Katerina Winters

Bright light filtering in through the black metal shutters of her bedroom window woke Ember. Letting out a pathetic groan, she turned over into the cool softness of her pillow. Instinctively, a maternal section of her brain rebuked the notion of going back to sleep and opened one eye to view the crib next to her side of the bed.

 

Black metal with blue energy-based strips of light running through the metal was carefully designed and crafted to her specifications to resemble a high-tech badass basinet. A red light on the side touch screen panel indicated the crib was empty. With the prospect of going back to sleep now completely lost, Ember sat up and yawned. Stiffly, she stretched her back as she walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the living area. Sitting in the middle of the floor cross-legged was her mate. Facing the large windows that overlooked the river and the expanse of the green forest, Red held their daughter easily with one hand.

 

Ember was sure she would never get tired of watching this odd morning routine he did with Okaj every morning. Wearing only his loin cloth he sat with their sleeping infant in one of his large hands and stared at her as the morning light bathed over her each day.

 

Being the first human and yautja baby was an absolute experience for everyone of Ojibwe. No one knew quite what to expect with Okaj. The doctor they located and brought to Ojibwe told Ember prior to birth that from her information the baby should appear human for the most part. But the most important factor, the factor that all yautja were really interested in was that any human and yautja offspring would always produce girls. And only when those girls propagated with full blooded yautja could they reproduce either a male or female full blooded yautja again.

 

Ember was just happy the child didn’t have mandibles. She worried silently for months about how breastfeeding was even going to be possible with her.

 

But Okaj came out beautiful. Bright orange eyes set amongst the dark black sclera of her eyes was the only thing inhuman looking about her. With a head full of soft brown baby hair and pudgy soft brown baby skin, Okaj was perfection. Everywhere Ember took the infant she stopped yautja’s in their tracks. Ember has watched fearsome warriors covered in blood stop and stare at the infant in complete wonder. Leaning into the button to the coffee machine she had installed, she laughed inwardly as she remembered how Okaj caused chaos amongst the hunters even on the day of her arrival.

 

She was laying on the couch in the living room for her midday nap when she felt the sharp pain. She should not have laid down, Red told her when he left that morning for an off-planet meeting with another yautja clan to not lay on the couch without him there to help pick her back up again. Well she was tired dammit, and they shouldn’t own such a low couch. Ember figured she would just slowly get up on her own or call Koga to help her. It took weeks to learn how to say all their names correctly, but she still referred to Red instead of Akur. She would only call him that if she was angry with him or occasionally in bed—to which he enjoyed immensely. Grabbing at her communicator from the couch, she pressed the entry for Koga but there was no answer. With no choice she pressed the entry for Tyrnn and felt immense relief when he answered gruffly.

 

“Tyrnn,” she cried out desperately as another wave of pain hit her.

 

Beeping from the communicator told her the line was disconnected and for a brief moment she felt panic. The panic only lasted the few seconds it took Tyrnn to run from wherever he was through her front door. Looking up she was surprised to see Baäl following quickly behind Tyrnn.

 

Wincing in pain Ember tried to sit up better on the sofa and looked from Baäl to Tyrnn with confusion. “What is he…”

 

“We were training, when we received your call,” Baäl’s deep voice was calm and steady but Ember could see his beady yellow eyes stare at her round stomach with unease as she clutched at it.

 

Looking to Tyrnn who looked borderline frantic, Baäl stepped closer to her. “I will carry her to the…”

 

“No!” Tyrnn’s fierce answer seemed to snap himself back to reality. Bending over Tyrnn scooped her up high in his arms.

 

For some reason realizing the moment she and Red had been waiting for had suddenly arrived, freaked her out. Crying she held onto Tyrnn’s neck as he gave her a worried stare.

 

“Do not worry, you will be fine,” the words of comfort sounded stiff out of the hunter’s mouth but Ember gave him a shaky smile regardless as he began to move quickly through the living room towards the door.

 

Remembering her bag, she looked over Tyrnn’s shoulder and called out to Baäl. “Please get my bag by the bed!”

 

A black blur of the hunter disappearing up the stairs was her last image of him as Tyrnn ran with her across the city to the palace infirmary with her in his arms. Hours later, Red burst through to the operation turned delivery room with a wild energy she had never seen before. Many hours later Okaj was born.

 

Now the two were inseparable, drinking her caffeine-free coffee Ember stared at the two with a smirk. If it wasn’t for her boobs she was quite sure the two would have no need for her. When Red was in the room it was if Okaj could sense the hunter and demanded that he come and hold her. Setting down her empty mug, she carefully made her way to them and sat down next to him on the floor. With one of his thick fingers gripped tightly in her soft chubby hands, Red continued to stare down at the child as he addressed Ember.

 

“Good morning my mate,” his voice was thick with a calmness that washed over them all.

 

“Good morning my love.”

 

 

Fin