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Raahosh stands out from the others in a few different ways. For one, he's the tallest. Which isn't much of a thing considering they all stand above seven feet, but it makes him seem to tower more than most. His shoulders aren't as broad as Vektal's, which means he's only enormous, instead of gargantuan. And while Vektal seems to be more of a pure blue, Raahosh is a darker shade, a grayish blue shade that just makes him seem like more of an Eeyore than the others.
This is like me saying "I want a cheeseburger" and someone slapping a pickle into my hand and saying "Fuck you, you get a pickle."
All I know is that I am resonating for one of the dying humans, and if she dies, she takes all my hopes and dreams with her.
She is stubborn. My khui chose well in that aspect. I am stubborn, too. Together, we will make very stubborn kits. A bit of the resentment in my heart leaves at the mental image of the human holding my child to her breast. I would have a family after so long.
The sa-kohtsk is impossible to describe. It's like a wooly mammoth mated with the love child of a brontosaur and a long-legged AT-AT from one of the Star Wars movies. The resulting thing looks like a hairball propped up on spindly legs, and it screeches and moans as the hunters bring it down.
I'll take her and hide her away, and I won't return with her until she is full of my child and we are truly mated. Then we will return to the clan and be part of it once more. Until then? She is mine and mine alone.
She will be my first everything. My first mate. My first lover. The mother of my children.
Instead, I have the alien version of Grumpy Cat, and he just roped and tied me like a calf at a rodeo. Asshole.
It’s an old southern saying that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Too bad I’m all piss and vinegar,
I’m kidnapped by aliens, forced to eke out a living on an ice planet, and now I’m basically married to Mr. Tall, Dark, and Super Pissy.
Perhaps it was because I never had a mate, or a lover. I assumed no one wanted me.
My mate’s too quiet. Liz, who talks endlessly even though she knows I can’t understand her, Liz, who would talk to a stone if it had ears, Liz, who even talks in her sleep — is silent.
“I totally don’t want you,” I pant, my cootie purring so loud it practically drowns me out. “My cootie is full of lies.”
“The only thing I don’t like about this situation is the fact that I don’t have choices. It’s not you. It’s me. Does that make sense?”
He lies down next to me. Of course he does. The man wouldn’t know the word ‘no’ if it bit him in the face. I ignore him anyhow, determined to go to sleep. He wants to lie down like a couple? That’s fine – this can be his first experience with the wifely cold shoulder. Welcome to married life, Raahosh.
“You say you do not want it. The only thing that says you do not want this is your mouth.” “It’s allowed to have its say, too.” “It says plenty,” he comments sourly. “And see, shit like that is why you don’t get laid.” I pull away from him. “Quit touching me.”
If he’s groaning, he’s alive. “Don’t you fucking leave me, Raahosh.” I release him and smooth his clothing down, then lean in, putting my hand over his chest. His khui vibrates at my touch, and I decide bribery is the best weapon I have. I place my mouth close to his ear. “If you come out of this alive, Raahosh, I’ll fuck the hell out of you, so help me God.”
I did not become your magical property, and you did not magically become my man. We are the same as we ever were, which means we are two jerks who like to bicker with each other.
“Before you arrived here in this world, I had nothing to live for. I hunted. I existed. I did not look forward to anything. But now you are here, and you might be carrying my child even now.” His jaw flexes. “I know you are more than capable. The problem is not with you. It is with me. This world is dangerous, and I think of you, alone, out in the wild, and it is more than I can bear.” He stares at me for so long and so hard that I think his jaw is going to snap from grinding his teeth. “If I lose you,” he finally says gruffly, “I have nothing.”
“There’s no ownership. You are mine as much as I’m yours. Understand?” “I am yours,” he agrees. “Completely and fully.” “Then I can be yours, too.”
To have such family strife and then lose both like that made my heart break for my alien. This was why he was so possessive, so resolute in his desire to keep me hidden away. Suddenly I want to comfort him and let him know that he’s got me. That I’m his and he’s mine. Cootie or not, I’m having feelings for the big guy and he’s made life here on this strange planet interesting.
“You are everything to me, Liz,” I say softly. “My world. My heart.”
I’m not going to be pushed around by another big blue alien with horns just because he says he’s the chief. “I’m right here. You can talk to me about my favorite topic – me.”
Kira’s always quietly strong. She doesn’t have the determined grit of Georgie, or my irreverent commentary, or Josie’s sunny smiles. Kira’s the solemn, all-business one.
“Okay, so he’s a dick,” I say irritably. “What do you want from me? He’s my dick, though, and I want to keep him.”
Seed of dissent? Firmly planted. I bite back my smile and sew cheerfully. If I’m going to be fucking miserable, I’m going to take them all with me.
So you’ll forgive me if I’m not feeling charitable towards the ice Na’vi right now on Frosty Planet Avatar.”
Okay, so I might have taken things a bit too far when no one got me materials for new arrows and I spent the day declaring that ‘the man’ was keeping me down.
“Do you not understand, Raahosh? You’re my life. You’re my reason for living. When those aliens took us away from everything, I felt…lost. I’m not lost when I’m with you. I’m happy.” I touch his cheek. “I’m complete.” “My mate,” he murmurs. “My Liz. My everything.” “All yours,” I tell him. And it’s the truth. As long as I’m with Raahosh, the world can snow all it wants, the tribe can pile all the work they want on us, and we can sleep in the hunter caves. As long as I’m with him, I’m happy.
