“That’s quite enough,” Koradan cut him off. “There are children present, and I’m sure most of the adults don’t want to know either.” Swiftly shutting down the conversation was the easiest way to deal with the issue. And now that Sigmore had a gem, he could change into a human whenever he liked and avoid any further ‘inconvenience’.
But Koradan couldn’t say he hadn’t thought about it. He’d watched Lynette riding Ashd, thinking that she looked so thoroughly at home in the saddle. And Ashd had accepted her so easily. Paul liked him as well, and since Koradan had never expected to have children, it caught him off guard how enticing the idea was of having a young man to train. He could teach Paul about swords and fighting, and how to cook a traditional salas meal in a fire pit, and how to catch a fish without a rod or a hook. And in return, Paul could teach him all about human plants and foods, and how to look after the goats, and about the weather patterns around Varismont.
“Okay, so that was a nice digression,” Sigmore said, “but we were talking about Rodgard.”
“It’s got nothing to do with me,” Rodgard said, folding his arms and sounding no happier than he had a few minutes ago. “Mergh’s the one with the news.”
“Oh?” Koradan looked around at the female vreki. He didn’t expect her to tell him directly. As a general rule, the vreki only spoke to their own riders and to the other vreki, so he expected either Ashd or Rodgard to tell him what was going on – not that Rodgard was being particularly cooperative at the moment. So it came as quite a shock when Mergh reached out and forged a mental connection with him, and then blurted out her news in a jumble of words, images, and a feeling of intense satisfaction.
Koradan froze in place, not entirely certain he’d understood her correctly. “I’m sorry, you didwhat?” he asked.
This time, the message was clearer, three simple words accompanied by a vivid mental image.Mergh laid egg.
Koradan’s jaw dropped. He turned to look at Rodgard, who was avoiding all eye contact. “When...? Um… How did…?”
“The night before we crossed the gate,” Sigmore filled him in.
“So who’s the father?” Before he’d even finished the question, a thrill of panic shot through Koradan. “Oh gods, it’s not Ashd, is it?”
“It’s Lign,” Sigmore said with a smirk. “The pair of them snuck off behind the rocks near the gate and got busy. Lign’s the biggest of our males, and in Mergh’s eyes, that means he’s the best breeding stock for her offspring.”
“He didn’t tell me about it,” Rigolard said, though he didn’t look too concerned about the idea. Even if he had known, he probably wouldn’t have said anything. That was just the way he was.
Rodgard’s embarrassment, on the other hand, came from the fact that he hadn’t even known Mergh was coming into her breeding cycle, much less that she’d actually mated with a male. A good rider should be aware of the intricate details of his mount’s life.
“Where’s the egg?” Koradan asked next.
“In the barn. Rodgard didn’t know she was laying it until this morning, when she came out at sunrise crowing about her achievement.”
“We had a lot going on last night,” Rodgard said, his scowl only deepening.
“Good thing we decided to stick around then, huh?” Melowin said, joining in the teasing. “Because it’s not like we can move an egg after it’s been laid.” Not only would the female vreki rip the limbs off anyone who tried, but moving the egg could fatally harm the young vreki inside it. Traditionally, a female would build a nest out of straw and leaves in the back of a cave and lay her egg there, where it was dry and protected from the weather. But in the absence of a cave, Mergh had apparently decided that the barn was the next safest option.
“Good thing the goats don’t need the barn at the moment,” Koradan muttered. News like this should really not have been dropped on them unannounced. But Rodgard was already feeling quite enough embarrassment about having missed all the signs. There was no need to rub his nose in it any further.
Koradan felt another mental nudge from Mergh and turned to her quizzically.Choose rider, she said, slowly and clearly. She was being exceedingly careful about how she spoke to him, aware that Koradan was not as well equipped as the others in listening to a vreki’s thoughts.
“Really? But we’re not in Chalandros anymore. You don’t have to choose-”
Paul.
Koradan’s jaw dropped. “Did you…?”
“Did she just say she wants me to ride her baby?” Paul blurted out, eyes wide, and it was the first indication Koradan had had that Mergh had also been communicating with Paul.
“That’s a big deal, right?” Lynette asked, looking stunned. “I didn’t catch everything she said, but it seemed to carry a lot of responsibility with it.”
“Would you bloody well rein in your vreki?” Koradan snapped at Rodgard, who seemed to have missed the entire conversation. Mergh was not only talking to him, but to two humans as well?
Finally, Rodgard’s foul mood seemed to lighten a little and a faint smile crossed his lips. “She’s just really excited about the egg,” he said, by way of explanation.
Mergh talk to hatchling rider. Important, Mergh said, taking a slightly different view of the situation.And hatchling rider mother, she added, sending a rumbling purr Lynette’s way. According to Chalandrian customs, that part wasn’t inappropriate. Mergh understood that Paul was still under his mother’s care, and so she’d deemed that Lynette should be involved in the decision. But then she added one last idea, one that made Koradan freeze in shock.And hatchling rider father.The last thought was clearly directed at Koradan.
“What? No, I, um… No, that’s not…” he tried to deny the idea.
“Wait a minute… Are you serious?” Rodgard asked, forgetting all about his own embarrassment.
“No!” Koradan said. “I didn’t…” He glanced over at Lynette. From the look on her face, she’d also heard the words from Mergh. And while it was true that he’d never said anything to Lynette about his growing feelings for her, a flat denial in public would probably send entirely the wrong message. “Perhaps we should talk about this in private,” he said, neatly sidestepping any further discussion in front of the rest of the villagers.
