The air was heavily scented with flowers and incense, and loud music blaring as the the Festival of Seven Fruits took off. Still,Tena couldn’t help but sense that something was wrong. There was something that all the festivity on this side of the planet was covering up. He made sure that Nage kept the ship on standby just in case. To be frank, the only reason they landed here was because Nage wanted at least one of the fruit puddings but since her people weren’t necessarily liked amongst the Beruma, she stayed off in the ship and entrusted Tena with the task of getting her a pack.

Orange field flowers strung in garlands hung from the balconies, and the further he got, the more the smell of sweets became prominent. In the square, one of four that dotted Beru, there were a set of six girls dancing in a ring around a group of drummers. He had heard about the famed dancing girls, and he could see why they were famed. 

He settled back against the columns of one building and watched with a crook to his lip. One of the girls, similar to him with her black hair and brown eyes, made eye contact with him. Like the rest of the Beruma, she had those noticeable frills on her neck. You could apparently tell a lot about a Beru based on the colour of their frills. It was also a reason they spent more time jewelling their arms and legs rather than their necks. Since the frill was their defense but also technically its own cosmetic, it wasn’t necessary. 

“Is that why they’re called the Bells?” Tena realized, noting the shape of the frills on the girl’s neck, but also how her bracelets and anklets sounded like small chimes as she danced. She maintained eye contact with him, until came the time where each of the young girls would choose a man from the crowd. The six put their frills on full display, the cartilage strong as it splayed from their neck. 

They went for other Beru men, notably not for Tena which he found disappointing. He figured that the girl would’ve at least come to see him, but she called to another man whose scarf she used to dance with him.

Frustrated with his prospects, he got up from the column and carried on walking through the square until h found one of the stalls that actually sold the fruit puddings. He figured to get a box of them, since Nage could refrigerate them and eat them as she wanted to. The poor girl, she had been molting again and so hadn’t been eating. Her water hatch had somehow broken so it wasn’t as warm as needed to help the skin loosen. So, she had to take regular showers and there were still parts on her tail and torso that needed to be exfoliated afterwards. 

Brel could relate to her there, the man was legitimately a bipedal beetle. 

Tena pulled out the chipped card, handing it to the man to pay for a box of the puddings before someone leaned on the wall next to the stall. Turning, it was the girl who was smiling at him sheepishly:

“You are a very pretty man,” she smiled, her frills shaking slightly. 

“Nice compliment, what do you want?”

She dropped the act, her frills falling and folding over her neck. 

“The Lord would like to see your crew,” she admitted bitterly, “rude.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I didn’t give fal-”

“The Lord will like to see your crew for a mission, and you’ll have enough money to pay for all the fruit cakes you want.”

“How do you even know I have a crew?”

“Simple, “ she shrugged, “we found your ship and it's currently docked at the keep with your crew. We just got the report a few minutes ago while you were being a crybaby.”

“I beg your pardon,” Tena spat, “I am not a crybaby.”

“Yes, and you asked about that first instead of your friends.”

She was practically on the edge of laughter seeing how Tena’s face, about three or so palettes lighter than hers, was reddening so quickly. He would’ve fought her there but he was well-versed in Beru customs, and women were held in very high regard unless they were foreign - then they were just standard women instead of Beruma Women.

“Where are they?”

The woman raised her brow, gawking at Tena as though he had just spoken Zoric:

“Are you stupid?” She asked, “like, really, are you the runt of the litter? I just told you they’re at the keep.”

 Luckily, the girl let him by the food first since he was going to see Nage regardless. Upon entering the, what he called, ‘council’ room - he was met with a few key things:

A soldier was anxiously staring at Nage’s tail. Brel was happily munching at a piece of bark they got him. Nage was death staring the ‘Lord, who death stared back - and despite the multitude of chairs in the room, the latter didn’t seem to acknowledge their existence.

“Ah, finally, a literate person,” the Lord sighed with relief, breaking the contact with Nage who glared at his back when he turned. He bid that Tena should sit down, and he was about to kindly refuse until the girl pushed him down by his shoulder. An uncanny amount of strength, that surprised him a great deal. 

“Now that the team is together,” the Lord steepled his fingers, “we have some matters to discuss.”

“Make it quick, Beh,” Nage spat the derogatory term, crossing her arms over her chest. Brel seemed to be only minutely aware of the conflict around him, still happily chomping at the wood. 

“In a moment, eggslinger,” the Lord waved dismissively, “now, you are the famous Tena.”

“You’ve heard of me?”

“Not all good things,” he simply responded, “but enough that proves to be interesting. Since we do not get many mercenaries here, I leapt to the chance when I heard.”

“So you need us,” Nage smiled crookedly at that. 

“You’re expendable weight, let’s just say that,” the Lord smiled back, his grin ts toothy and sharp as hers. It was like watching two cats fight over food. 

“Speaking of,” Tena thought, before subtly waving at Nage. The snake-woman looked at him, and he happily pointed at the box of sweet treats he bought. She smiled in turn, before glaring back at the Lord who had forgotten about her existence entirely. 

“I have a son who was kidnapped,” the Lord explained, “He’s still alive, fortunately, and he’s more valuable to them than ransom.”

“On what grounds?”

“Venom,” Nage and the Lord responded simultaneously. Begrudgingly, the Lord nodded in agreement:

“The venom produced by the Beru is notably used in homeopathic remedies and certain,” he coughed, “substances. As a result, he’s a valuable asset for the drug trade. You can imagine that a prince disappearing in the Northern Regions during democratic…”

Nage scoffed, and the Lord only spared her a narrow side-glance:

“Democratic negotiations is not altogether good for business.”

“So again, you’re dependent on us,” Tena smiled cheekily, the Lord only chuckled in response.

 He put a hand on Tena’s shoulder, his nails the same pale ivory as the walls:

“I could have you all disembowelled now if I wanted,” he smiled, “you are expendable weight. My people are more valuable than you, and what is a human compared to a valuable venom in the drug trade?”

“So…”

“Your payment will be generous,” the Lord seemed to sense the concern, “but we will have to negotiate on my terms. Likewise, your supplies will be provided since you won’t have any money from us at the get-go.”

“Five as a deposit,” Nage growled, and the Lord only smiled at her.

“Snake people, can you imagine?”