Chapter 22 #2
“I have no ill will against you,” Amina assured her, fighting the urge to start eating like a teenage Ugarian. She pointed to the plate. “This means a great deal to me.”
“Try it,” Hisha urged. “I need to know if it tastes good to you.”
Amina noticed the Ossisos ate with a flat spatula-like item if the food wasn’t a soup, so she took one and picked up one of the small, gray disks on her plate. She nibbled a corner, and flavor exploded in her mouth. It reminded her of the richly seasoned flatbread common in Hoquin cuisine.
There was soft laughter around the table when she shoved three of the disks into her mouth before remembering Hisha was still waiting for a response.
“I believe you did excellent,” Sar said.
Amina had to take a sip of tea before she could talk. “These are great!”
“Excellent,” Hisha said. “I have one food I can feed you. I’ll experiment some more, but at least we know these will work.
They’re exactly calibrated to have the optimum amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fat that an average human should need, assuming the data I have is correct.
There isn’t much about your species on any of the UniBases. ”
Amina gave a little shrug. “We’re rare.”
“It must be hard,” Hisha said, then returned to the other Ossisos in the kitchen section of the room.
“Have you been a pet your entire life?” one of the Ossisos asked.
“What’s it like to serve a Talin?” another asked. “Your master seems to have a mild temper, but you can never tell.”
“No questions,” Sar said before Amina could answer either of them. “She needs to eat and then return to the dining room. We don’t want to be the reason she’s punished.”
They all agreed and started talking around her while Sar encouraged her to eat quickly. Amina downed the food in front of her, and Hisha was quick to set another plate down. Amina managed to eat half of the second plate before she felt uncomfortably full.
She tried to slip the last of the food in one of her pockets, but Sar noticed and pulled the food away.
For a brief moment Amina was disappointed, only to have Hisha press a small bag into her hands.
It was soft sided and sturdy, had only one strap, and was full of items. It was the same kind of bag all the attendants were wearing.
“Many of us carry these around,” she explained.
“We can never know when we’ll be allowed to take a break, so we carry food and drink with us at all times.
The bag contains another serving of cakes, a canister of tea, and a few vials of half-strength ever-awake.
It’s compatible with your biology at that dosage. ”
Amina could’ve kissed Hisha. She and the crew used ever-awake when they had to pull double shifts. Humans couldn’t take it for more than a few days in a row or it messed up their nervous system, but right now she needed the stimulant.
Amina stood up and gave everyone a bow. “I’m humbled by your kindness.”
“Yes, yes,” Sar said, with a little impatience.
“You don’t expect anything but abuse so the fact that we are treating you as a sapient creature is surprising.
” She took the bag back from Amina and helped drape it diagonally across Amina’s chest. “There, that is how you should wear it so you can get to the contents easily.”
Before Amina could respond, Hisha pressed an ornate container into her hands. “This is your master’s tea. I brewed it to Talin specifications. If he isn't pleased, tell him to talk to me, not to take it out on you.”
“This way,” Sar said. “I’ll take you back to the dining room. Can you walk as fast as me or should I carry you?”
“I can walk,” Amina said. Sar turned, and that’s when Amina noticed the receiver buried in the fur behind Sar’s round, furry ear.
If she looked, she’d probably see the same behind everyone’s ears.
No doubt they had to keep in contact with each other to make sure Lorse was never upset by a slow delivery or lack of attention.
She knew Myrum would never say anything, so Lorse must’ve complained about her tardiness.
They flew through the corridors, Amina being forced to run to keep up. She almost bumped into the back of Sar when she came to an abrupt stop.
“Here it is,” Sar said, pointing to a door but backing away so Lorse wouldn’t see her in the hall.
Amina gave her a little bow then pulled in a deep breath, looked down, and walked into the dining room.
“Does brewing tea take that long?” Lorse snapped.
“It does if she did it correctly,” Myrum said, his voice tense. “Amina knows how I like it, and that takes an exact amount of time. I’m very upset if my tea isn’t perfect.”
“Ah, that explains why she was so slow,” Lorse said. He snapped his clawed fingers at Amina. “Hurry up, serve your master.”
Amina moved around the U-shaped table and poured the tea into an empty mug in front of Myrum. As she poured, he pressed the back of his hand against her thigh.
She ducked her head and gave him a smile. “I’m good.”
Once she was done pouring, she set the container down and took her spot at the kids’ table behind him. There was the same type of nasty soup from last night. Heck, it might have been the exact same soup as last night, just reheated.
Hiding her smile, she poured some in a bowl and pretended to drink.