Sometimes Liam wondered if they had gone back to trading too soon.
“What is the source of the tradition?” Ondry asked.
Softy. Every time Takil pushed too far, Ondry would distract from their son’s lack of tact. Liam raised an eyebrow to let his chilta know that the redirection had not gone unnoticed. “I’m not sure,” Liam confessed. “There are a few traditions that suggest that this time of year the line between the living and the dead thins so that the dead can find their way back.”
“Human dead or can we meet Rownt dead, too?” Takil asked with perfect seriousness.
“The story is no different than when the Grandmothers call out to the gods,” Ondry said. “One can reject belief while still holding to the trappings of the old faith.”
“The way Liam holds to the trappings of humanity when we trade with humans?” Takil asked.
Liam was in the middle of drinking and managed to swallow a mouthful of air, which got caught in his throat.
“Do not speak of Liam with disrespect,” Ondry said, and this time his tail slipped free of his leg and slapped the table leg.
Liam put a hand on Ondry’s arm. “He is not wrong,” Liam said. Every time they came back to human space, Liam felt less and less connected to the species of his birth. But he could imagine that Ondry’s bad reaction came from Takil’s suggestion that Liam was faking some emotion for the sake of trade. Tuk-ranked traders never manipulated their partners. Any metaphorical stabbings took place in the front, not the back.
Ondry’s tail slapped the table leg again. If he wasn’t careful, he could break it, which would also leave a poor impression.
“I do not put on the trappings of humanity,” Liam said. “I still appreciate many parts of my first people. My brother was a good man and a great programmer, and I still have fondness for his descendants. Humans are creative and admirable in many ways, so any kindness I show humanity is because I like them.” Liam hadn’t thought about it, but he had let go of most of the anger that had once ruled him. He could still say that Mort had been a sadistic asshole and the whole Colony War had been the height of stupidity on all sides. However, he also admired many humans, and he had enjoyed seeing Luke grow into a confident and ethical man. And watching him grow into a human version of a Tuk-ranked individual capable of challenging temples—he had loved that.
“But Rownt are better,” Takil said in an unhappy tone that made him sound about twenty.
The skin around Ondry’s eyes tightened and his tail relaxed. “Humans must be superior if they produced Liam.”
Liam smiled. “You’re biased.”
“In favor of you? Always,” Ondry said. He brought his hand up and rested it on Liam’s. They sat in the shadows, leaning closer together for infinite seconds. And then Takil asked loudly, “Can I steal treats?”
At the same time, Ondry and Liam said, “No.”
A Rownt Christmas
Takil studied the videoof the store. The shopkeeper had changed her display dramatically in a short period of time. The yellow and orange and black that had filled the front window had been replaced with trees, all decorated in different colors. Takil tapped the computer to send the shopbot inside and see if the offerings or prices were different. It would be easier if he could go to the shops himself, but he refused to walk in with a parent escort as if he were an eggling. He was young. That didn’t mean he still had egg stuck to him.
Inside, more of the strange decorations lined shelves. This was something of great importance to humans, and it bothered Takil that he didn’t understand it. He stood, taking his computer into the front room where his Liam and Ondry worked in relative silence, each at his own computer. Even now, they sat close together.
