As Addy stepped over the threshold into what looked like a kitchen, the sounds of discussion ceased. Addy's heart thundered in her ears, so she took a deep, conscious breath to calm her nerves.
"Hi," she said, waving anxiously to the room full of people. There was another beat of awkward silence before it was broken suddenly.
"Hi, there, honey! It's so great to finally meet you!" A pleasantly plump, dark skinned woman with a heavy southern accent came around the island in the middle of the room. She swiftly enveloped Addy in a crushing embrace. "Aren't you just a doll!"
"Thank you?" Addy choked out between her teeth. She was ridiculously strong. The woman suddenly pulled back and grabbed both her cheeks, cooing excitedly at her.
"Oh, you are adorable!"
Addy's eyes went wide with surprise.
"Ingrid."
The darkest yautja Addy had ever seen shifted forward with a grunt, gaining the attention of the woman holding Addy's face.
She clicked her tongue and stepped back, placing her hands on her hips, "It's fine, Aqida."
A rumbling sound emanated from his chest, and Addy was struck by his interesting, charcoal-grey hide, striated with silver-blue inflections.
Ingrid rolled her brown eyes and blew a stray curl of hair out of her face, then turned back to Addy.
"I'm Ingrid, that big bear is Aqida. He doesn't talk much," Ingrid hiked a thumb over her shoulder at the grey yautja that was studying Addy with sharp, yellow eyes.
It was then that Addy really took in the room. Beside Aqida stood another, somehow darker, yautja. His hide was nearly pitch black. Standing just a bit aside from him was a third yautja, with deep hunter green skin. He was tall, taller than the others, but it was incredibly noticeable that each one of them, including Makuba, shared a cream-coloured belly.
Sitting around the island were two more women. Ingrid shuffled backwards and slapped the closest one on the shoulder.
"This is Charlotte, she goes by Charlie," she introduced.
Charlie was a drop-dead beautiful woman with curves in all the right places. Her skin was a rich bronze tone, and her dark hair was shaved close to her head on both sides, the top part collected into a tidy braid that fell down her back. Studded earrings decorated the shell of both her ears, some glimmered more brightly than others.
Charlie jumped off the stool and walked up to Addy with her hand outstretched, "Hi! Welcome to the family."
Addy smiled easily and shook Charlie's hand. She had a firm grip.
"Thanks, it's nice to meet you."
"And this is Andrea, but don't call her that or she'll smack ya! Call her Andi with an 'i'," Ingrid shoved the alabaster skinned, red-head out of her stool towards Addy.
Andi was also gorgeous, with bright grey eyes and a dusting of freckles over her skin. Her hair was in a loose bun at the base of her neck. She looked tough, like she could deal out a vicious beating, and take one, too.
Addy felt rather inadequate standing next to the three of them.
"Hi," Andi shook her hand quickly, then moved back to her seat.
Ingrid clicked her tongue at the red-head and whipped her with the tea towel that had been flung over her shoulder.
"What?!" Andi growled, "I'm hungry!"
"You'll eat when I tell you to! Don't be rude," Ingrid huffed.
Charlie chuckled next to Addy.
She looked to Charlie and found that the brown-eyed beauty was definitely a couple inches taller than her.
"Are they always like this?" Addy asked, glancing back at Ingrid and Andi as they squabbled like kids.
Charlie smiled fondly, "Yes. Andi seems cold now, but once you get to know her, she's a big teddy bear. And Ingrid is always like this, bright and bubbly."
Addy smiled softly and said quietly, "They remind me of my siblings."
"Yeah? I never had siblings," Charlie said, "but I spent a lot of time with my cousins. We were pretty tight."
"I didn't see my cousins much outside of family holidays," Addy confessed with a shrug.
Makuba moved out from behind her to go stand with his brothers, on his way by gently brushing his arm against hers.
She gave him a shy smile.
"She's pretty," Tensynn chuffed, clasping Makuba on the shoulder.
Makuba shook out his mane with a low growl, "Don't be getting any ideas, brother."
Tensynn laughed aloud, "Oh, settle down."
Kateyus chuckled quietly. Makuba rolled his eyes.
Aqida eyed Makuba for a moment, then crossed his arms, "You haven't mated with her yet, have you?"
Kateyus and Tensynn perked up, interest peaked.
"Really?" Tensynn asked incredulously.
"Had any of you before you brought them home?" Makuba scoffed.
In fact, Makuba knew that his brothers hadn't mated with any of their women until Dachande had approved of them. She had never told them that they could not, rather all her sons desired her acceptance of their chosen humans. The future of their species depended on the human women with whom they chose to procreate, and the brothers wanted the opinion of a seasoned yautja female.
Aqida did not acknowledge Makuba's question, instead he cocked his brow and quirked his mandibles humorously, "Perhaps you should, might help you unwind."
Makuba scowled and bared his teeth, feeling his body tense.
Kateyus and Tensynn laughed, vocalizing their agreement with Aqida.
"So, tell us, Addy, what did you do for work?" Charlie asked after taking a drink of water and clearing her dishes to the sink.
The women had all nearly finished eating breakfast, having scarfed it down in silence. Addy ate much slower, not nearly as hungry as the other three. The food was delicious, she had no qualms with it. Her appetite was simply not very big having not slept well and still battling her nerves.
"Working nights, putting myself through school," Addy supplied, taking the last bite of her savoury potatoes.
"That's kinda cool, I bet you saw a lot of interesting things!" Ingrid chirped, getting up to start cleaning dishes.
"Meh, nights are usually slow. What did you all do?" Addy asked, forcing down the last of her meal.
"Oh, I was in school to become a chef!" Ingrid grinned. "I actually had just graduated before Aqida brought me here."
Addy found herself perking up with interest, "That's cool! Do you have a favourite type of cuisine?"
Ingrid hummed for a moment, "Well, I'm quite biased, so I love southern food, but I also found Asian cuisine really fun, too!"
"Any particular part of Asia?" Addy asked.
"Nope! I like it all! What about you? Do you have a favourite food?"
Addy thought about it for a couple seconds, then said, "Honestly? I love most food. My favourite kinda depends on the day."
"I get that," Charlie piped up, clearing Addy's plate for her. She gave her thanks, and Charlie nodded with a smile. "But I think my favourite food of all time is peanut butter toast. One of my cousins had a severe nut allergy, so I didn't get it often."
"I like peanut butter," Addy agreed. She turned her head to look at Andi sitting a seat away from her. "What about you, Andi?"
The redhead said nothing for a short bit, and Addy wasn't sure she would respond.
Then: "Butter chicken with garlic naan."
Addy smiled, "That's a good meal."
"Oh, butter chicken!" Charlie groaned and licked her lips. "We haven't made that in forever!"
"Well, I'll put it on the list!" Ingrid proclaimed, waving a soapy fork in the air.
"List? What list?" Addy furrowed her brow.
"Ingrid has a 'special requests' list that we can put food on that we want, and she does her best to make it happen," Charlie explained, grabbing a towel from a drawer to start drying dishes.
Addy saw it and asked, "Do you guys need some help?"
"Nah, nobody does the dishes on their first day aboard the Enterprise!" Ingrid wagged her eyebrows at Addy.
Addy laughed lightly, "The Enterprise?"
"That's pretty much what this ship is," Andi grumbled through a mouthful of coffee, looking at what appeared to be a tablet on the countertop.
Before any of the other girls could explain further, Dachande entered the room. The four males stood at attention immediately and respectfully bowed their heads to her. She rumbled lightly at them in greeting, then passed by them to collect the plate that had been dished up and set aside for her.
Addy was just as star struck by her in that moment as she had been when she met the female yesterday. Dachande was dressed similarly, but Addy finally noticed that she, too, had a cream-coloured belly.
Interesting.
Dachande also noticeably towered over all of her sons.
"This vessel, translated to your language, is called the Black Bear. Our duty is to navigate, map, and explore uncharted territories," Dachande intoned. "However, despite our physical distance, we are still called upon to partake in clan duties occasionally."
"Clan duties?" Addy questioned, then immediately regretted speaking. Everyone's attention was drawn to her, and she felt her heart leap into her throat. She could only hope that the anxiety she felt in their presence would fade quickly as she spent more time with them.
Dachande tilted her head slightly and clicked her tusks together, "We have been called to join in the hunt of a kiande amedha queen. Such a task is challenging and requires the clan's most skilled warriors. We will aid in this hunt before resuming our exploration duties."
Addy nodded slowly, chalking up the courage to ask another question.
"Have you hunted a queen before?"
"Yes, many."
Dachande moved to continue her way out of the kitchen.
"Hey, Mama Bear!" Ingrid called, "Tell me what you think of the eggs! I tried a new spice!"
Dachande purred lightly and flexed her mandibles in a smile at the bubbly woman, "I will."
Ingrid grinned and turned to finish up the dishes.
As Dachande headed down the hall she hollered something back at the other yautja in their language.
Andi pursed her lips, "What did she say?"
"She has called us to training today," Kateyus rumbled.
"Right away?" Andi frowned, collecting her tablet off the countertop.
Kateyus shook his head, "This afternoon."
Addy picked at her fingernails nervously, unsure of what to do with herself.
"C'mon, I want to talk with you," Andi mumbled, grabbed Kateyus by his belt and pulled him from the room.
Addy watched them go with a frown, then she noticed that Charlie and Ingrid looked a little somber. She wanted to ask about it, but didn't feel like pushing that line just yet. She let it drop, and instead stood from her stool and clapped her hands together.
"So, what's a girl to do around here?" She looked at Charlie and Ingrid curiously, rocking onto her toes.
Before either woman could answer, Makuba stepped up to her. "I would like to show you something."
She looked at him curiously, "What do you want to show me?"
"It is a surprise, come with me," he chittered excitedly and grabbed her by the wrist, ushering her out of the kitchen with him.
"We'll see you later, Addy!" Charlie called as Addy and Makuba left, then turned to Ingrid.
The southern belle dried her hands on the towel on her shoulder, then put her hands on her hips.
"I like her!" She grinned brightly.
Charlie smiled as well, "Me, too. I think she'll be a good fit around here."
Addy followed Makuba closely, curious about what he had to show her. The route they took was unfamiliar to her, as she had really only seen their quarters and the kitchen. The corridors looked quite similar, so she figured she would need to take care getting to know her way around. It would be easy to become lost until she knew her way around.
Makuba; stepped up to a closed door. She watched him tap something on his wrist gauntlet, then the door swished open without sound.
He turned around and waved for her to go inside.
"What is it? Where are we?" Addy asked, stepping cautiously into the room.
It was relatively spacious, and very tidy. Directly ahead of her was some kind of chair and a control board, and in front of that was another wide, spanning window.
"Is this the cockpit?" She guessed, stepping around the large chair.
Makuba purred soundly, "Sei'i." He moved around the other side of the chair, and jumped up to sit in it. It groaned quietly as his weight settled. He then gestured for her to move closer to him, "Come."
"Okay…" She narrowed her eyes as she stepped towards him, "What is it?"
He grabbed her quickly and pulled her onto his lap. She yelped in surprise and grabbed hold of the arm rests with a vice grip, body tensed.
I'm going to hurt him, whispered her insecurities. She tried holding herself up, so most of her weight was off his lap.
His purr deepened and he reached around her to work with the controls. She watched with wonder as the view of the stars in the window changed. Makuba was turning the ship.
"I want to show you all the planets in your solar system, but Dachande would only allow me one detour before the hunt," Makuba explained as the rings of Saturn came into view.
Addy's jaw dropped with a gasp, "Oh, my goodness."
Makuba nuzzled his face into the back of her neck, and gingerly settled his hands on her plump hips. "You told me once that Saturn is your favourite planet."
Tears gathered in her eyes. She tried to find the words for how she was feeling, but felt speechless. Saturn was beautiful, and she was thrilled beyond belief that she was seeing it with her own eyes.
"Makuba…" She whispered, relaxing her grip on the arm rests. His claws flexed on her hips as she truly settled onto his thighs.
Makuba closed his eyes, feeling content enveloped in Addy's scent and the warmth of her body against his own. He felt her muscles relaxing, and he could smell her anxiety fading away.
"It's beautiful," she whispered, blinking away the moisture in her eyes.
He rubbed his brow against the back of her neck, beneath her hair that she had pinned up in a messy bun, "As are you."
Her face flushed, and her senses snapped back inside the cockpit. She was suddenly aware again of how warm his skin felt beneath her, and how hot his hands felt on her hips.
And his breath on her neck. It sent shivers down her spine.
She resorted to sarcasm as she usually did to protect herself. "Aren't you a sweet talker," she chuckled.
He hummed quietly.
"I suppose we can't stay here for long, can we?"
She felt him shake his head against her neck, and her body began to tense up again.
"No, but there are many more planets I want to show you."
"Uranus?" She laughed.
"Do not tempt me," he purred.
She almost regretted explaining the joke to him, but she found when he understood English metaphors and euphemisms their conversations were so much richer.