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Sunny contributed, “Besides, she’s been making eyes at that guardian Hazor.”
Cloudy froze.
Emgoth laughed. “Yeah, he was pretty intent on you.”
Sunny laughed. “That would explain the kiss.”
Emgoth and Ariget frowned. “What’s a kiss?”
Sunny explained. “Human mating ritual to gauge interest. A contact between lips.”
Cloudy hissed. “Stop being helpful. I still don’t know why he did that.”
Ariget chuckled. “Hazor’s uncle is mated to one of your people. His sister Hazda works with the guardians as well, over on Vecchin.”
“Sister. Right.”
“They are the grandchildren of Vecchin. Until recently, they were the only ones, but now there is another grandson. Vecchin is delighted. The new baby has wings.”
“Hazor doesn’t have wings.”
“No, neither does Mekked, the overseer of Vecchin. But he and his wife have a son with wings, and she has developed an activation of tremendous strength.” Ariget grinned. “Vecchin has been looking for other humans with the classification he needs.”
Cloudy froze. “What classification?”
“Hmrain compatible.”
She exhaled in relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I am definitely not.”
Sunny called out, “And yet, you are still being courted.”
“Shut up, Sunny.”
Her brother cackled, and Emgoth walked around and looked at the stall. “There is only a little damage.”
“I know. All of those upgrades really paid off.”
Emgoth smiled. “I can see it’s in good hands for a few more days. Ariget is going to fuss over me.”
“She’s going to read you the riot act for leaving your territory without your trusty partner.”
Ariget snorted. “What could you have done?”
“You would be surprised,” Sunny called out. “Cloudy, they are coming.”
She chuckled and nodded to her partner and his wife. “Sorry, but some of us have to work today.”
Ariget grinned, and she and Emgoth got in line. Cloudy grinned and took her station after scrubbing her hands.
The folks in line cheered, and she got to work. Emgoth and Ariget got their meals, and to Cloudy’s amusement, they looked like they were on a date.
Locals came by, talked to Emgoth, asked him about what happened, and when two of them pulled back with shocked expressions, they took their meals and headed for their buildings. Half an hour later, Emgoth was surrounded by managers who wanted details. He sighed and explained, and their expressions grew dark. Emgoth looked over to her and beckoned, and when she could hand it over to Sunny, she walked out and talked with the managers.
They each said, “We are hiring security personnel for you until this is resolved. On our companies.”
“What? Why?”
“This stall has increased the health and well-being of our staff. We appreciate it. Until we are sure you and your stall will be safe, we want to assist with security.”
