Book One – Chapter 19

The Albweiss was a cold and hostile wilderness for everyone but fina.

Yu looked at them now – Harrow, Fallem, the four nepter –, at their broad, flat and beakless faces turned toward him in that knowing, condescending amusement. What was natural to him had no place here. What seemed a sensible, if slightly narrow bowl in his eyes was far off from the broad, rim-raised plates they used. To them, it was absurd. Yu saw it now, in Nion’s hand; the mug, so obviously for drinking. Generous for someone his size, which meant small for a borman and, in turn, grotesquely oversized for Yu.

So, being stupid by habit, Yu had brought them a thing for a beak. And he had also forgotten the spoons for their hands. Well, at least that would give them enough food for thought to never again mistake him for anything but an utter retard.

“Sorry, I thought —,” Yu muttered, but then caught himself. They could not eat arguments, neither excuses, nor apologies. “I mean, I’ll bring them. Spoons. Bowls. The real ones.”

“Good thinking!” said Nion.

Yu wanted to die. Though, before he did, he wanted to take Nion down first.

But he had no words to throw back, so his body defaulted to what it knew best and retreated. He stumbled backwards toward the kitchen, fleeing rather than walking, though no one chased. Halfway there, he stopped short. The halt was clumsy, and the stilted turn that followed worse; all twitching wings and scraping talons. Still, he forced himself to get back to them, step by step, awkward and exposed, with Harrow’s grin waiting like a sprung trap to receive him.

Yu tried, but he could not look past her. “So, then … I wanted to ask. What do you mean — did you, I mean, wait, no, not me, but you — Shit! Sorry! I. mean. What did you want when you asked for something from the cellar? What food?”

“Ah, yess, that was some fine crasting!”

You had no idea what that was. It sounded like one of those raw river-and-dirt things the kyrthik ate. And then there was the cellar. He had not even known that there was one.

“Sorry, Harrow. I think I have to ask Bubs for that later. When he comes out, I mean. I’ll ask him. Then. Sorry. Is that all right?”

“Just fine, Yu.”

No way he would do that. Cellar meant underground. The kitchen was already enough of a tomb; all stone walls and no windows. And Bubs would probably send him there alone. Thanks but no thanks.