lay close on his head. "I don't like being cooped up here, either, but I've got a responsibility now. I have two wives to look out for, plus you. I know the three of you can take care of yourselves, but I still feel like I need to look to next week and next month and next season and next year."

"I see," she said approvingly and stepped into his shelter to get out of the rain. "You are the Guardian and Defender of Household SarJ'ant. It is your place to think of these things. I think, though, that there might be an easier solution to keeping a stock of food."

"Okay," he said and joined her out of the rain. "Let's hear it."

"Fish," M'pel E'kmel said simply. Liam frowned at her and she explained, "We could put fish in the pool. It occurred to me last evening while I was bathing that the only reason there are no fish there now is the elevation. They can't swim up the waterfall that runs out under this platform. It's far too steep."

"That's our drinking water," Liam argued. "I know we've got the purifiers, but their filters won't last forever."

"We also bathe in it. And we collect our drinking water from the little pool that feeds the larger one. If nothing else we can always boil the water and I'm sure there are simple ways to filter out any sort of debris. We can fill our jugs from the waterfall itself if it comes to that."

"Yeah. Maybe," Liam murmured. He turned to her, eyes narrowed and lips pursed as if he were about to speak. He hesitated so long M'pel E'kmel was about to prompt him, but he spoke before she did. "If we put fish in the pool we'll have to add cover and who knows what else. But if we dig out a pool next to the stream, maybe just make it wider and deeper right there where it curves, then we could leave that tree and some of those bushes where they are."

"Yes," she agreed. "We could also bring some of the plants from the lower stream up here. Surely the fish would find something from them edible."

"We'll need to figure out a way to keep the fish in the pool," Liam went on.

"So that they do not swim out and down the falls," she finished for him.

"Exactly!" He nodded. "I'll take a look at the ground later. No sense trying it if it's too rocky to dig."

"While Tem'Ma'tel and I are fishing, I will see what sort of cover the fish like, what they eat and whatever else I can learn about them."

"Sounds good," Liam said, his mind already working through the new project. "While you're at it, why don't you take one of the medical kits and see if there are any plants around the pool that we can eat? If we can grow them up here it would add to the variety and stretch our resources. I know you don't care much for those potato things I found."

"A lot of work ahead of us," she said with a shake of her head.

"Yep," he said. "All because some locals had to camp in our yard."

"Yes. And because of them, we now have to stand guard night and day again," she grumbled.

"That can't be helped either," Liam said.

"I wish we had salvaged a ground sensor kit. We could have strung it around the villa and then we'd be ready if someone approached," she said. "There just wasn't time. We thought the scuttling charge was going to detonate and there was the radiation pouring out of the engineering compartment. Lucky we got as much as we did, I suppose."

"I'd say you did pretty well," he said. "With what you salvaged and the stuff from my life pod we're doing alright."

"And this villa, as deteriorated as it is, is far better than living inside a dead tree," she replied with a smile. "It keeps the rain off our heads, anyway."

"The air mattresses are nice, too," chuckled Liam. "At least we aren't sleeping on leaves and twigs anymore."

"Fortunate your pod had four of them," she agreed, her eyes sparkling. "They aren't big enough to sleep two, though I note you and your mates do not sleep when sharing one."

"You can hear that?" he asked, turning a little pink.

"While we each have our own room," she said smiling, "there are no doors yet."

"Right," said Liam, easing back onto the stump he used as a stool. "Sorry about that. I'll try to be quieter."

"Sergeant," she laughed. "The sounds do not disturb me. I was once First of Household. My mate had two Seconds and they were never as quiet as you. Do not disconcert yourself."

"Still," he said with an uncomfortable grimace.

"Besides, your encounters provide a welcome... distraction... late in the night." Her tail flicked like the snapping of a whip and the look she gave him smoldered with meaning.

"I... Um... I don't think I'm going to ask," he said, blushing more furiously.

"Too bad, but just as well. I think it is time for me to go fishing, Sergeant," M'pel E'kmel said, laughing again. As she sauntered away her tail flicked and she strutted in a very suggestive manner. Liam watched her go, admiring what the water had done to accent her butt and the way her hips wiggled. She might be ten years older than him, but she still packed a lot of sexual firepower. With an ass like that, Liam thought, the commander would be turning heads for years to come.

***********

"It feels good to be out in the open again," M'pel E'kmel said as the two dTel'Qohar carefully made their way over the wet and slick stones on the edge of the deep pool. The water, though rippling from the rain, was clear and there were many fish in evidence. "Aboard a ship there is no temptation to go outside, but here there is always the fresh air and usually there is sunshine. So many smells to tempt me. Being closeted away in the villa is disagreeable."

"Yes, Commander," Tem'Ma'tel agreed. "Much better to get out for a time. The orchard is nice to lay in when the sun is high, but it is not the same as a forest. The pool is good to swim in, but not the same as this pool. Sometimes I wonder why our people ever left the forests of our home world."

"Males are curious," said M'pel E'kmel lightly. She stepped into the shelter of a large boulder and motioned for Tem'Ma'tel to join her. "And we like males, so we went with them."

"Our male does not seem so curious now," the younger female said, sounding not very pleased. She eased in next to M'pel E'kmel and looked about at their surroundings, noting how this pool's level had risen. "He sits and watches the hunter's camp all through the day. He hardly does anything else."

"He is worried."

"The hunters cannot do anything to us without being observed." Tem'Ma'tel shook her head. "They could not hope to win a fight against us. Why does SarJ'ant worry?"

"He feels he must guard us," the commander said. "He is our Guardian and Defender, after all. It is what he is meant to do."

"He is meant for more than that," the marine argued.

"He works in the plaza and the orchard as much as we do," M'pel E'kmel said, though she knew what Tem'Ma'tel meant. "Has he not attended your desires of late?"

Tem'Ma'tel's tail twitched and her ears lay to the sides in the bashful expression jZav'Etch had instead of blushing. She smiled sheepishly at her commander and then looked away.

"You like him," M'pel E'kmel said with a grin. "Speak to me as a female. Tell me of him."

"I do not know where to begin, Commander."

"For the moment, pretend I am not your commander," M'pel E'kmel insisted and sat upon a stone facing the younger jZav'Etch. "Speak to me of your mate. Tell me what you would tell a friend."

Tem'Ma'tel hesitated but then sat down, leaning forward as if eager to share her secrets.

"He likes the pleasures of the tongue and mouth," she said with a low laugh. "He likes them very, very much. I have never known a male before, only females, but I have heard from my sister and mother that males do not like to give the pleasure of the tongue as females do."

"My mates did not care for it," M'pel E'kmel admitted with a regretful expression. "And I never cared for giving the pleasure of the mouth. Our males... Well, it is not as good for us as it is for them."

"I like SarJ'ant's phallus! It is smooth and very stiff. It slides into my mouth nicely, and feels wonderful on my tongue. His seed tastes good, too. It is salty and creamy. Do our males taste like that?"

"I do not know," M'pel E'kmel told her. "My mates never climaxed in my mouth. I do not think I would have wanted them to do so, anyway. My first mate, TaH 'eTh lon', had five points. They would always jab my tongue or the back of my throat. I did not like that. If he had climaxed in my mouth he would have hurt me."

"Five points?" Tem'Ma'tel asked, impressed. Few jZav'Etch males had more than three points and five was considered extremely virile. The more points on a male's penis, the more likely a female was to bear a child by him.

"He was very well endowed," M'pel E'kmel said. "We had five children, though only four live now."

"Five points? Why did you ever break the union?"

"We got older," M'pel E'kmel twitched her ears. "Time makes you see things differently. He and I did not enjoy our time together as much as we did when our parents arranged our Chaq' Ka' shisk. He was a very good mate. We had our children. He could still have more with other females and I wished to progress in my career."

"He could have taken a Second," Tem'Ma'tel said.

"There were Seconds in my Household."

"Then why break the union?"

M'pel E'kmel smiled and her ears laid out to the sides bashfully.

"He could no longer satisfy me," she admitted. "He was well endowed, but after my third child he was not enough. I had to stimulate myself during our lovemaking. It was good for a time, but not good enough."

"Ah. His points became dull for you," Tem'Ma'tel said in understanding. "My mother has told me of this. My father's points also became dull. She did not break from him, though. He went off to war for two seasons and when he came back she felt his sharpness had returned."

"Time apart can be a very good thing," M'pel E'kmel said, smiling. "But I wish to know more of your time together with your mate."

"You have seen how thick he is," Tem'Ma'tel said with a little, pleased smile. "It was painful at first, but SarJ'ant was gentle and the pain was... a good pain. I do not know how to describe it. It was like the way my muscles feel when I have pushed myself further than usual in an exercise. A good pain like that. I was sore the next day, but it was nice."

"I see," said M'pel E'kmel. Her smile broadened. "And did he get deep enough?"

"Not deep enough to stimulate my womb, but deep enough to satisfy," Tem'Ma'tel admitted with a grin. "It is not important with him. We cannot make babies, after all. Every time we partake of pleasure together it is like the first time. I am sore in a good way afterwards."

"And what does he like to do?"

"He likes to kiss, Commander!" laughed the younger female delightedly and very much out of character for her. "It is a Human nip, like I shared with you on the stream at the old camp. He likes to kiss my lips and he likes to kiss my diamond before he gives me the pleasure of the tongue. And his teeth on my diamond stimulate without hurting! You must try it with him. He would take you if you would offer. I know he would."

"I am not ready to offer," M'pel E'kmel said sedately. "I want to teach him all the things Human females do not know about teasing. The time will come when I have no more to teach him. I am nearly ready for that. I plan to surprise him with something he desires."

"What is this thing?" Tem'Ma'tel asked eagerly, leaning forward as young females will do when exchanging secrets.

M'pel E'kmel bit her lip, tempted to tell all, but it was not right that another should know before Liam saw her surprise. She shook her head, eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Oh, Commander!" Tem'Ma'tel laughed. "Please tell me."

"I will say only that it is something he desired to see," laughed M'pel E'kmel girlishly. It was as if speaking to this young female had returned her to her days of youth. Her heart was suddenly lighter than it had been in years. "I am very pleased you have changed, Tem'Ma'tel."

"Changed?" the marine asked, confused.

"Aboard the ship you were always so serious," M'pel E'kmel told her. "After we crashed here you were even more serious and guarded. These past two weeks I have seen you relax. I think the prospect of a mate and then winning him has changed you for the better."

"Oh," Tem'Ma'tel said, looking introspective for a moment. Her eyes flicked back to her commander and her mouth spread into a smile. "It was something I feared would never happen. Our males were always so stupid. The young ones always showed off, hoping I would offer Chisq' Kah'. The older males were no better. They seemed to think I would offer Chisq' Kah' if they walked by."

"A female in the Marines is a rare thing," the commander said in understanding. "Marines take their pleasure when they can get it. You know better than most females why that is so."

"It is a hard life," Tem'Ma'tel said. "It does not mean that they should expect such things of me, though. I had proven my worth many times. They could not see it."

"Perhaps," the commander said with a smile. "But Sergeant Carter has seen your worth. He respects and desires you. I have seen his eyes when you walk by."

"When I walk by?" Tem'Ma'tel said, her ears pricked forward inquisitively.

"He watches your hips and rump," M'pel E'kmel told her. "And when you wear only your shorts and undershirt to exercise, his eyes linger on your legs. He has told me he likes them. When we spoke of such things one evening at the tree, SarJ'ant told me what he liked about you and Clot'ilda. I think you might underestimate your appeal."

RipperFish
RipperFish
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