256
Damien placed a hand on Hannah’s arm and pleaded with her. “We can protect your Mama,” he said. “You must show us the way out. We cannot live this way. Nu-reeh tortures her with our seed. It is not right.”
Hannah shook her head sadly and met my eyes as she spoke.
“You do not know the beasts that exist beyond these mountains, Daddy. This world is fierce and wild. I do not doubt your strength, but you are without knowledge. Give me time to find a place that Mama will be safe. We need time to build larger settlements. I swear to you I will take you away, but right now I cannot.”
The men hated weakness and believed themselves above such things. I saw them coming to a consensus rapidly. This wasn’t over yet.
“Teach us,” Damien whispered, “you say there are things we do not understand. You are our eyes to the world. Tell us what you have seen. Make us strong enough to escape this life.”
“Of course, Daddy,” Hannah sighed, “just don’t ask us to give you freedom, yet. It breaks my heart to see my family kept this way. We are working as hard and fast as we can.”
******************
The women that lived in the mountain here spent five days looking for the escaped men before they gave up. Hannah and Ra stayed with us all five days.
“We are too young to search for men,” Hannah told us. “Nu-reeh will let us stay, as long as, we are out of the way. She told us we could stay with you.”Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.
During the hunt, the men in the mountains were kept on lockdown. Two men from each family went to the eating area and collected food for the day. Otherwise the men were confined to their quarters. If it wasn’t for Hannah and Ra it would have been a boring five days.
Damien invited both Stayne’s and Basin’s families to come and listen to Hannah. We would move the listening pad far away as we sat and Hannah taught us. She and Ra told us everything they could.
Damien never told the other men about the escape. He never said we were going to escape one day. Eventually he would trust Basin and Stayne with the knowledge, but not yet. Right now they would just unknowingly learn so they could leave with us. All three families were loyal friends and they would eventually accompany us. There would be strength in numbers.
Ra and Hannah were good teachers. They sat with all of us and told us what they’d seen and done. The men were fascinated by it. Stayne’s and Basin’s families seemed hesitant to ask questions of the females, though.
As the days passed the other families got more comfortable with Hannah and Ra. They would ask simple questions and cringe waiting for the rebuke. It never came. My girls were open and friendly. They had no ill will when it came to curious men.
Kennedy started to walk while Hannah was here. She’d use the furniture or her fathers to steady herself as she moved around. The other families were shocked at the familiarity Damien and his Brothers had with the little girl.
“Time to eat,” Evan said to Kennedy the fourth day as she tried to take two steps in a row without falling. She had not managed it yet.
She refused. Kennedy wanted to figure out how to walk. Her determination was interfering with the feeding schedule my men knew she should have. They wanted her to be a strong girl and that would only happen if she kept gaining weight.
“Eat and then walk,” Bane demanded scooping her up and bringing her to me. “Your Mama is leaking milk it has been so long. Stop being stubborn,” he commanded.
Kennedy fought him and wiggled. If she ate, she’d get tired and go to sleep.
“I want to walk!” she hissed up at him.
Bane wasn’t deterred, “You’ll be strong enough to defy us soon enough, Little One. Eat, sleep, and then walk. That’s what you’ll do now.”
Basin’s family looked shocked. They watched absolutely astonished as Bane handed me my angry daughter. She tried to wiggle out of my arms and Christof told her to stop.
“Feed,” he encouraged, “you’ll be walking in no time. You are cranky because you are hungry and tired.”
Kennedy didn’t often scream and cry, but when she did it was hard to miss. Now she threw a little tantrum in my arms. Stayne’s family stood and backed into the wall. Basin’s family looked wary and sat quietly. They weren’t sure what to do and Kennedy would not stop.
Damien shook his head and stroked Kennedy’s head and back soothingly. Christof talked softly to her and Kein literally milked my breast to tempt her to eat. It worked, not surprisingly. Kennedy took the rich, warm fluid on her tongue and cried as she clung to me.
“She’s exhausted,” Christof said motioning Stayne’s family to sit. “We can’t let her go so long without food and rest. She needs to sleep some in the day.”
Choking sobs were intermixed with sucking sounds as Kennedy slowly settled down in my arms.
“You distract us well, Hannah,” Damien joked standing to pat Hannah’s shoulder. “This female offspring is not like you. You would not miss a meal for anything.”
My family laughed remembering Hannah’s unstoppable appetite. Ra told them a few stories from their more recent escapades regarding Hannah’s need to feed. My family laughed and the other men just looked confused.
I sat and nursed Kennedy and realized the other men had no comparison for Damien’s relationship with Hannah or Kennedy. Unlike the other women here, Hannah and Ra viewed the men as equals. They respected their intelligence and questions. It was the opposite of what the men were used to.
Kennedy calmed and quieted in my arms. As she relaxed Christof passed a hand over her back and stroked her wings. The little spans of flesh twittered and then settled under his touch. He moved the right wing to fold it more comfortably on her back before putting a blanket over her.
“Touching of the wings is considered a very personal act,” Ra commented. “A woman allows her Sisters to touch them. Men should touch them with the reverence you have shown. It is good you interact with the young one this way. She will fit in well… with us and our friends.”
Basin spoke then. He had touched women’s wings to bind them. Many times he’d suffered the sharp barbs at the tips. No one had ever encouraged him to revere a woman’s wings.
“We have learned the true history,” Ra told him sadly. “In the past you would have been family with women, as well as, your Brothers. You would have respected them and they would have respected you.