Providence wondered what all this meant for her. Giselle wasn't a pet or a slave because she was mated to the leader, Kagan. What did that mean for her though? If Kagan freed the hairy Toufik, did that mean she too was free?
"It’s a shitty situation but going in the right direction. Groups of Toufik are being divided into clans throughout the planet that answers to the regent of the province they inhabit. They still work in their old capacity, but now they have the ability to refuse dangerous tasks and the right to report crimes against them. My hope is that the regents take this seriously. Although the Toufik are mostly gentle giants, I've seen them fight. A Toufik rebellion would be nasty indeed."
Just as Providence was considering how she fit in to this odd equation, and Giselle explained the Toufik's plight, one of the hairy creatures entered their tent.
"Oh hey I'll introduce you to Petal. She is Stone's mate. I met her on the Jurou Biljana ship. They don't speak, instead they use sign language. I think that was another reason they were underestimated."
Giselle made hand gestures to the hairy female who approached with a sharp toothed smile. The female had a giant round belly and sat with a groan.
"She's pregnant?" Providence asked. She didn't know, maybe they were just rotund. She hadn't had an opportunity to study them too closely yet.
"Yep, so am I." Giselle said.
Providence looked at Giselle with an open mouth.
"Yes we are compatible with the Cadi." Giselle smiled.
Madhava whirled around.
"Your warrior brought you on this mission carrying young?" Madhava growled looking ferocious.
"Nope he just found out today. Why do you think I'm sitting here instead of playing out there?" Giselle retorted smartly.
"We should take you directly home." Madhava groused.
Now she knew why Kagan had been so bossy. These men seemed to treat women with kid gloves. It was a bit of a shock going from being seen as one of the guys to being a tiny foreign female in less than a week.
"I'm pregnant not ill Madhava." Giselle insisted. "They're a bit overbearing, but it hasn't stopped me yet." Giselle cast Providence a wicked smile.
Petal sat contentedly with the woman peeling fruit and popping it into her mouth as she listened to their discussion. The hairy Toufik offered Providence a piece which she accepted with a nod of thanks.
"Enough about me and all this. How did you get here?" Giselle asked with a wave of her hand.
Madhava
Madhava stood by the tent flap watching the activity outside blindly as he listened to the females talk. He couldn't believe Dagaa had left him to deal with the females knowing full well how he was around them.
Giselle wasn't frightened by him, but she had been harmed by his hand. Madhava shook his head in shame at the memory. He had been forced to hold her as Vigdis had fondled her against her will.
Giselle acted like she owed him her life for killing Vigdis. But in reality, Madhava owed her his life. If it wasn't for the small human, he would likely be dead. She had been the one to suggest Kagan reprieve him and all the rest of the surrendering enemy that final day on the battlefield. Giselle kindly forgave him, but he couldn't seem to forgive himself, for one of the many things he regretted.
Giselle knew how Vigdis manipulated his warriors, even though Madhava never told her about the sister he protected. Madhava frowned as he thought on the sibling that refused to see him. Kore blamed him for their parents’ death. If she only knew what he put up with to keep her and her family safe. He did not expect her gratitude, but it might be nice to have ties to family, since it was doubtful he would ever have one of his own. All he desired was to have a chance to watch his nieces and nephews play, and not just from afar.
Madhava was pulled from his reverie by Giselle's gasp.
"They pale ones are building a human colony?!" Giselle exclaimed.
"Yes. They're called the Miran Sona. They think we're going to kill ourselves off or some sort of mass extinction might occur in the future."
"Well that explains what I remember hearing, but that's still shitty."
"Yeah, but I feel awful for Cila. She was forced by her own people to help. Once we made it through the wormhole those overgrown lizards attacked." Providence explained. "They looked at me like I was made of gold."
"I bet it was because of me. I'm so sorry." Giselle frowned. "The Jurou Biljana probably thought they'd get a pretty penny when they sold you here."
"It's okay. I hope Cila and Zer made it safe with the others." Providence grimaced.
Madhava didn't like the fear he saw on Providence's face as she recalled her experience at the hands of the Jurou Biljana. When the medic had told them what she suffered, he'd been beside himself with rage. A stunning blast from a disrupter could stop a charging metcor, it was a wonder Providence's nervous system didn't shut down.