Disclaimer: I own nothing except my characters in the story.
CHAPTER 1:
You Cry, I Cry
It was a little over three months since Iliana had given birth to the first hybrid on board the Ade'k'ra in over hundreds of years. Most residents on board the clan ship were surprised the human woman was able to give birth and survive it, but as usual, they ignored the human dwelling aboard. Iliana had been troubled by it when she was still carrying her child and the residents would stare and sometimes even attack, but Kantra or Aru'Kar had been there to protect her. In one incident, Kantra had even killed a fellow clan mate. According to their clan laws, if a subordinate challenged your life, you had a right to kill them. She had been learning their customs and language for the last year but sometimes, she just felt completely lost.
Those thoughts left her head most of the day once her son had come into the world. Now, she only had worries for her son and mate. It was the early morning on board the ship and Iliana was preparing her breakfast. Residents on board the Ade'k'ra had etas, the servant class of the yautja society, to prepare their meals and deliver them privately into homes or publicly in the mess halls. Iliana preferred to give them some days off so she wouldn't feel guilty or lazy, in which Kantra contradicted since it was his people's way but of course, Iliana chose to ignore him.
Humming to herself, she heard a loud cry resonate from her room and she knew her little one had awoken. The child looked completely like his father in physical appearance and she hoped he'd get something from her whether mentally or emotionally. She really wanted her son to share some of her characteristics. Kantra had even joked that he at least got brown hair from her.
Well, if he looks like you, at least your people won't judge him harshly or believe he's a hybrid at first sight, she had justified. At least he'll be safe.
"Kantra! Would you check on Kahet?" she called out.
Kantra had been studying and training nonstop since his trip ended on Earth and after a year, Iliana was surprised he wasn't a stressed out college student. She was proud of his determination but he still had a long way to go. He had begun working under Arbitrator Sau-Trul in Malkor's old position and the arbiter wasn't making his assignments easy. On his days off, Kantra slept late and spent time with his family which he rarely saw most of the week during early hours.
"Kantra! The baby!" she called out again.
Lately, the baby had been crying and salivating more than usual. From what Bai'Kar had informed her, little Kahet would soon start teething. A few days ago, she'd seen the white tip of his soon-to-be sharp tooth. She felt bad for him going through that pain but she'd share it once she breastfed him.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she still heard her son crying in their room. Why hadn't Kantra picked him up yet? Leaving the plates she'd fixed on the table, she walked back barefooted into her large bedroom. Looking in, she saw Kantra wrapped up in their heavy gray pelt while white blankets lay crumpled around the bed. Her usually attractive mate was sprawled facedown on the bed with his mandibles wide open and black dreads hiding most of his head.
"I know you're awake" she snapped and kicked the foot of the bed. "Your hearing is more acute than mine and I heard the baby outside!"
"It's early and I'm tired" Kantra responded groggily.
"So, you're letting him cry his lungs out?" she asked, annoyed. "You could've put him in bed with you until he fell asleep again!"
"And if I fell asleep? I'd flatten our only child!" he shot back and hid under the pelt more.
"He's teething, Kantra" she pointed out. "He's in pain and all you can think of is to sleep?!"
Growling in her human way, Iliana walked over to her son's crib to see his green eyes in tears while waving his arms for attention and crumpling his sheets with his feet. Wrapping him up in a blanket since he only wore his usual cloth diaper due to the heat, she picked him up. She hummed to soothe him and stroked his head softly until his cries became quiet sobs.
"Could you take him outside? I'm exhausted" Kantra complained. "Sau-Trul made me do 5 reports on a 250 year old law yesterday. 250 years, Iliana! Not even my own father's that old!"
"Well, your son needs you and you complain?" she asked, furious. "He's our baby, Kantra!"
"In my society, women care for the children 100 of the time" he pointed out and poked his head out from underneath the covers. "Males interact once they reach adolescence to prepare them to hunt."
"Well, in my society, both parties usually take part" she said, firmly.
"Could we argue later? I really am tired" Kantra growled.
"Fine" she said, grimly. "I will be taking care of my son while you sleep."
Yanking one of the blankets off the bed angrily, Iliana left with her whimpering son to go out into the living room. Kantra hissed to himself for getting his mate upset over their son. It's not like he didn't want to take care of the suckling, he was just so exhausted from his new profession. Elder Lar'Ain was not joking when he said he needed to gain the knowledge of males twice his age. Sighing once again, he heard his son crying outside and tried to get some sleep.
"I have to make it up to her or she'll be furious for a week" he mumbled.
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Iliana placed a dab of soothing medicine on Kahet's gums while his mandibles tickled her wrist. Smiling, she kissed his forehead and waited for it to take effect. A minute later, she held a cooing baby while lying inside a hammock to relax with him. Watching the window to her left that showed the vast openness of space, she wished to see the Earth's blue sky but knew that would only be a fantasy in her dreams.
I miss it every time I'm angry, she thought. Dumb Kantra. If he wasn't lazy today, I wouldn't be thinking about it.
"It'll pass" she soothed her babbling child. He kept moving his mandibles and tried to mimic a sound but no such luck. "It'll be a bit before you can purr like your father, which I am very angry at, I might add."
"Didn't even want to hold his baby" she scoffed and tickled her son's chest. He just gave her a blank look. "One day you'll complain like your dad too. Probably about a weapon or girl trouble."
The baby yawned and she placed his head against her neck so he'd fall asleep faster. Soothing his back, he breathed softly while grasping her nightgown in his small hands. She hummed to him until he fell asleep again and hoped he'd sleep longer this time.
Parenthood is not easy, she thought. But someone has to do it.
"Too bad I can't kick Kantra's butt here without getting in trouble" she snorted. "Man, those were fun times on Earth."
Going back to her early memories when she met Kantra, she fell asleep with a contended smile on her face.
A while later, Kantra walked out of his room after a quick shower and donned a simple loincloth and sandals. He purred in delight at being able to sleep in today and not see Arbitrator Sau-Trul in the Arbitrator sector of the ship. Walking into the main room, he spotted Iliana and Kahet in a red hammock next to their large window. He walked over to them and expected a long tongue lashing but found his mate asleep instead.
"Thank you" Kantra prayed to his gods. "She's asleep. You came through for me."
Seeing his suckling asleep, he bent down and picked him up gently to hold him in his arms. Kahet simply let out a small huff of air and adjusted himself in his father's arms to keep sleeping. Kantra smiled and took his son towards their bedroom.
"We'll let your mother sleep a little more before she attacks me" he whispered to him. "No matter how much we fight, you're our main priority. Everything I do is for both of you."
Kantra reached the crib and gently placed Kahet within it. Wrapping another blanket over him to make sure he wouldn't be cold, he ran his fingertip over his son's hand.
"I don't mean to be cranky, it's just me in the morning" he admitted softly. "You mean everything to me, my little one. I will never let you down and I will always protect you with my life."
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Iliana woke up an hour or so later and gasped at realizing she'd fallen asleep with her baby. Her first thought was similar to Kantra's 'what if I crushed him?' and looked inside the hammock instantly at not feeling or seeing Kahet's body against hers.
"Where's my baby?" she whispered in fright. Thinking her child might be in danger, her senses went wild and she shouted out, "Kantra!"
She jumped out of the hammock and searched for the green ex-hunter until she spotted him in the dining room. Running to him frantically, she grabbed his attention by digging her fingers into his forearm in a vice grip. Kantra, surprised by the new sensation, turned and was surprised to find a disheveled woman instead of expecting an angry one.
"Kantra, I can't find Kahet! I had him when I went to sleep and now-" she stumbled from panic. Kantra soothed her shoulders with his hands instantly which made her surprised. "Are you not worried?!"
"He's safe, I put him in his crib so you could sleep" he said, embracing her tightly. Her hyperventilated breaths became more quiet until she relaxed. "I'd never let anyone place a hand on our son, I'd rip them in half before they came within a meter of him."
Oh, thank god, she thought in relief. If something happened, I'd go insane.
"I was so worried, I thought someone had taken him" she said, feeling upset and near tears. "I don't ever want to feel that way again."
"When I'm here, you have no need to fear" Kantra said, softly. "Our son is fine so relax, Ana. I don't want you upset over this."
"I know, but still-" she hesitated and wiped her watery eyes. "I don't want anything to ever happen to him. He's small and vulnerable in this world."
"Nothing will while we're here" he purred and caressed her cheek with the palm of his hand. "Don't cry, Iliana."
She hugged him again and breathed in his rainy forest scent that always made her relax. He soothed her back like he did with his son earlier and luckily, it worked.
"Do you think I'll get this parenting thing?" she asked, timidly. "We had our baby so quick, Kantra. Maybe we should've waited-"
"You are a wonderful mother, I could ask for no one better" he said, purring into her neck. "If at all, I'm the worst parent out of both of us. I can't even bottle feed Kahet without him crying and don't even get me started on the baths."
"Kantra" she said, holding back a chuckle.
"I can't even put medicine on right, I accidentally poked his poor gums two days ago" he said, exasperated. "And the diapers, I can't even look at them!"
"I get it, okay?!" she asked, her mood lightening again. "But I'm proud of you for trying."
Kantra felt pleased until, "If you think this lets you off about today, you're wrong. You weren't even two feet from him and you left him to cry."
"I thought you'd get him, you always do!" he sighed in complaint. She let go of him and placed her hands on her hips. "Iliana, you know how exhausting it is for me lately. Please try to understand what I go through."
She nodded in understanding and wrapped her arms around him again. She knew his path would not be easy but she had to support him, even if it meant doing most of the things at home. She just hated why they didn't give him an easy assignment once in a while but it was his culture, not hers.
"I know and I try to" she said, kissing the side of his neck. "You work hard and you need your rest but our baby also needs attention right now. You know I only ask for your help when I really need it."
"Right now, it's quiet and we don't have to worry" he said, enjoying her caresses. "Except for the food. It's cold but we can reheat it."
"You're lucky I don't give you a cold meal after what you did" she scolded him. He hissed. "Don't make me kick you between the legs like I used to."
"Do I have to get on my knees and beg? I'm not Eliok" he grinned. She glared. He gulped, "But I will for you, my dear. . .rose?"
"You suck at romance" she snickered. "A rose, Kantra? Really now."
"Yautjas are not romantic, we're fierce hunters" he pointed out. "I don't even know what a rose is! I remember it from some shit on your ooman television back on Earth."
"There's my loudmouth crank of a mate" Iliana said, happily. He growled in return but nodded. "I've missed having you to myself."
She trailed her fingertips down his chest teasingly while kissing his warm neck eagerly. Purring in content, he lifted her up and placed her on the table in which she yanked his dreads to bring his face down. Kissing his lower mandibles, he opened them and kissed her fully. Exploring her mouth with his tongue, his fingers reached for the straps on her gown so he could get her out of it. Usually, he ripped it off but after three nightgowns, she had denied him until he stopped tearing them and learned how to take them off properly.
"You make me do crazy things, you know that?" he asked, biting her neck softly.
"So do you, maybe that's why I'm the only one who understands you" she laughed while feeling his tongue make circles on her neck. "Imagine how our Kahet will be."
"As long as he doesn't blow up a planet, we'll be all right" Kantra chuckled and cupped her face in his hands. "If I knew I'd end up with a human, back then, I would've shot whoever told me that."
"I called you a stalker when you kept coming to my apartment" she giggled at the memory. Kissing his neck, she whispered, "You wanted to kill me so badly, didn't you?"
"I'm glad I didn't" he purred into her neck. "I don't know where I'd be without you but it wouldn't be here."
Her lips trailed down from his neck to his chest while her fingers traced the muscle lines on his abdomen. Growling softly, he gripped her gown and accidentally pulled one of the straps right off of it. Opening his eyes, he tried to hide it by squeezing her shoulder affectionately instead. She instantly grabbed his hand away and looked at her torn gown.
"It's not going to be a good day, is it?" he sighed and got ready for an ear full.
"Who the heck cares? I haven't been with you since my last trimester" she said, throwing her arms around him. "I'm fully well and ready to go so you're getting in a bed and I don't care how tired you are today."
"Whatever you say" he purred happily.
"Wahhhhhhh!" a voice cried out.
Oh no, Kantra thought. Not now. Please, not now!
"He's crying" Iliana said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Duty calls."
"No, we were so close" Kantra whined into her neck. "Maybe he'll go back to sleep."
"Not with his tooth coming out" she sighed and pried herself away from him. "Let's go. Maybe we can try next week."
"Next week?!" Kantra cried out in despair. "Why must the gods conspire against me?!"
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"I am going insane!" Kantra complained at a visit to his brother's home. "We were close, so close! I almost felt like crying, and we literally don't cry!
"Why don't you just let mother watch over him?" Aru'Kar suggested. "She's in a happy grandmother zone right now."
"Iliana would still worry" he sighed in defeat. "Mothers have this weird rule that they must never let their children go one second from their sight."
"It's called safety" his brother laughed at him. "I still say you should ask. You might get some relaxation time. You're nothing but an assistant to Sau-Trul and a father lately."
"Tell me about it" Kantra said, taking a drink from his cup. "I swear that man takes it out on me every time he has a fight with Sali'ah!"
"You're crazy" Aru'Kar snorted and kicked his brother's leg.
"No, I'm not!" he shot back. "Last year, you didn't believe me when I saw them together so who's crazy now? You are, you big overgrown-"
Aru'Kar grabbed him into a headlock while Kantra struggled to get him off. Slamming his foot down on top of his, he bit his brother's arm until he let go. Aru'Kar smacked him over the head in which Kantra punched him in the stomach.
"What're you? Kila and Nak-De combined?" Aru'Kar growled.
"Wahhhhhhhhhh!"
"He's crying again! He's a ticking time bomb!" Kantra wailed and got on his knees. "I hope Iliana enjoys this alone time."
"Stop being a child and console yours" his brother ordered. Then sighed to himself, "Never get a ooman pregnant. I may end up in the same situation and commit suicide."
"I can hear you, you idiot" Kantra complained and picked up his son from the weird contraption called a 'stroller' that Eliok had swiped for them. "Oomans have the oddest child beds."
Pulling out a bag from the side, he poured out the contents while his son cried next to his ear until he found the medicine for Kahet's gums.
"If Father saw you carrying a female bag, he'd murder you" Aru'Kar mocked him.
"And I'll murder you if you tell him" he shot back. Then held out the baby, "Now hold him while I fix his medicine."
"Do I look like a female? No, I am a Hunter" Aru'Kar objected. "I know nothing of children except how they're made and where they come from."
"Hold him or I'll rip out your arm!" Kantra roared.
"Fine, when you put it that way" his brother snorted and grabbed the screaming child.
He grabbed the child awkwardly into one arm while moving his head to the side to avoid the loud sobs. He decided to poke him gently to see if it'd make him happier.
"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"You made him even louder!" Kantra yelled while fiddling with the medicine. "Stop poking my son like he's a piece of meat! If he wasn't in your arms, I'd kill you! Purr to him!"
"Are you crazy? I'm not purring unless it's a grown female!" he objected but at seeing his brother's death glare, he sighed, "If you tell anyone-"
"Now, Aru'Kar!"
Growling, Aru'Kar sucked in his manly pride and purred roughly to the child. Kahet was instantly frightened and kept crying. Taking it down a notch, the child showed no different results. After a minute of purring, Aru'Kar wanted to kill himself while Kahet looked to his father for heavenly salvation.
Getting up, Kantra took his weeping son back instantly and rubbed the medicine onto his gums once he opened his mouth. Purring to him gently, Kahet cooed in content and Kantra rocked him while the medicine worked. The child then became excited and began sucking and gnawing on one of his father's dreads.
"How did you get him to do that?!" his brother asked, amazed. "I thought he'd actually explode for a second."
"A lot of training in fatherhood" Kantra sighed and tickled his son's foot. "I guess I'm not so bad after all."
"You were louder than he was at that age" Aru'Kar scoffed. His brother glared. "I had to move into the main room to get away from your noise. I was one sad twelve year old with a lot of insomnia."
"I hope you have whinier kids" Kantra cursed him.
"After this, I don't think I want any despite what the clan says" he shuddered. "Augh, the crying!"
"You only held him for a minute!" Kantra pointed out.
"It was more than enough!" he shot back angrily.
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"You owe me a lot of lovemaking after the day I had" Kantra demanded after the door opened to let him into his home. After not seeing his mate there, he called, "Iliana! I'm complaining so come listen to me!
He sighed and walked into his main room which contained tables, chairs, and seats for his family and other visitors. Despite the similar silver walls in every room on board the Ade'k'ra, Bai'Kar and Iliana had decorated it to contrast with other color decorations. It was oddly strange how they made their home look like a cross between an 18th century American home and a simple retro room. He also disliked the scent of flowers but if it pleased his mate, he wouldn't argue. He untied his babbling son who had a chew toy in his mouth from his confinement and held him in one arm.
Walking through the hallways of his home, he found her listening to music from a small box on their bed while happily reading a book. Eliok had found her the odd contraption on his many travels and since she loved music, she threatened to kill him if he didn't hand it over. Yautjas rarely listened to music but humans, on the other hand, loved it so she tried to hear as much intergalactic music as she could. . .even if she didn't understand what they were singing half the time.
"And how are my two special guys?" she asked, looking up from her book. Kantra walked over to their bed and sat down.
"Are you sure we don't have a defective child?" he asked, calmly. "Because he is a non-stop crier! I do everything you do and he still cries!"
"There's nothing wrong with him, you big baby" Iliana said, punching his arm. Grabbing the gurgling child from him, she took his toy and popped out a pacifier from under her pillow and placed it in his mouth. Kahet happily sucked at it and cooed to his mother. "He probably just loves me more than you."
"That isn't making me feel better!" he said, quickly. Then relaxed, "I want to be a good father."
"And you are, this will pass, okay?" she said, soothing the place she'd hit him at before. "Once the tooth comes out, he'll be happy again."
"Males in my society would be driven insane by it" he sighed and collapsed onto their bed. "My own brother wants to remain celibate now."
"Yeah right, he'll be humping a female by tomorrow afternoon" Iliana laughed out loud.
"At least he's getting some" Kantra whined. Iliana kicked his side with the heel of her foot. "Ow!"
"You're more of baby than Kahet!" she said, laying the baby down on the bed on his back. "You will not turn my baby to whiney when he gets older."
"I am not childish!" he hissed in protest. Then smirked, "That would mean you are attracted to childish males."
"Maybe I am, I never thought I'd be attracted to an alien but here we are a year and a half later" she stated in fact. He sulked and draped his arm over his eyes. "We're just crazy that way."
"Crazy is not a good word in both our societies" he said, firmly. "Our relationship is more. . .eccentric."
Placing herself in between Kantra and the baby on the bed, she kissed her mate's cheek and went back to coddling the baby with attention. Rumbling his chest in annoyance that he lost her attention, he poked her back with his claws.
"Hey, those are sharp!" she cried and swiped at his hand with hers. "Kantra!"
After a few more seconds of torture, he stopped and turned to his side so he could embrace her. While wrapping an arm around her waist, she kicked his foot with hers.
"That's not funny" she said, faking her anger and kissing her baby's forehead.
"I thought it was" he purred and nipped at the back of her neck softly. "You drive me insane, Ana."
I wish we could mate but she does not let the baby out of her sight, he thought.
He bit her neck firmly causing her back to arch against his frame in pain and pleasure. Grazing her shoulder with his mandibles, he purred into her neck and flicked his tongue behind her ear.
"Kantra, the baby is right here with us" she said, resisting him. "I will not traumatize him."
"He's three months!" Kantra whined. "Even I don't remember being that age. I need to be with you, Ana. It's been 6 months!"
Sighing, she grabbed Kahet and headed outside. Seeing her shut the door, Kantra cursed himself again at ruining the moment. He pretty much guessed that Iliana's side of the bed would be cold tonight so he just lay on his back and growled. His life had changed a lot with his first child but he couldn't complain, Iliana had most of the responsibility and he had his.
Sometimes I do wish it still were just the two of us alone, like we were on Earth, he thought in remembrance.
"I miss those days" he sighed, feeling depressed.
He heard the door open minutes later and Iliana walked in by herself. Taking off her sandals, she got onto the bed and poked Kantra between the eyes.
"How long will this argument last before I'm in the wrong?" he sighed in defeat.
"I took some of Sali'ah's advice and let your mother watch him for a few hours" she grinned and leaned down to kiss his neck eagerly. "I've missed being alone with you, and we're always so busy now so we need this small rest."
"You won't be resting if I have my way" he purred and pinned her body against his.
"Good, I don't plan to" she smirked and grabbed his loincloth. "Now, off with this!"
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End of Chapter 1. Here's the mini interlude before the sequel and basically deals with Iliana adjusting to her role in yautja society and mothering along with Kantra's complaining of how things should be. Also, I've posted the sketches of Kantra, Iliana, and Eliok in my profile so check it out! As usual, this story is made out for the fans.