Chapter 5: Two Tales
As soon as the sun rose, Savannah got dressed into a pair of black denim shorts and a blue one piece bathing suit. She was actually hoping to get some coloring while she worked outside.
"Come on, Sebastian. Time to work" Savannah cheerfully stated as she tied her shoes and then walked out the door, Sebastian followed closely behind her.
She walked out to the barn, which was located next to the house and opened up the two large sliding doors. Inside, was a large tractor that had a plow on the back end and a bucket on the front end. It was about two years old and still looked brand new because, she very rarely used it. She could actually count on one hand the amount of times she had used the tractor.
"Come on boy" Savannah stated as she climbed up onto the tractor and then patted the seat next to her. Sebastian immediately jumped up and sat down beside her. She started up the tractor and began to plow the five acres of field. Overgrown field would be more like it.
It took most of the morning to get the field plowed and Savannah was getting ready to change the plow out for the field rake when she heard Sebastian start to growl in the direction of the house. Placing a hand on her forehead, shielding the noon-time sun out of her eyes, and looking in the direction of the house. She gasped when she saw Kai sitting on the roof.
"Good afternoon, little fox" Kai pleasingly stated as he jumped down from the roof and onto the ground, only to be greeted by a massive black feline with its fangs bared.
"Sebastian, behave. Kai's a guest" Savannah reprimanded and Sebastian turned his head on the direction of his mistress's voice.
"Meow" was all he said.
"Come here, Sebastian. Don't worry, Kai, he won't hurt you" Savannah reassured and watched as Kai somewhat relaxed but, never took his eyes off of the big cat.
"What is that?" Kai questioned as he watched the black cat saunter over to Savannah and then sat down on its haunches, right beside her. Kai had to laugh at the cat's behavior and over-protectiveness towards Savannah.
"Sebastian is a black leopard. He's very rare and special" she stated as she placed a hand on top of Sebastian's head and scratched his ear.
"Oh, it's a man-eating fur ball with legs" Kai chuckled as he maintained his distance.
"Oh no! Sebastian doesn't eat raw meat at all. He likes it cooked to the point of being well done but not burnt. Except for the occasional frog and small rodent that he catches. Plus, he also loves pancakes and syrup" Savannah laughed as she sensed Kai's nervousness about being near a creature that was about as big as him.
"Cooked meat and pancakes?" Kai questioned as he hesitantly took a few steps toward Savannah and was surprised when the cat didn't make a move to stop him.
"Well trained fur ball" Kai commented when he finally crossed the fifteen feet of distance between himself and Savannah.
"He's not a fur ball" Savannah smiled as soon as Kai was within three feet of her.
"Meow" Sebastian stated as he lay down next to Savannah's feet.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly say he's hairless" Kai chuckled as he looked down at Sebastian, who seemed to be oblivious to everything around him.
"You do have a point there. Are you hungry? I was just getting ready to make lunch when you showed up. Care to join us?" Savannah asked as she started to walk towards the house, Sebastian following closely behind.
"Yes, lunch would be wonderful" Kai stated as he trailed behind Savannah and her "man-eating fur ball" but, maintained his distance. He didn't trust that feline as far as he could throw it.
"How about some tuna fish sandwiches and egg salad?" Savannah asked as she walked into the house and immediately poured Sebastian a quart of milk into his bowl, which he greedily drank up.
"Come on in and have a seat" Savannah cheerfully stated as she watched Kai duck his head to come through the door.
"How much does he eat?" Kai asked when he saw two huge bowls on the floor. One of which was for drinking out of and the other had to be for food.
"Well, he eats about five pounds of normal food a day plus about a gallon of milk. That does not include anything that he catches outside and when he drinks from the stream on the property" Savannah laughed as she pulled out a large steak for Sebastian, and three cans of tuna fish. She also pulled out a dozen eggs and placed them into a pot of water to boil on the stove.
"Okay, strange oversized fur ball" Kai stated as he wandered into the living room with Sebastian following closely behind him, purring the whole time.
As he entered the living room, he saw many pictures hanging on the wall. He also saw several pf his good friend Alex and his forever mate/wife Carrie. So, Savannah is his granddaughter. This makes her Melissa's great granddaughter. Melissa's going to love that and so isn't Varick. Kai thought to himself as he looked at each of the pictures and then looked down at Sebastian, who was looking up at him from a sitting position. Sebastian had his head cocked to one side and stared at Kai, as though he was trying to figure out who and what Kai was.
Kai held out his hand to Sebastian and allowed the large feline to smell him. To Kai's amazement, Sebastian eagerly moved his head into Kai's hand, begging to be scratched. Kai accepted the idea of petting Sebastian and rubbed the big cat's head, which Kai received a very long and very loud purr for.
"Lunch is ready" Savannah stated as she walked into the living room and saw Sebastian and Kai becoming fast friends.
She smiled to herself as she thought about the many times she brought a guy home to meet Sebastian and they ran from her large cat. The way she looked at was love her and love her cat. They were not going to be separated for any man.
"Okay, we're coming" Kai stated as he pulled the two hoses that led into his mask and was getting ready to pull it off when he saw Savannah look at him, cautiously.
"Please, do not scream. My looks are not human but, I will not harm you" Kai calmly stated and watched as Savannah nodded her head.
He pulled of his mask and she gasped, softly. He knew that he was not human and that his looks frightened many humans, including this one. But, her fear didn't last long before she regained her composure and walked back into the kitchen, insisting he follow her, which he didn't have a problem with.
They ate in silence, except for Sebastian. Kai stood on one side of the kitchen and Savannah stood on the other side. They were both waiting for the other one to break the silence and nervous tension that hummed between them. Finally, Kai broke the silence.
"Do you know where your grandfather and grandmother are at?" he asked, hoping that she could lead him in the right direction.
"I wish I did. I haven't seen Grandpa Alex and Grandma Carrie in almost twenty years. I haven't even received a letter from them. I know they are not dead because grandpa and I were very close. But, I have also moved since the last time. As you have probably figured out. When was the last time you heard from him?" Savannah asked as she took a sip of milk.
"The last time I spoke with Alex was about six months ago. Then, there was nothing. He spoke to me about his son being killed and his granddaughter. But, he didn't say much more. He said that some people had been following him around and they were poking around into his business. I went to the coordinates that he said he was at and found nothing. The place was demolished. It looked as though it had been broken into. I remembered he told me about your whereabouts and that if I couldn't get in touch with him to seek you out. So, I have" Kai solemnly stated.
"Why didn't he call me or tell me what was going on?" Savannah questioned. She was on the verge of wanting to strangle someone and Kai might be that someone if he didn't start coming up with some answers.
"He had to disappear because, you see, he doesn't age like a human. His whole entire structure had been altered. For every twenty years that goes by, he only ages one year. He is almost immortal, so to speak. Humans fear what they do not understand" Kai stated as he placed his plate into the sink, which closed the gap between them.
"But I am family. I should have been the first to know what was going on" Savannah was hysterical as she looked up at Kai and started to shake.
"Then you would have been put in harm's way. He did not wish for you to be hurt" Kai stated as he placed his hands onto he shoulders and drew her into his embrace, trying to sooth her anger at being lied to. He couldn't blame her, she had never been told the truth her entire life about her family.
"Oh, so I guess everyone thinks I am not capable of taking care of myself" Savannah cried as she allowed Kai to pull her into his arms. It had been so long since anyone had been there to comfort her when she was feeling down. Other than Sebastian, she didn't have anyone else. Now, at least for a temporary basis, she had Kai. She didn't want him as a lover or anything, she just wanted to be held.
"Now, I think you know that is not true" Kai reassured her as he lifted her up into his arms and carried her into the living room.
He sat down on the couch, with Savannah in his lap and gently rocked her the way Melissa had done for him during one of his sad days. Melissa was the mother he had always wanted but never had until he met Alex. He could recall the first time he had met Melissa and how easily she had won his trust by being kind and gentle. He was about three hundred years old and one of the stronger Yautja had been beating him up. Alex, Bashera, and Tanaka were not about to stand for that and put that Yautja in his place. After that, they helped Kai back to Melissa. She immediately took over the mother role and nursed him back to health. She rocked him when he started to feel bad and fed him when he was hungry. Melissa literally spoiled him rotten and he loved it.
It took almost a week for him to recover from his injuries but, he did. During that time, three younger ooman females had fashioned him a new leg and surgically implanted it onto him, with his consent. It took a while but, in no time he was walking around without any crutches. Varick, Bashera, Tanaka, and Alex worked with Kai every single day until he was finally the way he should have been from the start. He stood almost seven feet tall and weighed nearly three hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle.
Kai watched as Sebastian came wandering in and lay his head down on top of Kai's feet. He was about to wonder what the large feline had in mind but, gave up when the cat started rubbing his face on Kai's feet.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kai questioned as he looked down at Sebastian, who seemed very content and purred very loudly.
"He's cleaning his face. Don't worry, he won't remove a toe or anything. He especially likes the smell of sweat" Savannah laughed as Kai tried to remove his foot from the adoring affection of Sebastian's face but, the big cat immediately used both paws and held his foot in position. Kai gave up and laid his head back against the couch with a heavy sigh.
"Could be worse" Savannah softy laughed as soon as she realized that she was sitting in Kai's lap. He had both of his arms wrapped around and yet, she was very content to stay like that. His arms felt warm on her legs and back. In fact, all of him felt warm, including his bare legs. If it wasn't for his loin cloth being there, she would have been in trouble.
"That's very true" Kai stated as he looked at her.
All of a sudden, Sebastian leapt onto the couch and lay down on top of them both, purring very happily. He rolled over onto his back and stretched across them. Savannah and Kai both rubbed Sebastian's belly. They also laughed at each other. It was the first time that either one of them had been completely happy or laughing over nothing.
"So, do want to have dinner and spend the night in the guest bedroom?" Savannah asked as she leaned back against the arm of the couch and Kai's arm.
"I don't think I have much of choice in this matter" Kai chuckled as he felt her bare skin touch his arm and he enjoyed it.
This was the first time in his life that a female had touched him and he actually wanted to do more than just touch. He didn't want to just mate for the ease of his own aches, he wanted her entire being. But, he was unsure if she could handle him and his desires. But, he also wanted her and her desires. He knew he would have to ask Varick and Melissa how they handled each other because, Varick was so large and Melissa was so small but, she was a lot bigger than Savannah. But, there would be time enough for romance later after the mystery was solved on Alex's wherabouts.
"Okay, I'll make grilled chicken with all the fixings" Savannah stated as she tried to read into Kai's mind and found that he was thinking the same thing she was but, she didn't want to be the one who acted. She wanted Kai to make the first move but, she knew it would have to wait until they got to know each other a lot better. Right now, she was just content being held in a true gentleman's arms who also liked her cat.
