Chapter 308
Hannah switched breasts and Christof fed me so I could eat, also. Once Hannah was done, she asked to taste what was on my plate. Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
“No teeth yet, Baby Girl, you can’t eat it without teeth to chew, said scooping a Little gravy on my finger, “but you can try this.”
Hannah sucked at the gravy and wrinkled her nose a little. “It’s better roasted over an open flame,” I told her.
“The best,” Kein said, “is wrapped and stuffed with tami leaf from the red mountains. We only had it like that one time and it was amazing.”
Hannah looked at Kein for a moment before she spoke, “I want tami leaf, Mama,” she told me plainly.
“Baby Girl,” I said looking up at Kein, “I don’t know tami leaf and I don’t know how you get it.”
Kein answered me, “Traveling men sold it to my Brothers and me. They said it came from a tree found in the red mountains. It is rare to see any available to buy here but we enjoy it a great deal.”
Clattering talons got our attention two women entered the room. They came near our table and Hannah hissed loudly at them. The women just looked at her.
“Why do you wrap her?” one of them asked me.
“It is the custom on my home planet, Mistress,” I said clinging to Hannah and trying to cover her with my arms.
A N G E L A ‘s L I B R A R Y
Nu-reeh entered and I was, for once, thrilled to see her.
“Show them the child’s skin,” Nu-reeh commanded and I unbundled my daughter with shaking hands.
“Ah,” one of the new women said, “it did happen too soon. The baby fur should have grown in and the wings are without definition.”
Nu-reeh explained that I had been hit in the head and the stomach. She had obtained knowledge that such a violent act could cause an early birth in a human.
“No lines,” one of the new women commented, “very poor camouflage.” Nu-reeh stiffened and told the other women it would not matter once the fur grew in. That seemed to settle the debate.
“We have another family,” the woman told Nu-reeh changing the subject, “that we can bring from a compound. I believe they will do better than Runen and his Brothers. Those men do nothing but create trouble wherever they go.”
Nu-reeh agreed and the women left as a group. The hall was mostly silent starring at Hannah and me.
“What was that?” I asked very quietly.
“They owned the tutors who were blamed for harming the child,” Christof told me.
Understanding made my gut clench. Those women had skinned five men in punishment for potentially hurting this female. They must have wondered if she was worth it. I hoped they would continue to think she was.
The hall slowly went back to normal after the interruption.
Hannah napped after her meal and I finished my plate with Christof feeding me.
“We have a mating this afternoon,” Bane said as we walked back to our apartments.
“They won’t let us walk with you in the caves.”