That makes him crack an eye open. He stares at me. “How would you get it?”
“The fish?” I consider for a moment. I haven’t really thought how I would hunt one. “Could I borrow your trident? I think that would work.”
“Because you’ve used a trident before?”
“Well, no.”
“Have you ever fished before? Lured a fish to the surface?”
“I actually don’t know how to do those things, now that you mention it.” I smile brightly at him, determined. “But I’m willing to learn, and I promise you won’t have to tell me twice.”
“You’d fall over the side trying to spear the fish,” he says, closing his eyes again. “And the bigger the fish, the deeper the waters. It’s dangerous for someone like you.”
“Someone like me? A human? A woman?”
“Someone that doesn’t know how to swim.”
Oooh. I smack his chest. “I do so know how to swim.”
He snorts. Ranan opens his eyes and releases me, sitting up. “You’d drown before I even had my back turned to you. That’s the first thing we’re going to do—we’re going to teach you how to swim.”
“But Vor—the god—”
“The god will understand. You’re doing everything you can to get him what you promised. He can be patient for the right offering. And you want to give him the right offering.”
I chew on my lip, because I really do. The god has saved me. I need to give him the best offering I possibly can. “You’re right. You’ll show me how to swim, then?”
Ranan grunts. He scrubs a hand over his face, looking surprisingly boyish with that small move. “Aye. I’ll show you how to swim.”
“Thank you. You won’t regret it! I’m a fast learner.” I beam at him, pleased. Swimming seems important to him, so I’ll let him teach me. “After the morning meal, then?”
“We’ll get the morning meal in the waters,” he says. “Put your dress in one of the bags.”
I’m not swimming with it on? The realization catches me by surprise, and then I feel foolish. Why would I? He wears as little as possible, so it makes sense that I’d do the same. My dress will just get in the way of swimming anyhow. I try not to feel vulnerable as I pull it off and fold it into a tidy square. He leans over one of the bags and unties the strange knots, then gestures that I should put my rags inside.
“Can I ask you something?” I glance up at him.
“Can I stop you?”
“You can by being grouchy, but then I’ll remain woefully ignorant,” I say, changing my tone of voice to a grave one. “Better to get the questions out of the way rather than deal with the consequences of a foolish and useless wife.”
His mouth twitches. “Ask, then.”
“Why are your bags tied like this? With two knots and the leather in the middle? And a dry fish on the end? I cannot figure it out.” I gesture at the heaps of bags surrounding us in the tent. “And it’s been driving me mad.”
Ranan’s eyes light up with realization and he lets out a rusty-sounding chuckle. “I suppose it would be confusing to a human.”
“Or anyone with eyes.”
“Or anyone with eyes,” he agrees, sounding far more agreeable this morning. “The seakind always bag their goods. A turtle’s back is broad, but if Akara is threatened, she will submerge herself. It’s rare because her kind love the sunshine, but it has happened. If she does go under, anything upon her will spill into the waters.”
“I see.” I study the bags with greater understanding now. “So you’re making sure that your valuables are easy to find should Akara dump them into the water?”
Ranan nods. “The bags are heavy and will still sink, but finding one large bag instead of twenty necklaces is much easier.”
It makes sense. I touch the strange knots. “Why the double-tie, then? Does it have a purpose? And the dead fish?”
“The double tie is to prevent as much water as possible from going into the bag itself. Not everything does well when exposed to seawater.” He crouches next to one of the bags and shows it to me. “The top is knotted and then knotted again and then twisted below and tied with a cord directly under the leather oilcloth. One set of knots will not keep the seawater out, but twisting the bag and adding a second set helps.”
Interesting.
“As for the fish…” He picks one up and taps on it. The surface is hard like a child’s leather ball, and nearly as spherical. “This kind puffs itself to look fearsome to predators. We dry them when they are bloated and they float. With a bag tied to it, even if the weight of the goods keeps the bag on the sea floor, the fish will drift above it and make it easier to spot.”
“So it’s like a marker. How very clever. I understand now. I thought you were just, well, I actually didn’t know what to think.”
His expression is hard. “Just because we do not live in cities does not mean we are fools.”
“Cities certainly have their share of fools as well, no worries about that.” I touch the bag, trying to follow the complex knots. “I wasn’t saying your way was wrong. It’s just very different from mine. I’m going to have a lot of questions as I get used to your lifestyle. Please don’t take it the wrong way. I’m not defending my people. They enslaved me twice and caved the moment the Aventine army showed up on our doorstep. They can all rot as far as I’m concerned. But it’s also the only way I know.”
He grunts acknowledgment.
“Yours is the first turtle I’ve ever seen, much less lived upon.” I give him a rueful smile. “Are they all as big as this one?”
Ranan’s expression softens at the mention of his turtle. “Hamarii are big, yes, but Akara is large for her age. She’s fierce, too. I’ll introduce you to her but don’t approach her head unless I’m with you.”
Well that’s not terrifying at all. “No worries about that. Anything else I should do so she doesn’t eat me?”
“She won’t eat you. She doesn’t eat people.”
“You never know, I could be a particularly tasty woman, all nice and juicy.” I let a little flirtiness into my voice.
“I don’t eat people either.” Ranan’s tone grows hard. “My people are not monsters.”
“That-that wasn’t what I meant—”
He glares at me and gets to his feet, then flicks a hand indicating I should follow after him. “Come. You need to learn to swim.”
How is it that I manage to offend him constantly?
Chapter
Nine
RANAN
My ears are hot as I stalk to the edge of Akara’s shell. How is it that I mistook her words? She was teasing me, and I assumed she was thinking the worst. Now I’ve snarled at her and she’s gone quiet.
I wasn’t entirely truthful with her as to why I live alone with Akara. Yes, she’s territorial. But I am also not good with people. I find the less I say, the less my mouth gets me in trouble. It’s another reason why living a nomadic life with Akara suits me.
But now there is this woman.
And she has a great many questions. And she wants to talk constantly. Yet every time I say anything to her, I get it wrong. It makes me angry at myself, and at the same time, I feel foolish.
I dive into the sea, hands above my head, and let the cool waters soothe the heat from my face. I surface, tossing my head-sail to shake loose the droplets, just in time to see that the woman—Vali—has tried to copy my movements. Her arms are over her head and she bends over the waters to attempt a dive, but it is clear she has never done one before.