Ulvus stamped his foot and stormed inside.
“What happened to cause such bitterness in that male?”Nenn nudged Vaen.“You are closest to Drafe.”
“Ulvus won the rite of Uhann by brute strength, and yet, he dishonored his tribe by stealing from Drafe then lying about it.For that, his tribe took his hand as per their laws.Drafe showed such calm and control during his defeat that the Ivoyans accepted them both.”
“Ah, so the animosity runs deep.”
“As it should when one hates oneself.”Vaen tapped his chest.“To side with Drafe would paint Ulvus’s actions in a negative light.Had the male confronted his behavior, he would not have stayed a sava.His inability to deal with his weakness adds to his self-hatred.”
“And the cycle continues.”
“Indeed.”Vaen clasped his hands behind his back and stretched.“I first met him when he was a karu.He wore a new hand, a gift from the Ivoyans.”
“Yes, they have that skill.”Nenn had recognized the medical miracle of Ulvus’s orange hand although he’d yet to see the procedure performed.
“Is it a perfect mirror of his other hand?”Vaen raised his hand, curled his fingers into a fist, then unfurled them.
“It is.How can you match a missing limb?”
“And yet, he is not grateful.”Vaen shook his head.“I have often pondered how Ulvus’s mind and sense of honor works.”
“Or he has neither?”Nenn winced, not liking to talk ill of anyone even if the male was Ulvus.“My thanks for sharing, Vaen.I now understand better.”
Companionable silence descended.More face latches occurred, some between male and male, or female with female.
“Is that hygienic?”Vaen asked, gesturing with a flick of his wrist.
“I doubt it is.”Nenn tried not to stare.Each time it happened, that knot in his stomach tightened.
“I want off this moon station and onto the next phase,” Vaen huffed.
“You wish to return to Ivoy soonest?”
“I do.We might earn honor for our tribe on this mission, but it is not guaranteed.Whereas, serving Ivoyans while they rebuild their leadership is.”
Nenn succumbed and yawned.“If this is successful, you may be able to choose which ot to serve.”
Vaen smiled.“Truth.”
A furious Drafe stomped toward them, parting the human crowds.Never had Nenn seen the male lose his calm.
“What has you so miserable?”Vaen demanded, hurrying forward to meet him.
“I…lost something,” Drafe mumbled.
“Oh?”Vaen studied him.“You have your blaster and a strange black strip around your wrist.”
Lifting his hand, Drafe twisted his wrist, his eyes widening, and at last, a small smile formed.
“Ulvus is most displeased with your departure.”Vaen trailed him, waited for Nenn to pass him, then smacked the button to shut the bay doors.He bolted ahead to fall into step beside Drafe.“Aehort awaits you in the command room.”
“I know where it is.You need not escort me.”Drafe glared at Vaen.
Nenn froze.Drafe’s reaction was uncharacteristic of him.Nenn sniffed, picking up a mating and a sunbaked female.She must have been incredible or the worst though by the way Drafe reacted, like a child forbidden to pock-jump, Nenn would hazard the former applied here.
He gazed at the display vid showing the humans streaming past theAroagni’sramp.Had Drafe gotten to face-latch?Nenn hummed.When the male had calmed, he’d ask.
Nennsuckedonhisfingertips then smacked his lips.Drafe’s salty tulsig cakes were heavenly, nothing like what he’d eaten at home.The replicate could make anything Qaldreth warriors could ask for, and yet, for the most part, they stayed true to their traditions.Nenn had tried garak, kurrula, and awayar but not os-ayy.Garak was a wilder meat compared to banaari.Kurrula were small birds with bones to crunch through, and awayar had a slimy texture.Os-ayy were hard-shelled insects with too many feelers and legs and a juicy interior.He shuddered at the thought of slurping from the carapaces even if they were a pretty iridescent blue.He’d rather eat onis, the potent black moss clinging to the overhangs of volcanic rock.
