Luna and the Balaru by Phillips Laura Jo

Author:Phillips, Laura Jo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kathleen Honsinger
Published: 2022-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

“What’s on the schedule for today?” Luna asked as she moved her breakfast around her plate.

“Not hungry this morning?”

“For some reason, spending ten minutes throwing up first thing in the morning never fails to ruin my appetite.”

“I’m sorry,” Raj said sympathetically.

“I’m not,” Luna said, smiling. “I’m not saying it’s my favorite part of being pregnant, especially since it continues to worsen as Junior grows. But I’d rather be pregnant and have ten or fifteen uncomfortable minutes each morning than not be pregnant and have none. I do have a question, though.”

“Which is?”

“Is there a Kyun tradition for naming a baby? Or do we just pick something we like?”

“Yes, we have a tradition. But if you have one that you want to use, then we should do that.”

“Why not follow your tradition?”

“Because you do everything the Kyun way, Luna. It’s only fair that we do a few things your way now and then.”

“Thank you, Raj,” Luna said. “I appreciate that very much. While I’m sure there are many traditions for naming children on Earth, I don’t know any of them. Why don’t you tell me your tradition, and we can go from there.”

“Are you sure?” Raj asked.

“I’m not saying I want to commit to it until I know what it is, but yes, I’m sure.”

“All right,” Raj agreed. “The Kyun tradition is that the child’s sire chooses the name, but tells no one until after the birth. He then presents the baby to the mother along with the name.”

Luna’s eyebrows shot up. “And what if the mother doesn’t like the name?”

“Then the sire has a problem,” Raj said.

“Problem?” Luna asked, not missing the gleam of humor in her mate’s eyes.

“Once the baby is born and the cord is cut, the healer places the baby in the sire’s arms. If he isn’t present for the birth, he’s called in at that point. The sire then offers the baby to the mother along with the name he’s chosen. If the mother doesn’t like the name, she can refuse to accept the name, and the child, from him.

“If that happens, the sire can then try to come up with a name that she will accept. If he fails, or if he doesn’t want to pick a different name, he must give the baby back to the healer. Then the healer will put the baby into the mother’s arms. In that event, the mother will name her own child, and…what is that saying you use?”

Luna looked at him in confusion. “Um…I use a fair number of them so you’ll need to be a little more specific.”

“When you don’t want something,” Raj said. “The word kick is in there somewhere.”

“Kick to the curb?”

“That’s it,” Raj said. “The mother will name her own child and kick the child’s sire to the curb.”

Luna stared at him in shock, then she laughed until she had tears rolling down her cheeks. Once she got control of herself she lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “I’m sorry, but I

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