mind to it.
Totally to it.
“Talk, talk, talk big ceremony dance. Dance, dance, dance, and feathers fly. Much much feathers fly. Blood, blood, blood, but no crowing. No crowing. None. Empty.
“You crow for flock now on camera?” he said, handing Kris a mike that was larger than the banana she’d had for breakfast and would have weighed two kilos if it weighed anything.
“You say very good Heavy People talk talk,” Kris said, shuffling her feet into hooks on the floor. She wanted to stay in one position for this.
To Nelly she thought, Y OU READY TO BEGIN WHEN I START TALKING? I UNDERSTAND HUMANS WATCH THESE CHANNELS, TOO. I ’LL TALK TO THEM. Y OU TRANSLATE TO A LWAN. T HIS SHOULD BE QUITE A SHOW.
Across from Nelly, with her back to the glass wall, Granny Rita just shook her head.
K RIS, I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. G RANNY NOW NOT ONLY HAS ONE OF THE BEST PERSONAL ASSISTANTS ON BOARD, BUT I ’VE SHARED OUR NET WITH HER. W HEN WE TALK, SHE CAN LISTEN IN.
Now Kris spotted the earbud in Granny’s ear, and a tiny wire mike at the corner of her mouth. The old commodore’s mouth hardly moved as Kris heard, D ON’T GET COCKY, KID. Y OU’VE GOT LOTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON YOUR SIDE. I ’VE GOT EIGHTY YEARS OF WORKING WITH THESE PEOPLE.
Y ES, G RANNY R ITA. I F I GET STUCK HUNTING FOR A WORD, CAN I ASK FOR HELP?
P LEASE DO, HONEY. I T’S FAR BETTER TO GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME THAN TO HAVE TO BEG FORGIVENESS LATER.
The camera operator, after a sharp rebuke from his producer, moved his camera to a tripod that squarely faced where Kris and Straight Tongue stood, feet in loops. At a signal from the producer, Straight Tongue launched into a spiel in the native tongue aimed straight at the camera.
Nelly translated. H E SAYS THAT SINCE THE RISING OF THE SUN THERE HAS BEEN A RITUAL OF RITUALS BETWEEN THE H EAVY P EOPLE AND THE UNKNOWNS THAT, I THINK THE WORD IS RUMORS, OR UNFOUNDED STORIES, HAVE BROKEN THE PEACE OF MANY WITH MUCH CLUCKING BUT NO SHARP SIGHT.
H E SAYS HE IS HERE TO TALK TO A HEAVY PERSON WHO HAS SEEN WITH HER OWN EYES THE GREAT RITUALS, DANCES, AND EVEN THE BLOODY STRIPPING OF FLESH THAT SOME SAY IS AN UNTRUE STORY. H ERE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR HER. L OOK IN HER EYES. W ATCH HER OWN DANCE AND THE FALL OF HER FEATHERS.
I THINK YOU GOT THAT BETTER THAN I COULD HAVE, N ELLY, Granny said.
Now Straight Tongue turned to Kris. “Dawn light bring blood. Many talking animals stripped of flesh. No talk talk. No strutting feathers. No feathers.” He clicked something. Granny Rita said, “T HE P EOPLE .” “No see. No taste good. No see path for feet. No talk. No path for flock.” There were more clicks. Granny translated. “T HE A SSOCIATION OF A SSOCIATIONS .” “Talk talk. No walk. No eyes for a path. You talk.”
Kris took a deep breath, smiled at the camera, and spoke the words she and Granny Rita had walked through as Abby prepared them for the show.
“I have danced up the full moon, singing to it in feathers of every color,” Kris began. Well, she had, and maybe the feathers had been flowers . . . few and small . . . still, Kris had been one of two princesses who did the dance that night. If these folks liked ceremony and dance, she could match them step for step.
At her neck, Nelly translated. Across from her, the reporter’s beak dropped open. Even the cameraAlwan seemed taken aback. But the producer didn’t miss a beat. She waved a hand at the interviewer and slapped her other hand on the camera operator.
The show went on.
“I have shown my feathers to those who strip the flesh of my flock. I have crowed at them. When they did not submit as they should, I have been the hunter leader of my flock. I have hunted the talking and strutting and flashing feathers of those who would strip the flesh from the living bodies of my father and mother, my brother and sister, and their chicks.”
She eyed the camera. “No wise people, not Heavy People, not The People take the blood of talking
Totally to it.
“Talk, talk, talk big ceremony dance. Dance, dance, dance, and feathers fly. Much much feathers fly. Blood, blood, blood, but no crowing. No crowing. None. Empty.
“You crow for flock now on camera?” he said, handing Kris a mike that was larger than the banana she’d had for breakfast and would have weighed two kilos if it weighed anything.
“You say very good Heavy People talk talk,” Kris said, shuffling her feet into hooks on the floor. She wanted to stay in one position for this.
To Nelly she thought, Y OU READY TO BEGIN WHEN I START TALKING? I UNDERSTAND HUMANS WATCH THESE CHANNELS, TOO. I ’LL TALK TO THEM. Y OU TRANSLATE TO A LWAN. T HIS SHOULD BE QUITE A SHOW.
Across from Nelly, with her back to the glass wall, Granny Rita just shook her head.
K RIS, I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. G RANNY NOW NOT ONLY HAS ONE OF THE BEST PERSONAL ASSISTANTS ON BOARD, BUT I ’VE SHARED OUR NET WITH HER. W HEN WE TALK, SHE CAN LISTEN IN.
Now Kris spotted the earbud in Granny’s ear, and a tiny wire mike at the corner of her mouth. The old commodore’s mouth hardly moved as Kris heard, D ON’T GET COCKY, KID. Y OU’VE GOT LOTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON YOUR SIDE. I ’VE GOT EIGHTY YEARS OF WORKING WITH THESE PEOPLE.
Y ES, G RANNY R ITA. I F I GET STUCK HUNTING FOR A WORD, CAN I ASK FOR HELP?
P LEASE DO, HONEY. I T’S FAR BETTER TO GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME THAN TO HAVE TO BEG FORGIVENESS LATER.
The camera operator, after a sharp rebuke from his producer, moved his camera to a tripod that squarely faced where Kris and Straight Tongue stood, feet in loops. At a signal from the producer, Straight Tongue launched into a spiel in the native tongue aimed straight at the camera.
Nelly translated. H E SAYS THAT SINCE THE RISING OF THE SUN THERE HAS BEEN A RITUAL OF RITUALS BETWEEN THE H EAVY P EOPLE AND THE UNKNOWNS THAT, I THINK THE WORD IS RUMORS, OR UNFOUNDED STORIES, HAVE BROKEN THE PEACE OF MANY WITH MUCH CLUCKING BUT NO SHARP SIGHT.
H E SAYS HE IS HERE TO TALK TO A HEAVY PERSON WHO HAS SEEN WITH HER OWN EYES THE GREAT RITUALS, DANCES, AND EVEN THE BLOODY STRIPPING OF FLESH THAT SOME SAY IS AN UNTRUE STORY. H ERE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR HER. L OOK IN HER EYES. W ATCH HER OWN DANCE AND THE FALL OF HER FEATHERS.
I THINK YOU GOT THAT BETTER THAN I COULD HAVE, N ELLY, Granny said.
Now Straight Tongue turned to Kris. “Dawn light bring blood. Many talking animals stripped of flesh. No talk talk. No strutting feathers. No feathers.” He clicked something. Granny Rita said, “T HE P EOPLE .” “No see. No taste good. No see path for feet. No talk. No path for flock.” There were more clicks. Granny translated. “T HE A SSOCIATION OF A SSOCIATIONS .” “Talk talk. No walk. No eyes for a path. You talk.”
Kris took a deep breath, smiled at the camera, and spoke the words she and Granny Rita had walked through as Abby prepared them for the show.
“I have danced up the full moon, singing to it in feathers of every color,” Kris began. Well, she had, and maybe the feathers had been flowers . . . few and small . . . still, Kris had been one of two princesses who did the dance that night. If these folks liked ceremony and dance, she could match them step for step.
At her neck, Nelly translated. Across from her, the reporter’s beak dropped open. Even the cameraAlwan seemed taken aback. But the producer didn’t miss a beat. She waved a hand at the interviewer and slapped her other hand on the camera operator.
The show went on.
“I have shown my feathers to those who strip the flesh of my flock. I have crowed at them. When they did not submit as they should, I have been the hunter leader of my flock. I have hunted the talking and strutting and flashing feathers of those who would strip the flesh from the living bodies of my father and mother, my brother and sister, and their chicks.”
She eyed the camera. “No wise people, not Heavy People, not The People take the blood of talking
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