“Is he not Daddy,” Damien asked passing me a cup.


    I smiled at Damien’s use of the word. While we sat I taught them the different names for a male-breeder in English and how I would have used them. There was no equivalent in theirnguage, so they used my words. It would have served no purpose to have such variety of phrasing here, males were just sperm donors.


    We made it to the cabin in thete afternoon. The small squat building was old and well used. This building had no windows, which I was sure would make it feel cramped on the inside. I hoped the inside was roomier than the outside looked. With eleven of us here it seemed it might feel full very quickly.


    Bane and Damien took the boys inside and taught them how to check the rooms for pests. You had to find any cracks that a Scar could crawl into. The dwelling had to be safe enough for your Brothers to sleep in, so you always checked it well.


    The kids had never stayed outside thepound and they were giddy with excitement. I watched them follow at the big mens’ heels, doing just as they did. The young ones checked every bit of the cabin, just as instructed.


    Once given the all clear, I walked into the main door with Christof. The youngsters were still checking everything out. They looked in the empty cabs and explored the fire ce. Evan helped them start the fire, while Kein brought the first of our bags in. Damien encouraged the boys to be useful and they hauled everything inside for us.


    Christof and I unpacked the kitchen area and Bane had them help unpack the other rooms. Evan exined it was easier to be organized if everything was put away as soon as we arrived.


    “Going through your pack every time you need something is wasteful,” Damien exined. “This is afortable ce and you should make good use of your surroundings. We will be here several day cycles. There is no reason to keep your things tightly packed. Everything should be neatly put away.”


    “Now when you stay outside, things are different,” Kein said as he took towels to the bathing room. “Your family will have a pack and everything must be reced in it after you have used it.”


    Damien asked and the boys rattled off what a pack for traveling toward the mountains should contain. They had obviously rote memorized what they would need although they’d never used it.


    “Just as when we learned it,” Kein said proudly as Bane congratted Aryn on his good memory. Damien told the boys that they would have to always remember that information; it was a constant in life.


    Thement shook me and I looked strangely at Kein for a moment. On Earth I remembered looking at camping gear with Uncle Eddy in a store. He had beenughing at some new thing you could use to start a fire. There were obvious basics, but someone was always inventing a better way.


    My eyes shot down at the appalling fact I’d just realized. Nothing changed here. The men were not encouraged to be curious or to seek to better themselves. They just wandered around asionally fighting over worthless stones, but being careful not to kill one another.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Steadying my hands I ced the bowls we ate out of on a shelf behind Christof.


    How many generations had the men been living this way? They did not grow or change. There was no evolution here. They did whatever little job the women had told them to do and just existed until they died.


    I thought of the men Damien had used to Keep me when Nu-reeh had separated us, Rue and his Brothers. How stifling they must have found it. No wonder they detested the other Warriors. They must have understood how limited they were. No one else saw the world the way they did. To have designed the experiments they did without any outside support was mind boggling. Those men were truly geniuses.


    Bane got my attention as he boomed augh from the main room. He was so happy to be with his son. I was d they were entertained by the boys and had not noticed me. My train of thought would upset them. I shook myself out of it before it became obvious.


    “Ciara,” Damien said walking toward me, “we will hunt for dinner now. The cabin is safe and secure. There is no way for pests to enter, you are safe inside. The boys are going toe with us. We will teach them and let them experience the way we hunt.”


    I nodded and smiled at him, that was fine with me. He came closer andid a hand on my shoulder. His eyes were serious as he looked deeply into mine.


    “It will not be like when we take you. This is very important for the boys and we will have to leave you here. The door will be closed and the fire is started. You must not go out, though, stay inside,” hemanded.


    “Of course,” I agreed, “I’ll sit and knit. I brought my needles and yarn.”


    “It is part of our promise to the Child Keepers,” Damien continued. “If the boys leave this cabin, we are all to go with them. If one of us stays with you, one of them cannot go.”


    “I understand, Damien,” I said nodding my head at his redundancy. “I won’t go anywhere.”


    He leaned down and looked in my eyes, as though seeking out the truth. “It is important you do not go outside.”


    In a sh, I understood his concern. In the distant past, I’d wandered off and gotten in trouble when I was curious. Damien didn’t want to see me repeat that mistake.


    “It is dangerous outside,” I repeated sincerely. “If I go out there without you, I might be hurt. I have to stay inside until you return.”


    Damien grinned and kissed my forehead. Christofmended me on understanding. They were trying to feel good about leaving me here without them.


    No one really expected trouble, but they had brought my sword. Keinid it beside me on the low couch I’d chosen. This is where they expected me to stay.


    They’d know if I opened the door, they warned.


    I smiled up at my men and shook my head. I had no intention of opening that door, ever. This hunting thing mightst a while and I wanted to eat dinner eventually. Kissing each of their lips, I pushed them out the door.


    For the first time in a long time, I was left alone. I stood for a moment before the fire and relished the feeling. No one was talking and the room was quiet. I wasn’t supposed to be keeping up with all of them, all at once. Flopping on the chaise, Iughed.


    Blessed silence surrounded me and I sat staring at the fire. The ride here had been long and tiresome. I enjoyed just sitting and rxing for a moment.