Pylo’s attention was drawn by the Clerk speaking up again.

Well all she was doing was listening to the soft creaking murmur of the various eco-forms that were slowly waking and breathing in the sudden rich flood of oxygen.

The next course would still be a while longer.

“Actually Miss Aleph. You were not precisely wrong.”

That would have bothered Pylo. The implication that her translation was wrong. But since the corrected implication was from ▙◀ she decided to just enjoy her spite instead.

Aleph turned away from the dab of pale gummy resin that had been gently slathered over her hand where she had bled.

It was soothing her pain response and nourishing the repair to what was honestly only superficial damage to her skin and shallower tissues.

It was pretty extreme overheal but the Hospitilator had insisted and Pylo had relented to help him absolve his guilt.

The youngest terran spoke softly.

“Huh? What about Squidgie?”

“That particular Scorb is... hum... Ship Mistress could you please assist? I cannot find the correct word that does not implicate many serious offenses and taboos being broken by the people.”

Well that was nice. Pylo briefly assayed the problematic concept then tittered a bit.

“It’s not as inflexible or harsh as that in the current dialect. But It is more vulgar to imply than present company would normally require for decorem. The Scorb in question have been quite heavily culled and many traits selected for so that they grow especially plump.”

Aleph seemed puzzled and asked the very word that the Clerk was carefully skirting around in the first place.

“You mean domesticated?”

Pylo of course gently muffled the exact phrase for those listening that might take offense. Or at least assume that Pylo intended to offend them, which was arguably much worse and could have far ranging political ramifications.

“The People’s Tradition and I have... several agreements with Doreimeefasolati. She is very cranky and very easily offended by many things. Most have to do with various cultural practices.”

That drew Aleph to look around in multiple directions.

“Huh. Doreimeefalala? Which one is... Is that?”

Pylo shrugged and pointed to the nearest bough. Where the branch just barely emerged into the envelope.

But that seemed to confuse the Terran.

“Huh? So far away? I thought that all the most important master elder government people were meeting with us here. That’s at least the gist of it I got anyway.”

Quarti pulled her head out of chewing through one of the heart’s stuffing glaze and juices splattered all over her face and in her hair so she could possibly interject.

The Eldest Terran’s eating habits were offending Omega’s sensibilities but the middle aged of the Terran’s swallowed the response admirably. Only Pylo seemed to even notice it was even there.

On reflection Pylo supposed It helped that none of the people were behaving terribly more refined according to Omega’s standards.

Popping the hearts into their mouths and chewing noisily and happily. Mouths parting often to reveal how utterly they relished the food and let its vapors float through the air.

Fine compliments to the Hospitilator!

But how to clarify the confusion here? Well best to start with the most obvious mistakes.

“Doreimeefasolati is not one of the people. She was mentioned quite prominently during the challenges by several lesser masters.”

Aleph’s face flushed in that still utterly weird shame response. Then admitted something that honestly made Pylo want to coddle the terran into a little hug.

“Sorry about that, I kinda lost track of all of those. There were so many of them. Uh... Was it maybe something that was said while I was asleep?”

Pylo wished she could have slept through those proceedings! But there was just enough tedious fresh translation required she could never quite settle into the rhythm for it! She laughed.

“Don’t worry about it Aleph. It was really long and quite boring.”

That momentarily confused Aleph and Omega more.

“But to Clarify. Doreimeefasolati is the local tree which shelters the People. We are actually anchored to one of her boughs. Under great strain and much effort from my family the People’s Tradition was trained and pruned in how to avoid offending Doreimeefasolati’ sensibilities and those of her immediate grove.”

Quarti shrugged and dived back into feasting. Not finding anything to add to the conversation.

Omega eye’d Pylo before asking the question that percolate in and out of her brain.

“Avoid offending a tree?”

The Clerk spoke up happily.

“The Tree Doreimeefasolati is significantly more massive and with a far greater energy budget than Terra or even Redweed in total mass volume and accessible reserves. And this is without discounting the immense age and innovation it has managed to develop in order to array itself with defenses and survive here in the deepest wilderness. It is very lethal to ‘offend’ a tree of any species. But especially ones who are so territorial and aggressive as these.”

That seemed to befuddle Omega and Aleph a moment.

Pylo’s food was sadly quite a bit more time away from being anywhere near there. So she did not have a convenient distraction.

“To be blunt. No society may offer aid or cultivate any of the NUMEROUS enemies or maligners of Doreimeefasolati in any way. To do so will almost certainly spring several traps or snares she has made this region of the forest and her own flesh absolutely thick in.”

Pylo shrugged in the Terran way and gestured to all the people amiably.

“The people periodically get this linguistically associated with a general forbiddance of any domestication of agriculture in general. It’s a harmless mutation and mostly just adds local flavor to the real strictures. They are mostly phasing out of one of those eras but the association is still very crude and insulting. Hence Squidgies attempt to keep things more polite.”

Aleph looked around, spotting one of the jittery shooting streaks of the scorbs and tracking it surprisingly well.

“And that has to do with the thing that bit me actually being kinda sorta domesticated?”

The Clerk nodded happily.

“Yes you were technically almost correct that it was a kind of pet. But not a companion type or beast of burden.”

Aleph hummed and took a bite of one of the... decorative plates.

Well she seemed to be enjoying it and there was nothing toxic in it. But the intently puzzled confusion on the face of every elder and the very thoughtful consideration on the face of the Chief Hospitalitor were pretty amusing.

“So what was it?”

The clerk was so shocked by this development that when questioned she automatically answered in a high chirp.

“Why it’s feedstock for the dragons!”

Omega and Aleph shared a look which brought them both to a kind of bemused smile and a shrug.

The clerk’s expression flickering subtly below the terran’s visual threshold between several potential emotions

Apparently Aleph really enjoyed her first piece of plate. Because she reached over to break off another chunk.

Which was now turning into great entertainment for Pylo because the clerk was struggling to try and find a polite way to get Aleph to stop eating the dishware.

It was adorable but also the wrong tack.

In contrast Pylo had to commend the quick thinking Hospitilator for catching on faster and recommending some sauces to go with her ‘meal’ and finding interesting anecdotes on the specific gardens which had been used to grow it.