Discovered.
#2 of Asian Romance.
Part Two.
DISCOVERED** ©**
By Malcolm Kebler.
Malcolm was dreaming, about showing Yuki the wonderful sights of Australia.
The city and the outback, the wildlife. And as he pointed out the kangaroos, shi laughed and marvelled at their body structure, and how they moved.
Shi tried to mimic the motion as well, but fell over, laughing hir head off.
Then the scene changed, and they were looking at the city lights, fairy lights he called them. Well, that's what his parents use to tell him when he was a child, looking in wonder at the multiple streams of lights dancing in the darkness.
"Yuki?" a voice called, disturbing his slumber, and the sudden shift of body weight awoke him totally. Looking up at his vixen friend, he saw panic in hir eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"It's Rurousha Ryoushi, my aunt!" Yuki exclaimed, "Shi doesn't know about you yet, and shi hates humans, ever since that branding incident, Just stay here, and be quiet." Shi said, tossing the jacket to him before rushing out the cave.
As he was putting the jacket on, he could hear female voices outside, speaking in another language.
First, they were friendly, laughing.
Then, Yuki must have told hir aunt about him, coz, the next thing he heard, was low menacing growl of rage, and Yuki's pleading voice.
Then he heard Yuki scream, "Auntie, NO!!"
Just then, another stellar foxtaur came in the cave.
This one was older, and dressed in a heavy body coat.
Shi was also larger than Yuki, and more built for rough survival than hir niece.
Shi was brandishing a wicked looking spear with a barbed point.
When shi saw him lying on the floor, shi snarled a few words that he couldn't understand.
"Ninnin Akki Kasu!!" shi said, and then with hir spear held up, shi lunged.
Closing his eyes and shielding his head, Malcolm waited for the death blow.
What a way to end his time on Earth, helpless, killed by a genetic freak.
He then felt a heavy furry weight on his body, a female gasp, and low menacing growl, which was followed by more words of the strange language.
"Shuushi!! Senpou Mai Hatsukoi!!"
When he opened his eyes, the scene that he saw made him gasp in shock and awe. Yuki had put hirself between him and hir aunt, and further more; shi had hold of the spear, but not before the tip had pierced hir shoulder.
The look on hir aunts face went from primal rage to shock and despair, shi had inflicted a wound onto hir only family, a blood relative shi swore to protect from harm, and here shi was, hurting hir beloved.
Straight away, shi grabbed spear, and in broken English, spoke to Malcolm.
"Hold tip human." When he had a hold of the metal barb tip, Rurousha proceeded to twist the wooden shaft counter clockwise.
Yuki winced in pain at the pressure of the steel tip against hir bone, and Malcolm held tighter onto it, to prevent it from doing more harm.
His hand started to hurt as the sharp edges cut into his palm, but he blocked out the pain, as he thought about Yuki's suffering.
Finally, the shaft came free, having been made with a screw type end.
Then Rurousha reached into hir saddle bag that shi was wearing, and came out with a vial of clear liquid and a needle. Inserting the needle, shi drew out a large dose.
"What is that?" Malcolm asked, concerned for Yuki.
"Morphine" shi snapped, and then inserted the point in hir nieces arm and injecting it into hir system.
"Isn't that a large dosage?" he replied, worried.
"You have no knowledge of our species, do you? Oni?" shi snarled.
As the morphine kicked in, Yuki's whimpers eased, and shi had a calm peaceful look on hir face. As Rurousha lifted hir niece, Yuki weakly but firmly grabbed hir ear and said, "Mochi ada waga Me-ti!" then shi collapsed in hir Aunts arm.
"What did shi say?" Malcolm asked.
Looking at him with eyes filled with contempt, shi replied.
"Shi said, Do not harm my Mate" and with that, shi left the cave, carrying hir niece with hir.
To say that Malcolm was stunned was an understatement.
Mate! Hir Mate! Has he affected hir that much in such a short amount of time?
Shi even risked hir own life to protect him.
Putting hirself in harms way.
He knew that, if shi was one second to slow, that spear tip that he saw protruding out of hir shoulder blade, would have pierced his body, puncturing his heart.
He laid there, shivering at how close he came to death.
And now, he was alone.
Wondering what is happening to poor Yuki, so loving, so beautiful, suffering in pain.
And, hir Aunt, so full of rage. He understood why shi hated humans. After the horrors they had inflicted on hir niece. Looking around the cave, he noticed the shaft was still on the ground. Inching over on the floor, he grasped it and used it as a crutch.
Heaving himself up onto his right foot, Malcolm hobbled to the mouth of the cave and peered out.
What he saw was rocks and snow, and an incline leading to a vast snow covered field, with trees dotted here and there.
Moving between the trees was a taur figure, Rurousha, carrying Yuki.
They were 200 yards away and rapidly moving.
I hope shi'll be alright? He thought, as he went back inside, noticing the darkness approaching outside.
The fire had gone low, so grabbing some more wood from the back of the cave, he stoked it up to a tolerable temperature.
Settling back down with a sigh, Malcolm cooked another piece of meat from the yak carcass. Then he quietly ate, mulling over the past few days of his life.
Teleported, rescued from death, finding love, loosing a foot, almost killed twice, and now having a Mate. Man, if I ever live through this, this will be one story to tell the guys at the bar. He chuckled to himself.
He had drifted off to sleep again, weary and warm.
Then he was woken by a hand shaking him on the shoulder, opening his eyes, he saw Rurousha was crouched beside him, regarding him with a cold stare, and panic set in. He quickly placed the shaft he was using for a crutch in front of him for protection and backed away from hir.
Laughing softly to hirself, shi quickly snatched the shaft from his hands and pointed the end at his face, snarling.
"Stupid teinousha, if I wanted to kill you, I would have shot you with an arrow." Shi remarked, and then proceeded to place another tip onto the spear shaft.
"How's Yuki?" he managed to say, before shutting up by hir menacing growl.
"Never you mind about hir, you should be more concerned about yourself, namako!"
A feeling of dread washed over him.
Surely shi wouldn't kill him, not after Yuki pleaded with hir Aunt to not hurt him, before passing out.
But, shi may ignore hir niece's plea, and kill him because of the pain and suffering Yuki had endured at the hands of some cruel manipulative humans in hir life.
Looking at the female foxtaur, he felt a sense of doubt about his future, then, something clicked in his mind, it was a long shot, maybe he could persuade the Aunt that he was not like the other humans, that he had love and decency that other humans lack.
Closing his eyes, he tried to remember, recalling the words Yuki had sung, damn it, what was it?
Then, he recalled the feelings that he felt at each verse.
Wetting his lips, he started to sing, not as beautiful as Yuki's voice, but pleasing non the less.
If you feel the chill, I keep you warm.
If you feel alone, I take you home.
If you feel the pain, I share it with you.
For no-one is cold when hearts are one.
For no-one is alone when bodies are one.
For no-one is in pain when souls are one.
Rurousha started at the singing and shi turned around and regarded the human with eyes filled with tears, hir anger and hostility were choked up by deep affection.
Shi concluded the song, as shi came over and held his hands.
So, take my hand and walk with me.
Join with my soul for the life you need.
I shall be yours and you will be mine.
So feel my love, my joy and sorrow.
As I feel yours now and tomorrow.
Then shi surprised him by holding him close to hir chest, he could hear hir heartbeat and started crying, stoking his hair softly, and started murmuring words in hir native tongue.
He reluctantly put his arms around hir, and when shi responded with a sigh, he held hir close.
Both human and foxtaur held each other for what seemed like hours.
Finally, shi disengaged hirself from his embraced and whiped the tears from hir eyes.
Gone was the anger and loathing he saw, now there was the same look that Yuki gave him, love and serenity.
"Wha...." He was about to ask, but shi hushed him by placing hir finger on his lips.
"That song, is something I use to sing to Yuki, when shi was little." Shi started.
"I sing it when shi's unhappy, angry or distressed. Sometimes even when shi's scared."
"Oh, I see." He said, feeling a bit privileged at hearing such a lovely song.
"I can tell that you're different from the other humans we've traded with before." Shi said, sitting down on hir hunches and looked at him.
"So, what is your name?" shi asked, arms folded.
"Malcolm Kebler." He replied.
"And, tell me, how did you get to be with my niece?"
Malcolm stiffened, a new found nervousness took hold of him.
Then, he calmly retold his story, leaving nothing out. Rationalizing that shi'll eventually find out the truth soon enough, and better face the wrath now, that later with the stigma of being dishonest and untrustworthy.
He saw hir reactions to his involvement in genetic research, twitching hir tail ever so slightly. Then hir calm pleasure when told of his treatments of Snowdrift when she was a cub. And then hir deep sympathy about his wife's condition.
When he told hir of his ungracious abandonment at the Himalayas by a teleporting chakat, shi gave a little snicker, the shook hir head in sorrow.
Afterwards, Malcolm drew a deep breath and waited for the Rurousha's aftermath.
Expecting to receive some sort of harm, instead, shi surprised him by giving him a huge hug and a kiss on the brow.
"What? Were you expecting something worst?" shi said with amusement.
"Um, yeah, sort of." He stammered, blushing at the foxtaurs sudden affections towards him.
"Well, to tell you the truth, even though I am unhappy with your chosen profession, I see that you are a person who have compassion and love for others, not like the, soulless monsters who victimise and use other for their sick and demented goals."
"Also, I see the love Yuki has for you, and I suspect you have those feelings as well, don't you?" shi asked, raising an eyebrow.
He nodded, smiling.
Then he frowned, his troubled tormented soul trying to come to terms with his love for 2 people.
Seeing his look, Rurousha guessed what he was thinking, and tried to comfort him.
"Are you agonizing over your commitment to Tasha and your feelings for Yuki?" shi asked.
"Yes, I just don't know what to do, It feels like I'm being unfaithful to her." He said, looking downcast and confused.
"And yet, I have not felt this much happiness and love in a long time. It seems like Yuki is my soul mate, but in another form.... I just don't know what to do?"
"Do you love Tasha?" shi asked.
He looked hir right in the eyes and said with conviction. "YES"
"Now, do you love Yuki?" shi asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
With the same amount of passion, he replied, "YES with all my heart."
The foxtaur aunt smiled at this and said.
"So, love them both, it's not unusual for a male to take more than one mate.
That is a foxtaur tradition."
"But I'm not a foxtaur." He added with uncertainty.
"Well, according to Yuki, you are hir Mate, shi said so hirself."
"But.... But" he started, and then looked down again, embarrassed.
"What?" shi asked, "come on, spit it out."
"We haven't done anything yet." He whispered, his face going bright red.
Rurousha blink a few times, then laughed, and musical laughter at was so infectious, that he couldn't help but laugh as well, even though he didn't catch the joke.
After hir laughter died down a little, Rurousha said, "My dear child, having a Mate doesn't mean you need to have had sex with your partner, there are all different sorts of mates. There's Companions, friends or lovers, Mateship, partners to raise children together in a loving family environment, Lifemates, where the partners can't do without the other, and I have heard a Mate of the Heart, although I'm unclear of the details on that one."
Malcolm nodded, and then asked once again.
"How is my Mate?" a look of deep concern in his eyes.
Rurousha looked down at the ground, ashamed and guilty for what shi had done.
"Shi's ok, but hir shoulder will be out of action for awhile. Shi's getting the best care from the clan's shaman and healer."
Looking up and at Malcolm, shi added.
"So, for the time being, it looks like I'm responsible for your wellbeing."
Malcolm nodded, and said. "I sure do need something to get around with; you seem to have taken away my crutch."
"Well, what's wrong with standing on your own 2 feet?" shi asked, hir eyebrow rose in surprise.
Malcolm looked at hir in disbelief, and then realized that he hadn't told hir about the frostbite, and Yuki amputating his left foot yet.
"Well, it'll be difficult considering Yuki cut off my left foot due to frostbite." He replied, looking at hir with painful eyes.
Rurousha gasped and insisted on seeing his injury.
He removed the covering and Rurousha inspected the wrapping, tenderly and gently unwrapped the bandaged. The foot was missing from above the ankle; apparently Yuki had amputated and seared the end, now it was a blackened stump. Shi then redressed the injury.
Shi nodded in admiration, "My niece had done very well, shi had probably saved your life, but, I think I can do something for you though, just wait here for a bit."
And with that, shi left the cave.
20 minutes later, shi returned, carrying a medium sized log, which shi proceeded to carve with a large machete that shi was carrying in hir knapsack.
Malcolm watched, curiously wondering what shi was doing, as shi whistled and worked.
Soon, tiredness took over, and Malcolm drifted off to sleep again.
He was aroused again by a soft but firm shake on his shoulder.
Groggily, he opened his eyes and look at Yuki's Aunt. Shi had something behind hir back.
"I hope that this will get you back on your paws again, so to speak." Shi giggled, "Tada" shi said, revealing the object.
Malcolm's eye's just widened in amazement and surprise.
Rurousha had fashioned a wooden artificial foot, with straps and everything, but it was design of the foot that intrigued him.
It wasn't a human foot, but a taur hind paw, so much like Yuki and Rurousha's own paw.
"Oh wow, but why a paw?" he asked, taking the object and examined it more closely.
"I'm sorry, I can only carve paws at this moment, trying to do something different would take weeks of practice. And, I need you mobile as soon as possible. Besides, when you get home, the Federation can reconstruct a human foot for you." Shi smiled.
Malcolm looked at the handiwork, the top of the foot was concave, to allow his stump a firm place to be held and the straps were designed to fit snugly the lower leg.
He hugged the foxtaur fiercely and gave hir the wettest sloppiest kiss he could, which surprised and delighted hir immensely.
Breathless, Rurousha blushed and murmured, "I can see why my niece loves you so much, damn, what a kisser, I feel like a young kit vixen again." Shi giggled, and then hir ears went even brighter when shi realized that hir nipples were poking through hir fur.
"Tit tease." Shi said, giving his head of hair a lil tussle. Malcolm giggled, then asked hir if shi could help him put the foot on.
Slowly, shi shook hir head. "Sorry, we'll have to wait for the leg to heal more and the pain to subside before doing anything more strenuous"
Malcolm nodded his head in agreement, but Rurousha could see that he was disappointed.
So, to cheer him up, shi decided to treat him to special surprise.
Going to the back of the cave, Rurousha carved large portions from the yak, and using the chopping board, cut into thin strips, and then place the pieces in a metal wok.
Then shi opened hir knapsack and from one of the lines of pockets inside, pulled an assortment of herbs and spices plus cooking oil.
Heating the oil over the fire, shi cooked the meat, tossing it up and over.
Going to one of the boxes in the back of the cave, shi brought out one carrot, one potato, a stick of celery, an onion and red and green capsicums.
Shi chopped them up finely, and added them to the wok, cooking the vegetables with the meat. Then when both meat and vegetables were cooked, shi added the herbs and spices.
The aroma coming from the wok was making Malcolm's mouth water and his stomach growl, and a dreamy look came over his face.
When the food was ready, Yuki's Aunt served it on 2 plates, and produced chopsticks.
Fortunately, Malcolm knew how to use the ancient implements and proceeded to eat.
Rurousha did like wise, every now and then struck up a bit of conversation.
Shi asked him about what kind of childhood he had, where he was educated. What was his parents where like.
He answered, and shi told him about hir life.
Malcolm had grown up with foster parents, both foxtaurs in Western Australia; his real parents had died in an accident out in space.
Being the only human child in a foxtaur village was hard, as the other foxtaurs treated him as an outsider. Although they never publicly expressed it, Malcolm suspected that they despised him because of the Humans for Earth movement that has been terrorizing their territory.
Malcolm's status changed dramatically when he interceded a group of humans tormenting a young kit. He put up a valiant but fruitless fight, and he was also badly injured. Fortunately, a large group of foxtaur hunters were in the area and witness his gallant stance against his own people. Even though were too late to prevent him getting hurt, they were able to stop the humans from doing more serious and fatal injuries.
As he and the kit were recovering, the village elders held an emergency meeting.
When he was fit enough to walk, he was summoned in to the chambers, and their, he made honorary clan member, with rights and privileges bestowed to all vixens and tods.
During his teenage years, he had many lovers, but never a denmate. He also dreamed of starting a family, but not one with the foxtaur species.
He still held a dream of having children with a female human.
As much as he loved his foxtaur home, he longed for something more, outside of the village. So with a sad farewell, he left his foster parents and village and journeyed towards the big city.
He started college, doing part time work to pay his way.
The trust fund his parents had left him was enough to ease some of the financial burden, but not enough to live off indefinitely. He paid for courses in genetic engineering and evolution plus animal ethics and welfare. He also studied animal biology and nervous systems.