Unyielding Autumn: A Slow-Build, Scifi-Romance (The Aethercurrent Chronicles: The Baron's Hand Saga) by Heather Relken

Author:Heather Relken [Relken, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2021-05-21T16:00:00+00:00

31: Making Friends

An average Occodosso flock has fifteen men in service of one woman. This particular flock boasts sixty three men in service of one woman. Styliani has a personal dining room of course, where her favorites join her for meals and update her on their latest research—but with a flock this large, a common food bay is all but required.

Between the sixty three men and the Occo’s five-hundred year lifespan, Styliani has nearly twenty children of various ages. A singular dining room couldn’t possibly hope to fit her entire family.

In the common cafeteria, collections of tables fill the center of the room and are dotted with occupants. No chef could hope to accomodate so many hungry mouths to feed, especially since half the men stay up until late hours performing their studies, so an in-person chef has been replaced with a line of self-service, automated meal provision generators more commonly referred to as food banks. Usually these wall-mounted machines are found in public areas such as museums or remote cafes, but apparently Styliani has the funds to procure ten of the devices and have them installed next to one another along her cafeteria wall.

The luxuries of high society, I suppose.

Still, the prospect at having a wide variety of food options for my Einsemmi to choose from has me a little eager. It’s been so long since she’s had any sort of decent meal…

“I realize you are likely unfamiliar with these,” I tell her, waving my hand at the retina in the lower corner. She watches curiously as the round screen loads, then displays a rough silhouette of a Jäggr. I verify that it scanned me right, then look through the list of options. Not much, sadly. Just the five most typical Tvöfjägur foods, and I doubt they’ll taste authentic. Sighing, I select the least repulsive option and wait as the machine hums.

“It scans your silhouette and determines what race you are, bringing up foods associated with your kind. I’m not sure that human cuisines have been programmed in, but you can view all recipes as well, and choose from the full list.”

“Hmm—I’d love if it had pancakes and bacon,” she says. “…Good thing there’s pictures, though; I can’t read any of this.”

I raise a brow at the untranslated food names, stepping aside and hitting ‘new order’. She stands up straight and lets it scan her.

It displays the word ‘unique’ and offers a few potential matches—including a young Varadzmysci, a female Divišzanas, and a juvenile Pratikhuada.

She points to the Pratta with a look of concern. “Is that thing supposed to be me?”

I give the basic Pratta youngling a once-over, then hum. “She certainly is concerningly slender, unusually short, and without any additional limbs.”

Einsemmi blinks, and glances over to me. “Her skin is semi-transparent and her eyes are huge! And she does so too have ‘additional limbs’; look at all those!” she says, pointing at the nocules behind the figures back.

I wave my wrist dismissively. “Pratta nocules are feather-shaped extensions which house their many olfactory nerves.

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