Chapter 7
Jack awoke with the sunrise. He, after all, wasn't accustomed to such bright light, unlike Vilet, who slept soundly beside him. Memories of last night echoed pleasantly in his mind, and he smiled.
She had her arms wrapped tightly around him; her body pressed against him at every possible corner. She claimed to not feel the cold, but her actions spoke a little differently. Either that, or it was mere affection that garnered such a response.
Jack shifted, careful not to wake her. His back still ached from the scrapes last night and sleeping on the rocky ground hadn't helped much. The Storm had quieted down during the night, leaving them alone on the stony plains.
Gingerly, he lifted Vilet's sleeping figure into his arms. She mumbled something and awoke somewhat, her eyes slitting open. "Jck?"
"Morning." He kissed her forehead. "I'm carrying you home. Can you hold on?"
She didn't wake up much more, but she was conscious enough to understand. Her arms wrapped loosely around his neck as he began walking, in no particular hurry.
She relaxed and rested her head against his chest as he walked, his steps falling into a regular rhythm. Her body was probably used to the long nights, but he was still accustomed to eight hours of sleep, not twelve. She'd need more time to wake up, especially considering how long they had gone on last night.
Still, Jack felt a small pang as he considered on their conversation. She was
definitely
hiding something from him - she'd even confessed as much. He wished he could ask her about the kntr - was it real? Did she know anything about it? But he knew he wouldn't get a response... Not to mention, the Bad Idea™ had suggested that he trust her in the meantime.
Obviously, it was a terrible idea, but he didn't feel much like questioning it now. If anything, his insistence to trust her without good reason had seemed to open her up to him, even if she didn't reveal any of her secrets. Baby steps, as Klingler would have said. Baby steps.
He shook away thoughts of the man as they drew near to the house. To his relief and surprise, the door was already opened for the day. Someone must have come out to prepare for breakfast.
He ducked through the doorway and stepped into the home, quickly making his way up the ramp. He paused at Vilet's bedroom, hesitating momentarily before moving on.
He carried her up the other ramp to the crn, the highest room in the house -
his
room. He slid into the bowl, and gently laid Vilet down in it. She was still dozing, so he kissed her on the forehead. "Breakfast will be soon."
She murmured a response as he departed, climbing back out of the bdl. He was wide awake now, and sweaty. He stretched, his stiff muscles and the new scabs on his back groaning in pain. He'd felt worse, honestly. The scrapes didn't feel half as bad as they did the day before.
He sat down near the main eating table and yawned, suddenly grateful that the Vagonals didn't simply eat sitting on the floor. Instead, they had makeshift stools and benches made out of solid pieces of wood - more like the logs and stumps you'd see around a campfire than actual chairs. Still, they were tall enough to be comfortable, and easy to use.
After sitting comfortably for a few minutes, it occurred to Jack that everyone might be sleeping in. After that Storm the day before, most of them had to be terribly exhausted.
He frowned. And yet, after bearing the majority of the brunt of the storm and staying up half the night, he was... fine? And last night, despite there being no moon or stars (due to the clouds) he could see outside. Something was off. He'd have to ask Lily about it later.
Sighing, he rose and exited the house again, wincing as the already bright light attacked his eyes. It was growing steadily warmer, and he quickly moved to the other side of the house, where the barn was attached to the main building.
Sara and Lily were already up, though upon some reflection, Jack realized this shouldn't have been a surprise. Of course, they would have the same sleeping habits as him. It was Howard sleeping in that was abnormal for humans.
To his surprise, however, Lizbeth was already awake, and seemed to be milking the qfn. After a moment's hesitation, he walked over to stand beside her.
She glanced over to him, then did a double take. "Jack! You're awake."
He smiled sheepishly. "I guess so. So... What are you doing?" Immediately after he asked the question, he realized the stupidity of it.
She didn't seem to mind. "Getting our morning milk. Would you like to try?"
Jack shrugged. "Sure." He'd milked a goat when he was fourteen, at a county fair. How different could it be?
Turned out, not that different. She moved aside and gave him the milking seat while the qfn shifted nervously, sensing a new individual. Or perhaps she recognized him, and the memories of their less-than-ideal journey back to the surface caused her some anxiety.
He started milking, and Lizbeth stopped him almost immediately. "You're going too hard," she explained. "You're hurting her."
He slowed down and tried to squeeze more gently. Still, the qfn shifted about, one foot drawing dangerously near to the jar where the milk was held.
After a few more helpful tips and tricks from Lizbeth, he had improved somewhat, though his hands were growing tired. A goat would be empty by now.
"How much milk does this thing have?"
Lizbeth shrugged. "Usually about a jar or two, morning and evening."
Jack stared down at the nearly filled jar, and another filled one nearby. He'd estimate they held about a half-gallon each. "That's... a lot, for such a small creature." He eyed the she. ep-like entity. "How is that possible? Or even beneficial?"
"There are certain roots that grow on the surface which stimulate milk production," Lizbeth explained. "The trick is to find large enough quantities to regularly feed the qfn. Considering we only have the one, we're managing quite nicely."
Jack nodded and kept squeezing.
"Jack, that's too hard!"
Suddenly, the qfn decided she had had enough - the noise, the new smell, and the roughness of Jack's milking put her over the edge. With a mewl, she thrashed about... kicking the jar of milk directly onto Jack, spilling it all over his clothes and face.
Lizbeth released the qfn from its stocks-like imprisonment, and it ran off into a far corner of the barn.
When Lizbeth turned back to Jack, she hummed in amusement. "I'm... sorry."
Jack looked down at himself, now splattered with admittedly much stickier milk than they had on Earth. "No, it's my fault. Sorry for spilling the milk."
She waved her hand in dismissal. "We have more than enough." She glanced at the sun through the doorway. "But you'd probably better hurry and wash up, or you might miss breakfast."
Jack nodded and quickly dismissed himself. He nearly bumped into Lily on his way out, and, after a quick appraising look, was met with laughter. He rolled his eyes and grinned as she laughed after him. Even Sara offered a small smile at his sorry state of affairs.
Now that he had spent a few days here, it didn't take him long to find the small path leading down to the spring, directly under the house. He thought to knock just before turning the corner to be sure he didn't interrupt anyone's bath, but there was no response.
He didn't bother undressing, choosing instead to do a two for one - a skill very handy during his college days. It was efficient, cleaning both body and clothes in one go. His roommates often said that it cleaned twice as much half as well as it should, but Jack thought their estimates were a bit low. It was AT LEAST three fourths as clean.
After stepping out into the sun to dry off for a bit, Jack ran upstairs to change, passing a surprised Nelra. He offered a greeting in passing before arriving at his room. Vilet had left the crn at some point, but that allowed him total privacy to change.
By the time he got down to the breakfast table, he was expecting everyone to already be seated. To his surprise, Howard and Sara were the only ones who were already here.
Jack settled down in his usual spot as Howard yawned. "Morning, Jack. Sleep well?"
Jack stifled a grin. "I guess you could say that."
At Sara's raised eyebrow he rolled his eyes. "No, not like that. I just... feel super refreshed without much sleep, that's all."
She appeared skeptical, but before she could make any sort of remark, Lily came in and sat down next to her. Soon after, the Vagonal women entered. Lizbeth quietly took her seat across from Jack.
Both Nelra and Vilet reached for the same seat at the same time and stopped, looking at each other in surprise. Vilet folded her arms and glared at Nelra, who did the same, neither one moving to a different unoccupied seat.
Jack glanced at the table, where there were four available seats. "Uh... Guys? There's more than enough room..."
Neither of them acknowledged his existence, simply scowling at each other. Jack turned to Sara and spoke in English. "What's the problem here?"
Howard and Lily both also appeared confused, and Sara sighed. "They both want the seat to your right. The seat of favor." She gestured to the chair in question. "Haven't you noticed that that seat has always been empty?"
Jack thought back. "I mean, I guess so. Is it that important? And why are they doing this now?"
Sara shrugged. "It could be for any number of reasons. But I guess they both figure that they've earned it."
"Enough of speaking in a language we cannot understand," Vilet quipped. "Who gets the seat? Me or her?"
All eyes turned to Jack. He sighed. "How am I supposed to make that decision? I like you both equally. I say you just find a place to sit, and we call it good."
Nelra winced. "You suggest it should still be empty?"
Jack bit the inside of his cheek. "Well, I..." He trailed off. Insinuating that NEITHER of them had his favor would be unfair. But picking one?
Nelra narrowed her eyes, looking to Vilet. "You didn't claim it after your first night with him. Yesterday was our first time, and I'm satisfied to be vlm."
Vilet cocked her head. "We determined this our first night here, or have you forgotten? Not only did he choose me first, but you and I came to an agreement that I would have the title of vlm."
"Before you forfeited that right the morning after," Nelra reminded her. "You have been distant from him, the opposite of a vlm's primary responsibility." She glanced over to the man in question. "After yesterday, I do believe I've earned the title."
Vilet sighed and glanced toward Jack. "Alright,
