When Chieftain Eos had sat me down next to a spritely redhead with a sprinkle of reckles across her light pale nose, I'd felt a little anxious when she'd immediately taken my hand in hers, announcing, "You're very beautiful!" I felt a dozen pairs of eyes move to me, one guy leaning around the girl to take a look for himself. "My name is Cherise," she went on, clearly unabashed by the spotlight she'd dropped on me. "Where are you from?"
"You're so direct," the guy said from across the table.
"She's blushing," the one peeking around Cherise chuckled.
I ducked my head, flustered.
"I'm sorry, was I a bit much?" Cherise wondered. "I was just . . . I mean, you're a human, right? You just seem so dazzling." Her thumb slipped across the top of my hand, "Flawless skin."
"I'm human," I co
