2-55
Posted April 6, 2013 at 09:01 pm

The sky had turned up bright, cold, and blue above the stepped green bailies around the Palace. Flaky white clouds blended off into the blue, like frost on a windowpane. The wind got less severe the farther down from the Palace she walked, until she'd reached the pastures and the air had gone nearly still and crisp.

At one of the pasture, Yoshi was holding the rope haltar of a stilt-legged laar, while Helly knelt to the laar's side, speaking to Yoshi in a voice that got lost across the ragged grass. Liya whistled, and all three of them glanced up at her.

Helly got to nir feet, joints creaking. "Good morning, Liya!" ne said cheerfully. Liya returned nir smile.

"Mornin'."

Yoshi suddenly looked nervous; he actually moved back, and the laar took advantage of his lapse in attention to move her head forward, seeming interested in Liya.

"Um," Yoshi stammered, "I'm really sorry about--"

"It's okay," Liya interrupted, and offered the laar her hand. The laar put her velvety nose in Liya's palm, snuffling. "Is this the same girl from yesterday?"

"Are you sure?" Yoshi asked, seeming rather distressed, "I didn't realize--"

The laar chose that moment to put her floppy ears back and stick out her tongue--as long as Liya's forearm--which she wrapped experimentally around Liya's hand. Yoshi quickly reached out and pushed the laar's head back very gently, causing her to withdraw, albeit leaving a slimy film on Liya's palm. Liya smiled gingerly at Yoshi.

"It's fine," she said.

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