Page 14 of Kimiko and the Accidental Proposal
Pained expressions and more murmurs. Eloquence had to admire the diplomat’s use of examples that would serve as warnings to the human students. Those kinds of requests were as common as they were rude.
After a brief explanation of honorifics, Ms. Reeves moved on to Amaranthine forms of address. “Several clans do have titles that denote high rank or respect. You’ll be familiar withspokesperson, which is given to those who speak for their clan. Some assignlordandladyto their members of the upper rank. And other titles inform about age, role, line, expertise, or familial attachments. But we shall proceed as a classroom of peers. Humans, simply tell your partners what name you wish your classmates to use. Your opportunity will come next, for when dealing with Amaranthine, the first courtesy is a proper introduction.”
Tenma whispered, “That was in our registration packets. I forgot. I’m sorry.”
“Our meeting was not lacking in any way.” Eloquence withdrew a hand and placed it over Tenma’s heart. “You carry my sigil. You know my name. You have my loyalty. If anything, I am remiss; all of my questions for you remain unasked.”
“Is this important?” Tenma stared at Quen’s hand. “What does this mean?”
He frowned thoughtfully. “I’ve never tried to put it into words before. I … wanted to reassure you. To ask you to trust me.”
“Oh.” Tenma relaxed noticeably.
At the front of the room, Ms. Reeves said, “It’s simplest to demonstrate. Then you can go through a round of introductions within your triads. Hanoo-fel, would you be willing to assist?”
One of the adolescent wolves seated near the front of the room stood.
Their teacher offered her hands to him, palms up. “I’m Reaver Adelaide Reeves, diplomat class and a teacher at New Saga High School in Keishi. Welcome to Class 3-C.”
The wolf settled his hands atop hers. “I am called Hanoo-fel Nightspangle. If you can’t already tell by my garbling of the local language, I transferred here from America. I’m grateful for your mediation.”
Ms. Reeves smiled. “Hanoo-fel is your given name?”
“Yes. Nightspangle is my pack, and Hanoo-fel is my given name. In the language of wolves, it means ‘thundering moon,’ since I was born during a summer storm.”
“And how would you like your classmates to address you?”
“Hanoo is good,” he said, turning to include all of them in his invitation. “Please feel free to call me Hanoo.”
Their teacher nodded again and addressed the class. “At this point in any introduction, the way is made for other questions. Your curiosity and interest show your new Amaranthine acquaintance that you’re interested in becoming friends. Do any of you have questions for Hanoo?”
One of the reavers led the way. “What part of America does the Nightspangle pack call home?”
“We helped found an urban enclave in the Midwest.” He gave a little shrug. “I probably shouldn’t say anything else since we’re still in hiding.”
Eloquence knew that their people were having a harder time finding acceptance in the United States. In many places, stigmas and suspicion kept whole Amaranthine communities from declaring themselves.
Akira’s hand shot up. “How are you related to the other two guys wearing the Nightspangle crest?”
“First and foremost, we’re packmates.” At Hanoo’s signal, the other two wolves stood. He said, “Yoota-soh is my cousin, the son of my mother’s sister. I can tell him from Ploom by his scent and by the swing of his tail, but you might want to check for beads. Yoota’s are blue.”
The young wolf, whose tail swept wide in silent amusement, turned so everyone could see the collection of turquoise beads knotted into his long hair.
Hanoo continued, “Ploom-ret is also my cousin, the son of my father’s sister. He’s never gotten the hang of shoes, so he’s usually barefoot. You can tell him apart because he has brown eyes. Yoota and I both have yellow, which is more common for our pack.”
“And what’s your distinguishing feature?” asked Ms. Reeves.
Hanoo’s grin was all fang. “Rank. I’m acting alpha.”
“Which just means he struts more,” said Yoota. “But the way he spikes his hair is hard to ignore.”
“Hey!” grumbled Hanoo, running one hand over his bristling shock. “I don’t do nothing to my hair. This is natural.”
Ploom chimed in. “And his baby sister made him swear never to take off that bracelet.”
“And I won’t.” Without a trace of embarrassment, Hanoo raised his left arm, showing off a double-strand of pink plastic pearls. “Wolveskeeptheir promises.”
A couple of the human girls made softaww-ing noises that put a little extra lift in Hanoo’s tail.
