Move 2.6 Recap

In the galley: Fluffy and the hatchlings, joined by Alaric, Gerae, Ione, Sasha, Sulen, and Virmad

Sasha turns on the galley lights, revealing Fluffy, who is ferrying snacks to her nest. Sasha mixes almond butter with fruit preserves, then whistles. Two hatchlings, one a light grayish blue and one a darker blue shade, emerge from the nest. Sasha offers them the mixture, which they devour. She asks the grid whether Ione, Alaric, or Sulen is awake, then continues to feed the hatchlings, alternately humming and murmuring to them in Kirrish. Sulen arrives, carrying a glass of water, which they set down. They ask how they can help. Sasha asks them to make a tuna and banana smoothie: "Their food should be a paste and I doubt you want to chew it yourself." Even more disheveled than usual, Alaric arrives, asking, "Was that the decompression alert? Or the we're-being-chased-by-angry-Kel siren? We should probably have one of--" Recognizing the hatchlings, he suggests finding squeeze bottles. Sasha assents enthusiastically: "Could you print at least six? There are quite a few babies still in the nest, and pseudo-dragons aren't meant to be single parents." Meanwhile, two more hatchlings emerge from the nest, one a striking purple and magenta combination, which Sulen admires. They make the requested smoothie, pondering their to-do list and what Mafyyil is up to in an effort to distract themselves from the glop. They offer some of the result to the magenta hatchling, who is delighted.

Sasha tells the dark blue hatchling, "Baby frog, I'm going to have to set you down for a moment. Don't let your sibs take all the sweet potassium." Alaric delivers the squeeze bottles, asking if they are appropriate: "Some species' mouth need to suckle or bite on something with the right consistency. And what about emzymes or stomach acid, is the food adults feed them just chewed or partially digested? Does gut bacteria get exchanged?" Sasha thanks him, explaining, "The regurgitation is mostly to transport nutrient-dense food, while hatchlings are too young to hunt bugs or avoid predators. A lot of birds use the same strategy. Our hatchlings do need some of Fluffy's bacteria to help digest cellulose, but as long as we make sure she has plenty of nuts and seeds to share with them, they'll be all right." Virmad greets the light blue hatchling, who is chewing on the preserves spoon, with "Edzonhuraž, eyemži!" ("Aren't you hungry, little beastie?") He asks Sasha if there is more food: "I don't think this one will be satisfied with the spoon for long." She hands him one of the squeeze bottles and indicates Sulen's bowl of tuna-and-banana smoothie.

Ione, who has been caught up in the feelings of a nest of hatchlings, observes, "Er, right, I could do something besides gawking. They're much cuter than actual dragons when they hatch, you know — I wonder if they'd take potassium drops or benefit from them." Sasha says calcium is the highest priority: "I gave Fluffy a selection of calcium-rich food in preparation, but with so many hatchlings and only one adult pseudo-dragon it makes sense to supplement. But bright stars, Ione, how many true dragons have you met?" Ione notes, "Calcium isn't going to be as malleable, so I guess milk is the best bet." She adds that she has "actually met" only one dragon, though she has "seen more from far away." Crouching beside the nest, she says, "Fluffy, you must be exhausted." Fluffy nuzzles her with a chirrup that Ione interprets as "I am a beleaguered but grateful single mom."

Sasha asks for more information about dragons: "What makes them dragons, and not neo-dinosaurs? Did they evolve in an invariant way, to suit a particular environment? Or did someone engineer them? Or do they depend on some exotic calendar?" While feeding a hatchling, Alaric observes that while he cannot speak for Ione, where he comes from, "Traditionally the defining feature is being able to talk. Unless you're one of those people obsessed with heraldry who insist they have to have four legs and two wings, but they're obviously wrong so they don't matter." Sasha asks whether he has spoken to a dragon.

Outside Jedao's room: Reshad and Seyli

Disguising her concern, and after checking the door's soundproofing, Reshad asks Seyli, "Can we discuss tactics a moment? I think he's likely to try to feel out your responses. I want to avoid that conflict if at all possible." Seyli, who is still in Kel uniform, assents: "You mean bait me. And you don't want me to rise to the bait." Making herself sound friendly and even curious, Reshad responds, "I do mean bait you, and I want to reduce the attack surface as much as possible. Why the Kel uniform?" Shrugging, Seyli says, "Why not the Kel uniform? It's what he's always seen me in and I have no desire to confirm or deny my status as Kel/unKel to him." Reshad points out, "Always is once. Do you have an answer ready for him prodding you about it? If not now, I suspect he will soon. I know it frightens you, what he's capable of; right now that's a vulnerability. He'll see it." Seyli answers, "No, I don't have anything planned to say to him. I don't intend on saying anything to him. And I seem to be the only person on this moth who fears him in any way." Thinking of Sasha's earlier remarks on atmosphere,