probably needs to rest."
Daisy immediately jumps to her feet, a figure rounded by an immense amount of fur layers. "Thank you…"
"Mari." I nod at her, and then touch Callie's shoulder, changing to Spanish. "I'll see you before I go and explain everything, all right?"
"Wake me up early if you have to," Callie tells me. "I want to hear everything." She gives me a worried look before tucking her head against M'tok's shoulder. "You'd better not sneak out on me."
"I won't," I promise her.
The tribe seems to take that moment to scatter. There's a few people that leave their seats, and others cluster together to gossip. Gail and Vaza get up and head to their tent, a sleeping Z'hren cradled in Gail's arms, Vaza holding her close. Others drift away, no doubt to mourn in private. A few of the hunters head for Daisy, earning an eye roll from Flor as they step over her to get to the new woman's side.
T'chai tugs on a lock of my hair. "I will speak with A'tar and make sure that we are ready to go in the morning. I will join you at the hut, my mate."
"Okay." I smile at him, because I can't seem to help myself. "Don't take too long."
"Never." He gives me an intense look that makes my skin prickle, and I wonder if it's a good prickle or a bad one. It's hard to tell, but I think it's a good one.
I grab Daisy by the elbow and drag her away before R'jaal and Sessah can crowd her. "Does everyone here speak different languages?" Daisy asks as I lead her away from the group. "My translator's picking up several different dialects."
"Oh yeah, there's the island clans, and there's us humans, and there's the gladiators, and the sa-khui who are native here. Basically it's just one big mess of languages."
"It's lovely. You all seem so close. So friendly. Everyone was touching each other around the fire." She holds the furs tighter to her.
"There's lots of mated couples here."
"It's nice. I like it." There's a wistful look on her face. "Babies, too?"
"Not so many babies yet, but give us a few months. Did Niri tell you about resonance?"
"No…what's that?"
Oh boy. As we walk, I try to explain resonance to Daisy and how it's tied in to the khui. How it'll mean babies and a lifetime mating and it'll choose someone for her. I don't mention my own mating with T'chai or the problems we've had; I just try to paint as neutral a picture as possible so Daisy can draw her own conclusions.
Daisy is, of course, utterly enchanted. "I get a soulmate and babies? This is wonderful! Does it happen immediately?"
I'm envious of her enthusiasm. She makes it sound so simple. "No. Some of the women have been here for months and haven't resonated. I've heard rumors that it won't happen at all for some people, but I think that's rare. And then of course, some people resonate the moment they get their khuis. So you might get one instantly, or you might have to wait for a long time. There's no way of knowing."
"That's all right. I'll just think of it as a future gift. How marvelous." She can't stop smiling.
Daisy's a cheerful one. She exclaims over the distant beach and the stars in the night sky. She squeals with delight over my hut, calling it “charming” and “adorable.” She's equally entranced with the contents inside and how warm it is. I can't decide if Daisy's just easily excitable…or an idiot.
"This is going to be such fun," Daisy tells me enthusiastically as I stoke the fire in the center of my hut. "This place is quite beautiful."
"It's going to be a lot of work," I warn her. "Everyone contributes and there are endless amounts of chores to be done. This isn't a ski lodge you're visiting on vacation. There's no hot water, no plumbing, no nothing you're used to."
"I know." Daisy gives me a sober look. "You probably think I'm a little crazy. It's just…for years, I've been paraded around city after city, station after station. I haven't seen a sliver of green grass since I left earth."
"You won't see grass here, either," I admit. "Ice planet and all."
"But you're outdoors in the fresh air. And you're free. And you're together. You have a community. No one's really alone." Her expression grows achingly sweet. "That's all I wanted. Someplace to belong again."
Now I just feel bad for her. I give