The food they brought her was strange. Wrapped in an edible leaf, it was nonetheless warm and full of meat they identified as a form of deer that was native to the area. It was surrounded by a strange white grain that - though flavorless, was quite filling and by the time she had finished she felt totally sated.

“So you live in a village of humans?” Fot asked her as they sat around a central communal table in the tree-house.

“In a sense. But it’s a huge village. They number into the thousands. I’ve met very, very few of them personally. They call it a ‘city’. But yes, we lived with them. And the buildings… they are vast. Some reach the height of a tree or more! It takes an hour to walk from where we lived to the wall surrounding the city to give you an idea.”

Gart frowned. “How do they feed all those people? They must have incredible hunters there!”

At that, Kreet laughed. “No. Not at all! I doubt a single one of them could compare with your abilities, Gart. But they don’t hunt. Outside the city there are other families that raise livestock and plants. They provide the food.”

She recognized the look all three gave her.

“Livestock… It’s like if you were to gather some deer and not kill them. Instead, you keep them. Let them feed on grass, but keep them fenced in. They have babies then, and eventually they become numerous enough you can slaughter one for meat every once in a while. If you have enough of these on your ‘farm’, and enough ‘farms’ around the city, there’s meat for everyone whenever you want it. Essentially the same thing with the plants. They grow the plants, but only harvest parts of them and replant their seeds the next year. It’s really an incredible system.”

Sythe closed her eyes, as did Fot - trying to imagine the concept. But Gart continued on.

“So they really don’t hunt?”

“Well, some do. They catch fish, and some do hunt - but it’s done more for fun than for need.”

Gart looked downcast. “My skills would be pointless there.”

Sythe opened her eyes and moved her stool beside her mate and began stroking his wide back. “Now Gart, don’t feel bad. We need you.”

“But if we’re going to move to the human village like Goldworm wants…”

Fot stood behind the hunter and kneaded his shoulders. “Now Gart, Goldworm only asks us to learn about the humans. He didn’t say we had to live with them.”

Kreet spoke up then. “That’s right. Look, I was taken from my family when I was very young. I’ve known only the human’s way of life really. In some ways I am human. Think of my visit here with you as a way for you to learn about humans, and I’ll consider it as a way to learn about what it is to be a kobold. We both have much to learn, but I can tell you that the humans are still very much like kobolds inside. There are some good, and some bad, and most somewhere in between. From what I’ve seen, most tend to be good though - as are most kobolds. But you needn’t live in their city. You needn’t change your ways. But the more you understand of them, the better you’ll be able to co-exist with them in peace.”

“So, I may continue to hunt?”

“Certainly!” both Fot and Kreet said at the same time.

Fot continued, “You see, Kreet, Goldworm has told us we will be migrating to live with the humans. We worship Goldworm and he is our ultimate leader. However, he does not specify what that means. Some of us assume it means we will live under the humans. Possibly literally, possibly under their rule. Others say it means we will live beside the humans. And that may mean that we live with them in their village - others that we live nearby them. We know only that the future Goldworm intends for us is with the humans. There are some… still devoted to Goldworm mind you… but there are some who don’t want the future if it means we live under their rule. Do you see?”

Kreet thought about that. “I… see. But I’ve never really thought about it as living under their rule, though I suppose I have been.”

There was a long silence then, as each of the kobolds thought about their future. But then Kreet let out a long yawn she couldn’t stifle.

Fot stood up. “But you must be exhausted! Come, let us show you our sleeping quarters. Tonight we will gather the whole village together and introduce you to the clan, but first you need some rest.”

Kreet nodded. Suddenly she wondered how long it had been since she’d last slept. It felt like days, and now the weight of all that had happened to her began to be felt.

“I would like that.”

They climbed up another two stories in the treehouse and showed her their bed. It was huge. A mattress of a sort, with hides and pillows in all sorts of shapes and colors on top. Yet when she lay upon it, she found it incredibly comfortable. She wondered what it was filled with.

“Oh, this will do wonderfully!” she smiled.

Gart was undressing.

“Um… what…”

He paused. “Do you not want to sleep?” he asked. “We have decided I will be your sleepmate. If that is acceptable to you? Do you not like me?”

“I… thought I would sleep alone.”

All three of them looked at each other. “Sleep alone? Why would you do that?”

“Well, I… I’m married.”

Fot and Sythe laughed, and Sythe explained. “Kreet, don’t be silly! Gart will not bump with you! Is that what you fear? Your marriage vows will not be broken. He will just be your sleepmate. But if you don’t like him, I can…”

Kreet looked at the tall hunter. His eyes were downcast.

“She doesn’t need hunters,” he said.

“No. Gart will be a fine sleepmate,” Kreet said, taking Gart’s hands. “Please understand, my ways are different. In human culture, sleeping and bumping are sort of related. But we’re both learning here. You will make a fine sleepmate, Gart.”

“Just for this time,” he said, squeezing her hands, then disrobing the rest of the way. “We change with each sleep. This is an honor the others have given me!”

She looked down at her loincloth. “And I suppose…”

“You sleep in your clothes in the human city?!” Sythe asked, incredulous.

“Well, we have special clothes for sleeping. Sometimes.”

Gart nodded. “If it makes you more comfortable, certainly you may keep your clothes on. If you wish I can...”

“No. It’s alright, but thank you. Your customs will take me some time to get used to.”

She crawled under the blanket and felt the big hunter snuggle up behind her. It was odd, feeling his strong arms encircle her. She hoped sincerely that Kallid would understand. He had been raised primarily under Drow customs which were - in this respect at least - very similar to humans’.”

“Have peaceful dreams, Kreet,” Fot said as he and Sythe climbed back down the ladder.

“Yes,” came the voice of Gart, his head nestled over her neck, intimately close to her own. “Have good dreams, Kreet of Goldworm. Nothing will disturb you.”

“Except you,” she thought. But they meant well obviously.

She closed her eyes, and tried her best not to think of the strong arms that held her, or the tail intertwined with her own, or… other things.

And yet, once she had gotten over the shock of a male that was not Kallid holding her so closely, she did relax as sleep enfolded her. Something in her memory recalled sleeping with her family when she was so young she couldn’t have consciously thought of it. It might have been the scent of other kobolds in the bedding around her. It might have been the touch of someone protecting her. Eventually she didn’t care so much about the proximity of so much male-ness. She was safe in the arms of a friend, and that was all.

She fell to sleep in the arms of Gart and dreamed of Kallid.

**********

When she awoke, however, she immediately knew she had slept much longer than a nap. The hands that held her were not Gart’s however. They were smaller and more delicate. Sythe.

The light indicated it was late afternoon. Earlier than when she’d gone to sleep! Had she really slept an entire day? And what of the meeting that had been planned if so?

But there were more immediate concerns. She slipped the hide off her and moved the hand from around her waist. Sythe stirred but didn’t wake. She sat up and saw Fot was curled up over their heads. Gart was nowhere to be seen.

Gingerly she crawled over Sythe and proceeded down the ladder to what she thought of as the lavatory.

“You’re awake finally?” Gart’s voice came from above her.

She was mildly startled at the voice. Her sense of modesty reasserted itself. Though he couldn’t possibly see her, there was certainly no sound insulation! She must have passed him on the second floor as she’d climbed down the stairs without her noticing.

“Um… wait just a minute Gart,” she replied.

When she’d finished, she climbed back up to the kitchen on the second floor. She had to stifle a laugh when he turned to her wearing an apron that looked amazingly like a human kitchen apron. Though clothed underneath, it still left a funny impression. Gart was nearly her own height, but he was strongly built and she could see the shape of his muscles under his scales.

“What are you doing?” she asked, taking a seat beside where he was working on something.

“Oh, just skinning some meat. You slept longer than we expected. But don’t worry about it. We will meet tonight instead. Are you hungry?”

Kreet realized she was and she nodded appreciatively.

“There’s a bowl of fruit in the shelf under me. I’d get it but my hands are bloody.”

Kreet reached underneath him and selected a small melon from the bowl. When she’d sat back, he had placed a knife beside her and she began peeling it and sliced off a bite.

“Sorry. It really had been a long time since I’d last slept. I guess it caught up to me. The others?”

“Oh, they’ll wake when the sun goes down.”

“So, what is it?”

“This?” he said, holding up a rather substantial hunk of meat. “Wild boar. And before you ask, no - I didn’t kill it. That honor went to another hunter. But we’ll be eating it tonight, so keep some room in your belly! It is a rare and fine taste.”

“I will! So, you live here with Sythe and Fot? And you are all mates?”

“Indeed! For now. But this is the Master’s house and we are only the current Masters. Should another gain Best rank, they will take our place.”

“So,” Kreet mused. “You don’t mate for love here obviously.”

“Love? Oh. You must understand, we’re a special case at the Master’s house. The families mate for love, certainly! But we are the leaders of the clan here. Our offspring should be the best of the best. But I certainly like Sythe. She’s very smart, you know.”

“And what about Fot?”

“Fot? What about him?”

“Do you like him?”

Gart turned away from his work to look at her, his head angled in misunderstanding. “Like him? Certainly I do, but… I don’t understand why…”

“You and he…” she began, trying to form what she was actually asking.

“Oh. I understand. You wonder if I am jealous of him mating with Scythe too, no?”

“I… guess that’s what I’m asking,” Kreet replied hesitantly.

“No. Not at all. If she becomes pregnant with his child, so be it. The last three have all been mine, we think.”

“Three? You have three children with Scythe? Where are they?”

“My mother and father keep them. My mother cannot bear more children, so she was the obvious choice. We visit them every day, mind you. I do care for my children. When some day I am no longer a Master, I will not be ashamed. Then my fatherhood will truly begin.”

Kreet’s head began to swim with conflicting concepts. What a strange way of life these kobolds had! At least these three.

“I suppose it all seems odd to you,” Gart said, turning back to his work.

“It does. I’ll not deceive you. But you are satisfied with this… arrangement?”

“Oh very! Though Peal - that’s Scythe’s husband - definitely looks forward to the day she will return to him. It can be a burden, but one we all bear. Some with more grace than others.”

“So, you all have other relationships?”

“I don’t really. Fot had a wife, but she was lost to illness some years ago. But he’s happy here in the Master house. He can concentrate on his ideas and tell us about them, you know. No one in the village will surpass him I think. I will likely be the first to leave this house. Hunting is a business of luck as much as skill.”

“Hey… what if… what if all the Masters were male? Or female? Or couldn’t reproduce?”

“Ah! Yes! That has happened. Three female Masters! Fot’s mother was one of them. It is quite a funny tale! Would you like to hear it?”

“Oh, yes, please!”

Gart looked at the light outside. “Come with me. I need to get this meat to the cooking pit, but I’ll tell the story on the way.”

Kreet stood and followed Gart back down the tree to the ground.