“This is different,” Pet said as she followed Zander.
“More eyes are good,” Zander said. “It puts a security officer with someone who’d cleared the sims.”
“I’ve put in time on the range, too,” Pet said softly.
“Because you want to show you are doing more,” Zander said. “I know. Maker tells me.”
“She watches me?” Pet asked.
“No, you and Sage talk, and Maker watches Sage for me.”
“Oh,” the slump of her shoulders was clear in her tone.
“You hoped, and hope can be good, but it mainly means getting kicked in the teeth,” Zander said.
“Kicked in the heart, not the teeth. It’d hurt less in the teeth.”
“Fair,” Zander said, then opened the door they’d just reached and went in with his rifle up, scanning as he went.
Pet followed him in, her rifle aimed at the other half of the room, scanning for anything odd. After a few seconds, she spoke, “Clear.”
“Clear,” Zander said. “Next room.”
“Thank you for the extra from Sage this morning, Zander,” Pet said as she followed him out.
“That’s all her, Pet, not me. If something is from me, I’d tell you myself.”
“She mentioned it would help my AI, make them more like the others.”
Zander slowed for a moment. “She’s not wrong. You’d be the first non-wife beside Rasisar to manage that.”
“I thought that was why his accuracy was suffering. The others have been whispering about his numbers. His sudden dip is similar to Crish’s, Kayo’s, and Zar’s. This has had a lot of people wondering what is happening. I think only Friggen, Kliptu, and I know the truth behind it.”
“Rasisar came clean with them?”
“They approached me and asked after he spoke with them. We had a small talk about it away from everyone else. Friggen is excited but knows it’ll take her longer as she isn’t sharing blood. Kliptu was nearly red-eyed at it and antsy. She knows he gets your blood; she could taste a difference in him after he had yours. When I asked if she was going to ask you, she sneered at me. Said her Rasisar was the only man she’d sip from.”
“That’s good at least,” Zander chuckled softly.
“I know I’ll be there in time, too, because I can feel something every time Sage feeds me. The extra like this morning is even more potent.”
“I didn’t know she was able to just save some of me like that. I thought she was processing all of it.”
“She very rarely gives me any straight from you, and then it’s normally just a splash. This morning was a bit more because of it helping my AI.”
Zander sighed slightly, but stayed quiet as they cleared the next room off the hall. It wasn’t until they were back in the hallway that he spoke again. “I don’t want you fixated on me.”
“I’m not, sir. Sage is my gardener, my tender, if slightly different from what you’d think of it. While you are a feast, you aren’t my focus; she is. I do wish there were more times with you, not just with your wives, because Sage’s flavor becomes intense when you are involved. But I understand, too. Sage and Maker explained your vision of your family to me.”
“They did, huh?” Zander asked, giving Maker an internal poke.
“You are happy with the wives you have, and are happy with me as an offshoot. Maker thinks you won’t take another wife now.”
“She’s probably not wrong,” Zander said. “Keeping up with all of them is a test at times. A wonderful test. Another might also break the balance they’ve found. I don’t want them upset, so yeah, Maker and Sage were probably right.”
“Sage did mention she might take two more offshoots.”
“We talked about that this morning,” Zander sighed. “We’ll have to see when we get back to MX. I really hate to think I hurt them like that.”
“It’s been over a year, so one or both might have been able to move on, though the last year would have been…unpleasant for them. If they didn’t, then they are likely miserable, and when Sage talks to them, they will kneel instantly and beg her to take them under her branches.”
“Because of me,” Zander murmured.
“Because of your shifted nature,” Pet said, not willing to lie to him. “You had no idea, and having gotten to know you, I understand how that upsets you, sir.”
Zander stayed quiet again as they swept the next room. Maker hadn’t replied to his mental poke, but honestly, he understood why she had done what she did. Her overriding parameter was for him to be the best he could be. She was always trying to smooth things for him. It might have pissed him off two years ago, the thought of Selda managing him like that. But here, with Maker, who was tied to every inch of his being, he couldn’t muster any anger at her. Just a tiny bit of annoyance that she hadn’t told him she had talked like that with Pet.
“Sir, if they haven’t moved on, they will be thrilled to be under Sage’s care. They’ll likely hope for fun at times, as I do, but they will understand and accept what is.”
“And you’re happy?” Zander asked.
“Yes!” The joy in Pet’s single word was as bright as her smile normally was. “Sage is the very best caretaker I could have. Barring you as a tender, she is the best any of my race could hope to have. If she opened her garden to others, she’d be flooded with dryads asking to become offshoots.”
“Pass,” Zander muttered.
“You say that, but we know the idea of a room full of eager dryads all having fun is a good thought,” Maker said to both him and Pet. “You just don’t want to deal with the problems that might pop up, and you worry Sage wouldn’t have time for you then.”
“Oh, now you show up.”
“I’m stretched thin, Zee,” Maker said. “I’m juggling a dozen things. But when you lie to yourself, it’s like a sliver under a fingernail.”
“Gah, I hate that,” Zander grimaced.
“You’d want to yank it right away,” Maker said. “Exactly why I popped in now and not when you gently nudged me.”
“Fine, go be you,” Zander said.
“I promise to spoil you later, Husband,” Maker whispered to just him.
Zander rolled his eyes, but his lips had slanted into a smirk.
“Sir, I was wondering if you’d tell me more about you.”
“Me?”
“You’re Sage’s tender, and she loves you to her heartwood. I would like to know you better so I can better understand some of her comments. It would help me widen the roots that connect her and me.”
“Sure,” Zander said. “But first, tell me more about what being an offshoot means and is like, please.”
“Yes, sir,” Pet smiled. “I’m not sure how best to explain parts of it, as my race is not yours, obviously. Has Sage explained what it means to have a tender?”
“Parts of it at least,” Zander said.
“Okay,” Pet murmured. “Sage is effectively my tender. I will never have another to care for me. I submitted myself to grow in the shade of her branches. Never will I be more than she is; what I could be is limited by her.”
“In what way?”
“Every way. Physically, it has been clear that I’m far smaller, my body shrinking and thinning in width, right?”
“Hard not to notice that. I was concerned until Sage told me it was normal.”
“I will not get smaller than I am now. But if Sage continues to grow stronger and larger, I will start to grow again, too. I must be small enough to comfortably nestle in her nook. I loved it when Zar rested in mine the night she played with Sage and me.”
“When Sage asked me about the others having time with you, I was worried she was trying to slowly rope you into the family.”
“No,” Pet said. “It is just a reward for me being a wonderful offshoot to have time with her loved ones. They’re also very good friends of mine, too, which is wonderful. I’m Sage’s, so I can only play with those she approves of.”
Zander nodded at that, as it was similar to how Sage had fully submitted herself to him when he became her tender. Pet basically had an approved playlist just as Sage did from him, and it seemed the list was his family, which he was fine with. “Got it,” Zander said, but they paused again to clear the next room.
“That’s the physical aspect of my bond with her. There are also the special feedings that she gives me as her offshoot. Which you enjoyed watching, as I remember.”
“Not arguing facts,” Zander chuckled. “Is it that different than what you’d gotten directly from me?”
“Very different. It’s diluted with her own essence, then mixed into something suited for just me. Though if she has other offshoots, it’ll be for all of us. The mixture wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone who’s not an offshoot. It reinforces our connection, growing our roots closer.
“You keep saying that, about your roots.”
“When one dryad kneels to another, becoming their offshoot and growing in their shade, we tie our very selves to the caretaker, gardener, and a few other words that have been used over our long history. Where we thrive best on accepting seed from men normally, when we become offshoots, it is only the mixture that will sustain and feed us. I don’t look at men with the same hunger…except you, sir. Because you are her tender, you are the one man I can feel lust for. If I were a man, it would be different.”
“Does that happen often, male dryads becoming offshoots?”
“Not as often, but they have been caretakers with gardens under them before, much like your family is.”
“Okay, yeah, I can see that,” Zander murmured. “I have to imagine a female dryad with a male offshoot has to be really nice for them.”
Pet hummed in thought for a moment. “It generally doesn’t work well. The caretaker has to feed him the mixture, but when he gives her seed in return, it’s already been mixed, so they both get lesser versions until it stabilizes.”
“Huh. A guy has to feel like a king if he has a garden, though, right?”
“Some of our worst atrocities have happened that way,” Pet whispered. “They never stop wanting more and more, and eventually turn to force to make others kneel to them. But then they can’t keep up with caring for their garden, and the offshoots wither as they’re not given enough food.”
Zander had stopped walking as he could easily imagine what Pet had said. “Fuck.”
“Yes, it is something that all dryads keep an eye out for. If any man takes an offshoot, he is watched intently by any other dryad nearby. If he looks to be growing his garden without care, then he is arrested and tried for breaking the one rule we’ve had for ages. Neglect of your garden is a death sentence, even if it dooms those under his care…it saves all those he would force to serve him too.”
“Humanity has some of the same idiocy,” Zander said. “If we ever encounter that, I’ll make sure it’s snuffed out.”
“Thank you, sir. But I’d suggest letting Sage handle it first.”
“Really?”
“Gardeners can rally our people faster as they truly know what it is to be one. It must be a her to approach first, just in case the other caretaker hasn’t seen what they are doing. They have to be given a chance to understand first.”
“Got it,” Zander nodded, then he opened the next room to clear it.
When they came back out, Pet cleared her throat to continue. “As I was saying about roots. It’s how dryads fully connect. It’s not physical, but more metaphysical. We are trees that grow and spread. If I shade under her, then my roots will touch hers. If we mesh right, then our roots will grow together, and I will become wholly dependent on her. That is why when a caretaker goes too far, their offshoots normally pass too. One who has gone that far forces their roots to mix with his. As they waste away, he’s not just failing to feed them, he’s pulling from them.”
“Can a female dryad not go that far?”
“Could it happen? Yes, it is possible. But we have no record of it ever happening. Most caretakers aren’t women, so the sample pool is smaller. Don’t get me wrong, please. Most of the male caretakers are good people who don’t do wrong. It’d be the very outliers who are what I described. We are just sensitive that any of them could go that far again.”
“Understood,” Zander said. “And when you fully mix roots with Sage, you’ll be happy?”
“Happier,” Pet giggled. “I’m already deliriously happy all the time. We’re nearly there as it is. We’ve been going slowly as Sage is careful about not wanting to hurt me in any way. She’s so sweet.”
“She really is.”
“And if or when she takes the other two under her branches, I will welcome them with open arms. They’ll know the joys of Sage’s tender care…it’ll also give me someone to be beside me all the time.”
“I didn’t even think about that,” Zander sighed.
“It’s alright, sir. You have so much to deal with every day. All of your wives do their best to ease your burdens. Please don’t let my words weigh on you. Sage would be disappointed if she heard I caused you any anguish.”
“Not anguish, just thinking that you likely would be happier with someone beside you all the time.”
“An offshoot-sister, yes. Not just anyone. Though you and your wives are also very welcome to spoil me.”
Zander laughed at that, then lined up to open the next door. Spending the day with Pet was better than he’d thought it would be. He’d learned more about dryads than he’d known before. Mostly because he didn’t ask Maker to share more with him. But if he had to slowly clear the ship, he thought she’d be good company, and he was right.