Page 9 of Vikingr
"Gone?"
"That is all I will say on the subject. Now speak. Tell me about Peritan females."
Before I could find out more, a gong sounded and the air began to sparkle above the table. Two tall horn-shaped glasses shimmered into existence, materialising rather than growing out of the metal. Njal waited until a second gong echoed through the room before he took one of the glasses. He didn't take a sip or two. He slurped it all down in big gulps.
Clearly, alien Vikings didn't have table manners.
I realised how thirsty I was.
"Is this safe for humans? Peritans, I mean?"
Njal looked taken aback. "Do you think I'd poison you?"
"Well, you knocked me out and kidnapped me. Who's to say you don't want to add to your list of crimes?"
He huffed as if I'd offended him. Surely, he could see that he'd not exactly behaved like a gentleman until now?
"It's safe," he grumbled. "Drink."
I gave the clear liquid a sniff. It had no noticeable scent. Water, hopefully. Or something stronger. I could do with some alcohol to soothe my nerves. As soon as the first drop hit my tongue, I gasped. It was water but... purer. The faintest note of vanilla swirled around my tastebuds, warming and refreshing at once. The water tasted as if it had been taken right from the heart of a mountain, unperturbed by human activity.
I drained my glass in one go. As soon as I set it back on the table, it refilled itself. Nifty.
"Do you require food?" Njal asked, looking at me curiously. "How often do Peritans need to be fed?"
"We usually eat three meals a day. Sometimes snacks in between."
The Viking nodded sagely. "Snacks are important."
At least one thing we could agree on.
"What happens if you don't get three meals?" he asked. "How quickly do you wither away?"
Was he planning to make me starve? I should probably lie. Tell him that it would take forever and that there was no point in even trying. That we were virtually indestructible. But that might only challenge him to verify my words. No, the truth was the best path in this case.
"We can go a few days without food, but it's not pleasant. I get very cranky if I don't eat and-"
"Cranky? What is cranky?" He tapped the spot behind his right ear. "My implant is struggling with that expression."
"Grumpy. Testy. Grouchy. Irritable. Any of those translate?"
His eyes lit up in understanding. "You are cranky already. You must not have eaten. I shall provide you with food."
"I am not cranky. I'm angry. Because you abducted me. Big difference."
I was so very tempted to throw my refilled glass at him. But that would mean losing the moral high ground. So I locked away my anger and focused on my drink. One sip at a time. Wash away the fury threatening to boil over. I had to remember that he was stronger than me. Angering him was a bad idea.
"What do Peritans eat?" he asked after a minute or two of silence.
"Where do I even start? Every culture has their own dishes. Some people eat meat, others prefer a plant-based diet. It's very hard to generalise."
"I understand. We don't - didn't - all eat the same things onJörð either. For now, I will instruct the Valkyr's cooking programme to make something from the IGU's database that's Peritan-approved."
He'd clearly come prepared; done his homework. Which wasn't a good sign. If I was a spontaneous abduction, I could maybe convince him that humans weren't good for that sort of thing. But he'd come here specifically, done some research, accessed the information the IGU held on humans.
"Valkyr, make us two portions of that unpronounceable dish you cooked me last night," Njal commanded, turning ever so slightly to the large screen on the wall.
"Aye, captain," a female voice responded.
