Family by M.C.A. Hogarth

Author:M.C.A. Hogarth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: friendship, relationships, aliens, technology, culture, xenophobia, fish out of water
Publisher: M.C.A. Hogarth
Published: 2015-11-27T16:00:00+00:00

It was, in fact, an interesting walk. Juzie's questions were born of an unquenchable enthusiasm; remembering Jeasa's intention to infect the groom with interest in the outworld, Vasiht'h couldn't help but think the plan had a good chance of success. There was not a drop of contempt in Juzie, who was fascinated by him and insatiably curious. He answered all the questions he could as they walked down the dusty road, on matters ranging from anatomy to culture to language. The girl was smart as well as good-natured, and he enjoyed her company.

She did eventually run out of questions, however... either that, or she needed time to assimilate his answers. Probably the latter, knowing children; in his experience, any pause in questioning was just that: a pause. As the girl rode her pony beneath the leaf-shaped shadows, Vasiht'h dropped back to look around. The forest on either side of the road was without underbrush, unlike the woods where he was from which were more like jungles. His inefficient ears did not bring him much more than the sound of the pony's hooves and the wind through the boughs, but his more sensitive nose whispered glad intimations of spring, new flowers, piquant and unknown to him.

"Pretty world, isn't it?" Sediryl said, joining him. "A pity it's full of Eldritch."

Startled, Vasiht'h burst out laughing and covered his mouth, appalled.

Sediryl chuckled, twirling her parasol again. "Oh, don't bother. They're horrid, we both know it."

"So why did you come, if you hate them so much?" Vasiht'h asked, glancing up at her.

"I don't hate all of them," Sediryl said. "Just almost all of them. And I came to remind myself of why I left." She grinned without humor. "It took a few minutes of being in their company. I could leave now."

"But you haven't," Vasiht'h said.

"Well... no." She smiled a little, lowering her brilliant, cutting eyes, her lashes casting shadows on her cheeks. "I have my reasons."

Vasiht'h began to wonder how many of those reasons had to do with his partner. Either that, he thought ruefully, or Sediryl was nourishing thoughts of disrupting the wedding in some cataclysmic fashion. "Jahir tells me you live off-world?"

"On a starbase," she said, recovering her more glib manner. "Did he tell you about my lover, then?"

"Ah..."

"I had one," she said. "You know, perfectly scandalous." She leaned toward him, eyes wide. "I'm not a virgin anymore."

"I suppose that's important here?" Vasiht'h proffered.

She laughed. "Oh, poor Glaseah. And you're attached at the hip to Jahir? You have no idea what you're in for. Procreation here, lines of descent, purity of bloodline... all very important. Of paramount importance." She grinned again, like a hunting animal. "He hasn't been teaching you the language, I assume, what with the Veil."

"Right," Vasiht'h said.

"Then I'll teach you your first profanity," Sediryl said with relish. "Repeat after me: elorim."

"ELORIM," Juzie shouted.

"Hush you," Sediryl called. "Listen all you want, but never admit to eavesdropping on the conversation of your elders. That'll make them stop talking around you."

"Yes, cousin," Juzie said with a giggle.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.