The women knew the boys had to meet and match with their families. Gatherings were held regrly in predetermined sites. Any woman with a son was wee to attend. Women flew from all over the world to meet, but I was a special case.


    Jonathan needed me to feed and it was deemed foolish for Nu-reeh to be dragging a human across the. The women had agreed to forgo the usual site and hold the next meeting in our mountain.


    “Be strong, Rachel,” Tosu whispered to me with her back to the cameras, “he will be fine to grow for a while with the Child Keepers. He will be brought back to you.”


    I fought for inner peace as I thanked her.


    It was less than four day cyclester when I received my summons to attend. Jonathan and I had been sitting with Rose and Fuji. Dinah came to our rooms and demanded I bring my knitting needles, yarn, and Jonathan. I followed her out the main door toward the area where the women stayed.


    We walked to the huge wall and Dinah scooped me up. When we took flight Jonathan screamed, but not like I wanted to. That was fun and he wanted to do it again. He cried and fought when Dinah put us down at the top. He begged in his jumblednguage to do it again.


    Dinah was never friendly with me; I was barely tolerated. Jonathan was a different story. She took him from me and flew him up and down five times before she walked us inside. Jonathan was ecstatic and grinned broadly at the huge woman. He was enraptured with Dinah. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his taste in women.


    In the past I’d been in the women’s area and it had been sparsely popted and quiet. Therge central area was amon pass through, but the women didn’t congregate the way men did. Today was entirely different.


    The stone pit my girls dipped their talons in was literally walled off. The rest of the area was alive with activity.


    The main floor was lit with torches and scattered with brightly colored toys. Cushions were all over the ce and I soon noticed why. As tworge women stood and talked a boy was nestled between them. He was wrapped in a nket on the soft, little make shift bed, sound asleep.


    There were perhaps fifty women here all with their boys roving about or resting.


    Jonathan rode in my arms and took it all in for a moment. He’d never been in the presence of this many before and he’d never seen other little boys.


    He was content to sit in wonder for all of about twenty heartbeats.


    “Mama, down. I wan!” he demanded struggling out of my arms.


    He hit the floor and couldn’t decided where to go first. A momentter he bolted toward a group of boys ying.


    I wasn’t sure what to do and thought perhaps I should stop him, but Dinah corrected me.


    “Let him be,” she demanded grabbing my arm. “He wille to you when he is hungry.”


    “Yes, Mistress,” I said watching Jonathan boldly approach the other children.


    My little one had no fear, only curiosity. He went from child to child, babbling and touching. Some of the other children interacted with him and some shied away. He was smaller than most, but he had a mighty personality.


    Dinah led me to where Nu-reeh and Tosu were. I was directed to rest on arger cushion. Tosu pointed out that they had brought me refreshments should I need them.


    Jonathan inspected every child at the gathering. He yed longer with some, but he never stayed with anyone. It was like he was looking for someone.


    Eventually, he was spent. He sat in the middle of the floor and let out an ear splitting cry. It didn’t matter that I shouldn’t, I went to him immediately.


    Weaving between the boys and their toys I picked up my wailing son. He was so upset; he didn’t want to be held and rocked. Food was not a concern and he refused the breast petntly. Jonathan just continued to scream.


    “Nurse, Baby,” I begged him, but he wouldn’t.


    I carried his wailing, squirming body back to the pile of cushions Nu-reeh had directed me to. Singing softly, I tried tofort my boy, but he was uncharacteristically irritable. Pacing in front of the cushions I rocked him until he calmed.


    Tosu reassured me, her only male offspring had done the same thing. His brothers had not been at the gathering the first day and it frustrated him. That little boy had done the same thing Jonathan was currently doing.


    It took time, but my boy rxed slowly. I put him on the cushion beside me and he just stayed there. He sat and yed absently with things Nu-reeh brought to him. The other little boys would wander by, but he ignored them. Jonathan knew what he needed and these children were not it.


    “More women arrive for the next many days,” Tosu told me. “This gathering willst here for five day cycles.”N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    Nu-reeh and her sisters talked. They hoped at least some of Jonathan’s Brothers would be brought to this gathering. At lease one of them should be having the same sensations manifesting. Their female breeders should be delivering them soon.


    The hall we were in was loud. The women met and talked as the boys screamed and yed. It was constant noise and stimtion. I feared it would be too much for Jonathan, since he was unused to this much activity. He didn’t seem bothered by it all.


    “I do not believe it,” Nu-reeh said suddenly as the women in the hall all turned.


    I looked where they were looking and saw a woman limping into the room.


    The woman wasrge and looked powerful, but she was gravely injured. Even from where I sat I could see the streaks of blood down her legs. Her stomach had been shed open and viscera could clearly be seen.


    My hand went to my mouth as I saw what she carried. A small boy with brown hair was nestled in her arms. He was still, from my perspective, and his color was… off.


    The woman moved further into the light and I saw the sh of colored beads that had been used to decorate her fur. She stood silently watching the other women.


    I wondered what they would do. She was seriously injured, would theyplete the job? Would they torture her? She could not fight back effectively the way she looked now.


    I had no more time to consider the issue. Trapped in my musings I had not seen Jonathan get up. He had crossed the room and I didn’t see him until he was at the woman’s legs.


    “Gimme,” he demanded loudly in English reaching toward her boy, “mine no yours!”


    The woman’s brow quirked and Jonathan repeated the phrase over and over again, still reaching for her boy.


    It must have made sense to her, despite the strange word. She sat the little brown haired boy on his bottom in front of Jonathan. More beads caught the light as she stood back up.


    I’d gotten to my feet and moved toward my baby without thinking. If there was to be a fight between the women, I didn’t want Jonathan in the middle of it. This woman, even injured, could kill my son if she fought with Nu-reeh. I could not let it happen.


    Jonathan plopped down in front of the new little boy and grabbed his hand. In a gesture I was very familiar with he started to suck the other boy’s fingers. A slight smile appeared on the beaded woman’s face watching the children.