Steph's Outcast

Then, she holds out a toy. It's a carved little fish, something Aehako made when he was here, and it's been painted in bright colors. I feel Pak's excitement, his little tail flicking, but he looks uncertainly at his father.

Juth nods.

Pak practically leaps up and holds his small hand out to Raashel, who takes it as if strangers are a normal thing to her and she leads him over to sit with the children. Juth tenses, watching them, and I watch his tight shoulders as Pak joins the others. It's going to take time for everyone to become comfortable, but this is good for Pak. He needs other children to play with. They both need people.

"I'm going to put my hands on you now," Veronica says to me. "So I can check how things are healing."

"I can wait," I protest again. "It's not bad at all."

Juth makes a displeased sound low in his throat and shakes his head. "It hurts her," he tells Veronica. "She cannot walk."

"Well that's not good," Veronica says easily, and then takes my hand, closing her eyes. She goes quiet and still, concentrating.

I don't feel anything except a slight warmth, and so I glare over at Juth. He glares back at me, just as obstinate as ever. I should have known better than to get into a battle of wills with the most stubborn man on the beach. Hasn't he rebuffed us for months and months simply because he's that impossible?

R'jaal stalks into the cave, scanning over the group. He sees me and nods, then disappears once more and returns with Raahosh. A few other people trickle in, and I realize everyone is squeezing into the cave. It's warm in here from body heat, so warm that I can smell other people perspiring and my own skin feels slightly damp. I glance over at Juth and he looks more than slightly unnerved, like he's going to bolt at any moment. So I pat the blanket next to me, indicating he should sit.

He does, his hand brushing over mine, and I twine my fingers with his to reassure him. I know what it's like to be new to an established group and I can only imagine the anxiety he's feeling.

Veronica releases my hand with a sigh and opens her eyes. "It's healing well. I encouraged a few things to speed up the healing, but I'm too tired to do more. I'll see how I feel tomorrow."

"Really, it's fine," I reassure her. "It already feels better." Which, to my surprise, isn't just me placating her. The throbbing has gone away, and even though I probably can't walk still, I feel better than I did. "Thank you so much."

She gives me a tired smile. "I wish it was more."

"Are we all here now?" Liz calls out, getting to her feet. She touches Raashel's head as she stands, her arms around Ahsoka, her youngest, and steps over people to get to her mate. "Tell everyone outside to squeeze in for a bit. We all need to have a group meeting."

More people press into the cave, and I see the heads of a few Shadow Cat members. O'jek looks over at Juth and his expression turns cold. I automatically bristle, because Juth has done nothing wrong, and pull his hand into my lap, making it very clear that we're together.

R'jaal moves to Raahosh's side, and then studies the cluster of people here. "We are lucky no one was hurt, but it does not mean that the beach will be safe until these creatures leave. The hunters are trying to make them move, but they only burrow in deeper."

"They're not going to move," pipes up a familiar voice. Devi jumps to her feet at the back of the cave, her eyes bright with excitement. "It's a nesting migration. They've shown up here on the shore to lay eggs. Once they're done laying, they'll leave, and then once the eggs hatch, we'll be back to normal. Until then, we just enjoy the show."

"Enjoy?" Bek retorts. "My mate was nearly killed."

Devi's expression falls. "But they're just doing what their instincts tell them to do. It's not their fault we set up on their beach. They don't care about us. They just want to lay eggs where the sand is warm. That's why we've seen these little red crustaceans for days now. I think it's a symbiotic relationship with the creatures, just like we have with our khuis. They eat the leavings of the shell-beasts and clean their shells like remoras do with sharks. When they reach the end of their life cycle, they come here and their dying bodies warm the beach, which in turn, provides a safe nesting spot for the shell-beasts. It's…beautiful." She clasps her hands over her chest. "We just need to stay out of the way."