“From a young age, I decided that I would leave. At first, I joined the military to escape.”
“Wait, you were a soldier?” Kal set down her mug. Belith had layers—surprising layers.
“A medic. That is where I learned my trade,” Belith said. “But the military was not for me. When my tour ended, I thought that moving to a distant city and setting up my practice there would keep my parents at bay, but no. I will always be their little girl.”
Kal had a hard time imagining Belith as a little girl. “How old are you?”
Belith checked a device. “Forty-two in your human years.”
“Wow, you’re older than me by a decade,” Kal said without thinking.
“Meaning?”
Kal almost stumbled out a bland “you look great” but recognized that as disingenuous and insulting to Belith’s Fremmian sensibilities. “Meanin
