Terri glared back at her. “It’s called sweat. Humans sweat when we get too warm. It is hot as hell out there, so it’s bound to happen.”
“It is very inefficient. I hope your offspring doesn’t inherit such a trait,” Navesha replied with a click of her mandibles.
Gritting her teeth, Terri glared at the female’s back as she strode out ahead with an imperious, “Come, human. We do not have time to waste on standing in place.”
Giving the Ragirsi an apologetic look, she hurried out back into the sun.
True to her word, Navesha didn’t keep her on her feet long. They took a direct path leading deeper into the market, picking up other sealed bundles from various shops. One looked like a perfumery—though she couldn’t be certain exactly what was within the glowing vials—other shops held a variety of tech, herbs and spices, as well as butchers with vacuum-sealed cold displays filled with meats and produce stalls. Everything except the tiny packages was sent to be stored on their flyer’s cargo hold by for-hire porters who made themselves available at every intersection.
Finally, they arrived at a large, shaded square filled with fragrant foods being cooked at numerous stalls ringing the area. Terri could see Argurmas and a number of other species seated at tables—some alone, others in pairs or small groups of three to five. Navesha led her to a corner stall, shouting a greeting to an enormous pinkish-gray male standing behind an enormous hot cooking flat. The male’s face was wide and angular like someone had carved it out of a boulder and gave him two enormous tusks that sprouted from each side of his jaw. His mouth stretched into a ragged grin.
“Navesha’kanda!” the male barked out with a gruff laugh.
Terri startled at the familiarity of the shortened name, but Navesha chuffed and leaned an elbow at the service counter.
“Gargoluk, I require your special for my mother-kin.”
A pair of beady yellow eyes fastened on Terri, and he let out another laugh.
“That is not kin to you… It is a pink little morsel that cannot compare to the sublime strength of an Argurma female.”
The female waved aside his comment, her vibrissae puffing out slightly.
Was she… flirting?
“She is a mate to my kin,” Navesha clarified with another sound of amusement.
“I was not aware that you mate outside of your species,” he replied with obvious interest.
Navesha shrugged. “Nor was I until my cousin brought her home.”
The male grunted. “Featha must be beside herself.”
“Featha will adapt. She has little choice in the matter.”
The male whistled low between his teeth, but Navesha continued speaking uninterrupted.
“I have more errands to see to and the female is not accustomed to our deserts. She will be resting here. Keep an eye on her, see to it that she is unmolested and that her plate and cup remain full, and I will see that you are compensated.”
The male gave Terri a thoughtful look but nodded and indicated to a nearby table.
“Seat her there, and I will bring her some food presently.”
Navesha grinned at the male again before she took Terri by the arm and seated her at the small square table fixed firmly to the cobbled stone flooring. Although she felt dragged around a bit, Terri didn’t complain. Her feet and legs were aching, so she gratefully sank into the chair. To her delight, she had barely seated herself when a large plate full of fragrant noodles with chopped meats and vegetables was set before her with a tall glass of some sort of fruit juice.
“Good. You have food and drink. Now remain here, and I will return in a short time,” Navesha instructed.
Taking a cue from Navesha’s bad manners, Terri grunted in agreement and snatched up two double-pronged forks. Her eyes followed the female as she walked away and disappeared back in the throng. Her skin crawled slightly at being left alone, but it lasted only a moment before another small plate with a pair of dense rolls was set beside her. Gargoluk gave her a wide grin as he gave her arm a pat hard enough to have knocked her out of her chair if she hadn’t braced for it.
“You sit here and eat and do not worry. Gargoluk will kill anyone who tries to harm you.” He glanced around with a small grimace, his eyes settling on a number of males and females plying their wares among customers seated at the tables. “Mind them, they will fleece you for all of your credits,” he advised gruffly. “Vermin.”
With that, he left Terri to her meal. And a delicious meal it was. Everything on her plate was completely foreign to her, but the blend of meats and nutty flavors with a thick, spiced sauce tantalized her tastebuds. She watched the merchants as she ate until her attention became totally absorbed in her food. With one greedy moan and pleased sigh after another, she ate ravenously, slurping the noodles up between bites of the surprisingly light sweetened bread despite its thickness. She barely looked up when a merchant pulled up beside her table until she was surprised by the reedy voice speaking at her elbow.
Glancing down, she met the gaze of a shorter scaled being with a broad fringed head. He couldn’t be much taller than her. He grinned down at her and nudged his cart closer. It was filled with a number of exquisite vases, pots and tableware that appeared almost translucent despite being engraved and painted with delicate flowers. He held one particularly beautiful, lidded pot. A bit larger than her hand, delicate orange flowers were carved intricately in a band around it.
“Can I interest a beautiful female in a cosmetic pot? Good for all manner of creams and lotions.”
Terri smiled at it with interest.