"H-hey, dad, yeah, it's been great. Things are really coming along here."
Dione watched a sly grin creep across Cyd's face. She knew what was coming next.
"Don't do it. Cyd... Don't."
Cydwen was undeterred. Taking a deep breath, she started moaning loudly, sounding like the track to a porn film. Jev cast a dirty look at her, throwing a pen that struck her square in the middle of her forehead.
"Yeah, that's nothing. Just someone who thinks she's funny."
Cyd did indeed break into giggles, followed by Dione, despite herself.
"Yeah, I've met a few people down here. Granddad had a... Lodger, I guess you'd say... who helped me out a lot with getting set up."
Cydwen pointed at Dione, then at Jev, before miming a blowjob.
"Cyd, no! Let the poor guy talk to his family in peace!"
Cyd rolled her eyes and sat back in the chair she was in.
"Uh huh... Well, it's certainly different."
He cast a pointed look at Cyd.
"I've met a few people here, actually. Everyone's been really nice and welcoming."
This cued Cyd to start rocking her hips as though she were fucking an invisible partner. Now it was Jev's turn to roll his eyes. Dione got up and tried to drag Cyd out of the house.
"Yeah, well... About that... I think I'm staying."
Both Dione and Cyd froze, waiting for the response.
"No, I mean it. I want to stay here. It's beautiful. The people have been great, and I've got a way to make it work. I have a way to immigrate almost immediately. I'll be filing the paperwork on Monday."
There was a pause, followed by nearly an interminable number of "uh-huhs" that didn't give the two women many contexts for what was happening on the other end of the line.
"I know that. But I'm not getting anywhere with BigBuy either, dad. It's a dead-end job whose only value is that it shows I've been working to the next place I apply. And if I work really, really hard, in 30 or 40 years I might finally get the chance to have what I have here now -- a piece of property in a beautiful, semi-tropical paradise."
The tension seemed to flow out of the room.
"Yeah, there've been a few good-looking women around."
He winked at Cyd and Dione, then tensed again in response to something his father said.
"I might have met someone nice, yeah..."
The tension ramped up again at his father's next question.
"No, I promise nobody's pregnant."
There was the sound of laughter through the phone that even Cyd and Dione could hear from across the room.
"Y-yeah, well you'll have to come out and visit some time. It really is nice here. It rained most of the day yesterday but we made the most of it."
Once again it seemed the tension was defused.
"I've heard there's a really nice beach up the road a bit, but I haven't been able to visit yet, no."
Jev nodded, uselessly, as obviously his father couldn't see the gesture.
"Yeah, well, we'll see. It's probably pretty cold this time of year."
There was a gentle knock at the door. Jev motioned to Dione to answer it as he tried wrapping up the call.
"Sorry, dad. It's a busy day here. Someone just came to the door. Y-yeah, we'll talk about it later. Yeah. Love you. Bye."
Dione opened the door to see another lizardfolk. The same vibrant green and blue colours shone from her scales, and she had the same red markings as Haan. She was substantially smaller than her father and had a slim, feminine figure. Brilliant amber eyes seemed to catch everything, shaded from the bright sun by a brown cowboy hat. She wore a red-checkered button-up shirt and a well-fitting pair of jeans.
"H-hi. Is this Mr. Jev's place?"
Jev came up behind Dione, taking the door.
"That's me. You must be Haan's daughter. He said you'd be by with the beans."
She nodded.
"That's me. Uh, I'm Riva, by the way."
He shook the shy woman's hand. The thick pads of her fingers felt equally unusual as her father's.
"Nice to meet you. Shall we get this stuff unloaded?"
Riva's cart sat in the path outside of the house. It looked almost like a standard, well-made wagon cart, the kind that Jev was used to seeing at historical parks or the like, but it was attached to no animal and had no tongue to attach them to. Where Jev would have expected a bench in front, instead were two bucket seats, and a cab was formed from a bubble of glass enclosing the front of the vehicle. In place of wheels, four small gems glowed and sparked underneath the wagon's bed. Moose had described these vehicles to him as the Emmarian equivalent of pick-up trucks, but because they didn't reach highway speeds the way that trucks did they weren't a day-to-day vehicle you'd typically see on the road. However, their lack of wheels meant they could drive through muddy fields without concern of getting stuck, and while their capacity was less, if they were needed to tow, they weren't affected by loose soil or ice. Jev was interested to see one up close.
He guided Riva to the barn, as they would need to get the beans planted soon. Between him, Riva, Dione and Cyd, they managed to get the sacks unloaded and stowed securely, only for Riva to declare she would need to return with the second load. It suddenly occurred to him how large of an undertaking the planting would be, as even the seeder within the barn would need multiple refills. Jev texted Sam, asking if she'd be willing to help, and she showed up with nektara for all - even Riva.
The cart reappeared, and they took a drink break before they started yet another load, as large as the previous one. Cyd opted to lose her shirt, as did Jev, to make the work a bit cooler. Nearly two hours after they'd started the task was done, and the seeds were ready to be planted.
"Have you ever planted sessiv before, Jev?"
He shook his head.
"Never planted anything, really. I remember an experiment in science class where we grew a potato, but that's about it."
She blew out a long puff of air.
"Ok, well, Dione mentioned that Mik had been planting sessiv here before, so the soil is probably ok for it. D'you mind if I check?"
He indicated for her to proceed and they entered the field, bending down and touching the flat pads of her fingers against the soil.
