Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
For some reason, this strikes me as hilarious. Work out? On an ice planet? Lila’s already a twig. Doofus, I tell her, and loop an arm around her waist, ready to help haul her into the cave.
Rokan shoulders her pack and touches Lila’s arm, a question in his eyes. She reassures him with a quick hand signal and a smile, and leans on me.
“I will take the packs in,” Rokan says and signs. “Bring Li-lah by the fire so she can rest?”
“Will do,” I tell him. I don’t even resent him at the moment. We both just want what is best for my sister.
By now, people are spilling out of the cave, and there’s excited, raised voices in every direction. Bags are being distributed, and humans are spilling out, babies in arms, because they can’t wait to see what kind of fruit was brought in. I weave through the crowd with Lila and head for the fire pit. For the first time in possibly ever, there’s no one sitting around it. I’m pretty sure they’re all crowded out front. I park Lila in front of the fire pit, at the best seat, and help her shrug off the top layer of her wraps. They’re a little damp, and I spread them out on one of the poles set up nearby for such a reason. There’s no tea bubbling over the fire, so I grab a tripod and string a pouch over it, motion to my sister that I’ll be back, and fill it up at one of the multiple springs bubbling through the cave. There’s a basket of spices and tea kept near the fire— Stacy’s, probably—and I dig through it before finding tea and setting it up. I’m actually pretty proud of myself that I knew how to do all that just from watching the others—now I just hope I’m not boiling my sister a tea made from meat spices.
I sit down next to Lila and sign at her again. Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?
Just tired, she tells me. I was fine until we saw the tribal cave, and then I lost all my energy. Her smile is tired. I’m glad to be home. You should be glad you didn’t go. It was a fun trip but a hard one. I’m wiped out.
Did you get a lot of fruit? Was your one-eyed friend there?
We did get a lot of fruit, but we also ate a lot of it and just harvested seeds and cuttings from the plants. We could not take all of it back. There’s so much, it’s incredible. We brought back as much as we could carry, but we buried some in a cache as well. We were so busy!
Sounds like it.
And no, no sign of my friend. It was just us there. She rubs her stomach. I liked the fruit, but I would be happy not eating any more of it for a while. I never thought I’d say it but I’d prefer raw meat right now!
I laugh, because that’s not something I expected to hear, either. Are you going native then? Eating raw? I know that’s how the sa-khui prefer their meat, and some of the more daring humans have taken it up, but not me. I like my steak well-done and not fresh out of something’s gut.
A shy look crosses my sister’s face. It’s not that I like the thought, but I’ve been having cravings for the past few days… She stops and clasps her hands together, and I see her eyes are shimmering with tears.
“Oh my god,” I breathe aloud, and then realize what I’ve done. She understands me though, and laughs and nods. Lila’s pregnant. I squeal with excitement and grip her hands in mine. She beams at me, and in that moment, I’m so utterly thrilled for my sister’s happiness. I love that my shy, scared sister is just blossoming out here on this ski slope of a planet. It makes me tear up, too.
My sister’s going to have a family and a baby, just like everyone else. I’m so happy for her, and yet…I still feel the sting of losing her. And I feel alone all over again.
Which makes me think of Hassen.
Which makes me think I should probably tell my sister I’m flirting with Hassen.
Okay, sleeping with Hassen.
Not that anyone’s doing much sleeping.
I watch Lila’s happy face. She wipes away her tears, beaming. We knew it would happen because of resonance, but still, to think about it and to actually have it happen are two different things.
You can feel it? Already? I touch my breast, thinking about the parasite inside me—the khui. I can’t feel it, ever, though I have noticed that the mated couples purr at each other when they resonate. Is it because of the khui?