You Don't Belong Here

Chapter Sixty Seven

When they returned to the mother planet, T'ahrou had been quick to escort Dhadtoudi to the healer, and O'kaor followed behind with Brielle in his arms a short time later. Dhadtoudi's unborn infant seemed fine on the dozens of scans that were performed, and the smaller of the two females was left to rest in the healing tank for a few hours.

Later that evening, O'kaor noticed that she seemed unusually distressed. Upon further questioning, she hesitated before finally coming clean. "I miss my home. I want to go back to my planet. I don't belong here, Ghost. I never did."

The male said nothing as he watched her with a blank expression. Her eyes were reddened from hours of crying, though she kept her composure now. "Think well on what you say, Brielle Rinaldi. If you decide to leave the clan...you will never be accepted back."

"I know. I think that's for the best."

O'kaor clicked softly before rising to his feet and heading toward the exit. "Clothe yourself. We will return to the dwelling and gather your belongings." A pang of guilt and sadness shot through her chest but she did not object.
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"You WHAT?!" Brielle flinched at Dhadtoudi's outburst. Despite her protests O'kaor had forced Brielle to return to Dhadtoudi's dwelling as well to bid farewell to the taller female and her mate. He had argued that Dhadtoudi would have his head on a spike if he had allowed her to leave without her knowledge, but Brielle was certain it was some twisted form of torture. "WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?!"

"You know why."

"No, I don't! What part of this makes any sense?!"

"I'm not one of you...I need to be with my own people." Dhadtoudi's expression changed from one of anger and confusion to one of sadness and disbelief.

A heavy silence lingered between the females as O'kaor sat upon the lounge and stared at the blank wall ahead. T'ahrou stood in the feasting area as he watched the females interact, taking special notice of Dhadtoudi's emotional variance. "Not one...your own...IDIOT!" She began to pace the room and Brielle watched in confusion. "WHAT ARE WE TO YOU?!" Dhadtoudi closed the distance between them in an instant, their faces inches apart now as tears streamed down the taller woman's reddened cheeks.

"Dhadtoudi..."

"WHAT ARE WE?!"

"You are my friends." Dhadtoudi pushed Brielle's shoulders hard and the smaller of the two stumbled back a few steps. "Don't push me."

"FIGHT ME!"

"I won't."

"FIGHT ME!!" She shoved Brielle again.

"I WON'T!!"

"YOU WERE MEI-JADHI! I TRUSTED YOU! I ALLOWED YOU INTO MY LIFE! INTO MY HOME! INTO MY FAMILY!! NOW YOU WISH TO LEAVE, CLAIMING YOU DO NOT BELONG?!"

"I'm not like you!"

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU?! WHAT AM I?!" There was no right answer to her question, so Brielle said nothing. "THEY WILL KILL YOU IF YOU RETURN!"

"You don't know that!"

"THEN GO! GO BACK TO THE OOMANS! LET THEM LOCK YOU AWAY AND TAKE YOUR LIFE!" Her chest heaved as she backed away from Brielle now. "They took Zaiyu. They tried to take my pup. They would have taken my mate. Now you wish to return to them."

"Dhadtoudi, don't do this."

"Get out."

"Dhadtoudi, I-..."

"GET OUT!!!!" The English words caught Brielle off guard and she looked to O'kaor who was standing and moving toward the exit now. "GET OUT!! DON'T EVER COME BACK!! NEVER!!" Her words were littered with sobs as the duo exited the dwelling and the door slid shut behind them. Her cries became uncontrollable as T'ahrou moved to embrace her as he had long ago learned from ancient archives to be a coping mechanism for many humans.

Dhadtoudi clung to his armor as she cried into his chest, repeating over and over again that she hated the soft meats for everything they had done. He clicked softly in an attempt to console his mate, but his effort was in vain.