Page 104 of Return of the Nine

She blinked. “Of course. I will continue running my courses aswell.”

“I am not sure how I feel about that.”

“Tough. I have to hunt, and teaching folks to see the woods the way I do is something that I love to do. More than that, I was born to do it. After a standard course with me, even the average citizen can feed and shelter themselves for weeks at a time. We might never face an attack by the Tokkel again, but it would be foolish to be dependent on agriculture when it is such a delicately balanced thing. It is better to always know how to find the means to survive when your entire world goes crazy around you.”

He looked at her for a moment and nodded. “If it is important to you, it is important to me. Now, shall we formalize our agreement?”

“Like, paperwork?”

He grinned and got to his feet, lifting her from her chair and kissing her in full view of the café patrons and the startled server.

Niika wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as his skin went through a series of textures and temperatures under her touch.

When she leaned back, his eyes were glowing like the firestones in the hearth and her heart was pounding. A roar of applause came from the other patrons, and she sat back down with a thud and a silly smile.

Cavos took his seat, and he had a smug grin on his lips.

She blushed and nodded to the server who poured a cup of tea for her. She lifted the cup and inhaled the scent of herbs. “This is a Gaian tea.”

“Of course. Lady Rothaway is working hard to bring fresh ingredients to the ship. With her connections in the florist industry, she knows where the farmers are that grow the plants. The medics here check the plants for uncomplimentarycompounds and allow the new items to be introduced in measured amounts, carefully regulated.”

She smiled and sipped at the tea. The rest of the meal passed in a daze.

When he said, “So, you would prefer to bond on Gaia?” She jerked out of her stupor.

“Oh. Yes, please. I have to ask, is this clothing standard for the Stone Folk? It is very comfortable.”

Cavos smiled shyly. “I am glad you like it. Yes, the style is standard for daily wear. My sisters picked it out via long-range communication.”

She winced. “I was a family project?”

He chortled. “Everyone, including my father. He was consulting with my mother on your estimated recovery. There are going to be papers written about your physiology, I am not even joking. You should never have survived the initial burst.”

She sighed, “I know. The miracle of Gaia, I guess. She is making us better than we were before. Or at least very different.”

“So, you are aware of the changes?”

“Of course. We are all aware, though we don’t like to talk about it. This generation has begun to show marked increases in psychic anomalies in the population. We are not changing physically, our minds are altering and most are doing so along specific tasks.”

He sat back. “I am sure that most of your population is not aware of it, so how are you?”

“My aunt and uncle are biologists. They are not stupid, and they ran a very quiet research project on my generation. Unusual intelligence was the most found symptom in men and women. After that, the more pronounced traits struck fifteen percent of the population. Daphne’s ability to hide in plain sight is well known, and there are many more that have skills with a specific focus, like me.” She smiled brightly.

He paid their bill with a swipe of his hand. “So, tell me about how it works.”

She took his arm, and they walked along a winding pathway that led to a garden area. “I get a fix on my target, and it glows red in my mind. The closer I get, the hotter the colour.”

“What happens when you lose your target?”

She pulled him to a halt. “What do you mean?”

Cavos looked into her eyes, and he asked softly. “What happens when you can’t track your target?”

She smiled slowly and slid her hand up around the back of his neck, pulling him down to her. She whispered, “I never lose my target.”

She let him go and skipped along ahead of him, enjoying the feel of the faux wind on the ship.

Chapter Nine

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