Varian propped herself up on one elbow. “Whatever it is, I’m starving.”
“Lunzie mixed a bit of everything you brought in and it turned out very tasty indeed,” Triv said, filling a smoke hardened fruit shell with the mixture. He presented this to Varian and, with a flourish, added a rudely carved wooden spoon.
“The amenities of home have improved.” Varian made an appreciative chuckle. “How’s Kai?”
she asked in a quieter tone. Although Kai was propped up, he was far too passive for her liking.
“We started to revive Portegin,” Triv said, squatting beside Varian so his body shielded her from those at the fire. “Kai’s still feverish. Says some kind of giant fringe attacked him. He’s not recovering as well as Lunzie would like,” he said in a quick whisper, then raised his voice to a normal level. “Kai thinks that once we have the matrix slabs from the other sleds, we can rig communications, probably patch most of what Paskutti smashed.”
“I was hoping that we could, Triv.” Varian tasted the stew then began to devour it as fast as she could. “This is delicious!” It was natural then for her to get up and join the two at the fire, and natural for her to pause by Kai before refilling her bowl. His color and the lassitude were alarming, and the smile he gave her was strained. “You look much better than when I last saw you.”
Kai gave a derisive snort. “I can’t have looked much worse than I feel now.”
“Why?” Varian went for a light touch. “Didn’t you like the purple moss Divisti grew just to cure your fever?”
47
Anne McCaffrey – Dinosaur Planet II – The Survivors Kai grimaced in such disgust that the others laughed.
“It makes a very effective antipyretic.” Lunzie broke off with a wry grin. “I wonder what Divisti’s reaction would be if she knew how much it was going to help us.” Then she turned to Varian, with no humor in her gaze. “You did say, last night, that we’d cold-slept forty-three years?”
“I’d have told the rest of my news if I hadn’t been so rudely interrupted,” she said with a sour glance at Lunzie who only grinned back.
“You did fall asleep at a crucial point,” the medic said. “Are any of the mutineers still alive?”
“Only one. Tanegli.”
“You met him?” Kai asked.
“No. I met a sturdy young man named Aygar. An accomplished young fellow who was busy killing a fang-face with a barbed metal spear.”
Kai made an expression of utter disgust. “Accomplished?”
“His strategy was good,” said Varian, seeing no point in going into needlessly distressing detail.
“Do you know if they’re in the secondary camp?”
“They abandoned that for a more suitable site.”
“Where was Divisti’s garden then?” Kai’s tone was querulous.
“I’ll start from the beginning—”
“When you’ve finished that second bowl,” Lunzie said firmly.
Varian ate with indecorous haste and pleasure, glad of the opportunity to organize her thoughts.
Feeling revitalized as she scraped up the last of the tasty stew, she began her account of the previous day’s incidents with the unexpected escort of the giffs.
The listeners, and gradually Portegin became aware enough to listen, too, did not interrupt with questions, letting her narrative flow. Lunzie’s eyes had a malicious sparkle as Varian gave a very brief account of overpowering the young Aygar, adding that he’d just finished a rather exhausting race to out distance an enraged fang-face. Varian noticed that Kai frowned over that show of strength. Well, perhaps she should have restrained her actions there but she sincerely doubted she’d ever catch Aygar unawares again, or best him. All four listeners, commended her for posing as a representative of a new expedition in search of the first. The only hazard to that blatant lie would be a confrontation with Tangelli.
“But he’s reported to be frail and not expected to live much longer,” Varian said.
“Let us devoutly hope he is not included in the party you meet then.” Lunzie brought her brows together. “What I do not understand is why he, one of the oldest of the heavyworlders, has survived when the younger ones, like Bakkun and Berru, are dead.”