“I don’t—”
Sar cut her off. “I know the idea of being out there alone is scary, but this Veli ship’s trade route takes them into Delorta territory. That species abhors slavery. Tell them you’re running from a master, and they’ll accept you and find you a job. It’ll be hard work, but you’ll be free.”
Amina gave Sar a respectful bow, one she’d seen the staff give each other. “Your offer is humbling but unnecessary. I’m happy with Myrum, and, uh, what’s between us isn’t all it seems.”
Sar gave her a pitying look. “You don’t have to decide now. You have two cycles before the ship gets here. We all know the plan, so when you change your mind, you can talk to any of us. Except the guards.” Sar shuddered. “Don’t talk to them and try to never be alone with one of them. They aren’t to be trusted.”
“I’ll remember that,” Amina said. She wanted to tell them she wasn’t a real pet, but if Gis hadn’t revealed the truth, then she should probably follow his lead.
“Good, now we need to hurry,” Sar said, and set off at a fast walk. “Gis dropped off your master’s tea right after you arrived. Hisha already brewed some, so you have a little time to eat before you have to rush back to the Talin’s side.”
“I’m starving,” she admitted. Because Lorse spent the night in the room with them, she wasn’t able to get to any of the hidden snacks. She wanted some strong tea to help with the lack of sleep and any kind of hot grain cereal they had.
The room Sar led her into was a combination industrial kitchen and dining room with one large round table. Most of the spots were already taken, and the table was covered in bowls, layered serving trays, and platters full of food.
Everything smelled delicious and made her mouth water.
“Sit here,” Sar said, pointing to an empty place. Then she addressed everyone else at the table and in the kitchen. “She must eat quickly and report back to her master. I’ve told her our offer, but she’s too scared to take it yet. Be gentle, she’s small in a universe that’s unkind.”
There were murmurs of agreement and many sympathetic looks cast Amina's way. The Ossiso to her right set a steaming mug down in front of her.
“Here, this is intle tea. It’s almost exactly like tlash tea, which we’ve been told you can digest.”
“Thank you,” Amina said and took a tentative sip. It was similar to tlash tea but sweeter and creamier, and she loved it. “This is the best tea I’ve ever had.”
The Ossiso who handed her the tea looked pleased. “I’ll make sure there’s some delivered to you at every meal. All the canisters look alike, so as long as you don’t drink it too close to your master or Lorse, they’ll assume you're drinking plain water.”
“That’s kind of you,” she murmured with a little bow of her head. She was starting to understand that the shaded souls survived by banding together.
An Ossiso was suddenly at her side, looming over her. Amina looked up, ready to defend herself, but the Ossiso bowed and put a plate down in front of her.
“I’m Hisha, the chef,” she said. “I deeply regret the meal you suffered through last night. Lorse gave me strict instructions on what to feed you. It was deplorable, and I saw that you weren’t able to stomach any of it. I spent the night researching what you could eat compared to what I have in stock and would be appetizing instead of scraps that should've gone into the reclamator."
There was some grumbling from the other Ossisos as Hisha spoke, but it was against Lorse’s order instead of the chef for obeying it.
“I have no ill will against you,” Amina assured her, fighting the urge to start eating like a teenage Ugarian. She pointed to the plate. “This means a great deal to me.”
“Try it,” Hisha urged. “I need to know if it tastes good to you.”
Amina noticed the Ossisos ate with a flat spatula-like item if the food wasn’t a soup, so she took one and picked up one of the small, gray disks on her plate. She nibbled a corner, and flavor exploded in her mouth. It reminded her of the richly seasoned flatbread common in Hoquin cuisine.
There was soft laughter around the table when she shoved three of the disks into her mouth before remembering Hisha was still waiting for a response.
“I believe you did excellent,” Sar said.
Amina had to take a sip of tea before she could talk. “These are great!”
“Excellent,” Hisha said. “I have one food I can feed you. I’ll experiment some more, but at least we know these will work. They’re exactly calibrated to have the optimum amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fat that an average human should need, assuming the data I have is correct. There isn’t much about your species on any of the UniBases.”
Amina gave a little shrug. “We’re rare.”
“It must be hard,” Hisha said, then returned to the other Ossisos in the kitchen section of the room.
“Have you been a pet your entire life?” one of the Ossisos asked.
“What’s it like to serve a Talin?” another asked. “Your master seems to have a mild temper, but you can never tell.”
“No questions,” Sar said before Amina could answer either of them. “She needs to eat and then return to the dining room. We don’t want to be the reason she’s punished.”
