Page 10 of Taking Jenny
“Yes. When one is sick, their owner does what they can to keep them alive. Otherwise, they look like a failure. We haven’t figured out how to use our organs in place of yours. Blood sometimes, but not organs. We’re too big for you. Human donors are considered untouchable by other Ladrians, because if someone is paying to heal their human, then they must be powerful.”
Untouchable sounded better than being some random Ladrian’s servant. I slowly nodded. “Got it. I’m a donor.”
From the dump, we walked toward the city. Tiger kept close, the warmth of his body beside me more noticeable now that the air had cooled. I could feel his presence even when I wasn’t looking, like gravity had shifted and everything in me leaned a little his way.
“The main parts of Ladrille are laid out in a radial pattern,” he said as the landscape changed from debris to clean, well-kept streets. “With plenty of open spaces between buildings. But the whole city, including the royal palace, is shaped like a teardrop, with the palace at the apex. I love the design of the city—it’s the only one like it on Orhon. There are only a few cities on Orhon. It’s not as big as Earth.”
“It’s so beautiful here, Tiger,” I said, in awe of how different everything was from Earth. “Thank you for showing me around.”
“Thank you for…letting me.” His voice went quieter, like the words cost him something.
As we continued, I noticed the streets were twice as wide as the ones back home, but they had to be in order to make room for what I assumed were their cars. Some looked like dune buggies, others were more like ATVs. Occasionally, a large one went through, looking like a bus with too few seats. But then I realized that with their long legs, those buses were probably considered to be cramped. The sidewalks were extra-large too, with enough room for eight Ladrians to walk side-by-side.
Between buildings were yards where dozens of children played on swings and other equipment. As we continued on, and I couldn’t help but smile at the people who walked by. The few who deigned to look me in the eye crinkled a brow my way, like they didn’t know why I was smiling at them.
There were aspects to Ladrille that were so familiar that I almost didn’t feel like I was on a whole other planet. Peoplewalking their pets. The pets weren’t dogs, but still, they walked whatever those things were and cleaned up after them. Children held their parent’s hand as they strolled down the sidewalk, chatting and laughing together. The occasional food cart vendor hollered their wares at us. It felt familiar and alien all at once.
A warm breeze carried the scent of food, making my mouth water and my stomach growl loudly.
“Hungry?” Tiger asked.
I nodded, embarrassed, but he just smiled and crossed to a vendor. When he returned, he held two sticks of food and a drink.
“I grabbed us two squircen and we can share an olirck, unless you want one of your own,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you’d like either of them. But I thought you might.”
I took a bite of something meaty on a stick. My eyes rolled back, and I groaned at the savory, delicious taste. “Wow.”
His brows lifted in amusement. “What do you think?”
“This meaty thing isreallygood,” I said, nibbling on another piece. “Do I want to know what it is?”
“Squircen,” he said with a grin. “Fermented vegetable curd, marinated and grilled.”
I squinted at the squircen. “That’s veggies?”
He nodded. “One of my favorites.”
“Tastes almost like really good teriyaki.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“If I ever get you to Earth, youhaveto try it.”
He smiled at the thought, and we continued our walk. I sipped the olirck and was surprised by the taste. “You have lemonade here?”
His brows furrowed in confusion. “What is lemonade?”
I shook the paper cup. “Thisis lemonade.”
He laughed. “That’s olirck. A drink made with lemons and sugar and water.”
I giggled. “Which we call lemonade.”
“Oh,” he chuckled. “I guess everyone likes lemons and sugar together, huh?”
That grin made my stomach dip. I was smiling at a guy on a distant planet over sugar water. And somehow it felt like the mostrightthing I’d done in weeks.
Soon after the lemonade confusion, he stopped outside of what looked like a bar. The windows were blacked out in the front, but there was plenty of rowdy noise inside.
