Upon a Savage Shore

Author's note 8-12-14: Sorry I didn't post this sooner. I had a lot of trouble with chapter 18 and did not want to commit to anything until I was sure I had the problem resolved.

This is a transitional chapter, setting up the events to follow, so no sex or combat.

I have received a couple of messages indicating there is some issue or other with these chapters appearing on Iphones. I have no idea what the fix for that issue could be. If you are reading on your phone, please do not give me a bad rating if the story is cut off for some reason. It isn't my fault.

Also, I wanted to let the readers know that it takes a considerable amount of time for corrections to be made once a story is actually posted on the site. I caught the typos in the last chapter and did the edit, but as of this posting they still have not gone through.

Thanks to everyone leaving comments or sending messages. Very much appreciated.

*****

"Now that you are a Second, there should be a name for the Household," Clot'ilda observed, administering a local anesthetic to Tem'Ma'tel's swollen chin.

"A name?" Tem'Ma'tel said a little unclearly. The swelling where her teeth had cut the inside of her lower lip made it hard to enunciate properly. It hadn't occurred to her, but her new sister was right. There was a difficulty, though. "There has never been a Human Household."

"Humans have Households," Clot'ilda said. She pulled Tem'Ma'tel's lip down to run a medical scanner over the small wound. "They have a husband and a wife. I showed you the words in the guide. They must have Households."

Tem'Ma'tel pushed the Pah'Tht's hand away and argued, "There has never been a Household among the jZav'Etch with a Human male as Guardian and Defender."

"That is true," Clot'ilda said with a little frown. From the medical kit she took a small piece of white plastic. This she placed on the inside of her new sister's lip and held it for a five count, sealing the small wound.

"What are they talking about?" Liam asked M'pel E'kmel.

"It is a sisterly discussion, Sergeant," she said with a smile. "They speak of what to call your Household. Now, do hold still and try not to speak for a moment."

Liam held his peace while the commander stapled the cut on his cheek closed. The one on his eyebrow she had sealed with surgical adhesive. His swelling was already going down as the meds from his kit took effect.

"Now raise your arms," M'pel E'kmel instructed. "I'm afraid this is going to hurt quite a bit."

"What do you... Aaarrgh! Damn it, woman!" Liam snapped. "That's fucking tender! Take it easy."

"I don't think they are broken," she said, keeping the smile off her face, but unable to stop her tail from flicking.

"That's what the scanner is for," he grumbled.

"Well," she said primly. "Let us see what it can tell us. I do think it is wise to practice these things while we still have the use of the scanners. Their power cells won't last forever, you know."

"The ribs are bruised, not broken," he growled through his teeth. "What did you mean by a name for my Household?"

"Every Household has a name attached to it," she explained, examining the scanner. "You are correct. Your ribs are not broken. I wish the two of you had not been so... fervent in your courtship."

"Courtship," Liam snorted and instantly wished he hadn't. Tem'Ma'tel's kick had left him in no fit state to do rash things like laugh, snort or breathe deeply. If it hadn't been for the shock and adrenaline he wouldn't have been able to make good on his Ka' chasck.

"The kit suggests a local anesthetic and bed rest for twenty-four hours. We both know that won't happen." She took the hypo and injected Liam before he realized she'd even taken the thing from its case. "You should be able to breathe without pain now."

"That does feel better," Tem'Ma'tel said, rubbing her chin. "What name do you think we should choose?"

"A Human name would be appropriate, but it would not be proper," Clot'ilda said, running the scanner over her sister's shoulder. "We must choose a good one."

"You are right, of course," Tem'Ma'tel agreed. "No jZav'etch would ever recognize Household Liam or Household Carter."

"The Household cannot be named for one of us," Clot'ilda said, shaking her head. "Your shoulder is swollen, but it is not badly injured. Try not to use it more than you need to until the swelling goes away. Why did you fight him so hard?"

"I do not know," Tem'Ma'tel said, reluctant to tell her sister the truth.

"Was it just because he shot you?"

"I think in part it was," the dTel'Qohar said. "My thigh hurts."

"You over did it," Clot'ilda said with a disapproving flick of her ears. "Your leg only just healed."

"He punched me there."

"He what?" Real concern tempered with anger flashed through the Pah'Tht.

"He was right to do so," Tem'Ma'tel replied quickly in defense of their mate. "I would have struck him a serious blow had he not."

"Why you could not simply accept a formal proposal of Chaq' Ka' shisk I will never understand," Clot'ilda grumbled, running the scanner over the injured limb. "No real damage was done, thankfully. Swelling of the new tissue. It has aggravated the injury. The kit suggests stretching and plenty of water. I will have to wrap it with a support bandage."

"Again?"

"You should not have let him punch you," Clot'ilda observed sagely as she opened the seal on the trouser leg.

"I told you why I could not propose Chaq' Ka' shisk," Tem'Ma'tel said softly.

"The score you felt you must settle between you?" Clot'ilda snorted disapprovingly. "He would have taken you. I would have seen to that. And if you had made the proposal, you would not have gotten injured."

"It was worth it," Tem'Ma'tel said with a bashful smile. "You were right about him."

"He is wonderful, is he not?" chuckled Clot'ilda.

"Smooth and thick," purred Tem'Ma'tel.

"And no points!" Clot'ilda giggled.

"Clot'ilda!" Tem'Ma'tel said, a notion suddenly popping into her head. "What do you think of Household SarJ'ant?"

Clot'ilda considered for a long moment and then slowly she began to nod her head. It was not a proper name among the jZav'Etch, but it was a rough phonetic translation of Liam's rank. jZav'Etch had no sergeants in their military, only low ranking officers. It would do. It would do very well.

"Household SarJ'ant," Clot'ilda murmured approvingly. "Let it be so. You and I. We are now sisters in Household SarJ'ant."

"And let no warrior malign the name," Tem'Ma'tel said formally, according to the ancient customs of their people.

"There, Sergeant," M'pel E'kmel said with a satisfied sigh. "All finished. And you may be gratified to know, your mates have chosen a name for your Household."

"Yeah?" he asked, pulling his shirt on gingerly. "What is it?"

"They will tell you. It is not my place," she said and closed the medical kit. "Now, there is work for us to do. I believe you are well enough to begin on the gate. Mind those ribs, though. Clot'ilda and I will set about felling some trees and we shall find something for Tem'Ma'tel to do that will not further aggravate her injuries."

+>0<+

Even with the pain suppressors Liam hurt all over. The sun was high and the humidity was up since the morning. He desperately wanted to find a cool place to lay down for a few hours. Even better would be another dip in the pool, especially if Clot'ilda or Tem'Ma'tel joined him.

"Or both." He grinned at the thought. "Now you've got two. How the hell are you going to balance this one?"

He was just turning the remains of one of the ancient wooden hinges on its pin when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Instinctively he ducked behind the wall, only realizing afterward that he recognized the creature. Liam stepped out to have a look and see what it was up to.

About fifty meters down the overgrown rut of a path leading to the gates of the hilltop villa the aardvark thing trundled along in his unhurried way. He seemed to be sniffing the air as he went and when he finally caught sight of Liam he paused and looked warily at the Human.

"Moring, tough guy. Come looking for another scratch under the chin?" asked Liam lightly. For no particular reason it was good to see the creature. Perhaps it was because the beast didn't seem to want to kill any of them. Perhaps it was because Clot'ilda had enjoyed scratching it under the chin as much as the beast had enjoyed being scratched.

The aardvark thing swayed back and forth, rattling its long quills uncertainly. It hesitated and sniffed the air again. Then with a snort it trundled forward, right up to the gate and examined Liam closely. Its nostrils flared and it emitted a noise somewhere between a squeal and a grunt. Liam put out his hand, letting the animal decide what to do next. It sniffed again and then raised its chin expectantly. Liam scratched, coming away with a few of the parasites. The aardvark licked them off and raised his chin again. Liam resumed his scratching.

"Didn't recognize me without my armor, did you?" asked Liam. He withdrew his hand and the beast licked away the bugs. "Clot'ilda is in the orchard with the other two. She'd be glad to see you if you want to visit. I have work to do."

As Liam resumed his examination of the hinges, trying to understand how they had been put together and mounted, the aardvark sat down in a patch of sun, enjoying the heat and the warm stones. It soothed the itching.

"They might have just built the hinges into the wall when they laid the stones," Liam muttered to himself. He glanced at the animal as it watched him. "Doesn't really make sense, though, does it? They'd have had to tear down the wall if they ever needed to replace one."

The animal snorted and stuck his nose in one of the other slots. His tongue flicked out and Liam heard the hinge pin rattle.

"What did you just do?" he asked and looked closely as the beast licked the pin again. The thick wooden dowel rose up into the heavy stone in which it was mounted. "That's fucking brilliant!"

With a little more enthusiasm than he'd had a moment ago, Liam reached into the slot and lifted the weathered hinge pin straight up. With a little fiddling he discovered that not only would the pin rise enough to admit the socket of the hinge, it was also possible to lean the pin back into the wall to remove it.

"Nice work, Sherlock," Liam said and gave the monster another scratch under its jaw. The beast leaned into his fingers and closed its eyes appreciatively. When the Human withdrew his hand it licked away the bulbous green bugs. Grimacing, Liam wiped the sticky saliva from his fingers and said, "Thanks... I guess."

The creature snorted again and rose ponderously to its feet, sniffing the air in the direction of the orchard.

"Go on," Liam told it, smiling. "She's back there. Go ahead and see her."

The animal swayed from side to side and then snorted again before trundling off across the plaza, sniffing the sir as it went.

"I guess we've got a dog after all," Liam murmured to himself, not actually as disappointed as he thought he was. Clot'ilda would be happy and that was not a bad thing.

+>0<+

The females had been cutting down several of the wild trees that had taken root in the orchard among the fruit trees. Some of them had grown quite stout and since there was no overhanging canopy to fight through, they'd also grown straight. Tem'Ma'tel, though battered and sore from her experience of the morning, wielded the axe taken from the life pod. Using it did not require her to walk much, so little stress was put on her wounded leg. Even one handed she had proven to be quite adept with the axe and already three trees had been felled. Clot'ilda, using a short saw, cut the limbs off neatly and M'pel E'kmel dragged them away to the corner of the plaza near the workshops where she used the machete to trim them down even further. What they could not use for the gate would be fuel for the fire when it cured.

With the axe raised to make another strike, Tem'Ma'tel froze. A large animal was approaching across the plaza, pushing aside tall plants and tangled shrubs. Her stance shifted, the axe coming down to a guard position as she hissed a warning to the other females. Cloat'ilda straightened from her work, laying her hand on the EP 12 at her hip. Liam had given it to her since it was smaller than a deq'istle and wouldn't be in her way while she worked. M'pel E'kmel moved closer to the younger females, her machete in her hand. Together they awaited the creature, ready to give battle.

When the aardvark thing broke cover Clot'ilda grinned and trotted to meet it. The beast snorted and swayed side to side, its long head rising and falling. Clot'ilda leapt the stream and stopped, laughing, happy to see it again. When it lowered its head and moved closer she reached out a hand and scratched it under the chin. A groan of pleasure escaped the beast and very slowly it sank to its knees and then rolled onto its side.

"It seems Sergeant Carter allowed this animal through the gate," M'pel E'kmel said smiling. "Apparently we now have a dog."

"What is a dog, Commander?" Tem'Ma'tel wondered as they moved closer to where Clot'ilda knelt, lavishing attention on the monster.

"It is an animal native to Earth," M'pel E'kmel. "Legend has it that dogs are Human's best friend and their history would indicate that statement is not far from the truth. Dogs have accompanied them wherever they have traveled. They have fought in wars alongside Humans for centuries and shared their homes, many becoming as important as members of the family."

"Does this creature resemble a dog?"

"Only in the vaguest terms," M'pel E'kmel said, amused. "It does seem to have similar habits, though."

"He is funny," Clot'ilda laughed, very pleased with the beast. "Do you think he will stay? Do you think Liam will keep him?"

"I do not know, First of Household," M'pel E'kmel said, emphasizing the Pah'Tht's social rank. "It is not for me to decide in any event. That is between you and Sergeant Carter."

"But you are the commander," Clot'ilda said, puzzled.

"In matters of the Household, Clot'ilda, you are in charge. I am a military commander, only."

Of course, that was true. Clot'ilda simply had not fully comprehended the change in her status. She now frowned, the responsibility of her position did not please her as much as the idea of her position had. She was little more than a girl, full of life and lacking experience. She was not ready to be a First. Her downcast expression drew M'pel E'kmel to her. The commander knelt at her side, placing a reassuring hand on her small shoulder.

"I will help you wherever I am able," M'pel E'kmel said gently. "I have been a First."

"I wish you would become one of Liam's Seconds," Clot'ilda said, her eyes flickering up to the older jZav'Etch's hopefully.

"The time is not right," the commander replied.

"When will it be right?" asked Clot'ilda.

"I do not know. Soon, I think," M'pel E'kmel assured her. "Perhaps very soon. But you would not wish me to miss out on the teasing yet to be had, would you?"

Clot'ilda smiled and then laughed. And then Tem'Ma'tel laughed and the three of them crowded around the prostrate beast, all finding good places to give him a thorough scratching.

+>0<+

"Got to give him a name," Liam said to Clot'ilda. She had ostensibly come to help him with the gate. Her real reason, of course, was to ask if the aardvark thing could stay with them.

"You... He stays?" she asked. Her English had improved greatly, but she still had difficulty with phrases.

"Only if he wants to," Liam said, casting a meaningful eye on her. "He's a wild animal, Babe. We don't know if he's dangerous to us. We don't know what he normally does. For all we know he just strolled in here because he was curious or maybe he just wanted some water or something."

"He digs," she said and pointed to where the beast was rooting out another massive grub in the overgrown fallow field of the plaza.

"Yeah. Like a fucking roto-tiller." Liam shook his head. He did note, though, that the soil the animal was casting up was dark and rich-looking. Good soil.

"He sleeps," Clot'ilda continued. "Eats... bugs."

"He can have as many of those as he wants," said Liam with another shake of his head and got back to carving on the trunk he was going to use for one of the gate timbers. "Think you could maybe teach him to help out around here?"

"Teach?" she asked brightly. "Tricks?"

"That would be a start," he said and shaved another long curl from the face of the trunk with his knife. "Hand me that bar, there."

Clot'ilda reached out and picked up the heavy piece of steel. Liam had salvaged it from the wreck of the scout ship because it was straight and as long as his arm. He took it from her, realizing again that for her petite build she was pretty strong. He laid the bar lengthwise on the face of the trunk where he had been carving and gave a satisfied nod.

"Give him a name and make sure he learns it," he told her. "If he can learn his name, he can stay. We aren't going to keep him locked up, though. Wild things should live free. And that big boy is about as wild as they come."

"What name?" Clot'ilda asked. She felt it was not her place to give the animal a name. That was the privilege of the Guardian and Defender of the Household. "What name for dog? What Human call dog?"

"Dogs?" Liam considered a second, smiling. "Fido and Rex are really traditional. Pluto was popular for a long time. People give all kinds of names to dogs. Some get named for the color of their fur. Others get cutesy names like Precious or Punkin. I had a dog named Marley when I was a kid. He doesn't look like a Marley, though."

"What he look like?" asked Clot'ilda.

"How about Rover?"

"Rover?" she asked doubtfully.

"Sure," he said with a nod. "Wanders around from one place to another, just digging in the dirt and eating those things, then moves on to another place. He roves, so - Rover. It's what he does."

Clot'ilda thought about that. It seemed a fitting name for her new friend. Many jZav'Etch had names that described their occupation, and if her mate was telling the truth about the meaning of the word, (And why wouldn't he?) then the name fit.

"Rover," she said with a nod and smiled.

"Rover it is," he said and kissed her between the ears. "Now go on back and help the ladies. We need more wood here. You can scratch Rover to your heart's content later."

Clot'ilda fairly skipped as she crossed the plaza, stopping to scratch Rover on his neck for a moment and whisper something to him. The beast never stopped his digging, but she seemed girlishly pleased. Liam felt good, seeing her happy. She was such a kid in so many ways.

+>0<+

"What do you think of our new friend?" M'pel E'kmel asked Liam when they stopped work for a meal. They were all sitting in the shade of the orchard, enjoying the cool breeze wafting up from the valley.

"I think the three of you like him and I think he doesn't eat any of the food we do," Liam said with a shrug. "As long as he doesn't try to hurt anyone, he'll be fine."

"Does it not seem strange to you that he has taken so readily to our company?" she asked.

"It does," admitted Liam and gave her a searching looked. "Seems like he's been around people before."

"I think so, too," she said.

"Why?" asked Tem'Ma'tel. She did not understand all of the words, but the conversation was not difficult for her to follow.

"He wasn't afraid of me on that first evening before the storm," Liam told her. "And he didn't have a problem with Clot'ilda touching him. Wild animals usually don't trust people, even the ones that are social creatures. I mean, you couldn't walk up to a gazelle."

Tem'Ma'tel frowned in concentration, piecing together what she had understood and then asked, "What is gazelle?"