Getting to know you

Oribella awoke in Poppy's arms, and thought "so it wasn't a dream, I was saved by this man." Her body was stiff, and without thinking she lifted her arms to stretch.

"Did you sleep well?" Poppy asked with a groggy voice.

"Yes," Oribella leaned against Poppy's chest, "your body is really warm... Sorry to wake you."

"It's alright," Poppy said with a blush, running his hand over Oribella's hair, "I actually woke up at sunrise but you were sleeping so peacefully I just couldn't bring myself to wake you."

"So..." Oribella turned around to fully face Poppy, "about you asking me to be your spouse... You were serious?"

"Absolutely." Poppy held both Oribella's hands and continued, "I fully understand you wanting us to better learn about one another first, but isn't that at its core what courtship is? Learning about eachother?"

Courtship? In this day and age? Oribella looked Poppy up and down. Now up close and with the late-morning sunlight coming into the cave, she saw Poppy's animalistic ears.

With this, Oribella finally had her Dorthy-Moment. 'Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.' Instantly she understood that she wasn't anywhere on Earth.

She had wished to leave her world, she was prepared to die in order to do so. And be it by the Gods (if they exist) or just pure luck, she wasn't dead, but she had left her world behind for a new one.

"Yes..." She said as the realization settled in her mind. "Yes, that is courtship..." She leaned forward and fell into embrace with Poppy. Maybe she really had died and this was a corner of heaven. Poppy was her Angel with bear ears instead of wings.

Had he unknowingly crossed over into her world and pulled her back into his? Or had she merely wandered into his? Whatever the case, Oribella was thankful to have a second chance away from all of the people, problems and problem-people of her old life. Of her old world.

"So, let's get to know eachother." Poppy said hugging Oribella back. "For starters, what clan are you from?"

"Clan?" Oribella pondered. "Where I'm from... We HAVE clans but I'm not apart of one." Poppy looked extremely confused at this answer. "Uh... well...." Oribella continued, "what we CALL a clan where I'm from is sort of.... a really REALLY big family. They're usually quite well-to-do and own a lot of land."

Poppy replied, "you must be from incredibly far away then!"

"Yes," Oribella smiled. "Much farther than I even realized."

Poppy nodded, "for the same word to hold such a different meaning is remarkable. Well what we call a clan in this land refers to what beastman tribe you're apart of! For example," Poppy lowered his head and poked one of his ears. "I'm from the Bear Clan."

"In that case..." Oribella quickly thought it over and weighed her options. If Poppy was in the process of courting her then she may in fact end up married to him. And in that case she wanted to be as honest as possible.

"Have you ever heard of Sapiens?" Oribella asked. "Specifically Homo Sapiens?"

"I haven't!" Poppy announced, intrigued at the newfound exoticness of Oribella.

This was going to be much easier than Oribella had expected. She could tell the truth without freaking anyone out by saying she was from another reality.

"Yes, I suppose you would say I'm from the Sapien Clan."

"What are they like?" Poppy asked further.

"Hmm..." Oribella thought back to her 10th grade biology class and responded, "I suppose Sapiens are similar to Gorillas and other Apes. But only by very little. We are our own unique Clan."

"So," Poppy replied, "you're similar to the Ape Clan the same way the Tiger Clan is to the Leopard Clan! Right?"

"Yes!" Oribella confirmed, "that's accurate." at least accurate enough for this conversation.

Poppy was proud of himself for his analogy. Oribella had the feeling if Poppy was a Dog Instead of a Bear his tail would be wagging.

Oribella was about to ask Poppy a question when her stomach interrupted.

*grrrrble grrrup grrooooooow*

It had been well over a day since she had eaten, as such Oribella blushed from emberasment over her loud bodily noises. However, Poppy saw an opportunity to show he could provide for Oribella as her spouse.

"Here!" Poppy reached for the clay pot he was carrying the night before and untied the twiney rope keeping the lid secured.

"Honey Glazed Meat!" He said proudly. "It's one of the Bear Clan's specialties! If you like it I can make it for you as often as you want!" Poppy pulled a chunk of meat out of the pot and held it up to Oribella's mouth.

She was causious, "what kind of meat is it?" Oribella wasn't a picky eater but if she wasn't about to eat something without knowing exactly where it came from.

"Oh, this pot has deer meat in it. Is that okay? I can get a different-" Oribella was acquainted with venison, and felt so hungry she couldn't wait for Poppy to finish talking. Instead she held Poppy's wrist with both hands and placed her mouth around not only the piece of venison but Poppy's fingertips to get all the honey she could. Waste not want not!

Poppy was surprised and a bit ashamed by how... 'excited' he was just from Oribellas lips touching his fingers. Oribella however was too focused on the food to realize what she was doing to him.

The meat wasn't moist, but nor was it dry. The honey had tenderized the meat, and the sweetness made Oribella salivate, in turn making each chew softer and softer. Meanwhile Poppy's heart was beating faster and faster.

Oribella swallowed the first bite, "this is an amazing dish! Is it really just meat and honey?"

"Well, it's meat, honey, and salt to be specific."

"I really like it," Oribella reached for the pot to take another piece but Poppy blocked her hand with his.

Oribella dejectedly looked up at Poppy, "can I not have any more? I'm still really hungry."

"You can, but... but..." Poppy didn't want to admit out loud how much he liked feeding a female. His brothers and friends had said that something changed in them after they officially became spouses to a female. But Poppy wasn't officially Oribella's spouse yet. So why was he feeling like this already?

"But you shouldn't feed yourself. Because you...." Poppy picked out another piece from the pot, "you'll get sticky from the honey! So I should feed you instead."

Oribella wasn't socially inept, she could tell Poppy simply wanted to feed her and was also too proud to admit it. Besides, she found it very endearing so there was no reason to fight it. Oribella opened her mouth and Poppy held out another chunk of meat and waited for Oribella to close her lips around his fingers again. He felt guilty in finding it so enjoyable.

After a couple bites Oribella paused and asked, "So, where do you live, Poppy? You said this was a cave you 'knew of' which means you live somewhere else, right?" she then took the piece of meat Poppy was holding.

"Currently my sister is letting me stay with her and her spouses. Most single males are forced to stay outside but I can provide extra help for the house, and since we're siblings her males aren't threatened by me. I was out on a foraging expedition for medical plants when I found you."

Oribella barely kept from choking on the food in her mouth. 'Spouses.' As is the plural of 'spouse'? Oribella felt conflicted. If polyamory was common enough here for Poppy to mention it without batting an eye then she had to get a better understanding to avoid insulting him or is sister.

"How many spouses does your sister have?"

"Only Three."

'OnLy tHrEe' He says!

"Sorry. I'm not used to the idea of having more than one spouse." Oribella admitted, "in my homeland it's normally One with One."

"Then... what about the males left over? What are they supposed to do when the females are claimed?"

"Well," the bigger differnces in this world were starting to come into the light, "males and females often end their relationships for one reason or another. Often over little reasons."

Poppy was dumbfounded at the notion that spousal relationships could be ended so unceremoniously "and what do the males do after that?" He asked nervously.

Oribella couldnt help but think of the past boyfriends who had used her, "they find new females. Ones they liked better."

"Well that may be how ths Sapien Clan works, but definitely not any Clan I've visited." Poppy said holding up another piece of meat.

"Then," Oribella leaned in but didn't take the bite, "what happens when a male gets tired of his female?" She looked into Poppy's eyes unaware how injured she looked from his point of view. How afraid she looked. Afraid that she might be hurt by a male again. Afraid Poppy might hurt her heart.

In her eyes Poppy saw just how differnt the Sapien Clan treated their females. He wondered how many Sapien males must have hurt Oribella for her to have this fear. Poppy was determined to never let Oribella feel that way again.

"A male and female may grow apart, it happens. There's no doubt about that." Poppy dropped the chunk of meat into the pot and set it aside. With his clean hand he reached out and held Oribella's cheek in his palm. "But it is entirely up to the female whether their spousal relationship ends. You don't have to fear abandonment anymore."

This idea sounded crazy to Oribella, "how is that possible?" she asked.

Poppy felt like he was explaining that the sun rises and sets, but he understood these were strange circumstances.

"In all the Clans I've met we have spousal marks. It's something that physically binds a male to his female. And he can only give it once. There IS a way for a female to remove a spousal mark. But I believed it is kept secret by the females of each clan. Otherwise males could start removing the marks of other males they happen to dislike."

Oribella leaned further into Poppy's hand on her face. She understood his words, but didn't yet understand the weight of them.

"What happens to the males who's marks are removed?" Oribella asked, although her intuition partly knew.

"An elder once told my mother that an abandoned male is like 'a tree without its roots.' They're unrooted and no longer whole." Poppy said, pulling Oribella in closer. "It should take a lot for a female to want to fully reject one of her males. One time... I know of it happening in my village..." Poppy pulled his hand away from Oribella. "It was something inexcusable..."

Oribella was afraid to hear what happened, "what did he do?" But curiosity got the better of her.

"The male flew into a jealous rage," Poppy continued, not looking Oribella in the eye, "and killed his female's newborn cubs. Merely because they belonged to one of her other males instead of him."

Oribella's heart sank. A whisper of "that's horrible..." was all she could muster.

"The female had every reason to end her relationship him after that. She would have been insane not to. The village rallied behind her, myself included. And The Bear King exiled him." Poppy pulled Oribella into a protective embrace. "But I will never hurt you. In ANY way." Oribella returned the embrase. Poppy continued, "no matter what happens I'll be stronger than that male... because... becau..." Oribella could feel how nervous Poppy was, but before she could ask 'because why?' he continued. "Because I refuse to make the same hateful and selfish mistakes my father made."