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She was a short Asian woman with an adorable bob and mini bangs.
“What do you think brings you here, Joey?” I asked.
“Well, it’s one of two things. Either my tattoos or my scars. I have tattoos everywhere that can be hidden because I had strict Asian parents. But I also have scars from self-harm in high school. I haven’t done it in years, but the scars are still there,” she explained.
"Ahh,” I said, either could be a valid explanation. “Do you feel like you need any medical assistance?” I asked.
“Nope, I’m good. The scars are from trauma that has long since healed,” she said, smiling at me.
“I’m Olivia, but everyone calls me Liv, and I am honestly not one hundred percent why I’m here. I was raised in the foster system. My mom was addicted to drugs and I don’t know who my dad is, so I am sure that came up in one of their scans. Maybe PTSD? Anyway, I am a veterinarian and was in my first year of practice and am honestly kind of excited. I am really interested in meeting the hestrs that the orkin use as a means of travel,” she said with a hesitant smile.
Olivia was definitely going to be an asset to our team of humans. Between her humble attitude and her experience, she would provide much-needed support. I moved to the next woman in our small circle.
“Hi, I am Diedre. I have fibromyalgia. I am on a cocktail of medications due to my chronic pain,” she grimaced.
“Hi, Diedre, we will do whatever we can to ensure that we manage your symptoms,” I said, truly believing that the tribe would do whatever it took to ensure she was taken care of.
Diedre nodded quietly, hands folded in her lap. I moved on to the next woman. She was tall, taller than any of the human men I have encountered.
“I’m Gemma, and I’m autistic. I have no idea how they figured that out, but they clearly didn't want an autistic woman, so they dumped me here. But I am pleased. I’ll take good orkin over bad aliens any day.”
Gemma said this with such acceptance I was surprised. I looked at her, brows raised.
“I’m used to being in uncomfortable situations, this is going to be totally okay,” she said lightly.
I smiled, Gemma was going to do just fine. I shifted to the last woman. She looked concerned.
“Hi...” she said, twisting her hands in her lap.
“It’s okay,” I said. “No one will judge you here, we all come with various difficulties.”
She looked up at me hopefully.
“I’m Eleanor, but everyone calls me Ellie. I’m on adderall for ADHD,” she said tightly, clearly afraid of reproach, looking up at me.
I laughed, “Girl, before they figured out I had anxiety and panic disorder, they considered ADHD as an option. There’s no shame in that!”
Ellie looked slightly more comfortable in her seat, but I knew it was going to take some work for her to open up.
“Do you think they will have medication that helps with ADHD?” she asked hesitantly.
“Well, they had herbs that helped with anxiety, so I’m hopeful for you.”
Ellie nodded, looking slightly more comforted. I needed to keep all of these women straight in my head. So we had Billie, Ruby, Zoey, Evie, Ginny, Lucy, Joey, Liv, Diedre, Gemma, and Ellie. I scanned the room, trying to match faces with names, wanting each woman to feel seen and understood. Not only was I the first to wake up, I was to be their jarlin—I never wanted them to think I wasn’t considering their needs.
I took a deep breath and looked around the eleven other women, all eyes on me, “So when did everyone wake up?” I asked.
It was Gemma who spoke up first, “Most of us woke up about two days ago?” she said, looking to the other women for confirmation.
All of them nodded in agreement.
“Okay, so what has happened since then?” I asked.
“Well, Tora, Emla, Saela, and Astrid didn’t want to introduce us to the rest of the tribe immediately, so they have kept us isolated,” Joey responded.
“They told us all about Elska mates and didn’t want us to be pushed into anything we weren’t ready for,” Ruby clarified.
“Astrid said that you’d probably already mated with one of their males and didn’t want to push that on us,” Liv added.
