Steph's Outcast

"A planet with a hunter-gatherer society?" I offer helpfully.

Daisy runs the stick over her other eye's lashes and then studies her reflection in the “mirror.” "I guess I didn't realize things were quite so primeval. Ugh, god, look at my skin. I look like a handbag. This air is so dry." She touches her cheek, letting out a whimper. "I have to go lotion up again. I'm positively ruddy."

She looks so dismayed and sounds so…shallow. "As a friend, Daisy, can I ask…do you really think constant lotioning and putting on eye makeup is the best use of your time?"

"Yes." Her answer is immediate. She studies her reflection for a bit longer, touching her cheek and then brushing a finger along her nose. "Do I look like I'm freckling to you?"

"Does it matter?"

"Again, yes." Daisy decides to take this time to fluff her hair, working one of her curls into a perfect spiral with her fingers.

I glance over at Sam, torn. This could be my opportunity to talk to her, but I'm also not making much headway with Daisy, who also needs a firm discussion about tribal productivity and how everyone puts in their fair share. I know that Daisy has been trained by her life as someone else's pampered pretend lover, but this really is getting to be a bit much. Others might not be as polite about her…priorities as I am.

Before I can say anything, though, Farli appears, her shaggy dvisti at her side, and Sam gets to her feet. "There you are," Farli says. "Ready to hunt?"

Sam nods, reaching over to scratch at Chompy's long, fuzzy jaw. "Is he coming with us?"

Farli chuckles. "Of course. We will not go far. Mardok will worry if we do." She winks and rubs her belly, which is slightly rounded despite the fact that she's been pregnant for longer than both Willa and Angie and even Elly. Nadine's belly is getting rather huge too, though she's not nearly as big as the others, and she hasn't slowed down in the slightest.

So many babies all at once. So many resonances and then…nothing. It's been a long, quiet six months. I know it bothers the unmated members of Shadow Cat clan. They look at A'tam and U'dron with intense envy and tease them a lot, but I know behind the teasing both O'jek and I'rec are jealous. I know R'jaal of Tall Horn practically wilts every time he sees another happy couple together, which is impossible to get away from lately. Poor guy. I add him to my mental list of people to sit and have a nice chat with.

Sam and Farli walk away, chatting, and I bite back the urge to shove Daisy's soot-stick up her nose or something childish. So much for that. "I guess I won't talk to Sam today."

"So you can fix her?" Daisy chuckles, licking a finger and smoothing her eyebrows. "You can't fix all of our hidden traumas, Steph."

I watch Daisy with newfound respect. Not only does she know what I'm up to, but there's more underneath the surface than I thought. I'd forgotten that under that pretty exterior, Daisy's spent a decade at a near-royal court and knows a lot about watching people. "You think there's hidden trauma?"

Daisy straightens, giving a toss of her lovely red-gold hair. "Of course. Everyone has some sort of secret tragedy they are burying deep. Some are bigger than others, but we've all got something in our past that leaves a nasty scar."

Interesting. Maybe this is the breakthrough with Daisy I need. "What's yours?" I ask boldly, since she seems to be in a chatty mood today.

She winks, all smiles. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to share that just yet. What's yours? Does it have to do with the whole ‘waiting for resonance’ thing?"

So she heard about that, too? I guess everyone knows. Doesn’t matter. Perhaps she'll share if I confess something of mine. "Well…promise not to say?"

"Of course not." Her expression is genuine. "I might not be the brightest girl on this beach, but I can keep a secret."

Interesting that she would denigrate her intelligence while praising another quality. I just make a soft noise in my throat—neither agreement or disagreement, just acknowledgment of her words—and hold the mirror back out to her. She takes it and we head away from the fire so we can talk privately. I pick up my basket and we head for the water's edge. When we're closer to the shore, I glance over at her. "I guess my most recent trauma is that when I first got here, I had a crush on someone. It was…unrequited."

"Steph!" she exclaims. "You never said!"

"What am I going to say?" I laugh. "We're a small community. There's no sense in making everyone uncomfortable." I shrug, the basket resting on my hip. "Besides, it faded pretty fast once I realized it would never be requited. You can't love in a vacuum."