Spears of Uu'kata

Chapter 9 - That's Not How You Look at a Dog

Charlotte awoke to the smells of meat and other delicious scents that had her sitting up and nearly drooling. She hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep and didn't know how long she'd been out this time, but her mind felt clear and her body rested, despite the ache from her injuries and the removal of her implants.

Her bandages were fresh, so she'd been out hard enough that the doctor had been able to change them out without her waking and she hoped that was the last of the bio-mech fatigue. She also made a note not to drink any more of their wine. Or, at least, not so much...

The collar chaffed around her neck and she rubbed at it, then winced as her hands squealed in pain.

"Ida, Charlotte," Shodara's voice said from behind her.

She twisted around and saw the Uu'k'asht female sitting cross legged on a fur, sewing a piece of material with a needle that looked to be made from a long, thin tooth. Behind her, on his pallet, was Timeout, glowering at her over Shodara's shoulder.

Ignoring him, Charlotte said, "Ida, Shodara," figuring ida was some kind of informal greeting.

Shodara's eyebrows shot up and she looked at Charlotte in surprise, a smile spreading across her lips. "To'sia," she said, nodding her head. It must have been a compliment. Like, very good, or something like that.

Charlotte considered the female. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but Shodara was beautiful. With her gray skin and golden veins she could have been a statue carved by the best laser cutter in the galaxy. Her red eyes were kind of creepy, but she seemed good natured and Charlotte believed that without her the experience she'd be having would be very different. So... what was her angle? Again, she wondered, why were they being so nice?

Her eyes were drawn again to Timeout. He certainly didn't want to be here. What was his role? And where were the other males?

Turning around to fully face Shodara, Charlotte licked her lips and said, "Shodara," to get the female's attention.

When she looked up from her sewing, Charlotte ran her hand over the fur beneath her and said, "Fur." Then she touched the dress she was wearing and said, "Dress." Then she touched the chain and said, "Chain." Once she'd said the words, she held her hand out to Shodara, then ran her hand over the fur again, hoping the female would understand that she was wanting to learn the words.

Shodara's eyebrows creased in thought and she tilted her head before reaching out and touching the fur and saying, "Tsio." She then touched Charlotte's dress and said, "Ha'ohna." Lastly, she pointed to the chain and said, "Dakhainen."

Charlotte licked her lips in excitement, forgetting all the words Shodara had just said almost instantly as she thought of more useful words she needed to know.

Over the next hour, Charlotte learned the words for her own body parts, water, food, wine, and toilet.

Charlotte was able to get a drink of water and a trip to the toilet out of it. Her eyes kept moving to the fresh platters on the tables but she didn't ask for food despite the gnawing in her belly because she had a feeling they Uu'k'asht wouldn't eat until they were all together.

Finally, Shodara snipped off the end of her thread and held up what she was sewing. It turned out to be another dress for Charlotte. It was longer and with long sleeves that looked like they untied down the sides. She didn't know if that was for fashion or convenience since her arms were still bandaged and Gondroll would need to change those out. Speaking of Gondroll, she was hurting and wished he was here with his wonderful blue slime that took her pain away.

Shodara insisted on Charlotte trying on her new dress immediately and stood between Charlotte and Timeout to help her remove her other dress and slip on the new one. The fabric was softer and more comfortable and the dress fit her a lot better. The other dress had obviously been made for a woman with little to no breasts. Charlotte wasn't quite as well endowed as other women she'd known but she was no A-cup either.