The next chapter is posted! Enjoy :)
They weren't waiting much longer before a strange sound reverberated through the home.
Kata'nu went to answer the door. He unlocked it and allowed it to slide open to let them person in. He moved back a little to give them space as they walked inside.
That's when Julie noted it was a female of his kind.
Though this female for whatever reason didn't look nearly as big as majority of the other adult females she has seen so far. She was actually a head shorter than Kata'nu.
'Perhaps she isn't full grown.' The young woman speculated.
She had similarities to the large male next to her. They had the same reddish complexion, albeit hers was a little lighter. And her features seemed smaller and daintier.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Rose. Really hope I wasn't interrupting anything. Seeing as mating season is soon upon us." Kata'nu said to the smaller female.
Rose smiled, "It's no problem at all, brother. This is clearly important. And once you told me you had an ooman with you, I wanted to meet her anyway. Plus, like you mentioned during our call earlier, she will need more clothes.
And I know for a fact that you along with our other brothers hate clothes shopping. And our other sisters are a bit preoccupied with their pups.
You're lucky my friend Yen'sha was over my place already. Otherwise, I may not have been able to make it either. She's still there, currently looking after my pups while I take the ooman female shopping."
"Hopefully this won't take too long. Wouldn't want to keep you away from your pups for a long period of time after all." Kata'nu said.
"They'll be fine. They know how to behave." She replied.
Then her yellow gaze went from her brother to the small ooman female standing a few feet to his right.
Julie watched as the yautja female shifted her gaze to her. She tensed up a little when the female decided to approach her.
Rose saw this too, and noticed the ooman female was tense and leery of her presence. So, she made sure to reassure her and show that she wasn't a threat.
"It's ok, young one. I won't hurt you. My name is Rose. I am Kata'nu's younger sister." She said, in perfect English.
Julie was a little surprised to run into another yautja that could speak her language as fluently as Kata'nu. But then they were siblings. They must've had the same teachers.
Once she got over her initial shock, she lightly smiled at the taller female.
"Nice to meet you, Ma'am. My name is Julie." She stated.
Then she remembered her mentioning her name. And thought it was very strange for an alien to have such a human name like Rose.
"Nice to meet you as well. Are you ready to go shopping?" She asks.
Julie nodded, "Yeah, ready when you are."
Rose smiled then gestured for the young woman to follow her.
On the way out though, she stopped briefly in front of her brother, and shifted her gaze to him.
"I see she's not wearing a servant's collar. I take it she didn't want to." The female yautja stated.
"No, she does not. And this is why you got to make sure she stays close to you. Though, I don't know yet how to settle this issue. There will be times she may have to go out on her own.
And I fear when she does, she runs the risk of being taken by another. I know it hardly happens in this clan. But that doesn't mean it never does. And I like to be careful." He said, voice tinged with concern.
Rose tilted her head.
"Kata'nu, just give her a wrist band with your insignia instead. Some use that alternative if they don't take to the collar. And that's only if their caregivers are lenient enough to abide by their servant's request." She suggested.
The large male's eyes widened briefly.
'Of course! I forgot about that alternative. Some do where a wrist band instead of a collar.' He remembered.
"Thanks for mentioning the wrist band, Rose. I'll get to work acquiring one while you two are out." Kata'nu said.
She nodded, then left his place with Julie in tow.
The street his home was on was not very crowded. It seems like most of the crowds were in the market or public areas of town. Though she saw some walking down the dirt path here and there.
"You need to stay close to my side when we get closer to the market area. For new people, it's easy for them to get lost in a crowd and lose their way." Rose cautioned.
"And apparently snatch me up to. At least that is what Kata'nu said." Julie stated.
The taller female looked down at her while they walked.
"Oh, so he has informed you of that. Though I think he worries a little much. Snatching someone else's servants is not really common here in this clan. I mean, it does happen, but it's quite rare.
But nonetheless, it's still better you stay close to me. Because you still run the risk of getting lost in the crowd. And sometimes, it's hard to spot humans among a sea of yautja, which tower over them by far." Rose told her.
Julie nodded, "Fair enough. Though I have a couple questions to ask you."
"Yes, what is it?" The larger female inquired.
"How is it you know English so well? Did you have the same teachers as Kata'nu?" She asks.
A small smile formed on the female yautja's face.
"Yes, you could say that we had the same teacher. A very good one at that." She replied.
Julie's gaze would often flicker back and forth from the female beside her to the view in front of them.
"And...I don't know how to ask this next one. At least not without coming across as somewhat rude. Though I swear I'm not trying to be. It's just...your name. It's a very human name. I never thought I'd come across any of your kind with such a human sounding name." The young woman said.
Rose chuckled, "No, you're right. It is highly unusual. But mother liked human names. Roses are her favorite flower. She named myself and my sisters. The oldest is Sadie and the youngest is Katherine. While father named all of my brothers."
The young woman thought it even more strange that all of Kata'nu's sisters had very human names.
It was definitely something she wanted to inquire more about with Kata'nu when she gets the chance. Because Julie couldn't help but feel there was more to it besides their names.
So, at the moment, she switched to another topic.
"Will I eventually meet the rest of Kata'nu's family?" She asks.
The larger female nodded, "Yes, in time, eventually you will. Our brothers are currently still away on other worlds hunting. But they will be back any day now. Because mating season will soon be upon us in a couple of days."
Julie's mind almost came to a screeching halt.
"Wait, what? Did you just say, mating season?" She nearly blurted out.
"Yes, it's something our kind goes through a couple of times a year. It's a peak time of the year when our females are most fertile and are ready to bear pups. The males and females come together to mate and reproduce.
Though it's not as simple as it sounds. Females can sometimes be quite choosy of their males. They look for the most accomplished and strongest of warriors with the most impressive trophies to mate with.
Sometimes fights may break out between hunters if they both choose to court and mate the same female. The winner of the fight obviously gets to continue courting the female.
Fights don't happen very often though because this clan is quite large and has many members." Rose explained.
Though she decidedly left out the fact that due to specific genetics, her and her sisters found out they could actually get pregnant at any time and not just during the mating seasons on this world.
Julie found the concept both primitive and amusing. Fighting over a female being the primitive aspect as well as having a mating season which is something usually only seen occur among animals.
Amusing for the fact that the males go about puffing their chests out and showing off their trophies in hopes of getting laid. Almost like some of the men back home that would show flashy, expensive shit off to nab a woman in hopes of getting lucky.
Then a thought hit her, and she almost stopped in her tracks.
"Hold up, does this mean Kata'nu plans to court a female at some point?" Julie asked.
"Yes, majority of the males and females are and always do participate. Why do you ask?" Rose inquired.
The female yautja saw the young woman get a rather surprised look on her face.
"I don't want to be around for that! I'm sure as hell not going to hang about in my room while he brings a woman home and listen to them screw each other's brains out!" Julie almost shouted out loud.
A couple males bypassing them turned their heads in the females' direction when they heard the rising volume of the ooman's tone.
But they didn't say anything and just shook it off and continued on their way.
Rose gave her a sad smile. She felt sorry for Julie and understands why she wouldn't want to be around to hear or witness that. Hell, she'd probably become afraid if she did see it. Seeing as their mating could get quite rough.
The males and females tend to throw each other around a lot, battling over dominance and submission. With usually the females coming out on top seeing as they are bigger and stronger.
Of course, Rose and her sisters were exceptions. All three of them were actually smaller than most female yautja, and again, it had to do with genetics.
Though, it didn't mean they couldn't hold their own against the larger males. All three of them trained from a young age just like all the yautja here. The three of them were very efficient huntresses. And their father was very proud of them when they came back successful from their first few hunts.
Back to the present.
"I can understand where that would be very awkward. All I can say is just hope that he goes to their dwellings rather than they go to his. Only then would you be spared from hearing or seeing the mating." Rose said.
"He better go to their home. Otherwise, I'll raise hell with him if I have to listen to them fucking." Julie snapped.
Rose rubbed her arm, "I'd offer for you to stay at my dwellings during this time. But unfortunately, I'm looking to mate this season as well. I wish I could give you more assurance on the matter. But sadly, there doesn't seem to be too many alternatives."
The yautja female almost wondered if Kata'nu may decide to mate with Julie. It wasn't unheard of for caregivers to mate with servants or those with another race for that matter.
Of course, they would only do so with the female's consent. It didn't matter if said female was of another race. If they don't consent, there could be no mating. And rape was punishable by death if caught.
Julie grumbled as she ran a hand down her face.
"I'm afraid to ask. But how long does this mating season last?" She asks, dreading the answer.
"A couple months. Some males and females will remain with the same partner throughout the season. While others will mate with multiple ones until the season ends." The female yautja told her.
"A couple months!? Screw that! He better take it to the woman's house every time if that is the case!" The young woman barked.
Rose sighs, "Unfortunately, it's his decision. And I do believe my brother prefers to take the females back to his dwellings during mating season."
She clenched her fists, "Then those walls better be fucking soundproof."
"Well, the walls do tend to be pretty thick. So, you may not hear much. And I'm sure knowing your there, he will lock his bedroom door." The taller female said, trying to help her feel better.
Though Rose can't help but think she was failing miserably.
So, she will do the next best thing. Distract the young woman with shopping and take her mind off of things. The female yautja knows adjusting doesn't come easy for other alien beings that were brought in.
And she would like to help Julie out in any way she can through this time.
She found herself beginning to really like the small ooman female. The female yautja could tell she was someone who spoke her mind and most likely didn't take shit from anyone.
If anything, Julie reminds Rose of her mother. She's the exact same way.
And she knew it was unlike her brother to take a servant. Seeing as he never done so before in the past. Which makes her think he saw something in this ooman female that caught his attention.
Either way, this was a nice way to get her acquainted.
By the time they reached the market area, it was pretty crowded just like Rose said it would be. But Julie still couldn't help but feel excited to explore all of these new places and get to know more about this strange alien culture.
They stayed close together and made their way into the large public area.
Until Next Time ;)