Grace of An Elder

Chapter 23

Daih'kea led her daughter through the city, the sunset casting a reddish orange glow on the horizon. Dahdtoudi had dressed in her armor as her mother requested, even donning her mask; she never left the dwelling without her bio-mask if she could avoid it. Despite having lived among the Dark Blade clan most of her life, many of them did not appreciate the idea of humans living among them.

Dahdtoudi had given up asking her mother for information on their destination because each time she asked she received a verbal reprimand. Perhaps the market...but why not wait until tomorrow? Minutes later they walked past the market without so much as a second glance from her mother. Okay, not the market. There's nothing further ahead that mother has ever gone to. The only major buildings are the pup and young blood training grounds.

The sky was now dark, and after some time the two females came to a stop outside an unmarked building. Dahdtoudi had passed it thousands of times on her way to the training grounds, but she never bothered to stop and see what it was. After a lingering silence between the two, Daih'kea grabbed hold of her daughter's shoulder plate with extreme force. "Do you want me to tell you where we are, or would you like to find out on your own?"

"What do you mean? You act like it's a kiande-amedha hive."

Her mother gave a curt nod before ushering her toward the entrance. "On your own it is." The door slid open with a whoosh and Daih'kea pushed the younger of the two inside without releasing her grip on the armor. The door slid shut and Dahdtoudi gasped as she realized she was not in the middle of a kiande-amedha hive.

"This is so much worse..!" Her voice was barely even a whisper, and she brought her hands up to cover her face. Surely her face was red enough to show through the sturdy metal..! "Mother please, let me go back home!" She turned, pleading to the matriarch but falling on deaf ears. "I shouldn't be here..!"

"Why not? You had your first heat several years ago, Dahdtoudi. You have just as much to be here as I do."

"Paya, you did not just say that...I do not want to be here, mother!"

"Daih'kea, how wonderful to see you again!" A large female who had been alive for many centuries stepped into the main area as she greeted the Elder's mate. "And this must be Dahdtoudi...it is a pleasure to meet you, young blood. I am Ath-Meye, mate of Yahti."

Whatever blood had just been in Dahdtoudi's face suddenly fell and she turned white as a ghost. T'ahrou's mother...he will know I was here, which means Aichu will know I was here...which means EVERYONE will know I was here..! The human bowed low as a sign of respect to the aged female. "It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Ath-Meye."

Ath-Meye grinned with her mandibles before turning her focus back to Daih'kea. "This pyode-amedha has manners, at least. You have done well with her." Daih'kea nodded in thanks, and Ath-Meye stepped closer to the couple. "I assume this one is in need of assistance..?" Dahdtoudi said 'no' at the same time her mother said 'yes', and Ath-Meye gave a hearty chuckle. "So she's bashful? Well don't worry, little one. It's always difficult the first time. I know a mating shop can be intimidating when you are first exposed, but I assure you, it is nothing to be ashamed of. What did you have in mind for her, Daih'kea?"

"I was thinking either penetration or outer stimulation, but you would know more about it than I do." The blush returned to Dahdtoudi's face and she attempted to escape the confines of the mating shop but her mother still held a tight grip on her armor.

"Well child, how comfortable are you with the idea of penetration masterbation?"

"I'm not..!" Ath-Meye nodded in understanding before gesturing for the two younger females to follow her to the left wall of the store.