Page 2 of Scales of Time

“Certainly. Whoever is acceptable to me is acceptable to my family, and you have saved my life four times. That raises you to the status of a beloved niece.”

“Wow, Auntie. I have missed the last few holiday gatherings.”

Yorness’s eyes went wide. “Wow. You will have to help me shop. Our end-of-the-year celebrations are right around the corner. Can you fly a skimmer?”

“You know I can.”

“Ah, right. Good. We will be shopping in the capitol.”

“Don’t you have goods here you can give?”

“No, child. We need to give pieces of our own world to show where the value lies.”

“With home?”

“With what our people can do for each other. We do not exist in a vacuum, and we create wonders of our own that deserve to be celebrated.”

“Nice. I don’t think I will be helpful. I have no idea what has value here.”

“Beauty. Complexity. Grace.”

“Right. So, I am definitely not going to be any help. None of those are in my wheelhouse.”

Yorness hissed in amusement. “You are lovely by our standards, just not when you are standing still.”

Kris snorted. “That was once when I was drunk.”

“But you move so well. The ambassador was quite taken with you.”

Kris shook her head. “Never again.”

Yorness hissed again. “There is a lot of dancing over the holidays.”

“I will have to plead a headache or a religious objection or something.”

Yorness’s scaly hand patted hers. “Don’t worry about it. If you dance, I promise no one else will take an image and make a statue of it.”

Kris pinched the bridge of her nose. “I think we got them all.”

Yorness nodded. “I believe you managed it before they went into mass production.”

Kris grunted. Years of dance that had adapted as she grew out of ballet had turned into an obsession that was at odds with her tall, strong frame. Her mother always called her a delicate elk. She just loved dancing from the time she could stand.

“Well, I did learn not to drink anything other than water that day.”

“We have few intoxicants. You needn’t worry.”

“Yes, but what is an intoxicant for you can be a toxin for me.”

Yorness smirked. “I guess you will have to take your chances.”

“That isn’t encouraging.”

“I know, Kris, but it is very entertaining.”

Kris looked at Yorness as they docked with the larger, faster vessel. “I think I should have taken the offer to the retreat on Havor.”

“It wasn’t a retreat; it was a zoo.”

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