Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 21341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
"Isn't that sweet?" Megan says, coming up to us as she bounces her daughter Jewel on her hip. The little one is dressed as a puffball of some kind, the fur dyed a baby pink, and she's got two more tufts of pink on the ends of her horns. "Kemli and Farli wanted to help with the celebration, so they've been cooking little pies for everyone. There's enough for the entire village but you have to play the game, of course." She eyes Jewel, who's still a small, slobbery toddler with her fist in her mouth. "You ready to go play, baby?"
Jewel shakes her head and buries her face against her mother's neck.
"Maybe not yet," Megan chuckles, smiling at us.
"Pie, you say?" Hassen rubs his hands together. "I could eat something. What is this pie?"
"Oh man. Pie. I'd kill for apple pie right about now," I add, wishing there were more sweets on this planet.
"There's two kinds of pie," Megan tells us. "Sweet and savory. Both made with not-potato and lard crust, so they're a little crumbly but so tasty. One is a spicy meat pie, and the other is made with bits of dried fruit and some seeds and I swear it tastes a lot like fig."
Now my mouth waters. "I would absolutely murder some fig pie."
"Shall we go dance on the path, then?" Hassen asks me, gesturing at the cake walk. "The music is starting up again."
"All right, but if you win one of the sweet pies, I'm eating yours," I tell him. I wave to Megan and then join the crowd on the path. Masan is across the way from us and waves his hand so excitedly that he loses a few mummy bandages. My heart squeezes at the sight of my son having so much fun. He even let Millicent stay home and nest on his blankets, since carrying a big fat bird didn't “match” his scary costume.
"Maybe we'll tell the kids creepy stories later," I say to Hassen as we start walking when the drumming begins again. "I know one about a guy that has a hook for a hand."
My mate glances back at me. "Why is that scary?"
"Because he has a hook! For a hand!"
"Where did his hand go?"
"That's not the point! The point is that it's a hook!"
"...is it a useful hook? Because I would rather have a hook than no hand."
I scowl at him and twirl a finger. "Just get back to walking, sir. I need a pie." Maybe we don't do a scary story anyhow. I don't mind when Masan crawls into bed with us when he has a nightmare, but I do draw the line at Millicent.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
CLAIRE
Treat Day is an amazing success so far.
It's barely noon and yet everyone is wandering about Croatoan in costume, and the children are beside themselves with delight. The kids are so cute—from Georgie's little girls who all came dressed as small versions of their father (which made Vektal laugh with delight), or Lukti's amazing chess costume that matches Drenol's. The adults are in on it, too. Josie's wandering around with a tunic that looks as if a not-potato is growing out of her baby bump, and Tiffany and Salukh are wearing checkerboard cloaks. Drenol's a chess piece. Harrec is a snow-cat and makes a big show of standing next to Puff, which makes everyone chuckle. Brooke made mermaid costumes for herself and her little daughter, Hazel, and they're full of color and drawn on scales, the “tail” skirt ending at the feet so they can walk around.
"It is a strange costume," Asha says at my side, eyeing Brooke. "She looks as if she is being devoured by a fish."
I smother a giggle. "Does not. It's a creature from human stories, I swear."
"If you say so." Asha points out her little girl, who is wearing a paint-splattered tunic that's far too large for her and has her hair pulled into the same intricately braided tail that Hemalo has taken to wearing. "Look. My daughter wanted to be her father. She is adorable, is she not?"
"She's the cutest," I agree. "Well, almost the cutest. Relvi might be giving her a run for her money. So to speak." My daughter is wearing her fuzzy bear outfit, and though she has no clue what a bear is, she's having a blast running around. I made the ears bigger on her costume and gave it a big fluffy tail and an extra pair of arms. It's not like anyone here knows what a bear is anyhow. Relvi loves it. Erevair wanted a less exciting costume. He opted for a “hunter” and is wearing some of his father's castoffs and shaking a spear at everyone.
There are a lot of little hunters running around. Anyone that didn't have a good idea for a costume or struggles with sewing opted for their kids to be hunters. I know Ariana practically had a nervous breakdown trying to decide on what Analay and Zoari would dress up as. Analay decided hunter, and Zoari decided to be one, too. It ended up working out well for their poor stressed mother.