22. Amanda

Chapter 22

Amanda

T hankfully, as I explained my vision for my tea shop, Gerain and Floosar softened.

"I believe you could talk a god into helping with this," Floosar said. She sat opposite me on a stump. "Wooden furniture is nice, but not as comfortable as what our shrooms construct for us within our homes."

"Very much so." Gerain frowned as she shifted on the stump. "I'm old. Not too old, I'll add, but I wouldn't want to sit on this for long. I can see the merit of steeping leaves in hot water, however," she hurried to add.

I was grateful her stern demeanor had faded. I wanted to get along with everyone here, and I suspected the best place to start would be with the three clan females. "Depending on the leaves, it can be quite tasty. Some people enjoy putting milk or sugar in their tea. Or both."

"I don't know what these things are, but I'd be willing to try," Floosar said with a smile. She'd warmed up quicker than her mother, but maybe she welcomed having another woman about her own age to chat with.

"What are milk and sugar?" Xax asked. He'd hovered nearby, listening to every word. I'd never had a guy dote on me as much as he did, and frankly, it was sweet and endearing. It made me like him even more.

"Milk comes from . . ." I looked down at my chest. "Breasts."

"Ahhh," Xax gulped. "I'll leave this to you three to discuss." He left the building and hurried toward the woods.

Gerain watched him leave before turning back to me. "Males."

I grinned. "Males."

"As for milk, we nurse our young from a tube that projects from the base of our breasts. While we have the ability to nurse four." Her frown reappeared, directed at my chest that must seem lacking to them with only two breasts compared to their four, "it's rare for a Zuldruxian to have more than one youngling at a time." She beamed at Floosar. "I wish I could've had more younglings, but the gods only saw fit to give me one precious child."

Floosar leaned against her mom's shoulder. "You're a wonderful mother."

"Aw, thank you, daughter."

I smiled, though I imagined it came out wistful. What would it have been like to have a mom who loved me like Gerain did Floosar ?

Well, I didn't, and I'd turned out okay.

The thought of what I was missing must've occurred to Gerain. "Your mother . . ."

"Abandoned me. But it's alright. I've put it behind me."

She continued to frown. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks."

"And your father?" Floosar asked.

"He left with her."

Her gasp rang out. "How old were you?"

"Ten. But someone raised me."

"Ah," she said. "Like Xax."

"Yes, like Xax." My heart ached for the boy he'd been. For the girl I'd been. We were different in many ways, but in this, our worlds were the same.

"I don't know where you'll get milk for your tea," Gerain said brightly. "Any nursing Zuldruxian would need what her body produced for her own young. There would be none to spare."

Xax returned at that moment, stepping inside. He gave me a sly smile I wasn't sure how to interpret, but it made my heart trip over itself.

He leaned against one of the support posts and crossed his big arms on his chest.

"On my home planet, we didn't use milk from our own breasts for tea." I imagine most people would've gagged at the thought. "We take milk from other creatures. We keep it in containers in our cool boxes."

"What creature would permit you to take its milk?" Floosar asked with wide eyes. "I can't imagine any beast allowing such a thing."

"We had tame creatures who let us do this," I said. "As for sugar, that comes from a plant as well. The stalk of something called sugarcane. It's extracted from the plant, though I'm not sure how."

"There are plants in the forest that have sweet properties," Gerain said, frowning while tapping her chin. "If Xax offered more meat, I'm sure we could bring some of those to you as well."

At this rate, he'd fill their home with meat. "That would be amazing."

"I need to go hunting soon," Xax said, though with humor shining in his voice and eyes. "How much will you need for our initial purchase?"

"At least one haunch," Gerain said.

I could see she was savvy. It was a good thing Xax seemed eager to provide all the meat she might need.

"Xax told me you plant spores to grow a new structure," I said, looking around. "Could we plant a spore and coax it to create more comfortable furniture for my shop?"

"That was what I was thinking." Floosar tilted her head. "When we ask the god to craft soft furniture for Amanda, we could also ask the god to generate furniture around the firepit. It would be wonderful to sit on sofas and chairs in the evening instead of the stumps you and our other males provided."

"Your god would generate only furniture?" I could see the promise in this already .

"Of course." Gerain stared around, hopefully seeing a bit of my vision for the place.

"Where can we get spores?" I asked.

"We keep some in a special place." Gerain stood. "Come with me and Floosar, and we'll show you."