quietly. "I feel responsible for all this."
The sound that escaped Thrr-pifix-a's mouth was somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "You've got that backward, Thrr-tulkoj.I'm the one who gotyou in trouble, not the other way around. Me and my stupid-" She broke off, turning her face away from him.
"Your wish not to become an Elder?" Thrr-tulkoj finished gently for her. "It's not stupid, Thrr-pifix-a. Whether it's ethical or proper, I don't know. But it's not stupid."
"All I know is that it got you into serious trouble," Thrr-pifix-a said. "Along with me. In my book that makes it stupid."
"You can hardly take all the blame for yourself," Thrr-tulkoj insisted. "Therewere other Zhirrzh involved."
"Who everyone believes I hired to steal myfsss," Thrr-pifix-a said bitterly.
"Well,I don't believe it," Thrr-tulkoj assured her. "You gave the Overclan leaders their names, didn't you?"
"Of course I did: Korthe and Dornt, who said they were from an organization called Freedom of Decision for All."
"And?"
"They told me the group doesn't exist," Thrr-pifix-a said, turning back again to face him. "I don't know, Thrr-tulkoj. Maybe Korthe and Dornt don't exist, either. Maybe I'm just going insane."
"Insane, never." Thrr-tulkoj eyed her closely. "Tired, yes. You ought to go take a nap."
"Sounds good to me." She laughed. "It just occurred to me. We were talking so much out there, we completely forgot to fill in that oversized hole you dug. I'd better go do that."
"Oh, I can do it," Thrr-tulkoj volunteered, plucking the trowel from her hand.
"That's silly," Thrr-pifix-a chided, trying to take the trowel back. "You've already cleaned up, and I'm still dirty."
"You're also still tired," he reminded her, swinging his arm up and down, front and back, keeping the trowel out of her reach. "My mess, my responsibility. You go lie down. Or else make us a couple of cups of broth."
"You're impossible," Thrr-pifix-a grumbled. Still, she was just as glad she wasn't going to have to go back out there. Some of the Elders, she'd noted, were still hanging around. "Get going-I'll have the broth ready in five hunbeats."
Thrr-tulkoj headed out the door, closing it behind him. Thrr-pifix-a pulled out the broth pan and set it to heat, wincing with joints and muscles already starting to tighten up. She stepped to the cabinet, realized she hadn't asked what kind of broth Thrr-tulkoj would like, and changed direction instead to the door.
Thrr-tulkoj was kneeling on the ground by the first hole he'd dug, easing a small ceramic box out of it.
Thrr-pifix-a closed the door to a crack. Thrr-tulkoj pulled the box clear of the ground, brushed it off, and carefully slid it into a pouch laid out on the ground.
Thrr-pifix-a closed the door the rest of the way, tail spinning hard behind her. A small box-one she'd never seen before in her life-buried in her garden. What was it? More to the point, why was Thrr-tulkoj so interested in it?
Or even more to the point, why had he lied to her about it?
Because hehad lied to her. He hadn't come there to core hydrate her Kyranda bushes at all. He'd come there for that box. What was in it?
There was a way to find out. All she had to do was cross her house, step out the front door, and call one of the Elders. It would be a trivial matter for any of them to take a look inside the box. And then, if matters warranted, to instantly alert the clan and family leaders.
Behind her the broth pan hummed that it was ready... and with the warm, familiar sound all her confusion seemed to fade away. Of course Thrr-tulkoj wouldn't be doing anything illegal out there-the very idea was ludicrous. Whatever the box was, there was surely some perfectly simple explanation for his actions. All she had to do to find out was ask.
She had the broth steeped and steaming in a pair of hand-painted ladling dishes by the time he returned to the kitchen. The pouch, she noted as he washed his hands, was hanging inconspicuously beneath his tunic.
They
The sound that escaped Thrr-pifix-a's mouth was somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "You've got that backward, Thrr-tulkoj.I'm the one who gotyou in trouble, not the other way around. Me and my stupid-" She broke off, turning her face away from him.
"Your wish not to become an Elder?" Thrr-tulkoj finished gently for her. "It's not stupid, Thrr-pifix-a. Whether it's ethical or proper, I don't know. But it's not stupid."
"All I know is that it got you into serious trouble," Thrr-pifix-a said. "Along with me. In my book that makes it stupid."
"You can hardly take all the blame for yourself," Thrr-tulkoj insisted. "Therewere other Zhirrzh involved."
"Who everyone believes I hired to steal myfsss," Thrr-pifix-a said bitterly.
"Well,I don't believe it," Thrr-tulkoj assured her. "You gave the Overclan leaders their names, didn't you?"
"Of course I did: Korthe and Dornt, who said they were from an organization called Freedom of Decision for All."
"And?"
"They told me the group doesn't exist," Thrr-pifix-a said, turning back again to face him. "I don't know, Thrr-tulkoj. Maybe Korthe and Dornt don't exist, either. Maybe I'm just going insane."
"Insane, never." Thrr-tulkoj eyed her closely. "Tired, yes. You ought to go take a nap."
"Sounds good to me." She laughed. "It just occurred to me. We were talking so much out there, we completely forgot to fill in that oversized hole you dug. I'd better go do that."
"Oh, I can do it," Thrr-tulkoj volunteered, plucking the trowel from her hand.
"That's silly," Thrr-pifix-a chided, trying to take the trowel back. "You've already cleaned up, and I'm still dirty."
"You're also still tired," he reminded her, swinging his arm up and down, front and back, keeping the trowel out of her reach. "My mess, my responsibility. You go lie down. Or else make us a couple of cups of broth."
"You're impossible," Thrr-pifix-a grumbled. Still, she was just as glad she wasn't going to have to go back out there. Some of the Elders, she'd noted, were still hanging around. "Get going-I'll have the broth ready in five hunbeats."
Thrr-tulkoj headed out the door, closing it behind him. Thrr-pifix-a pulled out the broth pan and set it to heat, wincing with joints and muscles already starting to tighten up. She stepped to the cabinet, realized she hadn't asked what kind of broth Thrr-tulkoj would like, and changed direction instead to the door.
Thrr-tulkoj was kneeling on the ground by the first hole he'd dug, easing a small ceramic box out of it.
Thrr-pifix-a closed the door to a crack. Thrr-tulkoj pulled the box clear of the ground, brushed it off, and carefully slid it into a pouch laid out on the ground.
Thrr-pifix-a closed the door the rest of the way, tail spinning hard behind her. A small box-one she'd never seen before in her life-buried in her garden. What was it? More to the point, why was Thrr-tulkoj so interested in it?
Or even more to the point, why had he lied to her about it?
Because hehad lied to her. He hadn't come there to core hydrate her Kyranda bushes at all. He'd come there for that box. What was in it?
There was a way to find out. All she had to do was cross her house, step out the front door, and call one of the Elders. It would be a trivial matter for any of them to take a look inside the box. And then, if matters warranted, to instantly alert the clan and family leaders.
Behind her the broth pan hummed that it was ready... and with the warm, familiar sound all her confusion seemed to fade away. Of course Thrr-tulkoj wouldn't be doing anything illegal out there-the very idea was ludicrous. Whatever the box was, there was surely some perfectly simple explanation for his actions. All she had to do to find out was ask.
She had the broth steeped and steaming in a pair of hand-painted ladling dishes by the time he returned to the kitchen. The pouch, she noted as he washed his hands, was hanging inconspicuously beneath his tunic.
They
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