The next chapter is up! Enjoy :)
After they finished their bath, they dressed, and went down to get breakfast.
They talked about plans for the rest of the day. Yeyinde did make note that Natalie did need some more clothing and couldn't keep wearing the same clothes each day.
While she really wanted to go back out and explore, Natalie was still a bit nervous and worried if other yautja may try to hassle them. Luckily, none did last night.
But who's still to say it won't happen.
Still, if this where she is meant to live with the man she loves, then she will have to find the means to adjust. Just like everyone has been telling her from the start.
At least Natalie knew she'd never truly feel alone or like an outcast. Because she already found a good circle of friends in Yeyinde's group of ragtag friends.
Then there was his sister and father. Both were pleasant enough to her and treated her kindly.
It's because of this, she really didn't care anymore that other yautja may not think highly of her. She kept reminding herself that she didn't need anyone else's approval.
"We may see some of our friends out and about today while were out. And who knows, you may even meet my other sister and brother." Yeyinde said.
"What is your other brother and sister's name again?" She asks.
"My other sister's name is Minikui, she is the second eldest after Sakana. Then there is my brother Ci'tde. He is the third born and eldest male in our family." He told her.
"So, from oldest to youngest, it's Sakana, Minikui, Ci'tde, Bakuub, and then you." She implied.
Yeyinde nodded, "Yes, and all of us are a few years apart in age."
"And are you close with all of them? Or are there some your closer with than others?" Natalie asked.
He thought about it a little, but he knows there are at least two of them he always gravitated to more than the others.
"I want to say I was always closest with Bakuub and Sakana. Bakuub and I are closest in age. Only a couple years apart. So, we tended to do a lot together and play together most.
Sakana is...what's that ooman saying again? Oh yes, being the oldest, she was always like a mother hen to us younger ones. Whenever mother and father were away, she was the one to look after us.
She always had a very caring nature and would go out of her way to cheer us up if something or someone was bothering us. And is very bright, she always has an answer for everything it seems." Yeyinde said, with a small smile.
"After talking with her yesterday and getting to know her, I can believe it. She certainly was very inciteful and knew fairly quickly that we cared about each other more than we let on.
I also know this because we spent a good portion on her couch last night while you were away, and she was trying to make it clear and convince me that you did care about me.
It's funny, she also seemed pretty sure that you would return soon as well. She must have some crazy intuition there." She said.
Yeyinde lets out a soft trill, "Yes, that sounds about right. She was always good at reading us. And according to her, I'm very easy to read. So, I can't say I'm too surprised that she figured I wouldn't stay away from you long. Watch, when we see her again, she'll have a smug look about her and be like, 'See, I told you so'."
Natalie chuckled, "Well, she is your sister. It's only natural she would know all of her siblings well. My brother used to tell me I was easy to read too. No matter how much I tried to hide it, he could always tell when something was wrong with me. Must be a psychic sibling thing." She joked.
It was a little surprising hearing her talk about her brother again. Especially, when Yeyinde knew he was a sensitive topic to talk about. He never even knew she had a brother until she admitted it to him while she lay slowly dying in his arms waiting for the drop ship to pick them up on Earth.
"I'm inclined to agree. Ci'tde made off with her favorite combi stick once. And when she found it missing, she knew it was him that took it. Despite the fact she knew Minikui and Bakuub have borrowed it on occasion. Only difference is, those two generally asked when they could borrow something of hers.
Ci'tde, not so much. At least my other brother and sister knew well enough to ask for her permission first. Because they knew what would happen if they took anything without asking.
Once he came back home with it, he froze when he saw her standing by the front door waiting. She had her arms crossed and was glaring at him. Her glare turned quite murderous when she noticed her combi stick was banged up and had a slight bend to it.
As soon as she came stalking up to him, Ci'tde dropped the combi stick and took off like a hard meat queen was on his tail. It was quite hilarious watching her chase him down.
Then she beat the shit out of him right there on the path in front of a few onlookers. Before dragging him back to the house by his tresses, all while shouting that he will fix her combi stick and do her chores for a week." He said, with laughter in his voice.
He remembers that day like it was yesterday. The young Yeyinde couldn't have been more than thirty-two years old at the time. He recalls his sister throwing a fit and stating how she was going to kick Ci'tde's ass if he damaged it in anyway.
Because his brother really didn't have a good track record with weapons at the time. There was always a 50/50 chance they would get damaged. This was back during his early training days.
Yeyinde, Bakuub, and Minikui steered clear of their elder sister that day. Because none of them wanted to incur her wrath.
Even mother and father had a hard time placating her. Probably because that combi stick was a personal gift from their grandfather, whom she was close with. And that was one weapon she didn't want ruined.
It's funny, yautja weapons were meant to take one hell of a beating. So, it was a bit of a mystery to them how Ci'tde managed to fuck up some of the weapons.
Natalie couldn't help but laugh at his story. But also felt a bit for his brother. It definitely sounded like he got an ass beating of a lifetime. And what probably made it more embarrassing, was that their sister did it in front of a group of other yautja who just happened to walk by.
"Yeah, I was pretty pissed at Tyler when he stole one of my Barbie Dolls when we were little. We were having a fight and he snatched my Barbie right out of my hands and tried to flush it down the toilet. Completely ruined her hair and outfit and she smelt faintly of piss and toilet bowl cleaner for the remainder of the time I kept it." She said.
Yeyinde was silent for a moment that started laughing.
That was pretty hilarious and bold to do. Trying to shove anyone's things down a toilet would guarantee an ass kicking in his house growing up. Among other things. Either way, it was never a dull moment for him and his siblings. And they drove their parents crazy at times.
"I can only imagine you probably wanted to get even after that. And if I know you well enough, I'm assuming you did at some point." Yeyinde teased.
A large grin formed on her face, "Oh did I. I took his favorite Linkin Park CD and put it in the mailbox of the house his crush lived at. And when he asked where it was, I told him where he could find it and good luck. The look on his face, priceless."
Yeyinde chuckled again. Of course, she would do something bold like that.
"He must've been pretty angry after that." He surmised.
"Only at first. Then he came back into the house with a huge smile on his face. And when I asked why he was so happy, it's because he told me when he went there to get his CD, she happened to be pulling into the driveway on her bike. And he managed to get her number." Natalie said, with some laughter in her voice.
"So, you ended up doing him a favor then." Yeyinde teased.
"Yeah, and for the rest of the Summer, I kept reminding him each time he took her out to the movies or for ice cream, that he owed me." She teased.
He chuckled and shook his head.
"Ok, Miss. Sassy. You ready to go out and grab some new clothes?" He asked.
"Yeah, this outfit is cute. But not meant to be worn every day." Natalie replied.
"True, though I wouldn't object to you walking about around our dwellings without clothing on." He said, with a suggestive smirk.
"Forget it, you. I'm getting new clothes whether you like it or not." Natalie quipped.
Yeyinde deflated a little, but it was all in good fun.
"Let's go then." He told her.
Both of them got up and headed for the front door.
As soon as they went outside, they were met with bright sunlight. Natalie squinted a shielded her eyes until they could adjust. They walked down the smaller path from his home to the larger main path.
Again, as they walked down the path, yautja walking by would stare at them. But luckily, no one seemed to stop and give them any trouble.
Yeyinde stuck close to her side and kept his arm around her shoulders. While she had her arm draped around his waist.
They must've been walking for about eight minutes now. When he heard someone call out to him from his right.
"Hey, Yeyinde!" Came a female's voice.
Yeyinde looked through the small crowd and smiled when he saw a familiar face headed over to them.
Natalie stopped and saw a tall female with light greyish skin and black stripes headed over to them. And she appeared to be smiling as she made her way over.
"Hey, Nakande. How is everything? Looks like you engaged in mating not too long ago." Yeyinde said, as he noted some of the scratches on the female's body.
"I have, and it looks like I'm not the only one." She said with a smirk, while looking between him and the small ooman female.
Natalie couldn't tell what they were saying. But it seemed like they talked like they knew each other well. Then the female shifted her gaze to her.
"Hi, I'm Nakande. I'm a family friend of Yeyinde. I believe you know my brother, Guan." She inquired.
The young woman was surprised to hear the female practically speaking flawless English. But smiled when she introduced herself as a friend and Guan's sister.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Natalie. And yes, I know your brother. He was on the drop ship with us. I believe Yeyinde mentioned you as well." Natalie replied.
"Good. I'm glad to see Yeyinde didn't forget his manners and mentioned his closest friends." She joked.
"Of course, figured Natalie would know everyone at some point. So, I'd figure I'd tell her about you and everyone else. Even though she already met the bulk of our circle on the ship before coming here." Yeyinde said.
"I must say, Yeyinde, you're speaking her language quite well. I'm pretty certain you didn't know the language before." Nakande said.
Then she turned to Natalie, "You must be a good teacher. I say this because, normally, Yeyinde never really could stomach sitting through tutoring lessons."
"Not true, I sat through plenty. Even the most boring and pointless ones." Yeyinde retorted.
Nakande just rolled her eyes.
Their banter was quite humorous. They acted a lot like siblings really.
"I try, but I must ask, how do you know my language so well? You're practically speaking it fluently." Natalie said, clearly amazed.
Nakande smiled, "Foreign Languages are a favorite hobby of mine. I study them in my free time. I actually work as a Linguist part time when I'm not home raising my pups.
Different languages have always fascinated me. I know many different languages and dialects from different worlds. Including your own. I can also speak Spanish, German, Mandarin, Japanese, and Russian. I'm also currently working on Italian."
Natalie was quite amazed with the knowledge of languages Nakande held. She herself, struggled with foreign language classes in school. But it seems like learning languages came naturally for this yautja.
"That's amazing. Did you learn the languages on your own? or did you have teachers?" She asks.
"Most I've learned on my own. There aren't many here who give lessons on foreign languages. One tutor of mine though, Ghardeh, he did teach me some human speech that he did know. As well as some speech from other higher beings on other worlds." Nakande explained.
"That's still awesome. And Linguistics is quite fascinating as well." Natalie replied.
"Thank you. So, where you two lovebirds off too?" Nakande teased.
Natalie blushed and let out a small chuckle.
"Well, I kind of need some clothes. The ones I'm currently wearing were offered to me by Sakana. They're kind of all I have at the moment." She said, awkwardly.
Nakande trilled at that, "You're dragging Yeyinde to do some shopping? I'm almost tempted to watch that endeavor."
The male grumbled, which only made the yautja female trill more.
"You really are a pain at times, Nakande." He said, in their native tongue.
"What are friends for?" She teased.
Yeyinde huffed but smiled. Funny how alike her and Guan can be at times. Both of them were very upbeat and tend to not let much get them down.
"Anyways, I'll leave you to your shopping. I need to go relieve my cousin who's been watching my pups for me while I went off to mate." Nakande said.
"Speaking of which male did you seduce this season?" Yeyinde teased.
Nakande rolled her eyes, "If you must know, you nosy little perv, it was Chulonte. You know him, he's a few years older than us. A Blooded Warrior. Hangs around the training grounds a lot assisting others with training Unblooded sometimes."
Yeyinde nodded, "Yes, I know of him. Dachande has worked with him a few times. Both during training and on hunts. The poor male. I pity him." He teased.
She snorted, "And I pity poor Natalie here, for having to deal with your annoying ass."
Natalie coughed into her hand trying to cover her chuckle. Yeah, she really liked this female. She was spunky and had a sharp tongue to her. That's for sure.
"It's not easy. I'll tell you that right now." Natalie joked.
Nakande's shoulders shook as she trilled with laughter.
"Yeyinde, you better keep this one. Because I'm really starting to like her. I'll see you two around. And congratulations on your mating." The large female stated.
"Bye, Nakande. See you later." Natalie said.
"Yeah, later. Pain in the ass." He retorted.
Last thing they saw was Nakande give him some type of hand gesture. Natalie wasn't sure what it meant. But for all she knew, it was the yautja version of 'flipping the bird'.
Then the large light grey female turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
"I like her, she's hilarious." Natalie said, with some laughter in her voice.
"You would. But yes, despite our squabbles, she is a good friend. And in case you haven't noticed, we tend to act a lot like siblings. It's always been that way since the beginning. We all grew up together." Yeyinde told her, as they continued on their way.
Them running into the quirky yautja female definitely helped settle Natalie's nerves from all the prying eyes of the other yautja.
Yeyinde could tell too. She didn't appear as tense now as she was prior to their run in with Nakande. Not surprising, the large light grey female was very easy to talk to and liked chatting others up.
He was happy that Natalie was also expanding her circle of friends. And she probably liked having females to talk to again.
The rest of their walk was fairly quiet. Natalie seemed preoccupied with rubber necking at just about everything they passed. Probably because she can see everything better now in the daylight, compared to last night when it was dark.
Until Next Time ;)