One incredibly tall beast reached out and tore her robe off leaving her naked. The hands continued to come at her. One picked up and stared at her foot, another her hand. Someone else pulled her long hair, but it was hand that went between her legs that had Giselle frozen in fear.
A light suddenly turned on and there was a strange voice hissing at the door. The creatures backed away and the one holding her set her on the floor. Giselle tried to back up but was still surrounded. She couldn't see who had been at the door over the behemoths but all the beasts seemed to heed whatever was said.
In the light Giselle got a better look at the giant creatures. Her first impression had been correct. They were some kind of ape men. Giselle noted they were all huge, and they were naked, although it didn't seem to matter with all the hair.
The large one who had torn off her robe approached again. Giselle opened her mouth to cry out but the stern look of his creased brow and the way he put his finger to his mouth silenced her. He made several gestures to his companions, and they grunted as they gestured back in some form of sign language.
Next thing she knew Giselle was being herded further back in the large room. As the group fanned out Giselle could see they were in some kind of large metal holding cell. Along the wall other furry naked creatures huddled.
The big beast motioned and one of the creatures laying on a rough looking mattress rose up and came forward. The beast that wandered towards her was smaller than those surrounding Giselle. The closer the creature came she could make out what looked like breasts.
The furry female reached out and took Giselle's hand in her much larger one and led her back to a group of other females. Giselle glanced up and gasped.
Clinging to the hair on the female's back was a baby about the size of a human toddler. As Giselle huddled by the woman, the babe blinked its wide innocent eyes at her, then detached from its mother. It poked one fist in its mouth then toddled towards her, its other hand outstretched.
The female quickly grabbed the child but not before the baby had a handful of Giselle's long blonde hair. The beast woman gently untangled the child's fist then made a gesture to Giselle. She looked apologetic.
Giselle wasn't sure what to do. She clearly wasn't supposed to speak, none of the creatures did. Giselle was almost afraid to move her hands for fear of communicating something she hadn't intended. So instead she sat quietly watching.
The woman leaned back against the wall and hefted her child to her breast, the large babe latching on eagerly. The little one stroked its mother's arm contentedly as it suckled making little grunts and slurps.
Giselle smiled tentatively then was surprised at the hand that patted her knee. The furry woman gave a closed lipped smile, her eyes pleasant and nonthreatening. Giselle felt comfort in the gesture and she sighed letting go of some of the tension in her shoulders. The woman leaned her head back seeming to take a nap while she fed the baby.
Giselle relaxed despite her nudity and the chilly air, wrapping her arms around her middle and pulling her knees up. Even though she stared at her lap Giselle could feel dozens of eyes upon her. This was far better than the harrowing moments following waking up in this metal cell.
As Giselle sat, it finally sank in that she was somehow a captive, no longer on Earth. In the span of hours she had seen more aliens than she thought possible in her life. Giselle was angry with the pale lanky ones who had kidnapped her. The image of the tall female came to mind. She had been so sad and had argued to keep Giselle alive. She had to be thankful for that at least.
Giselle realized she must be on the Jurou Biljana, the flesh merchant's ship. That meant the beast surrounding her were also captive. What did that mean? The only thing Giselle could fathom was that the Jurou Biljana were slave traders. The thought made her tremble uncontrollably.
A warm arm wrapped around her shoulders and tugged her close. Giselle looked up to see the furry female didn't look aggressive. She rubbed Giselle's cold skin as if attempting to warm her. The female grunted and a responding grunt came from several feet away. Giselle looked up to see the massive male from earlier. The female lifted her hand from the baby and made a series of motions.
The male approached slowly. He probably expected her to start screaming again. He knelt tentatively in front of Giselle before climbing onto the tattered pallet. His hulking form encompassed her left side while the hairy female bracketed her right. Then they went back to sitting quietly making a Giselle sandwich.
The male kept his hands to himself so Giselle relaxed, an incredible warmth enveloping her. She started to notice the hairy creatures in the cell were all making subtle motions with their hands. The gestures were as complex as sign language she'd seen on Earth but never learned. Did the creatures not speak or did they not want to, given their captive circumstances?