Chapter 17

“Tangled Up in Transit”

With a silver cane in one hand that she hardly needed anymore and a carafe full of coffee in the other, Diana circled the table, offering to top off half-empty mugs. At the same time, Ben and Inta busied themselves behind the kitchen counter, whipping up waffles, bacon, and eggs for anyone who wanted it.

Frase, fascinated by the daily ritual, found an unoccupied counter in the kitchen area to prepare the Toparian’s simple breakfast of tofu-like Dram for the Grove members scattered around the table. Her attention frequently wandered across the kitchen to the silver girl and her peachy ass that wiggled while she worked. Ever since she had ‘earned her silver’, as she put it, officially bonding with Inta, Frase had stuck near an instance of the silver girl as often as she could, pressing her to ‘re-affirm’ her bond as frequently as she could sneak the silver girl away.

Knowing she was being ogled, Inta turned her head and glanced over her shoulder, giving Frase a wink and mouthing the words silently, “later,” with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

“You’re getting around pretty good now,” Will commented on Diana’s mastery of her new limbs, “you hardly need that cane at all.”

Diana gave Will a proud smile. “Inta says that I’ve almost completely integrated with it. She thinks it might be complete as soon as a week.” After Diana finished pouring coffee for everyone, she set the carafe in the middle of the table and then sat in an unoccupied seat to eat her breakfast.

Taking a small bite of bacon, Diana chewed and swallowed dantily. “Inta said I should practice my control as often as I could, and since my manual dexterity isn’t quite to where it was, before,” she paused a moment, leaving the rest unsaid, “I’ve decided to wait on the charcoal sketches and try my hand at sculpture. Wanna see?” she asked, to which the whole table responded in the affirmative, excitedly.

Diana held out one silver hand, palm up, and closed her eyes in concentration. A silver stem slowly sprouted a few inches from the center of her palm. The top of the steam rippled and blossomed into the petals of a rose as silver thorns adorned themselves along the stem. She opened her eyes to the sounds of ‘oooh’ and ‘ahh’ from everyone at the table. Diana’s face lit up, beaming with pride.

“Well done, Sweetheart, you’ve come so far,” Inta told her encouragingly. “Do you want to try and take it to the next level and give it some color?” she asked, encouraging her to stretch herself even more.

Diana closed her eyes again, focusing hard. As they watched, the silver of the rose petals slowly softened into a metallic pink. Diana opened her eyes and gave a little frown, but Inta reassured her immediately.

“That’s fantastic, Honey! Form is one thing, but coloration and texture are very difficult. It takes a lot of practice. It’s amazing that you can do so much so soon!” She walked behind Diana’s seat and leaned over her shoulder to demonstrate what was possible. She reached over, hugging with one arm and caressing Diana’s silver arm with the other, interlacing her fingers with Diana’s. The skin of Inta’s whole body shimmered and took on a beige tint, matching her skin tone to Diana’s natural skin, her hair the exact shade of brown as Diana’s. The only visible sign that Inta wasn’t human was the soft blue glow of her eyes.

“You’ll get the hang of it soon, I promise,” Inta told her as she faded back to all silver. “Then you’ll be able to look like how ever you please.” Diana smiled at Inta’s encouragement, then hugged the silver arms that hugged her.

After everyone had finished breakfast and sat around sipping their coffee or tea, Thea strolled in, looking a little bedraggled and sleepy, wearing a permanently etched grin. The others around the table grinned at one another, waiting for Thea to sit before giving her the third degree.

She pulled out a chair, and as she sat, her grin was momentarily punctuated with a slight grimace, which bloomed into an even larger smile.

June leaned forward with a shit-eating grin on her face. “Okay, spill. I want all the gory details.”

Before Thea could respond, Ben asked from the kitchen as he cleaned up, “You want any waffles or anything?”

“No, that’s alright, just coffee, please. I already had breakfast with the Boys,” she said, as her smile brightened a kilowatt or two.

“Oooh, now it’s ‘The Boys’,” June said, practically bouncing in her seat. “Tell me everything; what was it like?”

“Like being caught in the center of a fuck-tornado, the epicenter of a seven-point-oh my god, on the sexual Richter scale. If I’m being honest, it was as good as Inta’s two day fuckfest on the Dallas, if not better.” Thea’s eyes focused off into the distance, remembering the previous night’s activities.

“You all certainly made a mess to rival the one on the Dallas,” Inta said, smirking, as she plucked a bit of what looked to be white rubbery latex from Thea’s hair. “It took me nearly an hour to clean up after you all went to breakfast.”

“DETAILS!” June demanded emphatically. “I want you to describe every juicy moment, blow by blow,” June said, fully aware of the double entendre.

“I can give you a video playback,” Inta said, then turned to Thea, “If that’s okay with you, of course.” Everyone at the table was well accustomed to the knowledge that Inta saw everything that happened on the ship, plus the fact that just about everyone seated at the table had been intimate with everyone else at the table made them all comfortable with each other’s tastes and proclivities.

“Absolutely,” Thea agreed enthusiastically. “I’d love a chance to watch it again from a different perspective,” she said, knowing it was only family at the table, “And I’m sure the Boys won’t mind; they’re very communal, in that way.”

An empty wall behind the dinner table displayed a view of the Caimar sleeping quarters, so half of the seated people had to crane their necks to see. The room started empty, but then a crowd of Caimar engineers rushed into it, bearing Thea aloft. Breakfast coffee and tea were sipped quietly as every set of eyes watched Thea being attended to lovingly by the randy engineers.

Inta artfully cut and edited the recording of the action, capturing the event’s flavor as it unfolded, as the crowd writhed and worshipped the object of their collective desire. As Thea, on the replay, was encased again in solidified cum, Ben scratched his chin, pondering. “I wonder what evolutionary advantage that gives them?”

Thea smiled dreamily, “Zarvok told me it has to do with how ‘agressively feral’, his words, the Caimar women become during mating. As he tells it, the women in charge of their society are the epitome of cool, deliberate, thoughtful reason when making decisions impacting matters of State, but in the heat of passion, they literally go wild. Over the eons their ejaculate evolved to provide a sedating effect, while physically restraining them as it hardened. Otherwise, half the male population would be crushed to death beneath a sexually rampaging female.”

“I know the feeling,” Will said jokingly, which earned him several playful punches to the shoulder by the women seated nearby.

June’s eyes were sparkling with mischief. “So, are you going to have another session tonight?”

Thea laughed out loud at the suggestion. “Even if I wasn’t so sore already that I’ll be walking funny for the rest of the week, they have a super long refractory period and won’t even be able to get hard, for at least couple of weeks. Lucky thing for me,” she said, leaning forward a little, rubbing her ass.

“The more for us,” June said hungrily.

Thea laughed out loud again as the others around the table smirked. “I’m afraid the only thing getting in between these thighs for the next couple of nights will be bags of ice,” she said, earning chuckles from around the table.

After the laughter subsided, June turned to Thea with a more serious look. “We’ve got another eight hours before we reach Sasan; when we arrive, do you want to pilot the Nestia in?”

Thea’s reaction was instantaneous. “Hell yeah, I do. Back on the Dallas, it’s frowned upon to have the Captain pilot the ship. Besides, I bet the Nestia’s a hell of a lot more fun to fly; the Dallas only flies in straight lines and never lands, which is half the fun.”

“Great!” June exclaimed. “Meet me on the bridge in six hours, I’ll give you a systems rundown, and then you can bring her in.”

“Perfect. Time enough for a nap,” Thea said with a yawn.

Rhenna and Emily had worked late in the med bay, putting a sizable dent in the crates of supplies piled at the entrance before calling it a night. As soon as they decided to call it for the night, Rhenna excused herself and left almost immediately, leaving Emily wondering if she had said or done something to offend.

Rhenna headed back to her room, exhausted, and planned to flop directly into bed and pass out cold. Riding the lift to her deck, she rolled her shoulder, trying to ease the achy cramp, which threatened to lock up the muscles under her shoulder blade. She stepped into the corridor and headed to her room when, seemingly by chance, Inta was walking the opposite way.

“Good Evening Doctor. Did you and Nurse Sloane make some headway today?” Inta asked cheerfully.

With the opposite hand still on her sore shoulder, she replied. “Why yes, we managed to get a great deal done today.”

Inta glanced at Rhenna as she held her shoulder, then gave her a peculiar look. “You know, as Majordomo, it’s my job to take care of the ship, its crew and their guests,” she stated. “I’m also an excellent masseuse; why don’t you give me five minutes with that shoulder and I’ll have it all loosened up so you can get some good rest.”

Rhenna looked down at the innocently smiling silver girl and decided it was a splendid idea. “Sounds good; only a fool turns away a good shoulder rub.”

Inta turned and followed Rhenna to her room. Once inside, she pulled a large pillow from a closet and set it on the table in front of one of the seats. “Please sit here, lean forward, and rest on this. It’s best to relax the muscle group during a chair massage,” she instructed.

Rhenna did as requested, leaning forward on the pillow until she was comfortable. Inta stood behind her and, to one side, clapped her hand loudly and rubbed her hands together vigorously, warming her hands.

As Inta began squeezing and stroking the taut muscles in her back, Rhenna felt the warmth of Inta’s hands seep into her tired muscles, relaxing them and starting to undo the knots that had formed.

Inta smiled as Rhenna let out a low groan of contentment and continued to work Rhenna’s tight shoulders. As she physically attended Rhenna, Inta examined the swirling colors of her aura. There were lots of soft, flowing purples, some streaks of yellows indicating residual anxiety, but there was also a subtle blue underlay of sadness running deep beneath it all. As her hands kneaded muscle, her eyes tracked the blue of her aura until she found a tightly wound knot in her aura, looking like fabric twisted tight into a knot.

It was old, something Inta could tell she had been carrying for a long time, judging by how tightly the lump in her aura was knotted, possibly even from birth. ‘Well, I am giving her a massage,’ Inta thought and reached for the knot, seeking to soothe this old trauma. With gentle, insistent waves of warm energy, the blue knot relaxed and unfurled like the tightness of Rhenna’s trapezius.

“How’s that, better?” Inta asked, her ministrations slowing.

Rhenna gave a low, contented sigh. “Oh, that’s just lovely,” she murmured softly as Inta finished, a pleasant smile spreading across her face.

“Perfect,” Inta replied with satisfaction. “If your shoulders give you any more trouble, let me know and I’ll give you another shoulder rub, okay?”

“Mmm hmm,” Rhenna’s sleepy reply came, partially muffled by the pillow. Inta stepped back, smiling, then left the room.

The next morning, Emily stopped by the mess hall on her deck and grabbed a coffee. Still unsure if she had slighted Dr. Teanoda the previous night, she decided to try to make it up to her. Not knowing what she liked, she grabbed a cup of tea and coffee for Rhenna to apologize for any slights she may have given her.

Rhenna already had another crate open and was stowing its contents when Emily arrived. She knocked on the frame of the open door. “Morning, Dr. Teanoda,” Emily said, announcing her presence. “I wasn’t sure if you preferred coffee or tea, so I brought one of each, and a little sugar and milk, in case you wanted that too.”

Rhenna paused, head down, in front of the small refrigeration unit she was stocking. Emily watched her take three deep breaths before responding. “That’s very considerate of you, Ms. Sloane,” She said without looking up. Then, with a final deep breath, Rhenna got up from kneeling in front of the little fridge, closed the door, and walked to the front to greet Emily.

Emily held up both cups of warm brew and offered them to Rhenna. “Coffee or Tea?” she asked warmly, holding the mugs aloft.

“Tea, please. Black,” Rhenna told her. Emily gave her an immense, warm smile as she handed it to her. Rhenna thanked her, and they sat and sipped their warm beverages for a few moments before needing to get back to work. “This tea is quite good,” Rhenna commented. “I’ll have to ask the majordomo where she got it.”

“I’m sure she’d give you some to take with you after this is all over,” Emily said, with the faintest of frowns flashing across her face. She immediately changed the subject. “So Dr. Teanoda, I’ve never met a Linyphiidae before; what’s your homeworld like?”

“Please, call me Rhenna,” she said cordially, then continued. “I’m not surprised you’ve never met one of us before, most of us tend not to be travelers, though merchants do get around to most of the local star ports; silk and pharmaceuticals are our biggest exports.”

Rhenna sipped her tea. “Ansuil is a beautiful world, wide open country sides of forests and farmland, dotted all over with large metropolitan cities. We Linyphiidae reside mainly in the cities, driving the engines of industry, while the Caballus thrive in the rural areas, tending the farmlands and grassland. They tend to prefer an agrarian life style though some do live and work in the cities.”

Emily watched Rhenna’s expression turn slightly wistful at the mention of the Caballus, and even though she knew it would be impolite to ask, something drove her to try to understand everything about this fascinating person.

“And what about you?” Rhenna asked before Emily could delve any deeper and unravel the mystery of this spider lady. “Where are you from? What is your family like?” The way Rhenna looked deep into her eyes as she asked her questions caused her face to flush slightly with a surge of unexpected pleasure from capturing Rhenna’s interest.

“Well, there not a lot to tell, actually. After my medical training, I only had a couple of jobs before this mission. As far as my family goes, pretty ordinary by human standards. Mom remarried after Dad died when I was eight; Bob’s a decent man, makes my Mom happy, but I still miss my Dad sometimes. We had a pretty big family to begin with, lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins, but now including my step-father’s, it’s huge. We get together once a year; a big affair. We all get together at my Grandfather’s camping lodge, a compound really, enormous and on a nice peaceful lake. We just about fill that place to the rafter with people. It’s always a wonderful time.”

Rhenna sat back, idly stirring her tea, as Emily described some of the crazier characters from her extended family. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Do you have a big family?” Emily asked, sitting with her feet up on her chair, knees tight to her chest as she took a sip from the coffee mug she held with two hands.

Something about seeing Emily folded up on the chair tickled a part of the back of Rhenna’s brain that she chose to ignore. “Yes, as a matter of fact I do,” Rhenna explained. “Linyphiidae families,” she paused, looking for the right words,” work differently than human families; my family is quite large, like yours. I am the fourth youngest of twenty-six sisters and nineteen brothers, not counting our Caballus companions, who are more like a close, extended family than anything else.”

Emily’s brows furrowed in confusion as she tried and failed to unpack the statement. “Woah, hold on, you have forty-eight siblings? How did your mother have time to do anything but have kids?!” she blurted and instantly regretted how it came out. “I don’t mean that she gets around; oh geez, I mean, that’s a lot of kids to look after.” Her face went bright red with embarrassment, having fully stuck both feet in her mouth. She hid her face behind her drawn-up knees, deciding to quit while she was behind.

Rhenna gave a good-natured laugh, then cleared her throat, adamantly refusing to acknowledge how seeing Emily posed with her knees drawn up tight was doing something to her. Whatever was stirring in her had no appropriate place here and now.

“No, It’s fine, I know you don’t think my Mother’s a ‘woman of loose morals’ or some such non-sense. That’s how it typically goes with us. Female Linyphiidae are extremely long lived, and continue to have children well into the later part of their lives, with the aid of the Caballus.”

Emily relaxed, seeing no offense had been taken. And having been put at ease, Emily allowed her curiosity to guide her. “Tell me more about the Caballus on Ansuil; I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them before.”

Rhenna smiled as she sipped her tea. “That’s because they are even less inclined to travel abroad than Linyphiidae. Almost to a person, they prefer the quiet country life. They are deeply in tune with the natural cycle of things, and enjoy simple pleasures; watching the sunset, farming, working the land in the summer, bringing in the harvest in Autumn.”

“And how do they relate to the Linyphiidae?” Emily asked, continuing to probe.

Unexpectedly, Rhenna sighed, looking a little sad, and Emily immediately felt terrible for pushing. But Rhenna didn’t mind opening up to this inquisitive young woman. “The Caballus and Linyphiidae have existed together longer than our recorded history,” she explained. “We live in symbiosis; our two species are deeply intertwined.”

Seeing that Emily needed a deeper explanation, she continued. “The Caballus are a strong and sturdy people; they fall in love and mate, but due to a quirk of their biology, aren’t fertile and aren’t able to have children until they are introduced to a Linyphiidae,” she said vaguely. “For our part, we Linyphiidae mate, and the males fertilize the eggs females carry for the rest of their lives.”

Emily noticed the subtle way Rhenna talked about it, as if it were distant, happening to others but not her. Deciding it might be the source of Rhenna’s discomfort, she sat on that insight, not wanting to make her new friend feel worse.

Rhenna continued. “But, we can not incubate our eggs, and will remain undeveloped unless incubated in a host.”

The light bulb suddenly went on for Emily. “The Caballus!” she said excitedly.

“Yes,” Rhenna acknowledged. “In return for incubating our young, Our hormones unlock their fertility, allowing them to have children of their own.”

Emily’s eyes widened as her imagination ran the whole gamut of implications. “So what’s that like?” she asked innocently.

Rhenna’s wistful smile returned. “In our family, the first time is usually a big event, much like you describe your family gatherings. Most of the extended families of the Linyphiidae and Caballus gather, drink, and dine together. The Broodmark is an important milestone, for both species, and is celebrated as an auspicious occasion.”

“With such big family, it must be a regular occurrence. You’ve been to a lot of these?” Emily pushed, enthralled by the idea of it.

“Well actually I’ve only ever attended one; it was my sister Telara’s Broodmark. I was small, maybe ten or twelve years old at the time. She was fifteen years older than I was, and I remember her being extremely nervous during the cab ride away from the city to the highlands where the family of Caballus lived.”

Rhenna’s eyes drifted. Looking off into the distance, she immersed herself in the memory and told Emily her story.

“Mother,” young Rhenna asked, “where are we going today?” Cassia smiled softly, pulling the small girl close. Then she glanced at Telara, another of her daughters, seated opposite her in the cab. Cassia smiled at her, and Telara fidgeted in her seat, blushing.

“Today’s a big day for your sister,” Cassia told her, “she will be meeting and selecting her broodmare.”

“What’s that?” Rhenna remembered her younger self asking innocently.

Cassia stroked her younger daughter’s hair and replied with seemingly infinite patience. “When a Linyphiidae gets to be a certain age, they meet a male Linyphiidae they like who then fertilizes the eggs they carry. Then later, they meet one of the Caballus people and choose them to be their broodmare.”

“Do they fall in love?” young Rhenna asked, feeling like a secret world was suddenly being revealed to her.

Cassia thought for a moment, carefully choosing her words. “We care a great deal for them, and they us; our two peoples have a long history of living together on this world and have grown close, sharing each other’s strengths and defending the other’s weaknesses.”

“Symbiosis?” young Rhenna asked, trying hard to act like she belonged in this adult conversation.

“Exactly right,” her mother replied. “The Caballus live close to nature, and grow most of the food we eat. We live in the cities and provide the technology that makes both halves of our society stronger. And biologically, we rely on one another. A long time ago, they used to be a short-lived species, only seeing a few dozen winters before succumbing to old age. We are exceptionally long lived, but struggled to maintain the size of our population. Working together, we solved each other’s problems, our symbiotic alliance forged a brighter future for both our people.”

The cab they rode in finally stopped, having arrived at their destination. Rhenna’s mother got out first, followed by Telara and little Rhenna. The cab had stopped in the courtyard of a chateau overlooking a valley covered in vast fields of crops and grazing grounds of the estate. The warm wind blew softly over the sun-kissed valley, caressing Rhenna’s face and tussling her hair. She could see dozens of workers, looking deceptively small in the distance, attending cattle, pruning vineyards, and haying fields.

The enormously oversized front doors of the chateau opened wide, the sounds of a large happy gathering spilling out. Leaving the doors open, someone came out to greet them, bounding down the steps excitedly onto the cobblestone pavers of the driveway. She towered over little Rhenna, who looked up in astonishment, easily twice the size of her mother and sister. She was one of the Caballus that they had come to see. Belying her size, she walked softly on six powerfully muscled legs, ending in feet with thick, dexterous toes. She wore a long yellow tunic with belts between her two sets of broad shoulders, and her long face wore a welcoming smile, partially obscured by her long flowing blonde hair.

“Cassia, it is so good to see you. I’ve missed you,” the woman called out in greeting as she rushed across the courtyard.

“Andromeda, I’ve missed you too.” As soon as she was close enough, Andromeda reared up after her first shoulders and wrapped her nimble front legs around Cassia, hugging her warmly, lifting her off her eight long legs.

“Oh stop it,” Cassia said, laughing.

The much larger Caballus woman laughed, setting Cassia down, still hugging her. After a long while, she finally released her, stepped back, and looked at the two young Linyphiidae with her friend.

“And who are these two beauties with you?” Andromeda asked.

“Andromeda, let me introduce two of my daughters. The little one here is Rhenna,” Cassia said, gesturing to the little girl hanging back shyly behind her mother, “and this is one of the ‘Guests of Honor’ for tonight’s festivities: Telera.”

Andromeda hurried over to Telera and embraced her warmly. “Honey, I’m so excited to finally meet you, and everyone else is too.” She held her by the shoulders at arm’s length, admiring her. “You’ve grown into a fine young woman.” Then, remembering the others waiting inside, she said, “Dear me, where are my manners? Please, please, come inside.”

They followed Andromeda into the house, Rhenna’s mother and sister first, and Rhenna trailed behind. The house was already crowded, with people chatting in every room. Andromeda led them deeper into the house; the chaotic din filling the space seemed to have a happy anticipation to it. They entered a large room with several long tables running the length of the hall. By Caballus custom, there were no seats; instead, the tables were tall enough to stand at. Rhenna was too short to see the tabletop, but the adults occupied spots around the tables, with plenty of room for those still scattered throughout the house.

Looking around the room, she recognized that many attendees were Linyphiidae and distantly related. Aunts and cousins stood at the tables, smiling and talking with the Caballus men and women across the table from them.

Rhenna’s mother leaned down and whispered in her ear. “You may go into the other room, if you’d like. There’s a table more your size with some snacks; I think some of your younger cousins are already there. I need to bring Telara around and make introductions. Please behave yourself.” Cassia gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head, then took her other daughter by the hand, who was starting to look nervous, and led her around the crowded room. Cassia was beaming with pride as she showed off Telera to everyone.

Rhenna wandered into the other room and found the smaller table laden with sweet cakes and other treats, which her rambunctious younger cousins had already half-devoured. She watched them, hopped up on sugar and poorly supervised; some were at the table, getting more treats, while some who had already had their fill were playing a game of tag, running up the walls and across the ceiling, trying to avoid each other.

“I am much too old for the kiddie table,” Rhenna thought as she stood in the doorway, straddling the adult and kid areas. So she went back and hung close to the wall to see what the adults were doing.

A few moments later, Andromeda, with an arm wrapped around Cassia’s shoulders, raised her voice over the noisy chatter. “Everyone, can I have your attention, your attention, please,” she practically yelled. The clamor died down, and everyone turned to look at Andromeda.

“First, I’d like to thank you all for coming and sharing this special occasion with us; someone’s first Broodmark is an important milestone in their lives, and also serves to strengthen the ties between our two families and people.”

The crowd responded with cheering and clapping. Once they quieted, Andromeda continued. “We have always welcomed the Teanoda clan into our homes and hearts, and today, we will welcome one more, Telara.” Another round of hoots and cheering erupted as Telara held her mother’s hand tightly, looking nervous and almost pale. Cassia patted her daughter’s hand reassuringly. Smiling widely, Andromeda raised both hands, signaling for quiet.

“Tonight, the Broodmark will bind young Telara to our house and with one of my daughters: Sarah, Jennah, Isabella, or Patricia.” On cue, four younger Caballus women walked single file into the room, all wearing expressions that were a mix of nervousness, uncertainty, and anticipation.

Andromeda guided them to the small dias at the end of the hall, in front of the large glass doors overlooking the backyard and the fields beyond it.

As the sun was set behind them, it seemed to Rhenna that the four wore halos of golden light.

Following tradition, it was Cassia’s turn to speak. “The Broodmark is as mysterious as it is ancient, and reveals itself as it always has, in primal fashion.”

The attendees were silent and leaned forward in rapt attention, hanging on her every word hungrily.

“The girls will now each receive a kiss from Telara, and then the Broodmark will reveal itself,” Cassia said solemnly, placing a hand on the small of Telara’s back, urging her forward.

Rhenna watched from the back of the room, enthralled, as her sister approached her four prospects, not realizing at the time that there would never be a ceremony like this for her in the future.

She noticed her sister behave oddly as she closed the gap to the four Caballus women. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, and even from across the room, she could see that Telara’s eyes had dilated so much that the whites had disappeared, leaving only fathomless black pupils.

Telara stepped up to Sarah, the first in line, placed a soft hand on her cheek, and gently kissed her on the lips. Jennah was next, received her kiss, and then Telara moved on. As she leaned forward to kiss Isabella, Telara stopped short and turned her head with a jerk, sniffing the air and looking back at Jennah.