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“No, it went down sixteen feet, but I got it hooked up, and when I was at the surface, the guardians were arresting the thugs who shoved it.”
“The tow cables worked?”
“They did. The guardians hauled it out before the glides extended, but it did everything it was designed to do. We still have a shop.”
Emgoth smiled. “Your gills work?”
“They do. Not as elegant as your slime coating, but they are effective. That water is fucking cold, though.”
He grabbed her and hugged her. “Thanks for doing this with me.”
“It’s fun. Ariget, you look appalled.”
“How do you feed this many?”
“Oh, this is about a fifteenth of those who were here for lunch. A lot of them eat further down the dock or go back to the office.”
Ariget looked around while supporting Emgoth. “This is more than I thought that little stall could do.”
“I know. Weird, right? So it’s here. Emgoth, go and rest. Be back in two days.” She patted him to get him to let her loose.
“First, I have to meet your brother.”
She smiled. “Fine. This way. I left him in charge.”
Ariget laughed and helped Emgoth to the side door.
“Sunny, this is the other normal half of the stall, Emgoth. Emgoth, my younger brother, Sunny.”
“Cloudy, Sunny. Are you all named like this in your family?”
Sunny smiled and said, “Our mother is named Elspeth, Dad’s name is Thunder, and our grandmother was Eclipse. It is a family tradition to name after the weather situation when we are born.”
Cloudy snorted. “If I have a kid, they are going to be given a nice, boring name.”
Emgoth frowned. “How old are you?”
“Uh, thirty-two? I think. Things got fuzzy when we left.”
“Can you still have children?”
Sunny snorted. “In our family, she has another fourteen years at least.”
Emgoth blinked. “You are only thirty-two? I thought you were seventy at least.”
“Nope. I am twice the breeding age for my own people. Well, almost.”
He looked at her. “So, my children are...”
“Way older than I am, yet I contribute to their educations.” She winked.
Ariget laughed. “I should have set you up with one of our boys.”
Cloudy snorted. “I would have chewed them up and spit them out, metaphorically.”
Ariget looked at her. “I think you might.”
Cloudy smirked.
