Survival

“Toby! This is ridiculous!” I hissed furiously, doing my best to keep my voice down. “Not only am I barely getting any food, but whenever I do you force me to be with my mother and sister! They’re too negative towards me! I can’t handle another meal with them!”

“They’re your family!” Tobias countered and I scoffed.

“I’ve known them for such a short time! It hardly counts!”

“What could possibly be so bad about spending time with them?” Toby questioned after a brief pause. His voice was calmer, but I knew he didn’t fully understand the situation from my point of view.

“Every time I hear stories about Leona and her perfect mate, and how wonderful she is whenever she does typical female tasks. They speak highly of males who do the hunting, and continuously drop hints about how stupid it would be for a female to do things like that. They’re never impressed if I say that I killed whatever animal we are eating, and once mother even started to compliment the vegetables. The vegetables, Toby! She cared more about the female who had pulled the vegetables out of the ground and prepared them for the meal!” I blurted. Tears were welling in my eyes as I let out a frustrated sigh. That felt like such a small part of what was happening. “I- I can’t do this anymore. Don’t make me go back there and sit with them… Please.” Toby wrapped his arms around me and I held onto his torso tightly, doing my best to not cry. I knew if my family saw me crying, it would just give them even more power over me. I didn’t want that.

“I didn’t think they were that bad…”

“That’s not even all of it,” I breathed, trying to think of a solution. Brienne would have had great advice for me. She always did.

“I think I know what to do,” he eventually whispered, distracting me from the depressing thought of my dead friend.

“Telling them we’re good friends doesn’t help, I’ve already explained that,” I mumbled as Toby pushed me backwards to meet my eye.

“I have something else in mind,” Toby replied with a mischievous grin. “Go and take your seat. I need to talk to Cassius for a minute.”

“I can’t-”

“Just trust me,” he said reassuringly. I gave in and headed back to the cave where my mother and sister were sitting around a fire, reluctantly taking my place next to them. As always, I kept my head down and ate the little amount of food that had been given as my share, and gulped down the protein drink eagerly. I noticed some other Kasiens were coming into the cave, and it soon became crowded and filled with murmuring. Shortly after, Cassius and Toby appeared in the entrance. Cassius gave a quick smile at his friend before standing off to the side. Everyone directed their attention to Tobias and became hushed.

“Everyone, may I have your attention? I have an announcement to make,” Tobias said in his loud and clear leader voice. I gulped, wondering what on earth he could possibly have to say that would make my situation better. “I’ll say it simply. I have been secretly dating a female and I feel that things have been going very well. So well, that I should no longer be keeping this a secret from my people.” The cave erupted with excited whispers and I gazed around it with wide eyes.

“Oh, I bet he will have picked a splendid female!” I heard my mother tell my sister. “I wonder if she’s from our ship!” Leona smiled back, and I found myself smiling too. That was why he was doing this. Toby wanted them to like me, and he knew that this would help a lot. He was so kind!

“I know that this is a big deal because I lead this race, so I want you to all know that she makes me very happy. She always has. I’ve always thought she was beautiful, and I’ve always loved making her smile,” Toby continued, making my heart skip a beat. He really thought that? The way he was saying ‘always’ made it sound like all of our time as friends was really something more. Toby was grinning from ear to ear, and it made me smile greatly too. “Actually, I can’t pretend this is just me announcing I’m in a relationship. I’m declaring my love for her and… well… I want her to be my mate.” My jaw almost hit the ground. His mate? Me? Some Kasiens were cheering and Toby briefly met my stare, the cheeky glint still in his eyes.

“Oh my…” I whispered as I noticed my heart rate had increased dramatically and I was feeling a tad faint.

“So, without further ado… Marion, will you be my mate?” Toby asked. Suddenly all eyes were on me, including my family’s. I could only smile and exhale from surprise. This was really happening. Toby wanted me to be his mate!

“Yes! Yes, of course!” I exclaimed as I pushed myself up off the ground. Cheering and clapping surrounded me as I ran the short distance between us and flung myself into his arms. We pulled slightly apart at the same time, but we were soon back together in a sweet kiss. “I love you so much.” My smile almost prevented me from speaking, but I somehow managed to express my feelings.

“I love you too,” Toby breathed, his smile melting my heart. Kasiens came up to us and expressed their joy and gave congratulations. Finally, my mother and Leona approached Toby and I. My stomach jolted, anxious to hear what they had to say.

“Well done, Marion. I had no idea you could become the mate for the leader! You’re very lucky,” Leona said cheerily. I took it as a compliment and smiled back, remaining quiet as I awaited my mother’s comment. Toby’s grip on my hand tightened and he took a step closer to my family.

“The ways of the Kasiens have changed. You’re so different to what a female should be, Marion. I wanted you to transform into the ideal female, get a mate and live a happy life, but… Well, you clearly have your life sorted. I’m happy for you,” she said.

“Thank you, mother,” I breathed, receiving her apology and acceptance of my lifestyle by letting her embrace me. She then turned to Toby with a slightly larger grin.

“I’m very honoured you have chosen my daughter, Tobias. I never saw this coming,” she said, earning a grin from Toby.

“You have a great daughter. You should be very pleased that she is yours,” he replied as I beamed up at him. Soon we were sharing another kiss, which caused my heart to flutter because we were in public. It no longer mattered that others could see our relationship. We were officially to be mated. Kasiens celebrated by allowing us to eat more food, everyone donating small portions of their own meal as a sign of their approval and blessing. For the first time in a long time I had a full stomach come the end of the night when Toby and I were sitting by the edge of his cave. A blanket sat across our legs and his arm was around my shoulders, keeping us close for the sake of warmth and comfort. We had been silent for a long time, both of us lost in thought as we stared out at the rain. I was thinking about everything that had happened recently, and how it all related to survival. There wasn’t a single action that I had undertaken that wasn’t to do with me surviving. We lived in such a cruel world, and I was so lucky to have Toby as a positive influence.

“Thank you for what you did tonight,” I whispered. I glanced up at his still face, wondering if he could even hear me over the crackling of the fires in the cave.

“I felt like it was right. You and I are just… the best thing I have in my life,” Toby said.

“Same here,” I smiled. I looked back out at the falling water, wondering if there would ever be a clear sky again. Tears were forming in my eyes as I thought about the horrors of the war we were fighting in, about how tough it was to live out here with scarce food…

“It’ll be all right,” Toby murmured, pulling me in a bit closer to him.

“What will be?”

“Everything. We’ll find food to eat tomorrow. We’ll go to battle and we’ll defeat all of the humans. You and me, we’ll claim this planet as ours and we will live happily ever after,” Toby answered as I glanced over at him. He truly believed it. His face was as determined as his tone was. Maybe there was hope. Perhaps we could survive.