"There, that should keep you warm this winter, Thea." Thea smiled widely. Kivi had just given her mother a thick deer pelt to put on their bed. The other two pelts were still being tanned outside, and would soon provide plenty of warmth during the cold winter months. Her mother smiled more easily now, and that made Thea quite happy. She wasn't surprised when her mother wrapped her arms about Kivi's neck and hugged him warmly. She wanted to do the same, but was unsure of how to do it. She liked to get close when they were sleeping, but that was common among the Mirri. This felt different.
"Thank you, Kivi. I wasn't sure how I was going to provide for Thea this winter, but you've made our lives easier to bare." He smiled, the first in a long while, and blushed as well. Thea thought it made him look less frightening.
"I am glad I came. Those thieves would have pushed you further north, and with no shelter or wood this close to winter, you would not have survived." Thea laughed and hugged him spontaneously.
"But you made us a home! Not just a room, but a real home! And a real bed! I don't remember sleeping in a real bed before." Gita hid her tears.
"We've never had much, Thea, and its difficult to make a bed when others keep taking what we make." Kivi snarled.
"Never again will you have to run from the lands that were given to you!" Thea smiled, and decided to tease him a little.
"I know, right? Now that I belong to you, I don't have to go anywhere!" His eyes went wide.
"I didn't mean....you aren't my slave!" Thea giggled.
"That was mean, Thea." Her mother said softly. She giggled and hugged him again.
"Only teasing, Kivi!" He smiled, and ran his hand down Thea's back, smoothing her light fur. Both Gita's and Thea's clothing allowed their fur to be seen. The backs were open to the middle, and the shirts kept together with lacing.
Kivi had learned that both Gita and Thea liked to be petted. It was perhaps something tied to their Mirri natures. They still all slept in the same bed, more for companionship during the warm summer nights, but for warmth in the cold nights. They took their turns in the middle, and sometimes Thea would be between them, warm and happy, and other times, Kivi would find two female bodies pressed tightly to him.
Even though both Kivi and Thea were approaching the time when boys become men, and girls become women, the Mirri didn't believe in such strict moral guidelines that growing up became difficult to do. They would get used to adult nudity, and eventually, it would be natural to them. When it became time, if her daughter and Kivi became mated, then they would have their own bed. For now, they were a family, and not lovers.
"We need to find some salt, Kivi." Gita said softly, broken from her reverie when the scents of roasted deer floated up. She got up from the table and turned the haunch a quarter turn so it wouldn't burn.
"We need salt?" He asked, and he looked a bit confused.
"Yes, we need salt to preserve the meat. If its salted, we can preserve it for longer periods, smoke it, which makes it easier to make stews instead of you having to go out and hunt because we had to eat up the meat before it turned." He smiled.
"I know what salt is used for, Gita. I use it to help tan the hides. Didn't you know that there is a deposit just around back?" She blinked.
"Really?"
"Yeah, mom! We found it when we went looking for more red stones." She stood up and picked up a torch. It was still early evening, but the sun disappeared from the sky much faster in the north this time of year then it did in the south.
"Can I see it?" Kivi shrugged, and took her hand. Thea followed them out, and was surprised to see her mother's eyes tear up. "Its been here all along. Salt. Its such a valuable commodity that we could finally get some silver to buy food and seed!" Kivi looked up at her. Gita was quite tall for a woman, with a nice figure. She reminded him of his own mother, Hella, who was also curvy, and muscled.
"It was under a few stones, but it was there." Thea giggled.
"A few? This guy knows how to tell bad words, mom! It was under our house is what he means!" She reached down and hugged him warmly, and laid her lips on his cheek.
"Kivi, I don't know what we did to deserve you, but you are our blessing from the Creator!"
Kivi felt a little uncomfortable while they ate supper, and both the women could feel it. Finally, Thea could not stand the tension.
"Kivi? What's wrong? You're so quiet." He lifted his eyes. They were filled with deep sadness that touched Thea inside. "Kivi!" She rounded the table quickly and wrapped her arms about his neck. That was when the tears started to roll down his cheeks. Before they knew it, Gita had scooped them both up in her arms and carried them to the bed. That was not an easy task as Kivi was growing to be a much larger person then she anticipated, however, Gita was a strong Mirri woman. This kind of strength was not unheard of among her people. It was said that they descended from the Stone King himself.
Under the cover of soft deer fur, Gita held both Thea and Kivi, while Thea tried to stop the tears from falling.
"My sister, Mena, hated me. She hated me for taking our mother away from her." Gita now knew why he had those deep haunted eyes. "They found me when I was real young, and she loved me, but Mena didn't."
"Did you love her?" Kivi opened his eyes, then closed them.
"I did. I loved Jaana, and I loved my father and mom as much as a son should. I loved Mena because she was the first girl close to my age that I ever saw." Gita sighed sadly.
"But Mena's hate hurt too much." He nodded. "So when I say you are a blessing from the Creator, it sounds like her hatred was so that we could be blessed." He nodded. "I understand, little Stone Man. But look in Thea's eyes, if you please."
"Why?" Thea smiled.
"Because she wants you to see me." Kivi lifted his eyes, and he saw only kindness there. "We both love you. I'm not jealous of mom because she loves you too. Everywhere we get pushed to, that is where home is. Because mom loves me. She won't stop loving me just because she loves you too. Mom has a big heart." Her mother chuckled.
"Nicely said, baby." Thea giggled. "I know I haven't called you that in a while, but I felt like it." Kivi relaxed in her arms, and snuggled in to her ample chest. He felt Thea curl up behind him, and sighed happily.
"Who is Jaana, Kivi?" He hid his face.
"A half Mirri girl I found not long after I found mom. She was starving, and freezing to death, with no one to care for her. She was Mirri. I loved her instantly." Gita smiled, and blushed.
Do you love us too, Stone Man? I don't really have to ask. Its in your touch, your hug, and all your actions. You protect us when no one else will, and our home shows that love you have for us.
Gita was surprised out of her thoughts with his gravelly voice. It was a bit deeper then when they first met, and it sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to expand this house." Thea snuggled in to him a bit closer.
"What are you going to make, Kivi?" Both women smiled as he spoke.
"I'm going to make us a home." Gita wondered, after his story, if he held out hope of seeing his family again, and maybe fixing the bridge between them, or if he really wanted to make a more substantial home for them.
He turned towards her, and ran his hand down her mane, and brought a soft purr from her lips. All his actions said it was for them, and all his words confirmed it, but there was that niggling doubt within her mind. Things had gone so badly for her and her daughter for so long, these last few months felt like a dream, or a fantasy.
Maybe Thea is right. Maybe we are asleep.
There was one thing she know without a doubt. Kivi had a huge heart for those he loved, and a heart of stone for those who tried to harm them. All she experienced with this young man showed Gita that he loved them, even if he didn't know that yet himself. Gita bit her bottom lip, and wondered about an echo of an old memory.
Stone Man? What about that sounds familiar?
Gita watched him silently all the next day. His strength made her fearful at times, as those with power seldom used it for the benefit of those around them, and no one had ever used it for herself or Thea.
However, the small stone step in front of the log house had turned into a massive foundation within a day. It was three times as wide as their current house, and three times as deep. He put a short indent into the stone all the way around the edge, and three or four crossing the entire width and length of the foundation. It didn't become obvious to her what those indents were until he laid the first row of logs.
"Rooms. He's making rooms!"
Thea chittered happily while she peeled the logs with a knife, then plastered them into place with the mud mix she liked to work with. Gita was still unsure of how her daughter got the mix almost perfect each time she brought a new plank filled with it to use, but her daughter was excellent assistance for the Stone Man. She filled each layer not long after he laid it, and tried to keep pace with him, though that proved almost impossible with his strength and skills.
Gita caught herself again and again, her eyes glued to his arms and shoulders, which ignited a hunger within her that she had not felt in many years. It was no surprise though. All traces of the boy she saved were gone.
Kivi had matured into a broad powerful man, and to her eyes, he was beautiful. But she couldn't quiet the echo inside her mind.
Stone Man.
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