Micansen’s lips trembled. “What am I to do? I offended an Elder, Tom!”
“Dear friend, be calm. Take of bis tia.”
“Pah! I can’t take herbs! What if she changes her mind and calls for me?”
Tom laughed. “Know you how many missions I served, and if I had impairment, I hid it? Take one leaf of bis tia. He only affects if you help him. Breathe in. Trust you me?”
“With my life!” But he looked at that tiny, green leaf Tom held between two fingercorners of one hand, as if it were poison.
“Breathe in.”
He did, and Tom let go. When the leaf went in, Micansen coughed! “Oh, I am rude!” He covered his mouth.
“My friend, you are Zheien now. You feel guilt, eae? We must nae ever touch the mouth. I think Pirad gave you the Protocols, but did not explain--
“I’m Elshar! I don’t see how all any of those rules apply to me! My mind is still Elshar.”
“O, but minds control bodies, and have effects. Nae touch, my friend.” Tom pulled on his hand until his trembling fingers didn’t touch his lips. He wasn’t as pale yellow, then. “Feel difference? Eae, your mind is Elshar, but I think you need to follow the Protocols. Severe unwells come to any Zheien who nae follows them.”
“But, what if I somehow court her? How will I kiss her?”
Tom got very orange in his face. “You think to survive it? And, if you kiss her and leave your lips long, lips nae know lips from foods!” He paled!
Micansen cried! “Then, I can never marry? This is not fair!”
I touched his wrist. “Council member Micansen, I married a Zheien. You may marry her, but she will learn, as I did, that I can not act Earthan. I must take care with my husband that I do not harm him. If she loves you, she will learn. Zheien love is enough.”
“But, what is Zheien love?”
Oh, my face burned, but I let him see just a glimpse of Tom having bellsongs. We laughed like two children! Somehow, a Zheien’s chest makes music like a bell choir, harmonies and all. We just hugged, without taking our clothes off. Tom’ll be mad at me! But, he’ll forgive me.
Micansen’s eyes turned black. My father did that with Zheien! He went to Ih Esta and they killed him! Doesn’t it hurt them to do that? They all died!
When a Zheien man loves a woman, and she’s not giving him slaver herbs to make him feel more, he is healthier, and I think I was, too. Love is healthy. What tenters do, that’s not love.
His eyes turned very light. “Then, I have hope, without giving up my Zheien body?”
“You’ll have to talk to her. Pirad can undo it, if she can’t handle it, can’t he?”
Micansen sighed and it rumbled on us. “I suppose—what’s that?”
“My friend, when we are unhappy, there is vibration that travels. Becky calls it a rumble.” He smiled at me. He’s not mad? His eyes were serious blue, though. His face was very orange.
“I’ve noticed that, but I didn’t realize you did it! I just wanted stronger telepathy so I can work better.”
“Pirad gave me stronger telepathy, and I’m still Earthan.”
“But, I like this body! I feel strong.”
“He said he could give me traits of other species—”
“Everything feels different in this body, as if I have new senses. I don’t want to give that up. Maybe I can understand some of the complaints of my Zheien traders, if I can feel what they feel.”
Tom nodded. “I will nae try to talk you into going back into an Elshar body. Let us concentrate on teaching you how nae to harm yourself! How are your feet?”
“My feet? They are a little sore from stumbling. How did you learn to be graceful, with such long toes?” He frowned and his eyes went a shade darker.
Galarpah waved for the blanket to vanish and gasped. Micansen’s feet were bleeding! “My son, you must take care with your feet—”
“It’s just a little blood! I’ll put some varas on them tonight. And take some rongahi—”
Galarpah gasped louder than Tom did! “You must nae ever take rongahi! Pain increases until sight leaves!”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“But, I always took rongahi—”
“Herbs will nae affect you as they would an Elshar!” Galarpah waved and held a yellow pyramid. “These are a diplomat’s herbs. Use a containment when you touch. Zheien skin absorbs. But, for ea fae, you need nae containment.” He stroked the bottom and white foam came out. Smell him. The scent calms.”
Micansen took a tentative sniff. His eyes went light, but they drooped. “I can’t do that! That’s like fostok!”
Galarpah frowned. “If you feel strong effect, you have injury! Let me see you.” His eyes went much darker when he touched Micansen’s forehead. “How long had you mind pain?”
“What’s that? My telepathy doesn’t hurt—”
“Where is pain? Show me.”
He rubbed his left temple. Galarpah’s eyes went black! Spent a long time feeling his head from front to back. Saw him three times. Most healers, I noticed, since we sat in healers’ chambers, only went once.
“What do you see?”
“First, let me heal these toes!” He got a lot more ea fae and gently spread it over his toes.
“Oh, that’s better!”
“I am nae finished. Rest, my son.” He pushed him back into the leiwege and spent several minutes pulling on the toes. They didn’t have blood on ‘em now.
He frowned as he pulled a foot straight, and it twisted slightly, up his calf. Or, what would be a calf on me. “Did you have foot problems, as Elshar?”
“Pirad healed me. Once, I had terrible pains in my ankles and knees, and both hips.”
He sighed. “My son, you had old injuries of mine poisons. Here there are nae, but harms followed us. Pirad can heal fresh injuries very well, but even he has limitations to his healing. Eae, your feet feel well, but your mind tells them to twist, and so they do. You must work at keeping them straight, if you can.” He pulled them straight and held them.
“That doesn’t feel right.” He frowned.
“This is because poisons of our mines cause one to clinch the feet. I think is nae possible to prevent, but if you exercise in this way, you can cause less twisting, over time. Learn to think of this as the right way.” He untwisted them again.
“What difference does it make? If I’m not thinking about untwisting my legs, they’ll just twist anyway!”
Tom paled. Looked at his legs. “Should I do this also, Galarpah?”
“Eae. All of us. I asked Fa about speaking to us, and he feels as you, Micansen. He thinks it futile. But I asked of Via and he said to advise all of it, only privately, so as nae to upset Fa. He has too many upsets, Tom. I fear to lose him!”
“All of us fear to lose him! But he is only middle. Perhaps he lives to old age.” Tom smiled at him.
Galarpah sighed and didn’t say anything else about it.
Micansen stretched his legs out and tried to hold them straight. They didn’t quite go that far without Galarpah, so he put his hands back. “So much to learn! But I’ll remember because Zheien remember.
“I touched all of our traders’ minds and their biggest concern is food. They don’t believe the server’s count.”
Tom waved up a screen.
Galarpah frowned. “I did nae finish telling you of your health, Micansen.”
He waited. Micansen poked a few icons on his display and sighed. “I guess you will tell me I will still have the ache after trading.”
“Nae only after trading! My son, you can nae touch the minds of every trader daily! You will have injury—”
“I touch more than that every time I trade! I can’t match a Zheien, but I have many friends who will still trade with me, now that we left.”
“You cannot trade as you did, whether you are Zheien or let Pirad make you Elshar again.”
His eyes turned black again. “Why? Pirad healed me—”
“Do you know that when Pirad reclones one, he must see you after any injury? Recloning gives better health, but also is easy to harm yourself! And a Zheien can harm himself worse than an Elshar, in a thousand ways!”
Micansen nodded hard. “But, I saw my traders rise after Elshar attacks and trade! A man isn’t hurt if he can trade.” Elshars attacked? What?
“This is an untruth that Mashai traders spread. A man can trade after injury and gain worse harms! All Elshars trade until they gain injury, then go home and think, I will sleep. Why think you that Nitomahan told all of our traders to gather in the green to trade, with healers near?”
“He is a kind man, and wishes us to have healing for our aches after long trading—”
“Do you know of injuries to the mind? Telepathy can injure as much or even more than a blow! I say to you, Elshars live longer when they have frequent healing, especially after trading, as do Zheien traders!”
“But, I can still trade, and my father beat me daily!”
Galarpah went white. “Did you learn to hide from him, to hide injuries from him?”
“Esta ay! When I went to Sigan Mas, I made friends with Zheien Diplomatics students and learned what they learned!”
“Rest your head. I must see you again—”
“But we have to talk about important things—”
“Did your brother also hurt you?”
Micansen paled! “He—” Suddenly, he grimaced and jerked both hands above his ears!
“Ejis fae naea! Rest, my son. I have you.” Galarpah pulled his head against his chest. Looked to the tapestry up front.
Pirad came running. “He has terminals!”
Terminals?
Pirad clicked his face into frozen dismay. Put his five-fingered hands at the sides of his head. Clicked into a deep frown. “These are unusual. I never saw this kind. Let me take him to my lab.” He and Micansen vanished!