Stepping carefully over his own pile he
trotted over to Jack and put in the few he still had in his hands.
"Grib's pile is the biggest—we'll get those first."
"But—" Jack said, still bewildered as he let Noy lead him over
toward the twin Jantris. "Isn't this your day off?"
"Sure," Noy said. He turned his head away from Jack and coughed.
"But it's your day off, too. We wanted to help you."
"We saw what happened," Maerlynn explained as Noy carefully
scooped up Grib's pile of berries and laid them gently in the bowl. "It
isn't fair to punish you for a rule you didn't know."
Jack stared down at Noy as the boy moved to Greb's pile and
started gathering the berries into his hands. Selfishness between
thieves and con men was something he knew very well. Help between
soldiers he could sort of understand—after all, their lives might
depend on each other.
But none of the slaves working here had a single thing to gain by
helping him out. In fact, it could well be exactly the opposite. "Won't
you get in trouble?" he asked. "I mean, that Brummga wanted me to sweat all day."
"Maybe that's what he wanted ," Maerlynn said. "What he said was that you had to bring in a full bowl of berries if you wanted to
eat. He never said you had to fill the bowl yourself."
"But that's what he meant," Jack argued. "Don't get me wrong—I
appreciate the help. But I don't want to get you into trouble."
Maerlynn smiled, an oddly sad look on her face. "We're already
slaves, Jack," she said gently. "How much worse trouble could we be in?"
Lots worse , the obvious answer flashed through Jack's mind.
But for once in his life, he had the sense to keep his mouth shut.
These people all knew the risk they were taking for him. They were
taking it anyway. "Thank you," he murmured instead.
"We have to stick together," Maerlynn said quietly. "If we don't
look out for each other, who else will?"
"No one, I guess," Jack said, thinking about what Lisssa had said
once about charity and looking out for yourself.
Lisssa herself, naturally, was nowhere to be seen.
"So let's get a move on," Maerlynn said firmly. "It's our day off.
Let's get this finished and go relax."
With all those hands, and with only one bowl to fill, they were
done in less than half an hour. "And that's that," Maerlynn said as
Jack dropped in the final handful. Right to the line, he confirmed with
a sort of guilty satisfaction, and not a single berry over.
"Now we'll put them inside the hut, under your bed, until the
Brummgas come to pick them up," Maerlynn said as they all trooped back
to the colony. The place was starting to come alive, Jack noted, with
several of the slaves moving about. "And then we'll be done for the
day."
"So what does everyone do on Tenthday?" Jack asked. "Aside from
laundry, I mean," he added as he spotted a pair of Compfrin females
carrying grimy-looking bundles.
"In the morning we mostly just rest," Noy said, pausing to cough.
That cough had been getting worse all morning, Jack had noted uneasily.
It was starting to sound wet, too, as if fluid was gathering in his
lungs. "In the afternoon we usually play games," the boy went on. "Some
of the grownups like to carve or make things out of wood."
"There are often repairs that need to be attended to," Maerlynn
said. "Beds sometimes fall apart, or some of the cooking or serving
equipment breaks. The Brummgas aren't very good about maintaining this
end of their land."
"You like chopball?" Greb asked. "We're going to play some later."
"Haven't ever played," Jack said. "But I had an idea for something
else we might do. You said you and your brother had your hatchday
coming up, right?"
"Right," Grib said. "We'll be sixteen. Almost adults."
"We're already molting," Greb added proudly, running a finger
across his chest. "We should have all our adult feathers before we're
seventeen."
"A lot of Jantris don't even start getting their feathers until
they're seventeen," Grib said. "That's what Maerlynn said. She reads
trotted over to Jack and put in the few he still had in his hands.
"Grib's pile is the biggest—we'll get those first."
"But—" Jack said, still bewildered as he let Noy lead him over
toward the twin Jantris. "Isn't this your day off?"
"Sure," Noy said. He turned his head away from Jack and coughed.
"But it's your day off, too. We wanted to help you."
"We saw what happened," Maerlynn explained as Noy carefully
scooped up Grib's pile of berries and laid them gently in the bowl. "It
isn't fair to punish you for a rule you didn't know."
Jack stared down at Noy as the boy moved to Greb's pile and
started gathering the berries into his hands. Selfishness between
thieves and con men was something he knew very well. Help between
soldiers he could sort of understand—after all, their lives might
depend on each other.
But none of the slaves working here had a single thing to gain by
helping him out. In fact, it could well be exactly the opposite. "Won't
you get in trouble?" he asked. "I mean, that Brummga wanted me to sweat all day."
"Maybe that's what he wanted ," Maerlynn said. "What he said was that you had to bring in a full bowl of berries if you wanted to
eat. He never said you had to fill the bowl yourself."
"But that's what he meant," Jack argued. "Don't get me wrong—I
appreciate the help. But I don't want to get you into trouble."
Maerlynn smiled, an oddly sad look on her face. "We're already
slaves, Jack," she said gently. "How much worse trouble could we be in?"
Lots worse , the obvious answer flashed through Jack's mind.
But for once in his life, he had the sense to keep his mouth shut.
These people all knew the risk they were taking for him. They were
taking it anyway. "Thank you," he murmured instead.
"We have to stick together," Maerlynn said quietly. "If we don't
look out for each other, who else will?"
"No one, I guess," Jack said, thinking about what Lisssa had said
once about charity and looking out for yourself.
Lisssa herself, naturally, was nowhere to be seen.
"So let's get a move on," Maerlynn said firmly. "It's our day off.
Let's get this finished and go relax."
With all those hands, and with only one bowl to fill, they were
done in less than half an hour. "And that's that," Maerlynn said as
Jack dropped in the final handful. Right to the line, he confirmed with
a sort of guilty satisfaction, and not a single berry over.
"Now we'll put them inside the hut, under your bed, until the
Brummgas come to pick them up," Maerlynn said as they all trooped back
to the colony. The place was starting to come alive, Jack noted, with
several of the slaves moving about. "And then we'll be done for the
day."
"So what does everyone do on Tenthday?" Jack asked. "Aside from
laundry, I mean," he added as he spotted a pair of Compfrin females
carrying grimy-looking bundles.
"In the morning we mostly just rest," Noy said, pausing to cough.
That cough had been getting worse all morning, Jack had noted uneasily.
It was starting to sound wet, too, as if fluid was gathering in his
lungs. "In the afternoon we usually play games," the boy went on. "Some
of the grownups like to carve or make things out of wood."
"There are often repairs that need to be attended to," Maerlynn
said. "Beds sometimes fall apart, or some of the cooking or serving
equipment breaks. The Brummgas aren't very good about maintaining this
end of their land."
"You like chopball?" Greb asked. "We're going to play some later."
"Haven't ever played," Jack said. "But I had an idea for something
else we might do. You said you and your brother had your hatchday
coming up, right?"
"Right," Grib said. "We'll be sixteen. Almost adults."
"We're already molting," Greb added proudly, running a finger
across his chest. "We should have all our adult feathers before we're
seventeen."
"A lot of Jantris don't even start getting their feathers until
they're seventeen," Grib said. "That's what Maerlynn said. She reads
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