Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“We’ll get the morning meal in the waters,” he says. “Put your dress in one of the bags.”
I’m not swimming with it on? The realization catches me by surprise, and then I feel foolish. Why would I? He wears as little as possible, so it makes sense that I’d do the same. My dress will just get in the way of swimming anyhow. I try not to feel vulnerable as I pull it off and fold it into a tidy square. He leans over one of the bags and unties the strange knots, then gestures that I should put my rags inside.
“Can I ask you something?” I glance up at him.
“Can I stop you?”
“You can by being grouchy, but then I’ll remain woefully ignorant,” I say, changing my tone of voice to a grave one. “Better to get the questions out of the way rather than deal with the consequences of a foolish and useless wife.”
His mouth twitches. “Ask, then.”
“Why are your bags tied like this? With two knots and the leather in the middle? And a dry fish on the end? I cannot figure it out.” I gesture at the heaps of bags surrounding us in the tent. “And it’s been driving me mad.”
Ranan’s eyes light up with realization and he lets out a rusty-sounding chuckle. “I suppose it would be confusing to a human.”
“Or anyone with eyes.”
“Or anyone with eyes,” he agrees, sounding far more agreeable this morning. “The seakind always bag their goods. A turtle’s back is broad, but if Akara is threatened, she will submerge herself. It’s rare because her kind love the sunshine, but it has happened. If she does go under, anything upon her will spill into the waters.”
“I see.” I study the bags with greater understanding now. “So you’re making sure that your valuables are easy to find should Akara dump them into the water?”
Ranan nods. “The bags are heavy and will still sink, but finding one large bag instead of twenty necklaces is much easier.”
It makes sense. I touch the strange knots. “Why the double-tie, then? Does it have a purpose? And the dead fish?”
“The double tie is to prevent as much water as possible from going into the bag itself. Not everything does well when exposed to seawater.” He crouches next to one of the bags and shows it to me. “The top is knotted and then knotted again and then twisted below and tied with a cord directly under the leather oilcloth. One set of knots will not keep the seawater out, but twisting the bag and adding a second set helps.”
Interesting.
“As for the fish…” He picks one up and taps on it. The surface is hard like a child’s leather ball, and nearly as spherical. “This kind puffs itself to look fearsome to predators. We dry them when they are bloated and they float. With a bag tied to it, even if the weight of the goods keeps the bag on the sea floor, the fish will drift above it and make it easier to spot.”
“So it’s like a marker. How very clever. I understand now. I thought you were just, well, I actually didn’t know what to think.”
His expression is hard. “Just because we do not live in cities does not mean we are fools.”
“Cities certainly have their share of fools as well, no worries about that.” I touch the bag, trying to follow the complex knots. “I wasn’t saying your way was wrong. It’s just very different from mine. I’m going to have a lot of questions as I get used to your lifestyle. Please don’t take it the wrong way. I’m not defending my people. They enslaved me twice and caved the moment the Aventine army showed up on our doorstep. They can all rot as far as I’m concerned. But it’s also the only way I know.”
He grunts acknowledgment.
“Yours is the first turtle I’ve ever seen, much less lived upon.” I give him a rueful smile. “Are they all as big as this one?”
Ranan’s expression softens at the mention of his turtle. “Hamarii are big, yes, but Akara is large for her age. She’s fierce, too. I’ll introduce you to her but don’t approach her head unless I’m with you.”
Well that’s not terrifying at all. “No worries about that. Anything else I should do so she doesn’t eat me?”
“She won’t eat you. She doesn’t eat people.”
“You never know, I could be a particularly tasty woman, all nice and juicy.” I let a little flirtiness into my voice.
“I don’t eat people either.” Ranan’s tone grows hard. “My people are not monsters.”
“That-that wasn’t what I meant—”
He glares at me and gets to his feet, then flicks a hand indicating I should follow after him. “Come. You need to learn to swim.”
How is it that I manage to offend him constantly?