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She nodded and headed inside, and he watched her go.
The deer nosed his back.
“Can you blame me?” he asked it as he turned back, knowing it couldn’t answer.
“Did you call for me, sir?” a stable droid asked, rolling over to him on its thick treads.
He hadn’t, but he was glad to see the droid.
“The stag has been pulling all afternoon and evening,” he told it. “I’d like for him to have the works - a snack, a nice brushing, and dinner with as much water as he likes.”
“Very good, sir,” the droid replied.
Jhon flipped a credit to it.
The droid caught the chip out of the air with an arm that slid out of a hidden compartment in his chest, then pulled it back inside and made a slight bowing motion.
“Thank you, sir,” he said.
“There will be another in the morning if he appears as well rested as I’d like him to be,” Jhon said.
“Not a worry, sir,” the droid said. “I’ll see to him myself.”
Feeling reasonably sure he had done right by the animal, Jhon gave it a pat on the rump as he headed back to the front of the inn.
Delicious smells emanated from the door, making his belly rumble. He was looking forward to a good meal after the day’s work. And a bit of food in his belly might help him resist the siren song of the woman who could not be his mate.
Inside, he could hear the proprietor reading someone the riot act.
“…folks like you think it’s a lark to come to a frontier like this one and post it on your feeds,” a reedy male voice was yelling. “But it’s not all fun and games, and ‘amazing’ shots of mammoths and floating islands. It’s dangerous here. And your kind makes it more dangerous for the rest of us when you’re out there making all kinds of noise and riling up the wildlife.”
Jhon came around the corner to find the night manager yelling at the girl, who held a very frightened-looking Bo in her arms.
Fury rose inside him, and it took his years of soldier’s discipline to keep it in check.
“Seems to me the only one making all kinds of noise around here is you,” Jhon said with a practiced laziness.
“S-sir,” the night manager stammered, suddenly turning away from the girl and straightening up. “H-how may I help you?”
“You can start by showing a little respect to my traveling companions,” Jhon said.
“My apologies, sir,” the man said. “I didn’t know they were with you.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t give them a chance to say who they were,” Jhon told them. “If you had, they would have told you they’re immigrants, here to start a new life, same as you.”
He let the last three words hang in the air, in a way that unmistakably implied he knew the night manager wouldn’t have needed to start a new life if he’d been living his old one right.
“How lovely,” the man said quickly. “And how may I be of service to you all tonight?”
“We would like to check into our rooms and freshen up,” Jhon said smoothly. “Then dinner, and plenty of it. Reservation is under the Alien Adoption Agency.”
The man scurried off for keys, and handed over an old-fashioned metal ring.
“Best rooms we have,” he said, giving a little bow. “Supper is in twenty minutes, but we can hold your plates in the warmer, if you need more time.”
Jhon didn’t answer, he only gestured to the hall, and the girl headed down it quickly, as if she was afraid the manager would change his mind.
He tried to hide his smile, though there was no one to see it. For all her beautiful gown and soft hands, she wasn’t trying to put on airs and hide that she was eager for her dinner. And Jhon liked a woman with an appetite.
