Calm Read Free Page A

you about Reepha, and who better than an inhabitant to bring you up to speed on it.
    I have been doing my own research.
    Yes, but I can tell you a bit about your first mediation. It is a custody dispute.
    She blinked, there was emotion wrapped around his words. It seems common on Reepha to have that sort of dispute.
    Yes, but this is about my daughter.
    Her blood went cold as she realised that he had a child and that child had a mother that he had been attached to. Jealously ran through her, and she jerked her hand away from the tank.
    Meri’s thoughts spun wildly as she tried to get a handle on the situation. She ruthlessly throttled down her attraction to Kao, and when he tapped on his side of the tank, she put her hand back on the still-warm plexi.
    I did not mean to upset you. It is the Lahash way. We have the urge to spawn and we go to the Sivith cities, find a partner and do as nature wills. We then return to the lakes and seas, waiting for our children to be old enough to join us.
    Images streamed into her thoughts of being in the water with a tense pulse raging through her blood. The feelings were foreign, but as her sight focussed on nearby females, she noted the definite masculine tone of the thoughts. When he ceased transmitting the emotional mess, he had been approaching a group of females who were transfixed by his appearance.
    We attract the females whether they will it or not. We find the ideal mate for that time and place, and we join to make the next generation. I engaged in this activity before I left and received word that my daughter had been born in my absence. My family has kept in contact with her, but it is time for me to take her on as my responsibility.
    So, you want me to help you negotiate her custody?
    No, the settlement that her mother requires. It is an emotional time for both of us and clearer heads must prevail. That means you.
    So, what resources to you have to donate to the cause?
    He sent her a list of his holdings, properties and credit accounts. That should do.
    You have a home on land?
    I do, as well as one in the lake and one in the sea of Anutha.
    So, if she wants it, visitation is possible.
    No female wants that. Most are delighted to be free of their Lahash child.
    I think you underestimate the strength of the bond. Some women are attached to their children.
    The Sivith do not properly bond with Lahash children. That is why it is so important to have family who can visit and care for the child as it grows. It needs to know that it has a proper home when it can begin to breathe water.
    That is a lot to put on a child. The waiting.
    Our touch gives the child the information it needs. It is something that they learn as soon as they meet their first Lahash relative. My parents and sister were there when Niika was born. They have sent me dispatches for the last six years. She is ready to come home with me, but I have to be there to take custody. I have no idea how this will go, but I want you with me when it comes time to work out the details.
    He was frazzled, there was no doubt of that, but he had yet to answer one question that she had no idea how to ask, so she just blurted it out, thought to thought. What is your actual name?
    Vehn. My name is Vehn Kao, of the Kao line.
    Pleased to meet you, Vehn. Do you want me to call you Vehn or Kao?
    Vehn in private, Kao in public until the custody matter is settled.
    So, still all professional in our conduct? She couldn’t stop her smile.
    Until I can arrange it to be otherwise, I will say yes. Professional until Niika is home.
    She smiled and pressed her forehead against the glass. Fine, professional until Niika is home.
    With a new daughter in his life, he would lose any growing interest in her in a matter of seconds, Meribeth was quite sure.
    She would get her reference when he was otherwise occupied and then move on to the next world in her travelling adventure show. For a few short hours, she had imagined the possibility of Kao as a lover.