The next chapter is up! Enjoy :)
The streets were bustling and pretty busy as Julie ventured out.
This was the first time she was able to really walk about freely without Kata'nu by her side. And while she was liking this newfound freedom, she was still a little leery to be around others.
Mainly the males. Some of them still eyed her in passing. But it at least when their eyes shifted to the wristband with Kata'nu's symbol on it, they tended to avert their gaze and not approach her.
What Julie still didn't know, was that Kata'nu had quite the fierce reputation among the clan.
Despite his fairly young age, he was a very accomplished and powerful Elite warrior. Many knew it would be stupid to cross his path and pick a fight with him.
Knowing this, they were smart enough to avoid messing with his new ooman servant, despite how tempting she was.
After about ten minutes of walking, she made it to the market area. Where it seemed to be even more packed today with yautja, aliens, and even some other humans.
Julie saw very few humans, let alone interacted with them. But the few she did see, appeared to be happy.
After being here for a few weeks now, the young woman was missing interacting with other humans. If she can, she would like to strike up a conversation with some of them.
Walking around became a bit of a challenge, mainly for the fact she was trying not to bump into anyone.
She was walking for about five minutes, when she thought she spotted a familiar food stand with a familiar yautja idling behind it. And as she drew closer to get a better look, she realized who it was.
Julie carefully made her way through the crowds until she made his way to his stand.
"Hey." She said.
Greenish eyes turned their attention to her.
"Hello. Nice seeing you again. How adjustment going?" He asks.
The young woman just shrugs.
"It's going. How you doing?" Julie asked.
P'kya'uha smiled, "Am well. Thank you for asking."
The dark colored yautja was one of the only ones she had come to recognize so far while here and deemed him friendly enough. At least she felt he always seemed civil with her so far.
This is probably only the third time at his stand since she came to be here.
Then the young woman noticed he appeared to have what looked like a few gashes and scratches on him. She almost asked if he was ok, then remembered the last time she saw some males and females walking around with said injuries, that they were from mating.
"Looks like you got lucky not that long ago, judging by the mating marks on you." She somewhat teased.
P'kya'uha chuckled, "Indeed I did. She one of my favorites too."
He paused and slowly looked her up and down. But it was not in a creepy way, it was more of in an analytical way.
"You mate at all?" He asked.
Julie's cheeks burned a little at his question.
"No, and I didn't really plan to. I'm not exactly a one-night stand kind of girl. I prefer long term relationship in that aspect." She awkwardly put out.
At first, the nay colored yautja didn't understand what she meant. Then he remembered that a lot of oomans tended to be monogamous or in long term relationships with mates.
"I see. Anyways, you come back for more musar fruits? Or want to try different ones?" P'kya'uha asks.
"I may get a few more of the musar fruits. But I'd like to look at some other things here too." Julie replied.
He nodded, "Go right ahead and look. If still not familiar with some of these fruits and vegetables, just ask me."
"Thanks, Ky." She says, sticking with the nickname she gave him.
The large dark colored yautja nodded again, before handing her a sack she could use to fill up.
Then P'kya'uha went to assists a couple others that came to his stand.
Julie picked up a few fruits and analyzed them. Some she became a little familiar with when Kata'nu explained what some of them were to her.
She did bag a few naxa fruits while there, they were as good if not better than the musar fruits. There were these light greenish ones next to them that she tended to avoid because Kata'nu said those taste similar to bananas, and Julie hated bananas.
Then she went over to the vegetable selection and picked up a few.
Julie than spotted one odd looking vegetable that appeared black in color and had these little sprouts jutting from it. She picked it up and analyzed it.
It had a very similar texture and consistency to a potato. But she doesn't recall what this vegetable was called and what it tastes like.
"Those are very good. Actually, a favorite to both my daughter and myself." Came a female's voice to her left.
Julie quickly turned her gaze and met the smiling gaze of none other than a young human woman.
She was very tan, with dark green eyes, and medium blond hair that was pulled back in a French braid that draped over her left shoulder. She also appeared to be a good several inches taller than Julie.
Julie caught movement down to the woman's right side and saw a little human girl who couldn't have been older than seven years of age. She resembled the woman a little, but her eyes were brown and her hair a darker shade of blonde.
She almost didn't realize she was now staring at them and quickly shook her head to snap out of her gaze.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. This is actually the first time I ever interacted with another human since first coming here a few weeks back." Julie quickly apologized.
The taller woman chuckled a little.
"It's ok, I gathered you were new, seeing as I've never seen you around here before. And I like to think I'm familiar with many of the other humans and some of the other alien servants within this clan." She replied.
Then the blonde held out her hand with a small smile.
"I'm Carrie. And this little one here, is my daughter, Kelly. These other little rascals behind me are Mahnde, Lar'nix'va, Ar'Wen, and Nk'mecci." She said, gesturing to the four yautja children behind her.
At hearing their names, the four youngsters shifted their gaze to Carrie and noted she was talking with another ooman female.
Julie smiled, "Hi guys, nice to meet you all. I'm Julie."
The youngsters nodded, the youngest one waving back. Before she turned to the human little girl next to her and they started talking.
"Are you watching them?" Julie asks, as she gestures to the yautja kids.
Carrie nodded, "Yeah, I kind of have a dual job as both a servant and nanny. Their mother is currently getting in some training at the training grounds and I'm watching them for her."
"And how long have you been here?" Julie asks.
The blonde had to give it some thought. Sometimes comparing years on Yautja Prime to Earth years can be a little tricky. Seeing as a year on Yautja Prime is longer than a year on Earth.
"I want to say, about fifteen years now." Carrie stated.
Julie lightly bit her lip and was silent for a moment.
"And do you...actually like it here?" She hesitantly asks.
Carrie gave her a big smile.
"I love it here. Back on Earth, I was homeless and had nothing. Here, I feel as if I have everything. A nice home and a good job. And Luar'ke is very nice and considerate." She replied.
Upon hearing her response, Julie did feel a sense of relief. Perhaps, it really wasn't all that bad like she originally would've thought. But then, the woman had told her she was homeless prior to coming here. So, of course, it would be a comfier alternative.
The petite brunette gave her a small smile.
"Glad to hear that things turned out better for you. And I'm sorry, if the question seemed a little personal or intrusive. Being new here, I wasn't sure how it was for other humans." She said.
Carrie just waved it off.
"It's all good. It's understandable. I was very nervous and scared when I was first brought here. The process in itself was a little scary. But the end outcome was good. As I said, I have a home, a job, a beautiful child, and an amazing husband." She says.
Julie was a bit surprised to hear that Carrie was married. Mainly because she thought, it wouldn't have been allowed for humans or other aliens to come together here.
"Does your husband work with you too?" She asks.
Carrie shook her head.
"No, Mark works under another yautja. But we do get together quite a bit when we have the chance and we do have separate quarters that we share at times outside of the yautja homes." She stated.
"Hello, Carrie. Long time no see." P'kya'uha said, as he walked over.
Of course, Julie had no idea what he said, because he was speaking the yautja native language.
Carrie smiled, "Hey P'kya'uha. I know, it's been a while. These little rascals tend to keep me busy though."
Julie was surprised to hear the human woman talking right back to him in his language. She spoke it like she's been speaking it her whole life.
The navy colored yautja shifted his gaze between the two human woman.
"I see you met Kata'nu's new servant." He stated.
"Yes, she's quite sweet. And did you say, Kata'nu? That's surprising. He's one of the Elites that never took a servant before, right?" Carrie said, a little surprised.
"No, he didn't. But he is quite fond of her. Though she's still adjusting. It's nice that you are making her feel welcomed. Probably puts her more at ease." P'kya'uha replied.
Julie felt it a little awkward as they stood there continuing to speak yautja.
"Excuse me, I like your outfit." Came a little voice.
The young woman turned her attention to the tiny voice and saw the smiling face of Carrie's daughter staring up at her.
Julie couldn't help but smile back.
"Thank you." She replied.
"Kata'nu take care of you?" Asked another voice.
She shifted her gaze to the source and found it came from what looked to be the oldest of the yautja kids.
He looked to be around the same size as a twelve- to thirteen-year-old. His dreads were very short, barely touching his shoulders, and there were no rings in them.
"Yes, he does. Though at the moment, he's at the training grounds." Julie answered.
"Strong hunter. Want to be like him and father, when grow up." The boy said, while puffing out his chest.
Julie couldn't help but find it cute and a little funny.
"Then you better work hard at your training then." Carrie told him, as she shifted away from her conversation with P'kya'uha.
"I will. After mating season, Father said he start my training." The boy said.
"We train soon too." Said the other smaller boy next to him.
"Yes! Soon!" Said one of the girls.
Then the four yautja children started bickering more about it back and forth. Even little Kelly got in on it. So now, all five kids were chatting up a storm.
"Ok, everyone. Settle down. Start picking out what you want us to bring back home." Carrie told them.
Just like that, the chattering died down and the kids went back to looking through the various fruits and vegetables.
The taller blonde than turned her attention back to Julie.
"It was very nice meeting you, Julie. Would like to meet with you again in the future. And as I mentioned before, I know this all seems a little strange and scary at first.
But you'll grow to like it. There really are much more benefits to living here than there is on Earth. You'll come to notice that after fully adjusting. And if you have any more questions for me, Kata'nu can always contact Luar'ke, who will relay the message to me." Carrie assured her.
The petite brunette nodded, "Thanks. Is Luar'ke the one you serve?"
Carrie nodded, "Yes. And if you feel the need for more human interaction, just let us know."
"I'd like that. Thanks, Carrie. And it was really nice meeting you." Julie replied.
The blonde smiled, "No problem. I'll see you around. Oh, and that black looking vegetable you were holding, it's called bystru. It's a type of root vegetable. Kind of taste like radishes, only a little sweeter. It's very good in stew."
Julie smiled, "Thanks."
The other woman along with her daughter and her charges had gathered up what they needed, bagged them, and left. Before leaving, P'kya'uha ran this odd scanner over Carrie's wrist band.
It let out these weird beeps, before he pulled the device back.
Julie wondered what that was about. And watched as they all walked away.
"Have you picked out what you need? Or still looking?" P'kya'uha asks.
The young woman snapped her attention back to him.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm done. Though I have a question." She says.
"Yes?" He asks.
"Why did you scan her wrist band? What was that about?" Julie inquired.
The navy colored yautja cocked his head to the side a little.
"Kata'nu not tell you? It's how servants pay. Wrist band or collar has tiny scanner inside. We scan it, and it goes to Caregiver's earnings." He explained.
'That's actually pretty neat. Almost like an alien version of a credit card.' She thought.
"Really? That's pretty cool. And a relief, because I just remembered Kata'nu didn't leave me any currency of sorts back home before I came out here." She replied.
"Just scan your wrist band, when done shopping here." P'kya'uha told her.
Julie nodded, she gathered up a few more things.
Then she held up her left wrist for him. He brought the thin wand of a scanner over it and after a couple seconds, it made that weird sounding beep again.
"Thanks, Ky. I'll see you around." She said.
"Bye." He says.
He then turned away to help another small group that just arrived at his large stand.
Julie still had at least one more stop to make. She wanted to get some more meat before heading back. So, she started walking down the wide, expanded dirt path of a road to the only place she knew of so far that sold various meats.
A soft smile was still present on her face as she walked and weaved a little through the crowds.
She can't help but feel like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. Meeting Carrie helped put her mind at ease and banished some of the lingering dark thoughts about living here among these strange beings.
And while the young woman still missed her home on Earth, she knew a small piece of it resides here among the few humans that reside here with her.
Until Next Time ;)