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“But also, don’t insult him,” Charl put in, raising a furry arm. “I made that mistake once, accused him of weighing my load wrong on purpose. If Abbra hadn’t sweet-talked him, he might have refused to ship our goods.”
“He’s got leeway,” Abbra said. “He can claim a certain load, or even a whole farm, has sub-par product and pay you under market, or nothing.”
“Too much power for one petty underboss,” Jhon mused.
“You just got here, soldier,” Abbra teased. “Watch first, then try to figure out if there’s a way to crack it.”
“Right,” he said, surprised to find himself smiling at her instead of getting defensive.
“More important advice than that is to steer clear of the mammoths,” Rikkers said in a deep, foreboding voice. “They’re incredibly dangerous, especially the nursing mothers.”
Jhon tried to hide his smile. The man was right, the mammoth were dangerous, but the way he described it made him sound like an ignorant coward. Of course, any mother animal would be dangerous when defending her child.
But Ella only gazed up at the Arborealyte, nodding with a solemn expression.
“When we arrived, there was a stampede,” she told him, her eyes wide. “They almost got to us before Jhon could get the chute working.”
“Chute maintenance is the difference between life and death out here,” Rikkers told her importantly. “It’s irresponsible not to have a chute ready to go at all times.”
Jhon had some choice words for the little snot, but he chose to swallow them back. There was no point honoring the prick with acknowledgement.
“Jhon and I had just arrived on moon,” Ella said. “I imagine it would have been difficult to keep the chute maintained from his ship.”
Jhon hid his smile, but not before Ella had glanced over and seen it.
He felt warmth spread through his chest at the simple contact between them, which highlighted the bond more than ever.
See, the dragon purred. She is ours, and we are hers.
A signal rang out and Ree-lah sprang to her feet.
“That’ll be the kids,” she said happily. “Our nanny droid was set to bring them over when they finished napping.”
A moment later, the chute arrived with two little Vystian children on it. They scampered across the lawn to their parents, followed by a stout nanny droid on thick treads.
“Were you good for Nanny Six?” Ree-lah asked them.
“Yes,” the boy said.
“Mostly,” the tiny girl said at the same time.
“Oh dear,” Ree-lah said, shaking her head. “These are our new friends, Ella, Jhon and baby Bo. And I’d like you to say hello to everyone else, too, before you take off.”
The children shared greetings all around, much to the delight of the guests. Even Jhon had to admit they were cute, bowing and addressing everyone by the proper honorifics. They introduced themselves as Rex and Roo.
“Auntie Abbra, may we play in the maze now?” Roo squeaked hopefully.
“Yes, you may, my angel,” Abbra replied with a smile.
“And can Rikkers come with us?” Rex asked, turning to the Arborealyte.
“Sure,” Rikkers smiled, hopping up to join them. “Last one to the maze is spoiled mammoth milk.”
The children took off, squealing with pleasure.
“They’re lovely,” Ella said to Ree-lah and Manx.
“They keep us busy,” Manx laughed.
