Maria gapes up at me and then grins. “Of course, I bet you can carry all of it at the same time. Yes, you go with Luca.”
Dante nods at me, and I feel light on my feet as my claws clack on the floor, following Luca outside. He leads me to a bright red van and pulls at the handle. The door slides open, and I see the large amounts of food stacked in shining containers.
‘You carry all this? I carry cake?’
I nod and hold out my arms as he sets each warm container in my arms. They grow higher and higher until they are tucked under my chin. Then Luca closes the door, a white box in his hands as he leads me back to Gia and Amara’s place.
When I walk inside, Maria and Paolo exclaim over how strong I am.
They have no idea how strong Vyastil are, but I once again say nothing as Luca helps me unload the containers from my arms, setting them one by one on the counter. It smells much like the food Amara and Gia enjoy eating.
Luca looks at me, sniffing the air, and signs something across his forehead. I do not know what this means.
So he fingerspells it for me.Italian.
I still do not understand, so he points to himself and everyone else in the room. ‘We Italian. This is our food.’
Ah yes. I have seen their food, tasted it. The noodles that looked like worms were not my favorite, but I have seen the structural integrity of the noodles stacked on top of one another. That impressed me. I have no idea what is hidden beneath the shiny metal covers, but I would not mind trying each and every one.
If I am ever allowed back to Erethar, I would very much like Dante to eat with my family. To partake in our culture.
Someone walks up next to me, and I peer down at Maria. This close, I can see that her eyes are the same color as Dante’s, and they have the same nose.
“I may be overstepping, but I noticed you don’t have any shoes.”
I glance down at my clawed feet and then back up at her.
“You don’t wear very many clothes, if I’m honest.”
Luca waves at his mom, but she ignores him, continuing to sign and talk.
“I have my knitting needles in my bag and some yarn. Would you like some socks? I always have to have something to do with my hands when I’m around this many people.”
I stare down at my feet again and then back at her. I have seen Dante wearing socks. They are fuzzy and warm on his tinyfeet. I never considered wearing some myself, but I want her to like me.
“Yessss. Pleeeeez.”
She grins and winks at me.
I do not like her flirting with me, but I say nothing as she strides toward the food on the counter and begins to open them. I watch her, noting the red and yellow items inside. But my gaze is pulled to the door as it opens and more people step in. Many humans. Humans I do not recognize, but they seem to be friends and family of Amara and Gia. They greet each other like they love one another and then ooh and ahh over the decorations.
I feel suddenly nervous, out of place. I am far too large for this space, and I think perhaps I should retreat to Dante’s apartment when suddenly two familiar faces appear.
Everest and Rathyn.
Everest looks excited and happy. Rathyn looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. I can see it on his face, in the twitch of his tail, in the small way he growls as he observes the human gathering.
But everyone comes up and greets them, hands extended. I see Rathyn reach out and place his hand in theirs. My cheeks flush once more. This is what I was meant to do with Dante’s father, not place my tail in his palm.
I still have so much to learn.
Rathyn meets my gaze, and his eyes narrow. Then, he is striding toward me with a purpose, his tail wrapped tightly around his thigh.
“I do not like human birthdays. A celebration like this? And what for? That they survived another rotation around the sun?” he asks in Eretharian.
I grin at him and nod. “It is odd. They seem to celebrate death yearly. I do not like to think of it.”
“Agreed. And the noise. The decorations.”
