Page 20 of Phoenix's Fire

"So," Rymar said, slowing his words as if talking to an imbecile, "that means we're covering for her. If she wants to buy her friend something, we can make sure she has the funds, right? No different than if Kanik wants something, I'll make sure he has it."

I lifted my gaze, meeting Rymar's across the coffee table. "Have you told her you're rich?"

"She doesn't understand rich," he countered.

"Have you told her?" I asked again.

But Kanik broke in. "Why, Zasen? If Ayla doesn't understand, then why bring it up?"

"Listen to him," I told Kanik. "He's talking about her like she's his partner. Same way he talks about you."

"Or you," Rymar added almost defensively.

"Like family," I clarified, finally letting my little smirk show. "Seems the friendship isn't as innocent as you like to pretend, my friend."

"Fuck off," Rymar grumbled. "It is. I'm just trying to takecareof her."

"Mhm," I agreed. "Exactly."

"Regardless," Kanik said, waving that off, "I think you two missed the bigger issue here. Did anyone notice the crowd today? Irrik and his friend pulled that girl off their cart, and people pressed in. They were curious, but it wasn't a mob this time. No one was trying to spit on her the way they did with Ayla."

"And," Rymar said, "they all moved back when Ayla asked. They accepted her explanation that she'd handle it. They seemed happy to have a new refugee. Well, most of them."

"How many still hate the idea of us letting a Mole girl live here?" I asked.

Rymar rocked his head from one side to the other. "Enough. One in ten? Maybe fewer? Zasen, after Drozel said she saved his life? Ayla's a Dragon. Boris made a scene when he gave her that sign die. Having Boris's approval swayed a lot of minds. Having Drozel's and yours? That's most of the rest. That she picked up a gun and destroyed the hunting party?"

"And she figured out the calendars," Kanik reminded me. "We never would've guessed holidays, Zasen. Never mind that we don't celebrate the same ones."

"Most of them," I corrected. "Seems there are a few overlaps. Still, my question is if it's safe for Jeera to walk that girl across town every day?"

"She needs it, right?" Kanik asked.

I murmured at that. "She needs to befed. She needs some medical care. What she needs is to learn she's not going to get abused by every man she sees, and that includes those of us with tails. I think walking would be good for her, and it would certainly help build the muscles she'll need when she goes into labor, but I think setting her at ease is even more important."

"So we let Ayla walk over there," Rymar said. "She's never left the south side of town. Well, not further than the town stage, at least."

"The church," Kanik corrected. "Jeera took her over there too."

"But what about a guardian?" I asked. "Guys, I'm not always going to be able to walk with her, not if I'm harvesting meat for us, them, Mom, and my clients."

"I'll be in class during the day soon," Kanik added.

Rymar hummed in thought. "So is this why you're poking fun at me for liking that girl?"

"Is that an admission?" I taunted.

"As afriend," Rymar insisted. "Is this your lead-up to having me walk her over there?"

"Not intentionally," I assured him, "but it would help. She's doing well enough with a bow now, so I'm taking her hunting occasionally, but not always. She's better, but she can't quite keep up in the forest yet."

"Not with you," Kanik corrected. "She's as good as I am, though."

I canted my head, because he'd just made my point. "And now that Meri's here, she'll want to see her. Ayla wants to spend more time with Saveah, too. For the first time in her life, she has more to do with herself than simply chores. She deserves to have fun, and I think that if we can figure out how to make Ayla's life easy, it will do nothing but help Meri in the long run."

"We can't keep both of them," Kanik reminded me.

"Nope," I agreed. "I happen to be rather fond of the one we have. I also think these girls are a hell of a lot stronger than they know. Meri deserves a fresh start. She hasn't realized it yet, but she's beginning a whole new life, and this one should be good. But Meri is going to follow Ayla's lead. That means we need to ask Ayla what she likes, what she wants, and what her plans are for things. Most of all, we need to make sure Ayla will actually protect herself from the men in Lorsa if anyone tries to give her a hard time. Meri will see all of that and realize she actually gets to choose for herself. We need to make sure our girl can make mistakes without repercussions and both of them will grow."

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