CHAPTER 156

"Oh, I doubt things will ever settle down. Not in that house." Zel picked up something that looked like a pear with thorns and used her fingernail to break the skin and start peeling it. "I would like to schedule something with you. A day, once a month, where you and I can meet and just catch up. Our relationship is important to me, and if we don't make time for it, we'll realize that far too many months have passed. That wouldn't make me happy at all."

He was about to argue that they didn't need such an arrangement, but she was absolutely right. Without any accountability, it would be hard to keep track of when they had seen each other last.

"I think that's a great idea," he told her.

"Good. We don't have to pick a time today, but let's do it soon." She finished peeling the skin off the fruit and took a bite of it. The flesh of the pear was white, but the juices ran red, and she caught them with her free hand just under her chin. "I loved these growing up. Never eat more than a couple, though. Will make you sick."

She held out the fruit to him and he took a bite and immediately blanched. "Oh, that's bitter," he told her.

"I suppose so. More for me, then." She winked and walked to the middle of the yurt. "The ceremony will start as the moon rises into the sky. I'm not sure how long it will last, it all depends on the herd. My aunt made all the arrangements, and I'm just going along with it. It's meant to be something that I don't have to deal with. However, there is a part of the ceremony she gave me a heads up about and I was hoping you could help."

"I'll do anything," he said.

"Typically, when someone becomes chief of the herd, it is through bloodlines or competition, and the other leaders of the tribe stand up with the new chief as the title is accepted from the tribe's shaman. Well, because the tribe is new, we don't really have any leaders, so it will just be her and I up there. The centaurs recognize you as the leader of your own herd, and I was hoping you could stand with me."

"Absolutely, count me in."

She smiled. "Great. You can walk in with me when they tell us it's time." Her smile faded. "Um, but there is something else."

He saw from her body language that she was afraid. He took her hands in his own and then stepped into her, giving her a big hug. "We can always talk about anything," he told her, his hands circling her waist.

"Yeah." She stepped back, a sad smile on her face. "I just don't want it to be awkward or anything. Anyway, I'll just spill the beans—I'm pregnant."

Kisa frowned at the food that had been set in front of her. Though it both looked and smelled delicious, the vegetarian dish she had been provided by the centaurs tasted bland and unappealing. She wondered how much of that was her prior taste in food, and how much was the cat side of her. Though she hadn't taken to chasing mice by any means, she had definitely had impure thoughts about how one of the rats in the house would taste.

Contemplating her dish, she looked up to see Tink surrounded by children. The goblin was telling them a story, and all of them soon broke into laughter, though more than one covered their mouth in disbelief. Grumbling to herself, Kisa pushed the food on her plate into the sauce that had come with it and tried to eat some of it.

"You don't look happy." This came from Dana, who sat across from her. She wasn't eating either—the centaurs hadn't bothered putting a plate in front of her.

"Why should I? Tink dragged me here, but she's over there, and there's nothing good to eat. There's plenty of music, but nobody is really playing a tune, it's like an improv jamboree in here." Kisa pushed food around her plate in disgust. "I thought maybe this would be fun, but now it'll be awkward if I sneak off."

"Hmm." Dana looked over her shoulder, her gaze sweeping across the crowd. "You know, it looks like everyone else here is having fun. Maybe you should quit relying on everyone else to guarantee you a good time and go make your own."

Taken aback, Kisa dropped her fork. Unsure what to say, a small growl escaped her. "I don't see you out there having fun," she muttered.

"You don't see me over here sulking about it, either. My idea of fun is overshadowed by so many other issues, I won't bore you with them. What matters most right now is that I'm surrounded by a community who was willing to invite me here in the first place, even though the one job they gave me to do has been impossible so far."

"The thing with the drones?" Kisa asked, suddenly curious. She had watched Dana messing with the flying devices more than once, and knew that some sort of experiment was being conducted in the greenhouse with them.

"Yeah. The herd wants to map this place out better so that they can expand. As far as anyone knows, this place is an entire world, ripe for exploration. But the jungle is thick, and a good terrain map would make it easier for them to make decisions about planting and such." Dana turned her attention to a group of centaurs who had started an impromptu jam over by an unlit bonfire. As the music played, nearby centaurs stamped their feet in time with the beat, and a collective bass line began flowing through the camp.