Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 14
14
The metaphorical stone she had felt in her stomach a while ago just metaphorically exploded, splattering her metaphorical guts all over the walls.
Kiana was speechless, but Renna sure wasn't. "You're going to have a baby, Kiana-Kai?" she twittered excitedly.
Oh dear gods... Oh dear gods... Oooooooh dear gods...
"Ah... Um... You see... Wh- What makes you say that, Mellah?"
She tapped her nose. "Your scent is practically screaming it, girl. I'll admit I don't know much about the different Fox smells just yet, but you're certainly different compared to your mother and sister. Very different."
Different?
OH DEAR GODS!
"Can Ander do that!?" Kiana was on the verge of panic. Her heart was beating so fast she could feel it banging against her ribcage.
"Oh, you know how the menfolk are. But why Ander? Is there something wrong?"
"No! Um, I mean, no, of course not. I'm just curious, that's all."
"I suppose he could, but I doubt it. Loners like him usually don't get much opportunity to learn the subtleties."
Kiana put a hand over her heart and let out a huge sigh of relief.
"I get the feeling I touched on something I shouldn't have," Mellah said. "Are you trying to keep it a secret?"
Kiana considered denying the whole thing, but what would be the point? She was caught red handed. Or... red scented? "Please don't tell anyone, Mellah. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet, and I just know Mother is going to hit the roof when she finds out..."
"But surely she knows already?"
The stone was back, bigger and heavier than before, covered in flapping butterflies and all of them were throwing up and now the picture was getting weird in her head. "N-No, Mellah, she can't possibly. Our noses aren't as good as yours, so..."
"But she's a witchdoctor, right?"
"Of sorts, yes..."
"Then she must know by now. I don't know much about medicine, but even I can tell you must be at least two moons in."
Oh. Dear. Gods. What if she's right? What if Mother does know?
No, she can't!
But what was all that talk at the breakfast table this morning!? She knows something!
That was just coincidence! She was just being snarky! She's not a morning vixen! She was grumpy about all the wagging housewife tongues! There could be a hundred other reasons!
Kiana shook her head. This train of thought was doing nothing besides giving her a massive headache. "Please just promise me you won't tell anyone. You too, Renna."
Mellah shrugged. "All right, but it won't do you much good. You know what happens when skinny girls like you go for so long without showing, right?"
Kiana clutched her stomach, feeling like she was about to throw up. "Nooo...?"
"They wake up one morning and boom! Everything shows all at once."
The thought of herself waddling down to breakfast one fine morning cradling a tummy the size of a prize-winning pumpkin was more than Kiana could bear. Although Father's expression would probably make for a good laugh before Mother murdered her.
"I take it your family doesn't approve of the father?"
"No, they love him, but... it's complicated."
"Forgive me for saying so, but I think you're the one making it complicated."
"I know, I know!" Kiana admitted. "But the father's been through a lot, and things have finally calmed down a little, and he's finally happy, but now all this new stuff has come up and..." She sighed. "I haven't even told him yet. You're the first ones I've talked to. Not even my sister knows, and I tell her practically everything. Usually."
Mellah nodded. "I figured that. Maybe it's because I'm a Wolf, and you're a Fox. Maybe it's because I know absolutely nothing about your kind or their ways. We are as strange to each other as two strangers can possibly be, and that's what makes it easier."
"Maybe..." It actually was nice, talking about her problems to someone without fear of consequence or reprisal. It felt like the stone in her belly was shrinking.
"I'll tell you what I think. The next time you see your mate, you sit him down and tell him everything that's on your mind. Don't leave anything out. Be perfectly honest. Then, if he takes it well, you can go to your family and share the news together. I know it might seem scary at first, and it is, but you have to remember it's also wondrous. It's a miracle. It's a gift."
Life is a gift...
Kiana wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Thank you, Mellah. You're probably right. No, you're definitely right. I just... No, I can't keep running forever. I have to face this."
"I'm glad I could help, dear." Mellah gave her a light squeeze. "Who is your mate, if you don't mind me asking?"
Kiana froze. Should she tell her? They didn't even know it was possible for a Wolf and a Fox to... 'mingle'. Of course, neither did she when they first...
Oh, if only Sarah had been one day earlier with her confessions, life would have been a whole lot simpler right now...
"Well, my mate... He's... um..."
Renna gasped and her hands flew up to her cheeks. "It's not Ander, is it?" she asked, her tail swishing back and forth so fast it was almost a blur.
Mellah chuckled. "Now now, Renna, it's rude to assume. Ander did save her, I'll give you that. And he did carry her all the way home. And he did let himself be Thrown to the Wolves to ensure her continued safety, but that doesn't necessarily mean..." Her eyes narrowed and her gaze slowly shifted to meet Kiana's, making her feel like a bug beneath a spy glass. "Wait a minute. Are you? I mean, you and Ander? Together?"
Kiana shrugged and bit her lip. "Well... Maaaaybe... Yes?"
"Eee!" Renna clapped her hands and, even though she was sitting, somehow managed to bounce up and down. "I'm so glad Ander finally found someone! All the girls back home were always so mean to him."
"But..." Mellah was having a bit more trouble processing this information. "If you and Ander are... 'involved' with each other, then..." She pointed a finger at Kiana's belly. "Whose baby is that?"
There was so much heat rising up in Kiana's cheeks she thought her fur might catch fire at any moment. "Well, you see... How should I put this? It turns out Wolves and Foxes aren't quite as... incompatible as you might think..." Her words hung in the air like fruit waiting to be plucked. It was the first time she had ever spoken of her intimacy with Ander. It felt both sinful and liberating at the same time, like swimming in a peaceful lake in the dead of night, wearing nothing but water and moonlight. She found herself curling up into a tight little ball with her tail wrapped around her ankles, unsure of how these Wolves would take the news. For all she knew, she had committed a terrible act of blasphemy against their god or something.
She waited. The silence dragged on and on. And then...
Renna's eyes went as wide as dinner plates and she broke out into the biggest smile Kiana had ever seen. Even with her lumps and bumps, that smile transformed her face into something almost angelic, like the sun breaking through a thick layer of clouds after a long bout of rain. She squealed and threw her arms around Kiana's shoulders, hugging her with the fierce tightness only a child could manage, which was no laughing matter because Renna was by no means child-sized in Fox terms. "By the Cora, Kiana-Kai! You have to tell him!" she said, rocking the both of them left and right like a metronome.
Kiana alternated between laughing and gasping for air. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been hugged so vigorously by so many different people in quick succession. She returned it as best as she could manage with her arms pinned to her sides, lightly patting her on the back. She suspected these two probably had so many hugs to give, but never really had anyone to give them to. Not in that foul place...
Mellah had a look of utmost incredulity plastered all over her face, which struck Kiana as incredibly funny, considering she had spent a good portion of her life sharing the same tribe with a half-Wolf half-Fox hybrid without even knowing it.
She pointed a shaking finger at Kiana's belly. "Are you saying that... the father of that child is...?"
The front door banged open and Kiana almost had a heart attack when she heard Ander's voice in the kitchen. "Hi, Beth."
"Ander, finally! Tell this brother of yours he's being completely unreasonable!"
"No time, we just came to grab some stuff."
"Stuff? What stuff? And wipe your damn feet before you come in here! You're getting my floors all wet!"
"Whoops, sorry."
"You too, Rufio!"
"We got more important matters to worry 'bout than soiled floors, woman! Where's my good hammer?"
Kiana, Mellah, and Renna exchanged a puzzled glance, then scrambled for the kitchen.
"Oh my..." Kiana whispered. The kitchen she had left in a reasonable state of order (albeit a noisy one) had now degenerated into pure chaos. Nilia and Sorrin were waiting outside the door with a veritable river of Foxes streaming down the road behind them, carrying all manner of assorted oddments above their heads; planks, buckets, bulky burlap bags filled with who knows what, boxes of tools, and a thousand other things. Layla was still talking to the Tomato Wolf, apparently oblivious to what was going on around her, and Hezzi had gotten into the sugar bowl. Kiana knew they were possibly on the brink of disaster, but she couldn't help but laugh when the little grey Wolf shoved a big handful of the stuff into his mouth and grimaced, then licked his sugar-frosted lips anyway, lapping it all up with a surprisingly long tongue.
"Care to tell us what you've mobilized the entire valley for?" Mother asked.
"Defensive project," Ander replied. "Not entirely sure if it'll work or not, but we thought we'd get started anyway, see how it goes. Time is against us."
Something in the adjoining smithy fell over with a crash and Father shouted: "OW! Fer the love of -!" He poked his head through the door, a black line of soot smeared all over his forehead. "Bethany! Where's my bloody hammer!? It's not in the forge!"
"It's in your bloody belt!" Mother shouted back.
He looked down at his toolbelt and widened his eyes in surprise. "Oh, so it is! Thanks, darling."
Mother rubbed her temples, whispered a silent prayer, then noticed her eldest daughter. "Kiana? Have you been crying?"
Ander stood up straight upon hearing those words, and Kiana could practically sense him going into comfort mode.
"No, of course not," she said with a smile, hoping to defuse the situation early.
"Your eyes are all red."
"Oh, that's because I was sitting by the fire just now."
Ander's brow creased into a troubled frown. "Is something the matter?"
He knows something's wrong. He knows_..._
That's when Mellah put her hand on Kiana's shoulder. "No need to fret, Ander. Just three girls having a girl talk, getting to know each other a bit better."
"Right, right..." He still looked worried, and Kiana knew this wouldn't be the end of it. Whenever he sensed something might not be absolutely perfect, whenever he had the slightest inkling that something was troubling her, he thought it his personal duty to sniff it out and make it all better. But this time was different. It wasn't something that needed fixing, just... what did she want, anyway? What did she really desire? Could it really be something as simple as acceptance? Didn't she have that already? Could this be the right time? Everyone was together, so maybe... No, this wasn't something she could just blurt out. But then again, every hour that passed would only make it worse. She definitely didn't want to wait until she blew up like Mellah seemed to think she would, but neither did she want to occupy his mind with a monumental issue like this when he was supposed to be devising some kind of battle stratagem to defend the entire valley.
Oh, what should she do? Wait a while? Ask him for a private word?
Fortunately (or unfortunately, Kiana wasn't quite sure how to feel about it), the immediate decision was taken out of her hands by the big Wolfess with the bear claw. She stuck her head in through the door and said, "Are you two ready yet? We need to get a move on!"
"Coming!" Father gave Mother a quick peck on the cheek, his toolbelt loaded so heavily it was on the verge of pulling his pants down. "I trust you'll be able to hold the fort while I'm away?"
"It would help if I knew what you were doing."
"We're not entirely sure ourselves yet. It's just a lot of ideas at the moment, but I'll probably be back before dark."
"And you expect me to keep that natural disaster of a Wolf in check 'till then? All by myself?"
"What natural disaster? You mean Hezzi?"
Hezzi looked up from the breadbox and smiled, two big hot cross buns impaled on his canines, side by side. "I wanna go wif Ander," he said, making the buns bounce up and down in his jaws before he scarfed them down.
"You see? You see!?" Mother exclaimed. "Near-fatal stab wound, lacerations all over his face, catastrophic blood-loss coupled with dire fatigue after fleeing from his home through freezing snow in the dead of night without getting any sleep whatsoever and he's running around like a little plover! That boy will be the death of me!"
"Well, his name does mean 'Fast Paws'," Ander said. "Don't worry, Bethany, I'll keep a good eye on him. If he shows any bad signs, I'll bring him right back."
Mother looked like she was about to explode. "If you - I don't even - Of all the - Urgh! Fine! Bloody Wolves! But if you let him lift so much as a twig for whatever hare-brained scheme you got bouncing around in that head of yours, Ander, I will make sure he isn't the only one bedridden for the next fortnight!"
"I understand completely."
"So I can go?" Hezzi jumped down from the counter, his eyes twinkling like a pair of icicles in the sunshine.
"As long as you promise to take it slow. That means no running!"
"Okay."
"And one more thing." Mother went to the hall closet and, after a bit of rummaging, came back with a long, red scarf. It was the one she had knitted two winters ago, but nobody had ever worn because she had gone a bit overboard on the length (and also because the tassels were super kitsch, not that anybody would ever tell her that, of course). "Here you go," she said and wrapped it around his neck in big, flowing loops. "How you Wolves go around wearing nothing but leather and buckskin in this weather is beyond me."
Oh my word, he looks so cute! Kiana thought, with his big silvery eyes peeking out from beyond the folds of the scarf, all wrapped around his head like a bow on a present.
Hezzi held one of the tassels up to his nose and gave it a sniff, then looked up at Mother.
"Why?" he asked, confused.
"Because it's freezing outside!" Mother barked, but that didn't seem to lessen Hezzi's confusion in the least. On the contrary, his frown only deepened.
"But then... isn't that more of a reason to keep this for yourself? I mean..." He looked around the room, looking for support but getting none.
Mother sighed and regarded Hezzi with a sad little smile. "Listen up, kid. You're my patient. That means it's my duty to make sure you get better. But more than that, you're Ander's little brother, and that practically makes you family, and there is no way any member of my family is going out on a cold day like this without a scarf! Understand?"
Hezzi swallowed something back and looked up at the kindly vixen he had known all of two hours, most of which he had been unconscious for, seemingly at a loss for words. "Th- Thank you," he said, lightly touching the wool, as if afraid it might fall apart at any moment.
Mother ruffled his hair. "Just make sure those stiches don't get wet and I'll be happy."
Hezzi smiled and pulled the scarf tight, letting the ends drop down against his back. "Okay."
Kiana felt a little sting in her eyes at that, seeing the corners of his mouth turn up just beyond the bright red edge of her mother's scarf. Ander had been so convinced his little brother would never smile again, but here he was, smiling so beautifully. Maybe it was just the baby finally starting to mess up her inner workings, making her all weepy over the tiniest little things, but she didn't think so. Hezzi's mother was that blind Wolf with all the bones hanging around her neck, the one that had looked at her with those empty, white eyes and sentenced her to death with a single breath.
Burn her...
She didn't think that Wolfess ever ruffled her son's hair and made sure he was bundled up nice and warm before sending him out.
That will be me someday, gods willing...
Her heart gave a funny little lurch and her stomach tingled in a strange, but not entirely unpleasant way.
Nilia banged her fist against the open door. "Are you lot coming or not? Half the town will be waiting by the time we set off!"
"Coming!" Hezzi sped out the door and down the steps in the blink of an eye, his scarf trailing behind him like the tail of a shooting star.
"What did I just tell you about running!?" Mother shouted after him.
"This is barely meandering!" he shouted back.
"Good gods I need some tea," Mother muttered, rubbing her temples. "Maybe with some peppermint. Or brandy. Lots of brandy. Yes, that would be better..."
"G'bye, darling!" Father said and hurried after Hezzi, his belt jingling and clanking as if he'd stuffed his entire smithy up his pants. Ander turned to follow suit, but the moment his eyes met hers, he hesitated.
"Kiana, I know times are a bit... uncertain right now, but I want you to know I won't let any harm come to you or your family."
"Oh, Ander... You don't have to tell me that. I already know."
"But you'll tell me if something is troubling you, right? I mean..." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and scratched his cheek, not quite meeting her eye anymore. "If there's something eating at you, even if it's something you feel no one can possibly help with, you can always tell me. Even if it's something I can't make better, I can at least be there for you. I'll _always_be there for you."
Kiana was still trying to think of a good response to that when Mellah nudged her in the back, and not lightly either. She nearly stumbled forward, but managed to keep her composure. "I know you'll always be there, Ander, and for that I'm so -"
Mellah nudged her again, and this time Kiana did take an involuntary step forward.
Wow, not even here half a day and already she thinks she knows what's best for my love life.
"I'm so grateful for -"
She got nudged again, this time by a much smaller hand. Renna was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, looking like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
All right, fine! I get it! Sheesh!
"You know what? I think I'll come with you."
Ander raised his eyebrows, but there was a little smile there, too. "Are you sure? It'll probably be boring."
"I'm sure. If Mother's okay with it, that is?"
Mother flapped her hand as if she were shooing away a particularly bothersome fly. "Go ahead. Half my patients seem intent on running amok through the streets, anyway. I should be fine with just Layla. If the girl ever stops making eyes at Mr. Danado!"
Layla looked up, smiling from ear to ear, still entrapping the poor consternated Wolf in her arms. "Actually, I think Mr. Danado and I will be stepping outside as well."
"You will?"
"I will?" Danado added.
"Of course, silly! You didn't think I was joking about the welcoming party, did you?"
"Now is not the time for a -"
"Now is the _perfect_time for a party, and you're going to help!" Layla exclaimed, sounding exceptionally chipper, even for her. Almost suspiciously so. She jumped from the table, hooking Danado's arm over her shoulder, and beamed at the rest of the room. "Missus Mellah, you come, too! And you, Renna! Can't stay cooped up in this stuffy old house when there's so much work to do!" She practically dragged Danado through the door, and the poor soul had no choice but to follow or lose his only support.
"Hey! Ow! Where are you taking me!?"
"Wolf Hill! Over yonder!" They could still hear her voice as she rounded the corner and disappeared. "Hey, Mary! Wanna help? There's gonna be a party! Bring Thomas, we might need to build some stuff! Yeah, spread the word!"
Mother rolled her eyes in exasperation. "My own family will be the death of me long before some army of Wolves shows up, I swear to the gods..."
Mellah put a hand on Renna's shoulder. "Well, child, it sounds like we've been drafted."
Renna giggled, apparently just as eager as Hezzi to get outside and look around a bit.
Feeling like this was the perfect time to escape the madhouse, Kiana started towards the door and the thinning trickle of Foxes making their way down the road, but something held her back.
She turned to Mellah, feeling nothing but gratitude for this big, motherly Wolf that had barged into their lives so unexpectedly. "Thank you, Mellah. For everything back there. I really needed that."
"It was nothing, dear. I enjoyed our little talk."
"And um... Sorry for the whole Banno thing. That was..."
Mellah held up her hand. "Let neither of us speak of him any more. Let's just be happy that sick bastard is dead and gone."
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