“Oh.It’s a diorama of Aluhara’s daughters.”She set the platinum statuary on the table.
Aluhara looked at it.“Oh, my goodness.This is...There they are.My daughters, even my son.How did you know?”
“I don’t know.It’s one of my activations.”
Kessie was showing off her favourite foods on her plate, and Keska joined her and slowly started eating.
“One of.”Hedoreth blinked.
Keska nodded.“Yes, sir.”
Kessie frowned.“I said she had seven activations.”
Aluhara paused.“I think he thought you were not accurate in your count.Is it really seven?”
“Identifiable so far.”Keska shrugged and got more metal out, changing its state with her fingertips.“This was the first one.”She nodded to her hands.
She paused and took a few bites of food, clearing her plate.
Aluhara asked, “What are you making now?”
“I won’t know until it’s done.”
“Oh.That’s unusual.”
Keska snorted softly.“You get used to it.”
“So, you have some seer skills.”
“They aren’t really on the list yet.”She kept working, pausing to sip her tea.“Caska is a global legal library, and Avagail is a finance genius.She can make money out of almost nothing.”She smiled and kept working, seeing her little family taking shape under her fingertips.Sorooth was with her and Kessie, Caska was looking important, and Avagail was looking down at a tablet.Nigel was sitting with his tail in his mouth.
Her fingers kept working, and Aluhara and Nelith finished the sculpture.She handed it to Kessie.
Kessie grinned.“I see Grandma Lia isn’t there.”
“This is your matriarchal line.It means from the mother’s side.Your dad can make his own from his side.”She smiled.
Sorooth snorted.“Thanks.I will work on it.”
Keska wrinkled her nose at him.
Everyone finished their meals, and Aluhara kept touching her statues.“I don’t even know half of these ladies.”
“Every donation has ripe and then unripe eggs.My sisters and I were from some of the offshoots.They didn’t want to waste the good eggs, so we were all made from bits.”
“Ava was made from Aluhara as the primary base, and Caska and I were made from Nelith, then Aluhara, and some other stuff.Patchwork people.”She smiled and started another project.
The servers came in, refreshed the tea, and then brought dessert.
Aluhara put her arm around Keska.It took a few moments, and then Kes relaxed.
“So, I was told that you mostly have contact issues.”
“Well, we were punished for seeking affection or comfort.After a while, you get used to it.The closest Caska and I used to come was sitting back-to-back when we had escaped.I think we hugged for the first time when we were seven or eight.”
Kessie said, “But you hug me all the time.”
“Yes, because I know how important it is.That is all parents can do, just try to do better for the next generation.Lift our kids a bit higher.I could do that, so I made a list of what I was missing and tried to make sure you had it.”
