Page 10 of Fall

“Yes, but those of us on the fringes don’t get it. It’s given out by thealphas, and so only those connected to them will get it.”

“That’s ridiculous. What about the rest of us?”

Desh stood up and walked to the far side of the bonfire, leaning over tograb a loaf of what looked like bread and some of those disgusting turnip-likeroots. He brought them over to where she was still sitting on the ground.

“You’re not a weakling,” she said, accepting the food he offered ratherbegrudgingly. She was willing to eat anything at this point, and at least thebread stuff was better than the turnips. “Why don’t you just go over and take abowl of stew?”

“I’d have to fight them for it, and I’d have to win.” His eyes were avery dark blue, and his expression almost unreadable. “I spent all my life instudying hard in school. I never even played sports. Do you really think I cantake one of these men who’ve learned to hunt and fight from the time they couldwalk?”

Lenna looked at him in interest. She liked his matter-of-fact tone andhis intelligence. She could see him as an academic type, but he was clearlymore than that now. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

She gasped. She’d known he was young, but not that young. “You got planetdumped when you were sixteen? What did you do?”

“I said the wrong thing to the wrong person. The Coalition doesn’t liketo be talked back to. What did you do?”

“Smuggling.” She was about to ask another question when the Hairy Manwalked over toward where they were sitting, a bowl of stew in his hand. Shefell silent, staring up at him as he barked out what sounded like a question.

Desh responded, and the two men had a brief conversation. Lenna assumedit was about her, since the Hairy Man kept looking at her.

If she’d hoped he might offer her some of the stew, she was sorelydisappointed when he turned his back and walked away.

“What was that about?” she asked, staring at the man’s straight back andbroad shoulders in the animal skins he wore.

“He wanted to know how I knew your language.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I said we come from the same place. Then he wanted to know where we comefrom. I just said far away.” Desh gave an amused snort. “Then he asked if youcome from the sky—which I think they consider like heaven.”

“That’s just great. He thinks I’m an angel, but he still won’t give me abowl of stew.”

“Get used to it.”

“What is his name anyway?”

“Rone.” Desh nodded over toward the Gorgeous One. “That’s Tamen. He’s thelead alpha, but Rone is always nipping at his heels. Rone is a few yearsyounger, but I’ve never seen anyone hunt like him. I’d bet he could be leadalpha soon, if he decides he wants it.”

For some reason, this pleased Lenna. Rone hadn’t been remotely nice toher, but at least he’d acknowledged her existence, something that Tamen hadn’treally done.

“So why are some of the men shaved and clean but most of them not?” sheasked after a moment.

“Women groom the men. The men with women get groomed. The others don’t.”

“Why doesn’t Rone have a woman, if he’s an alpha?”

“He hasn’t chosen one yet.” He gestured over toward where Rone wassitting, finishing off his stew. “Watch.”

Lenna watched as a young woman approached him, standing beside him andthen stroking his hair. Rone kept eating, saying a few words to the woman andthen finally getting up and walking away from her.

“Women make the advances,” Desh explained, “but the men choose theirmates. The women have some agency in this tribe, but it’s still a patriarchalculture.” He turned to look at her, eyeing her up and down. “You’re pretty.Your best bet is probably to pick out a man and make a move on him, and hemight respond and make you his mate. Pick as high as you think you can go.”

Lenna glanced over at Taman, who was evidently the highest rung in thetribe’s hierarchy. He really was very handsome, but he didn’t even look at herlike she was a person. She couldn’t imagine being his “mate.”

“He’s groomed, though. He already has a woman, doesn’t he?”

“Yes. This tribe is monogamous with their mates, but they don’tnecessarily mate for life. When men get bored, they move on to new mates. Tamenis on his fourth woman since I’ve been here.”

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