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AGNARR
Well, midday fucking was definitely something I would happily get used to. I sat, admiring Piper in nothing but a tunic, as we enjoyed the rest of our meal. I was grateful that I’d had the foresight to have all of our meals delivered for the time being—knowing that meal times might be the only time we got alone.
“So what’s on the schedule for the afternoon?” Pip asked, looking up at me.
“I’d like to sit down with you and Astrid,” I said.
“Are you worried?” She asked.
“No, but I want us all on the same page,” I explained.
“Well, that seems like an excellent plan,” Piper said, before she leaned in and kissed me. “Does Astrid have time for us?” She asked.
“Astrid wants to step down. She will make whatever time is necessary in order to ensure a smooth transition,”
“Well then, I guess I should put on some pants,” Pip said, standing up.
Once we were dressed, we headed to Astrid’s cabin.
We found Astrid, as she always was–in her garden. She looked up at us, smiling.
“Let’s have some tea,” she said, before heading into the house.
We followed her into her kitchen, settling once again at the small table. She hustled about her kitchen, preparing food and drink. She then placed a cup of tea in front of Piper.
“It will prevent pregnancy. I know you’re on human birth control, but you reek of sex. Better safe than sorry,” she said, as she continued to bustle about her kitchen.
Piper turned bright pink but took a large sip of the tea. I watched as she fidgeted, knowing she was intimidated by Astrid. I slid my hand onto her thigh under the table, squeezing her leg, just to let her know I was there.
While Astrid moved around the kitchen, we caught each other up on the status of the elders and Pip alluded again to the fact that she had won over Osif.
Astrid looked surprised but didn’t question Pip further. She laid out an afternoon spread of cookies and pastries while continuing to rummage around her kitchen. Finally, she sat with Piper and I. She looked at Piper, “So what’s the deal with the human women?” she asked bluntly. I was pleased that she was comfortable enough to drop the leader facade.
“Well there are a couple of camps they fall into,” Piper explained, unaffected by Astrid’s direct question. “We have the first group. They are ready and willing to take a mate and are happy to be here. Then we have the second group, they want a mate but are hesitant about bonding immediately. They will definitely need some time to adjust. Then we have the final group. This group is going to be the trickiest. These women have been abused by human men and are hesitant to take on any partner,” Pip explained.
“Abused how?” Astrid asked.
“Well, for most of them it’s primarily emotional, but there are some physical–”
“You mean their partners physically harmed them?” Astrid asked, cutting Pip off with a shocked expression.
“It is more common than we’d like to admit, but yes, physically abused by their partners,” Pip explained.
Astrid looked as if she were going to be sick.
“How so?” she asked, gripping the arms of the chair she was sitting in.
“Well, we have one woman who was pushed down the stairs by her partner, leading her to break her ankle in several places. We have a few women who were forced into sex by their partners. We have some states where that isn’t against the law,” Pip explained.
Astrid blanched at this explanation, “So there are places on Earth where women are expected to submit to their partners, regardless of their wants?”
“Uhhh... Yeah... And unfortunately, a lot of them still exist in what we would call ‘civilized’ society. I know we have at least one female ex-military who was taken against her will by her fellow soldiers. ” Pip said.
“Well… That is not how we operate here,” Astrid said, clearly at a loss for words.
“Astrid. In the United States, which is where all the women are from, we’ve never even had a female leader. It has been almost 250 years and every leader has been male. Male and elderly. Consideration given to the human females is something they are going to be overjoyed about but hesitant to put their faith in,” Pip explained.
I could tell she was welling up and trying to hide it. My grip on her thigh tightened under the table.
