Stranger’s Family
Bailey was cheerful when she woke up a little while later. She felt safe and loved, still cuddled under Stranger’s chin. She yawned and stirred slightly, stretching and loosening cramped muscles.
Stranger felt Bailey stir and opened his eyes from dozing. He grinned and rubbed his nose in Bailey’s hair.
“How d’yer feel?” he asked,
“Ready to get out of bed?” Bailey suggested hopefully, Stranger chuckled,
“Oh no squirt, not yet.”
“Aww, c’mon Stranger, you know I hate being cooped up like a chicken.” Bailey moaned.
“Hey, yer ain't gittin’ out of this here bed until yer’ve healed.” Stranger said firmly. Shaking his head. “I know yer don’t like it kid. But I ain’t gonna risk you hurtin’ yerself. Not again.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll take it easy, I promise, nothing strenuous. Please Stranger, just don’t make me stay here. I can’t stay in bed, it’s driving me nuts.” Bailey pleaded, Stranger could tell she hated being confined to a bed.
“Hrm… I’ll talk ter someone.” he relented. Bailey grinned and hugged him.
“Have I told you I love you, today?” Stranger chuckled,
“Not today.” Bailey rubbed her cheek into Stranger’s fur.
“Love you Stranger.”
“Love you too liddle darlin’.”
“You’ll really try and get me outta here?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.” Stranger smiled and returned the hug.
“But if the Doc says yer stay here, then yer’ll stay. Even if I havta tie yer ter the bed.” Bailey nodded in consent. There was a pause.
“If…if I’m allowed out of here…where will we go?” she asked hesitantly. “Yer know, where will we stay?” Stranger smiled to himself.
“There’re some Steef I want you to meet.” He answered enigmatically. Bailey looked at him, interest piqued,
“Really, who?” she asked intrigued, Stranger grinned and ruffled her unruly hair,
“Yer’ll see.”
“I hate it when you know somat I don’t and gloat over it.” Bailey groused, Stranger chuckled and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. Finally Stranger stirred, standing up, he carefully set Bailey back onto the bed and tucked her in.
“I’ll be back inna bit with someone ter look yer over, okay?” he asked, running a hand over Bailey’s face. Bailey yawned and nodded, making herself comfortable and dozing off. She still had a lot of healing to do.
¤§¤
“Bailey. Bailey, wake up, someone here ter see yer.” Bailey’s eyes opened, she blinked a few times then propped herself up on the pillows, staring at the new Steef standing by Stranger, with innocent curiosity.
It was an older Steef with pale brown fur and deep blue eyes, like a pair of oceans. He had a belt of pouches around his middle and he held a staff of weathered wood with a separate curling piece of wood wrapped around the main staff. On the top of the staff the wood formed a claw that clasped a vividly coloured butterfly – as big as Bailey’s hand span – of some kind, encased in clear, golden coloured amber, feathers and beads of several different colours hung under the amber and the staff rattled every time it was moved. The older Steef smiled,
“Your name is Bailey I presume?” Bailey nodded,
“My name is Gershom, Stranger asked me to come and take a look at you,” Gershom lowered his voice conspiratorial and his eyes twinkled, “Don’t like being stuck in bed I hear.” Before Bailey could answer he straightened and turned to Stranger, “If you could wait outside while I look over Bailey, I’ll be done in a few minutes.” Stranger glanced from Gershom to Bailey with a look that Bailey knew;
Will yer be alright? Bailey nodded;
Yeh, go on, I’ll be fine. Stranger looked back to the healer, he nodded and left. Gershom turned to Bailey as the door closed.
“Now miss Bailey, I believe you took quite a beating to those ribs of yours, roll up that shirt, let’s have a look.” Bailey did as she was told, showing her bruised abdomen. The bruises were all faintly green and yellow with only a little black and blue but even so, the marks of Steef hooves could be clearly seen on her ribs.
Gershom gently prodded here and there at her ribs and asked where it hurt. When he was quite satisfied he let Bailey roll down her shirt and brought Stranger back in.
“How is she?” Stranger asked as soon as he entered,
“Healing well.” Answered Gershom, “I’m completely satisfied with her recovery, there’s still some bruising and her ribs are still knitting but as long as she doesn’t physically strain herself I see no reason for her to stay here.” Bailey whooped,
“Brilliant!” and looked extremely please with herself.
“Thanks Doc.” Stranger looked relieved,
“No worries,” replied the Steef healer, “I’ll just bandage Bailey’s ribs for extra support and she can go. You might want to drop in at the herbalist for some pain-killers while I wrap Bailey up.” He added, Stranger nodded,
“I’ll see yer inna bit kid.” He said to Bailey, she nodded brightly and Stranger left.
¤§¤
When Stranger returned, Gershom had gone and Bailey was waiting impatiently on the bed, dressed in dark shirt and pants, sneakers, hat, bandana and fingerless gloves.
As soon as she saw him Bailey grinned hugely and bounced off the bed, obviously eager to leave as soon as she could.
“We can go now right!?” she asked excitedly. Stranger couldn’t help but smile.
“Yeh, we can go.”
“Yippee!”
“
Careful!” Stranger called, “Yer don’t want ter hurt yerself.” Bailey relented but couldn’t stop grinning. Stranger smiled slightly at her enthusiasm. “C’mere yer liddle varmint.” He growled playfully and swept Bailey into his arms. Bailey put her arms around his neck and rubbed her forehead on Stranger’s cheek. “C’mon, there’s someone I want yer ter meet.” Stranger finally murmured, Bailey nodded and leaned her head on Stranger’s shoulder.
Stranger carried the trusting little human from the recovery room and along one of the corridors of the underground winter quarters of the Steef tribe. Bailey was fascinated by everything, the corridors, unlike the ones near the prison cells were furnished comfortably, lit with slowly glowing lamps. But more so, the Steef that came and went. Bailey couldn’t keep her eyes off them.
She blinked innocently at them as only a thirteen-year-old could. And the Steef seemed just as interested in her, the younger ones especially looked as if they wanted to come over and say hello, but their adult companions hustled them away, whispering admonishingly.
“What am I gonna do Stranger?” Bailey whispered after this had happened a couple of times, “They all hate me.”
“They don’t hate yer. They’re jist afraid, they’ll git use to yer.” Bailey swallowed,
“I don’t want them to hate me.” She whispered. Stranger stroked her head. “What…what if-”
“What if the Steef I want yer ter meet hate yer too?” Stranger suggested, Bailey nodded into his shoulder. “They won’t.”
“You promise?”
“Yeh, yeh I promise.” Comforted, Bailey nodded into Stranger’s shoulder and he felt her tense muscles relax. He rubbed her back, “That’s right liddle one, yer don’t havta be afraid anymore.”
After passing through several corridors they came out into a great underground cavern, with sphere shaped structures seemingly sprouting from the rock, like weaverbird nests. Wooden catwalks and rope bridges spanned between them and the cavern walls, leading to other tunnels, connecting it to the rest of the warren-like civilisation. The spheres had little lighted windows, warm coloured lights glowed pleasantly. Bailey looked at it all in awe.
“Wow.” She whispered, eyes gleaming with curiosity. Stranger grinned at her wonder. “Not bad.” She finally shook off her wide-eyed wonder and tugged gently on Stranger’s fur. “Lemme down.” She said quietly, Stranger did as she asked and set her down.
“You ready?” he asked softly, Bailey hesitated and then nodded. “C’mon then.” Stranger smiled and placed a hand on Bailey’s head. He led the way along a couple of the rope bridges and towards one of the circular dwellings, Bailey following him apprehensively. They eventually came to an iron bound door made of thick, sturdy wood.
Stranger rapped on the door with his knuckles. A few seconds later a feminine voice spoke, the words muffled by the door but coherent,
“Who is it?”
“It’s me Alika. I got Bailey.” The door was immediately thrown open and the smiling face of a female Steef, about Stranger’s age, maybe a fraction older, was revealed. She had pale blue eyes and chocolaty brown fur, Bailey also noticed that she was heavily pregnant.
“Stranger,” she said with obvious affection, “Come in, come in, bring Bailey with you.” She beckoned to them, Bailey glanced up at Stranger who smiled reassuringly and Bailey entered the Steef home, Stranger following and shutting the door.
“Daimen,” the female, ‘Alika’, called, “Daimen, Stranger’s back. And he has Bailey with him.” Another Steef with very dark shade of fur and red and orange eyes, this one male judging by the demonic goat horns, came out of another room into view. It took Bailey a lot of effort not to cower behind Stranger, this Steef was
huge. Bailey had always thought Stranger was pretty big, but it appeared that by Steef standards that he was really quite small. He was only just bigger then Alika. Bailey edged imperceptibly closer to Stranger and dug her fingers in his fur.
Daimen broke into a huge grin and came forward, Bailey backed away a couple of steps in surprise as the big Steef caught Stranger into a crushing embrace,
“Glad to have you back little bro.” he grinned, slapping Stranger’s shoulder companionably. “And this your kid?” he asked, turning shining eyes on Bailey. Stranger, noticing a tenseness in Bailey’s eyes stepped away from his apparent brother and stood behind Bailey, putting his hands comfortingly on her shoulders.
“Yeh, this is my Bailey.” He squeezed the humans shoulders gently, “Bailey, this is my older brother, Daimen, and his wife, Alika. They’ve agreed to take us in and let us stay.” Bailey looked innocently up at Stranger and then back at Daimen and Alika. For a moment Bailey watched them guardedly, trying to see past the smiling faces, trying to read through their eyes what they were really feeling. She’d found that Steef eyes, apart from being fascinating no end, were very expressive. She’d learnt to read Stranger and now she read these two other Steef.
What she found was surprising. There was no fear, and there was no hate. There was only compassion, and affection, understanding, but more importantly and that touched her most; acceptance. Bailey almost choked up. After so much fear and hatred she’d felt from the Steef, this was, overwhelming. Stranger’s family did not hate her as the others did, nor did they distrust her. They accepted her.
Bailey swallowed and smiled wanly and they could easily see that was her way of thanks.
“You’re things are in your room.” Alika told her, adopting a reassuring tone of voice, “I’ll show you if you like?” Bailey smiled,
“Yeh, I’d like that.” she whispered, Alika smiled and led the young human from the room.