Page 15 of Seven Oars
Alyesha, in particular, hated it. She made a rule that they eat behind closed doors. Ditto for the bathroom use. Discreetly.
“They have their rules, and we’ll have ours,” she said.
Mara struggled to understand Alyesha’s strategy.“Why do we have to hide something that’s completely normal?”
“Not hide. Just avoid highlighting our differences.”
“No, we’re hiding,” Mara insisted.
“We’re lizard people to them,” Gro chirped, not particularly concerned about the situation or the aliens’opinion of them.
“Speak for yourself, human,” Eze shot back.
The two of them laughed.
Fawn eyed the label on a soup container with distaste before twisting the lid open.“I say, they are the lizard people. Have you seen their male parts?”
“Fawn!” Anske gasped.“What wickedness.”
“But have you?”
“Of course not. God forbid.”
“Me neither. I don’t think they even have them.”
Sassa frowned.“Please tell us you didn’t try to look in their pants.”
Fawn chortled.“Like they would let me! Their crotches are smooth like a girl’s. You think they might be eunuchs?”
“Eunuchs?” Daphne repeated, eyes wide. Mara threw Fawn a censoring look, which Fawn ignored.
“They are not eunuchs,” Rosamma said quietly.“They are Rix.”
Everyone turned to her.
“What do you know about it?” Alyesha inquired.
The freeze-dried proteins suddenly stuck in Rosamma’s throat.“It’s just that…”Everybodywas listening.“Their members are internal when not in use. What, you didn’t know?” She had to take a sip of water.
“Yo! Seriously?” Fawn’s eyes went wide.
Gro squinted at Rosamma.“How do you know?”
“I read about it,” she said lamely, thinking,How else?
Except for her brother when they were very young, Rosamma hadn’t seen a naked male body in the flesh. Much less a male alien body.
But she read a lot. She liked to know things.
She had frantically researched Rix when she met Lyle, looking to learn about the Rix physical makeup to see if she could heal him. He had been so, so sick. She hadn’t found much useful information, but some tidbits stuck in her memory.
“Some books you read!” the women ribbed her.“Does your brother know what material gets into your head?”
At the mention of Ren, Rosamma deflated. Where was he now? Their energy deficit would hit soon.
“I… no. Ren doesn't like to read.”
“So, tell us about yourself, sick face,” Eze prompted.“Is Ren really your brother?”
