Expedition, Estimation, and Other Dangerous Pastimes (Claimings, #4) by Lyn Gala

Author:Lyn Gala
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: alien contact, aliens, Rownt, gay, gay romance, gay alien romance, romance, alien culture
Publisher: Lyn Gala
Published: 2018-10-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Mora and the eldest Grandmother were in the temple when Liam and Ondry arrived. Liam tried to straighten his shoulders and project a calm and competence he didn’t feel. Until Ondry had gone sniffing him, Liam had been living in denial when it came to any fears. If he was going to attribute his bad mood to something, it would have been aggravation over Ondry’s secret-keeping. However, the second Ondry had asked about Liam’s fears, it was like a fairy tale, where naming a monster made it more real. And now Ondry was hovering like a silent bodyguard or a stalker. He might’ve been stalking Liam, and he had a nictel in his pocket.

Mora came bouncing toward them. He was so excited that Duke was circling, his tail wagging as he tried to figure out what had his daddy so excited. Mora didn’t even try to speak Rownt, going straight for English. “This is incredible. The Imshee are getting ready to dock and I’m...” Mora held out a hand to show the tremor. “How about you?”

Liam plastered on a smile. “Fairly excited, with a side of apprehension.”

“Oh, I’m with you there. My Grandmother has a primer of Imshee language, but they trade in Rownt, something to do with the idea that Imshee believe that the more developed species should adapt. I’m surprised the Rownt don’t take that as an insult.” Mora shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and now the eldest Grandmother ambled over. As far as Liam could tell, the older Grandmothers avoided moving around much, but this one did tend to chase Mora.

“Rownt like insults,” Liam said.

“Even when they’re the target?”

Behind Liam, Ondry huffed. Liam ignored him and answered Mora. “If it’s a well-placed insult, they respect it. However, in this case, I suspect they would call the statement that Imshee are more developed a factual statement.”

“We would,” Ondry agreed as the Grandmother came up behind Mora. She rested her hand against his neck and her fingers traced small circles against his skin.

Mora looked from the Grandmother to Ondry. “How are you defining ‘developed’?”

For several seconds, neither answered, but then the Grandmother offered up the information. For the hundredth time, Liam wondered if all Grandmothers and tuk were more open, since ruling required honest communication. The other option was that spacefaring Rownt were more collaborative. Or perhaps these Rownt were simply trapped into giving away information because their paletia insisted on asking questions when silence would have been more appropriate.

The Grandmother said, “Their species has possessed space travel significantly longer. They have more industrial infrastructure and complex technology. They have also damaged their planet and they seek unimportant profits, leaving them to need our technology for their most important tasks. I doubt the Imshee have a single spaceship that does not have at least one Rownt component in it.”

Mora whistled and a dozen pairs of Rownt eyes grew large with curiosity. “Whoa,” Mora said. “That’s shocking.”

“Why?” The Grandmother asked.

Liam explained when Mora hesitated. “He means that humans would feel uncomfortable relying so much on an ally.

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