“Big Daddy?” He snorted laughter in her ear, which made Danni grin all over again. “I’m warning you, little girl—don’t make me laugh!”
“I guess we’ll have to think up something for me to call you later,” Danni murmured back. “I think Kozen is about to say something.”
Indeed, the leader of the H’raken town was standing again and he and Navii had solemnly bowed their heads. Danni did the same when she saw that everyone else at the table was bowing their heads as well. Even the children, who had been set up at a completely different table a little way from the adults, were being quiet and respectful.
“For the meat and fruit we are about to receive, we are truly grateful to the Mother Stone,” Kozen intoned. “It is she who enables the trees to shelter us and provide food for us. And it is she who provides our meat. Thanks be to the Mother Stone.”
“Thanks be to the Mother Stone!” everyone at the table echoed. Then Kozen sat down and everyone began passing the large serving bowls up and down the tables.
All the bowls were made of carved wood, as were the utensils. The plates were wide, flat leaves that were deep blue in color and most of the food appeared to be different forms of fruit salad. But there were, Danni saw, several platters of meat as well.
The meat looked not unlike pieces of steak you might find in a restaurant on Earth, except it was a deep green color instead of being brown. There were also some long, curving ribs with the same deep green meat clinging to them. The meat smelled wonderful but, not knowing what kind of animal it had come from, Danni felt more comfortable with the alien fruit salad.
“What do you want?” she asked Bravik, since she was sitting in front and the bowls and platters were being passed around by the wives, who were heaping food on the leaf plates in front of them.
“Hmm—a little bit of everything, I guess,” Bravik said. “It’s always good to be careful what you’re eating during a first contact, though. Try a bite or two of everything you’re offered, but not too much or you might have trouble later.”
“I take it you learned that lesson the hard way?” Danni murmured, looking over her shoulder to see him.
He gave her a rueful grin.
“Afraid so, little girl. On Tarken Three. But that’s not a story for the dinner table.”
“A little bit of everything it is, then,” Danni said, serving them both. They were—apparently—sharing the same large leaf plate so she put her food on one side of it and Bravik’s on the other. It was a little bit awkward eating this way, since he was basically reaching around her, but his arms were so long they managed pretty well without getting in each other’s way.
“Hmm, this meat is pretty good,” Bravik murmured, trying a bite of the dark green steak. “Wonder what animal it’s from?”
“That’s what I was wondering,” Danni murmured. “Since I don’t know, I think I’m going to stick with the fruit.”
“Excuse me, Kozen—what animal do you hunt for your meat?” Bravik asked the Head H’raken.
“Hunt?” Kozen looked up from feeding some delicate tidbit to Navii and frowned.
“Yes—what animal do you stalk and kill?” Bravik asked. “If it’s allowed, I would love to go on a hunt with you.”
Kozen shook his head, looking confused.
“We H’rakens are peaceful. We do not kill any thing—either plant or animal—that we may eat.”
“But…then how do you get your meat?” Danni asked, nodding at the platter of green steaks, which was considerably diminished by now. Maybe it was some kind of plant-based protein, she speculated. After all, it was green. But Kozen’s answer surprised her.
“The Mother Stone calls the wounded or elderly animals from the forest lands to the gates of our township,” he explained. “There, they lay down their lives that we might eat.”
“So…you go out every morning and there’s a dead animal there just waiting to be butchered?” Bravik sounded skeptical but Kozen nodded with complete sincerity.
“Of course. This morning, the Mother Stone called a jook’um for our nightly feast.” He nodded at the platter of green steaks and ribs. “It was a good-sized beast—enough to feed us all, as you can see. Praise be unto the Mother Stone.”
“Praise be unto the Mother Stone,” everyone at the table murmured, almost reflexively, Danni thought.
“I’d like to see that,” Bravik said. “Could I come with you to the gates tomorrow morning and see what the, uh, Mother Stone has left?”
“Certainly. And if you don’t mind, you can help with the butchering,” Kozen said. “There are few among us who can stomach that act, so more hands are always sorely needed.”
“Sure, I can do that,” Bravik said. “I’ll be happy to help out any way I can.”