บท 42: A Whole New World
~ SASHA ~
Zev talked to the huge Yhet for a few more minutes about people she didn't know and things she didn't understand. All she did understand was that Zev had arrived here expecting something to happen as a consequence of him leaving earlier and not returning. But that what he was learning was worse than he'd thought.
Very few females. Very little offspring. The Chimera in Thana dying out.
She'd never seen his face so haggard. It was as if he'd aged ten years in as many minutes.
But soon, Zev was urging them both to wait while he grabbed their bags from the cave. Sasha stood in the cold morning air next to man so tall she eyeballed his navel, and tried not to be awkward.
Which was when she learned that if Yhet hadn't been so large she would have described him as "adorable."
"Zev's heart sings because you're here, Sasha," the man rumbled as soon as Zev ducked into the cave.
Sasha blinked. "That's… that's good."
"When he returned to us, you were all he could speak of at first. It took him longer to climb the hierarchy because he pined. You hold his hope for love and a family."
Sasha's mind immediately bloomed with images of exactly what it would take to make a family with Zev, and her cheeks heated. Yhet's nostrils flared, and he chuckled. "It won't be long for you two, I think. It is good that you desire him. We need more young."
Sasha wanted to crawl into a hole with embarrassment. "I… that's… I mean—"
"Yhet!" Zev growled from Sasha's other side. She whirled in relief to find him walking out of the cave, the snow crunching under his boots, a bag thrown over each shoulder and his thick biceps curled because he held each one in place. "I told you, humans don't talk about that stuff as freely as we do. You have to wait until you know them closely."
"But she smelled of—"
"Yhet! Remember: Look and listen to humans, smell and touch Chimera."
Yhet's forehead crinkled in frustration. "I am very sorry, Sasha," he said, tipping his head. "I didn't meant to be rude." He looked so abashed, Sasha put a hand to his arm.
"You weren't rude!" she hurried to reassure him, "I just… I mean… I just wouldn't usually talk to another male about… any of that," she said awkwardly, narrowing her eyes at Zev when he grinned and winked at her.
Her heart fluttered at that smile, but she pushed it down. Zev was here. And she was here with him. And the part of her that wasn't screaming with fear was overjoyed. But she wasn't going to pretend the last five years hadn't happened.
He had a lot of explaining to do before she'd be flirting with him on purpose.
"Oh, so the humans speak of these things within their sex? You would speak of it to other females?" Yhet asked brightly.
Sasha was reminded of a child who hadn't yet learned boundaries and looked to Zev for support. But he just grinned and shrugged.
Sasha sighed. "Yes, that's pretty much it," she said. "I would talk about those things to other, uh, females."
"Humans are so strange. What if the other female invited your male to display? What if you lost him because you wouldn't speak of it?"
Sasha blinked. Her mouth opened, but she didn't even have a clue where to start to answer that question.
Invited to display? What did that even mean?
"I would hope…" she said hesitantly, "that I wouldn't lose him so easily, I suppose?"
"Oh, you should never take that for granted. If you approve of a male, always speak of it, Sasha. Then he knows he can display for you, and then—"
"I think we'll save the mating ritual talk for another time, Yhet," Zev said, laughter in his voice. "We've got some bigger fish to fry today."
Yhet shook his head. "There is no bigger fish than the mating pairs, Zev," he said sadly. "You'll see."
Zev's light mood vanished and his dark brows pressed down as he took Sasha's hand. "Well then, I guess we better get to the village and see, huh?" he said softly.
Sasha took his hand and let him lead her down the trail, relieved that the subject had changed, but now reminded of the other questions that had been raised by Yhet's words.
They walked side by side, the two men taking either side of her. Yhet clearly taking awkwardly small steps for his frame to keep his pace to theirs.
"What is it that's going to happen with this Zar person?" she asked Zev. "Why is Yhet worried about it?"
Zev glanced up to catch his friend's eye on her other side and his lips pressed down, deepening the lines on his face.
"Xar took Alpha when I left. It's not uncommon for a new Alpha to throw their weight around to stifle any threats from among the people," Zev said. "Plus, I left without warning. Everyone will want me disciplined."
Yhet flapped one of his huge hands and Sasha felt the air flutter around her face. "I do not wish to see you disciplined, Zev. I know you would not leave as you did without good reason."
Zev smiled faintly. "Thank you, brother, but you'll forgive me if I trust that your response to my absence likely isn't how the others will feel." He turned to Sasha and winked again. "Yhet is a bit of a wanderer himself, so he disappears a lot. He's got a little different perspective on that stuff."
"I never stay away," Yhet grumbled. "It is just hard. I need to stretch my legs."
"All the way to the cave, Yhet?" Zev said pointedly, but without anger.
Sasha knew she was missing something when the massive man's shoulders hunched. "I wasn't going to go through. I was just… checking."
Zev's eyebrows went up like he was skeptical, but he smiled at Sasha. "Yhet is an excellent male," he said earnestly. "One of the best. You can trust him with your life. Just don't trust him with your navigation."
Yhet made a pained noise and Sasha gave Zev a questioning look.
He chuckled. "Yhet here is the reason the humans found Thana. He's the only ancient Chimera that we know of—"
"You know that was an accident!" Yhet hissed and his lower lip pushed out.
"Don't worry, friend," Zev chuckled, "I won't raise it again in front of the others. I just think Sasha will enjoy the story. I'll tell her another time."
"Story?" Sasha asked.
Then Zev turned to meet her eyes, his own sparkling. "Yhet is a Sasquatch," he said, his voice brimming with both awe and humor. "So, just in case you were wondering, they are real."
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