After they all ate to their full and the night was getting old. Flath handed Terran a blanket, and the girl rolled up in it—the weather was warm, so it was mostly to keep bugs away. They watched Terran sleep for a while then they, too, lay down to sleep. Rhiannon thought about her own daughter and wondered where she was and if she was safe and happy. Tears stained her face as she fell off to a deep sleep.
The next morning Rhiannon awoke with a strange, thick dew all over her exposed skin. She wiped it away with her blanket and sat up. She was surprised to find Terran tucked up tightly to Poeso’s side; the huge cat had curled up around the small child. Rhiannon was stung with a feeling of jealousy and then laughed at her pettiness. At the sound, Poeso cracked open one abnormally large, due
