Before the Saga The Plate - OC Revolution Summer Challenge

Title: The Plate
Author: Kit'
Timeframe: Legends: Before the Saga
Genre: Humor
Challenge: OC Revolution - Summer Challenge 2020
Characters: Kithera, Del, Zallie and a host of minor characters
Summary: Sometimes what's clear in one language is a mystery in another...

This is my entry for the OC Revolution - Summer Challenge which was to "Write a story where a turn of phrase causes some confusion between your OC and another character". This was supposed to be short but, like all Family of Scoundrels' fics seems to have grown. It's based on a real life incident which didn't happen to me but to family friends. You don't need to have read any of the other Family of Scoundrels fics for this to make sense (although I'd love if you did! ) Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Edit: It was pointed out to me that the original is really hard to read when you are not Australian. Therefore there is an edited one here. I would recommend reading that one. I've also taken out all the question marks at the end of the sentences because they were annoying after a while.

*

The Plate - Part 1/3

*

Kit stepped off The Lady and onto the crisp, red soil that crunched underfoot. The heat of the day was slowly dissipating, and there was a chill to the wind that blew in from the wide, shallow bay next to which the ship had landed. She adjusted the control on the hoverpram that held the twins and grabbed Zallie’s hand firmly. Del has said that he would meet her, but there was no-one at the dusty shipping bay. She checked her stuff again. Nappies, blankets, toys, a couple of jars of food for the twins and Zallie’s favourite toy, a colourful, pink Fathier she’d nicknamed Spotty. She also had the plate.

Kit really had no idea why Del had asked her to bring a plate. She’d been to The Bower on a couple of occasions and the one thing Gazz’a and Cherly didn’t seem to lack to plates, or anything else for that matter, but Del had been insistent. He’d taken Nicco and Estra to do a job at Gazz’a request, some sort of retrieval of an item that the old hoarder had his eye on. It had also been a way for Del to spend some time with his kids without the twins or Zallie getting in the way. Kit had enjoyed spending time with Zallie too, at only four months old the twins still liked their sleeps and so there had been plenty of time for quiet activities and stories. However, she didn’t want to do it forever, dinner and night times were rather arduous and without Del to play tag with, she was exhausted. It had, therefore, been a relief when he had called to say that the job was finished sooner than expected and that Gazz’a had invited them to a massive barbie at The Bower. The only thing that had been rather perplexing was Del’s instructions that she had to “bring a plate” and so she’d found one of the bigger and less chipped dishes that was usually stored away for ‘company’ and had stashed it into the hoverpram.


Now she was standing on the red soil of the planet, wondering where Del was. Normally she would have just found her own way there, but with twilight falling she didn’t particularly want to drag a hoverpram and a five-year-old across the dusty, spinifex filled landscape to The Bower. There was a cloud of dust in the distance and then a land-speeder came into sight. It had a large cab out the front and a flatbed tray at the back which carried a cage. As the land-speeder neared, Kit could make out a large, dark-blue canid creature in the back. The speeder drew to a halt and a young man got out, wearing the same blue singlet that Kit had come to associate with all men who lived near The Bower. He smiled at her, pearly-white teeth in a tanned, brown face and touched the edge of his rather battered broad-brimmed hat.

“You Rin?” He asked. She nodded. “Howzitgarn?”

“Uh good.” She’d always struggled with the language of this planet. It bore such similarities to basic, but sometimes the way people spoke, fast and with a strange inflection on the end of every sentence that made it sound like a question meant that she often got lost in a conversation, not knowing if what they’d said to her was a statement or was something she had to answer.

“I’m Br-uce. I’m Gazz’a and Cheryl’s son.” The young man tipped the edge of his hat again, “Del said you’d be here. He said to bring you back to The Bower. He’s had one too many I’m the deso and all that, so I thought I’d pick you up.”

“Um, thanks.” Kit said nodding whilst wondering what a deso was, and if she should be worried. The young man must have caught her confusion.

“Uh deso, that means designated driver. Basically, I drive ‘cos that no-one gets nicked by the coppers.”

“Oh. That’s very charitable of you.”

“Not really. I only just got me licence. Carnt drink when you’re only on your Ps. Don’t worry though, I’m very safe.” He nodded at her, “Just ah, sling the hover-pram thing into the cab. There won’t be room for you, but you can ride up on the back with Red here. I’ll go slow, so you and the sprog won’t get knocked off.”

Kit nodded and tried to calculate whether the risk of riding on the back of land-speeder was better than trying to push the hover-pram through the spinifex.

“Won’t we get in trouble with the cops…er coppers?”

“Yeah, nah. Those blokes won’t care. Besides they’re all at Dad’s anyway. Probably pissed off their heads by now.”

Kit nodded and let the young man stow the twins in the cab. She boosted Zallie up onto the tray and then clambered up next to the cage. In her normal fashion, Zallie was already at the cage bars making faces at the dog who was eyeing her warily. Br-uce closed the door and came around the back.

“Yeah, nah. So, Red is all friendly and that.” He said pointing at the big-jawed mongrel, “but I wouldn’t stick your fingers in there little tacker. He’s liable to take them off. He’s my feboar hunter.”

Kit dragged a reluctant Zallie away from the cage although she noticed that the dog hadn’t even tried to lunge at the six-year-old, instead he was lying down staring at her with his massive eyes. He whined as Zallie moved away to sit with Kithera. Br-uce frowned at his dog and then smiled at Kit.

“Alright, off we go then. Hold tight everyone.”

 

I think the question mark key is now broken on my keyboard However, it's the only way I can think of to get the inflection that many Australians stick on the end of every sentence. Also think it's poignant a story given that yesterday at the shopping centre I was told that I don't have an Australian accent (I spent nearly my whole life here). It's not the first time that I've been told that I don't sound Australian enough, and I think it's because I try desperately to avoid the inflection!

Hope you enjoy part two!


*

The Plate - Part 2/3

*
The Bower was the same as it was the last time Kit had visited, the little shack sat on the further edge of the bay as if it had been forgotten about by the centuries. The only difference was that this time it has lit up by tiny lights and even at a distance Kit could see the bonfire going in the backyard and the multitudes of people silhouetted against it. The sun had set while they had travelled and now only the horizon was lit by a thin red glow, while above them the sky had come alight with millions of stars. Kithera tapped her daughter on the shoulder and pointed upwards, feeling the melody of joy as Zallie saw the night sky come alive. It was strange, there had never been any stars on Coruscant. The world had been so filled with cold, artificial light that she’d never even seen a star until her first mission. They always took her breath away, and out here under the cold night sky, there were thousands of them. The land-speeder drew to a slow stop and Br-uce hopped out, holding up a hand to help Kit dismount. He swung Zallie down on to the ground.

“May I pat him?” The little girl asked pointing to Red.

“Nah love, afraid you might get bit.”

“He won’t bite me,” Zallie shook her head and then turned to address the dog, “will you Red?” The dog whined and then fell over to show his tummy. Br-uce shrugged and looked at Kit.

“Gazz’a said something about you being Jedi. Didn’t realise you all were.”

“We’re not,” Kit said quietly looking resigned at her rather precocious daughter, “Zallie is just really good with animals.”

“Fair enough,” Br-uce shrugged again, “You can pat her kiddo, but if she bites you, it’s your funeral.”

The young man opened the cage door and the big animals bounded out and then leapt off the end of the tray to land in front of her. There was a pause and then it started joyfully bounding around Zallie trying to lick her face while she squealed in delight.

“Mama, can we get one?” Zallie asked giggling and trying to push the dog away. It gave up trying to lick her to death and sat down with a thump into the dirt, it’s tail sweeping a huge arc through the red soil.

“Not now Zallie.” Kit went around and collected the twins and her bag out of the cab. The two boys were almost asleep and blinked owlishly at her in the rapidly growing dark. As she came around her could hear Br-uce talking to Zallie.

“Nah, you little larrikin, maybe in a couple of years when ya get some growth on ya. Then you can have one of the flea-bag’s pups. I’ll keep one that ain’t too iffy, for ya.” He smiled at Kit as she came around the corner trying to get the rather ancient hover-pram to work properly. “Let me take that. We’ll go and find Del, for ya, no drama.”

Kit nodded and smiled feeling the weeks of single-parenting catch up to her. The lack of artificial light was suddenly catching up with, making her feel even more exhausted. He must have seen it even in the gloom because she saw the flash of his white teeth again before he took the pram.

“No worries. Let’s get you a cuppa and some snags inta ya. Then you’ll feel right as rain.”

Kit wasn’t sure if it was the sudden exhaustion or the mile-a-minute pace of his speech but she still had no idea what he was saying. She nodded again and gestured towards the fires. It didn’t really matter though, she could hear the faint melody and silent spots of Del and the two kids out in the crowd.

“Lead the way.” She said and smiled again.

The voices of the crowd grew louder as they approached, a raucous symphony of laughter and cheerful banter. She felt Zallie tugging at her sleeve.

“I can feel Nicco and Estra, can I go find them?”

“Sure, sprout.”

“I’m taking Red, bye!” The girl scampered off, the oversized blue-coated hound bounding besides her. Br-uce puffed out his cheeks and blew out a breath.

“Probably should have locked Red up.” He said sombrely, “Feboar dogs aren’t supposed to be out in public. Although your little ankle-biter seems to have a way with them.”

Kit nodded making a note for about the fifteenth time to speak to Del about some sort of training for Zallie. She might not ever be a Jedi, but she would still need to learn how to use her talents wisely and appropriately.

“There he is, you’re old bloke.” Br-uce said pointing to where Del was standing with a bunch of other men, holding a tall bottle of what Kit assumed was ale.

“That’s Br-uce, you’ve been a sweet-heart,” Kit said trying one of the words that she’d heard Cheryl use on occasion. The young man tipped his hat to her again.

“I’ll see if I can rustle you up a cuppa and let mum know you’re here. She’ll be aching to see your boys. Snags and the rest of the tukka is just over that way.” He pointed to where a long table stood, groaning under the weight of food. Kit nodded. That must have been why Del wanted a plate. With that much food, it would be unlikely that there would be enough serving dishes. Kit reached Del and tapped him on the shoulder. He swung around and beamed as he saw her, before gathering her into his arms and kissing her passionately. Kithera felt her whole body relax under the pressure of his arms and the worry and strain that she didn’t realise that she had been holding melted away.
“Did you find it.” She asked breathlessly when they broke apart.

“It was easy, I’ll tell you about it sometime.” Del said grinning, “Did you bring the plate?”

“It’s just in here.” Kit stepped out of his arms to dig into one of the bags attached to the pram. She pulled out the large flat and only slightly chipped plate to Del’s horrified astonishment. Kit felt her heart beat faster. What had she done wrong. Was this the wrong plate. Had she missed something.

“You said bring a plate.” She whispered. Del’s shocked expression melted away into a bemused grin.

“Yeah, bring a plate of food.”

 

I've gone back and removed all the question marks from the other two, hopefully that makes it a bit more readable.


*

The Plate - Part 3/3

*


Kit felt her stomach drop. She looked at Del, tears starting up in the corner of her eyes. His grin faded to a look of concern and then he gathered her into a hug, using one hand to wipe away the tears from where they’d leaked onto her face.

“I could go back and get some more food” Kit stammered, “Maybe Br-uce, could take me back to The Lady and I could grab some stuff. I used to do Galactic Cusine with Master Samukay, I’m sure I can remember something. I’m so sorry. I think if I-“
He cut her off with a hush.

“I doubt Cheryl will care and it’s my fault for not explaining it. When I spend time with Gazz’a and the rest of the blokes then I start talking like them. I forget that you don’t know the lingo.”

“I just feel stupid.” Kit said after a minute. Del held her away at arms’ length and grinned at her.

“What you? A mighty, fearsome ex-Jedi feeling stupid? Akari, bringer of terror feeling dumb? Well, I never!” He sobered, “you, my little love, are very smart. You just aren’t versed in the vernacular of this particular planet. Although, come to think of it, I don’t think anyone outside of this planet is well versed in the language of this planet.”

He grinned and hugged her again. Kit leant her head against his chest, feeling the warmth of him through his jacket.

“Br-uce said you might need a cuppa,” Kit half-turned in Del’s arms to see Cheryl bustling up to them, a large, well-worn mug in one hand.

“Cheryl, love, there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding about food,” Del let her go to hold the empty plate up and Kit felt her face flush.

“Ah, never mind. That’ll be perfect for the pav.” Cheryl smiled at Kit, before spotting the twins in their pram and hovering over them a minute.

“What’s a pav?” Kit whispered to Del.

“It’s egg and sugar topped with cream and fruit. You’ll love it.”

Kit made a face, that did not sound appetising in the slightest. Cheryl bustled back to them and smiled kindly at Kit before pushing the mug of hot, mud-brown tea into Kit’s hands.

“You must be tired my sweet, let’s have a look at those twins and then we’ll plate up the pav.” She and took her by the elbow, steering her and the hover-pram away from Del and towards the knot of women who were standing near the long, high benches that Kit assumed was the kitchen. She gave one final look back at Del who grinned at her encouragingly.


*


Kit sighed and nestled back into Del’s arms as they sat near the campfire, empty plates in their laps. Pav, had turned out to be a sticky, crunch delight and Cheryl had instructed Kit on how to decorate it with the various fruits of the area and then declared it perfect when Kit was done. She had spent the evening talking to the women while Del stayed with the rest of the men gathered around the fire, poking the bits of steak and the sausages, or snags as everyone insisted on calling them, and bantering about who wasn’t cooking it correctly. The twins had been passed around and coo-d over until Kit had insisted that they really needed to sleep. At some point, she’d seen Zallie painting Red’s nails with polish that she’d procured from somewhere and Br-uce had declared that she’d ruined his normally ferocious feboar for life. It hadn’t been until after dinner that she’d finally got to talk to Del properly.

“Gazz’a and Cheryl were wondering if you’d like to stay a while,” Del said quietly as they watched Nicco and Estra toast marshmallows on the fire.

“As long as I don’t have to bring a plate to anything and you act as my translator that’s fine.” Kit snuggled back into Del’s arms as beside them Zallie slept, head resting on Red’s flank as the might canine's toenails glinted pink and sparkly in the firelight.

Fini

 

This the the rewrite. Hopefully it's easier to read.

*
The Plate -

Kit stepped off The Lady and onto the crisp, red soil that crunched underfoot. The heat of the day was slowly dissipating, and there was a chill to the wind that blew in from the wide, shallow bay next to which the ship had landed. She adjusted the control on the hoverpram that held the twins and grabbed Zallie’s hand firmly. Del has said that he would meet her, but there was no-one at the dusty shipping bay. She checked her stuff again. Nappies, blankets, toys, a couple of jars of food for the twins and Zallie’s favourite toy, a colourful, pink Fathier she’d nicknamed Spotty. She also had the plate.

Kit really had no idea why Del had asked her to bring a plate. She’d been to The Bower on a couple of occasions and the one thing Gazz’a and Cherly didn’t seem to lack to plates, or anything else for that matter, but Del had been insistent. He’d taken Nicco and Estra to do a job at Gazz’a request, some sort of retrieval of an item that the old hoarder had his eye on. It had also been a way for Del to spend some time with his kids without the twins or Zallie getting in the way. Kit had enjoyed spending time with Zallie too, at only four months old the twins still liked their sleeps and so there had been plenty of time for quiet activities and stories. However, she didn’t want to do it forever, dinner and night times were rather arduous and without Del to play tag with, she was exhausted. It had, therefore, been a relief when he had called to say that the job was finished sooner than expected and that Gazz’a had invited them to a massive barbie at The Bower. The only thing that had been rather perplexing was Del’s instructions that she had to “bring a plate” and so she’d found one of the bigger and less chipped dishes that was usually stored away for ‘company’ and had stashed it into the hoverpram.

Now she was standing on the red soil of the planet, wondering where Del was. Normally she would have just found her own way there, but with twilight falling she didn’t particularly want to drag a hoverpram and a five-year-old across the dusty, spinifex filled landscape to The Bower. There was a cloud of dust in the distance and then a land-speeder came into sight. It had a large cab out the front and a flatbed tray at the back which carried a cage. As the land-speeder neared, Kit could make out a large, dark-blue canid creature in the back. The speeder drew to a halt and a young man got out, wearing the same blue singlet that Kit had come to associate with all men who lived near The Bower. He smiled at her, pearly-white teeth in a tanned, brown face and touched the edge of his rather battered broad-brimmed hat.

“You Rin?” He asked. She nodded. “How are you going?”

“Uh good.”

“I’m Br-uce. I’m Gazz’a and Cheryl’s son.” The young man tipped the edge of his hat again, “Del said you’d be here. He said to bring you back to The Bower. He’s had too many drinks, so I’m the designated driver, so I thought I’d pick you up.”

“Um, thanks.” Kit said nodding whilst wondering what a designated driver was, and if she should be worried. The young man must have caught her confusion.

“Uh designated driver basically means that, I drive because everyone’s had too much to drink and they’ll get arrested by the cops if they get caught.”

“Oh. That’s very charitable of you.”

“Not really. I only just got my licence. You can’t drink when you’re only on your Provisional licence. Don’t worry though, I’m very safe.” He nodded at her, “Just ah, put the hover-pram thing into the front seat. There won’t be room for you, but you can ride up on the back with Red here. I’ll go slow, so you and the kid won’t get knocked off.”

Kit nodded and tried to calculate whether the risk of riding on the back of land-speeder was better than trying to push the hover-pram through the spinifex.

“Won’t we get in trouble with the cops…?”

“Um, no. Those blokes won’t care. Besides they’re all at Dad’s anyway. Probably stupidly drunk by now.”

Kit nodded and let the young man stow the twins in the cab. She boosted Zallie up onto the tray and then clambered up next to the cage. In her normal fashion, Zallie was already at the cage bars making faces at the dog who was eyeing her warily. Br-uce closed the door and came around the back.

“So yeah, Red is all friendly.” He said pointing at the big-jawed mongrel, “but I wouldn’t stick your fingers in there. He’s liable to bite them. He’s my feboar hunter.”

Kit dragged a reluctant Zallie away from the cage although she noticed that the dog hadn’t even tried to lunge at the six-year-old, instead he was lying down staring at her with his massive eyes. He whined as Zallie moved away to sit with Kithera. Br-uce frowned at his dog and then smiled at Kit.

“Alright, off we go then. Hold tight everyone.”

*

The Bower was the same as it was the last time Kit had visited, the little shack sat on the further edge of the bay as if it had been forgotten about by the centuries. The only difference was that this time it has lit up by tiny lights and even at a distance Kit could see the bonfire going in the backyard and the multitudes of people silhouetted against it. The sun had set while they had travelled and now only the horizon was lit by a thin red glow, while above them the sky had come alight with millions of stars. Kithera tapped her daughter on the shoulder and pointed upwards, feeling the melody of joy as Zallie saw the night sky come alive. It was strange, there had never been any stars on Coruscant. The world had been so filled with cold, artificial light that she’d never even seen a star until her first mission. They always took her breath away, and out here under the cold night sky, there were thousands of them. The land-speeder drew to a slow stop and Br-uce hopped out, holding up a hand to help Kit dismount. He swung Zallie down on to the ground.

“May I pat him.” The little girl asked pointing to Red.

“Nah love, I’m worried he’ll bite you.”

“He won’t bite me,” Zallie shook her head and then turned to address the dog, “will you Red.” The dog whined and then fell over to show his tummy. Br-uce shrugged and looked at Kit.

“Gazz’a said something about you being Jedi. Didn’t realise you all were.”

“We’re not,” Kit said quietly looking resigned at her rather precocious daughter, “Zallie is just really good with animals.”

“Fair enough,” Br-uce shrugged again, “You can pat her kiddo, but if she bites you, it’s all your fault.”

The young man opened the cage door and the big animals bounded out and then leapt off the end of the tray to land in front of her. There was a pause and then it started joyfully bounding around Zallie trying to lick her face while she squealed in delight.

“Mama, can we get one?” Zallie asked giggling and trying to push the dog away. It gave up trying to lick her to death and sat down with a thump into the dirt, it’s tail sweeping a huge arc through the red soil.

“Not now Zallie.” Kit went around and collected the twins and her bag out of the cab. The two boys were almost asleep and blinked owlishly at her in the rapidly growing dark. As she came around her could hear Br-uce talking to Zallie.

“Nah, maybe in a couple of years when you’re bigger. Then you can have one of the flea-bag’s pups. I’ll make sure I keep one that is nice, for you.” He smiled at Kit as she came around the corner trying to get the rather ancient hover-pram to work properly. “Let me take that. We’ll go and find Del, for ya, no problems.”

Kit nodded and smiled feeling the weeks of single-parenting catch up to her. The lack of artificial light was suddenly catching up with, making her feel even more exhausted. He must have seen it even in the gloom because she saw the flash of his white teeth again before he took the pram.

“No worries. Let’s get you a cup of tea and some sausages into you. Then you’ll feel better.”

She nodded again and gestured towards the fires. It didn’t really matter though, she could hear the faint melody and silent spots of Del and the two kids out in the crowd.

“Lead the way.” She said and smiled again.

The voices of the crowd grew louder as they approached, a raucous symphony of laughter and cheerful banter. She felt Zallie tugging at her sleeve.

“I can feel Nicco and Estra, can I go find them?”

“Sure, sprout.”

“I’m taking Red, bye!” The girl scampered off, the oversized blue-coated hound bounding besides her. Br-uce puffed out his cheeks and blew out a breath.

“Probably should have locked Red up.” He said sombrely, “Feboar dogs aren’t supposed to be out in public. Although your child seems to have a way with them.”

Kit nodded making a note for about the fifteenth time to speak to Del about some sort of training for Zallie. She might not ever be a Jedi, but she would still need to learn how to use her talents wisely and appropriately.

“There he is,” Br-uce said pointing to where Del was standing with a bunch of other men, holding a tall bottle of what Kit assumed was ale.

“That’s Br-uce, you’ve been a sweet-heart,” Kit said trying one of the words that she’d heard Cheryl use on occasion. The young man tipped his hat to her again.

“I’ll see if I can get you a cup of tea and let mum know you’re here. She’ll want to see your boys. Sausages and the rest of the food is just over that way.” He pointed to where a long table stood, groaning under the weight. Kit nodded. That must have been why Del wanted a plate. With that much food, it would be unlikely that there would be enough serving dishes. Kit reached Del and tapped him on the shoulder. He swung around and beamed as he saw her, before gathering her into his arms and kissing her passionately. Kithera felt her whole body relax under the pressure of his arms and the worry and strain that she didn’t realise that she had been holding melted away.
“Did you find it.” She asked breathlessly when they broke apart.

“It was easy, I’ll tell you about it sometime.” Del said grinning, “Did you bring the plate?”

“It’s just in here.” Kit stepped out of his arms to dig into one of the bags attached to the pram. She pulled out the large flat and only slightly chipped plate to Del’s horrified astonishment. Kit felt her heart beat faster. What had she done wrong. Was this the wrong plate. Had she missed something.

“You said bring a plate.” She whispered. Del’s shocked expression melted away into a bemused grin.

“Yeah, bring a plate of food.”

*


Kit felt her stomach drop. She looked at Del, tears starting up in the corner of her eyes. His grin faded to a look of concern and then he gathered her into a hug, using one hand to wipe away the tears from where they’d leaked onto her face.

“I could go back and get some more food” Kit stammered, “Maybe Br-uce, could take me back to The Lady and I could grab some stuff. I used to do Galactic Cuisine with Master Samukay, I’m sure I can remember something. I’m so sorry. I think if I-“
He cut her off with a hush.

“I doubt Cheryl will care and it’s my fault for not explaining it. When I spend time with Gazz’a and the rest of the blokes then I start talking like them. I forget that you don’t know the lingo.”

“I just feel stupid.” Kit said after a minute. Del held her away at arms’ length and grinned at her.

“What you? A mighty, fearsome ex-Jedi feeling stupid? Akari, bringer of terror, feeling dumb? Well, I never!” He sobered, “you, my little love, are very smart. You just aren’t versed in the vernacular of this particular planet. Although, come to think of it, I don’t think anyone outside of this planet is well versed in the language of this planet.”

He grinned and hugged her again. Kit leant her head against his chest, feeling the warmth of him through his jacket.

“Br-uce said you might need a cup of tea,” Kit half-turned in Del’s arms to see Cheryl bustling up to them, a large, well-worn mug in one hand.

“Cheryl, love, there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding about food,” Del let her go to hold the empty plate up and Kit felt her face flush.

“Ah, never mind. That’ll be perfect for the pav.” Cheryl smiled at Kit, before spotting the twins in their pram and hovering over them a minute.

“What’s a pav?” Kit whispered to Del.

“It’s egg and sugar topped with cream and fruit. You’ll love it.”

Kit made a face, that did not sound appetising in the slightest. Cheryl bustled back to them and smiled kindly at Kit before pushing the mug of hot, mud-brown tea into Kit’s hands.

“You must be tired my sweet, let’s have a look at those twins and then we’ll plate up the pav.” She and took her by the elbow, steering her and the hover-pram away from Del and towards the knot of women who were standing near the long, high benches that Kit assumed was the kitchen. She gave one final look back at Del who grinned at her encouragingly.


*


Kit sighed and nestled back into Del’s arms as they sat near the campfire, empty plates in their laps. Pav, had turned out to be a sticky, crunch delight and Cheryl had instructed Kit on how to decorate it with the various fruits of the area and then declared it perfect when Kit was done. She had spent the evening talking to the women while Del stayed with the rest of the men gathered around the fire, poking the bits of steak and the sausages, or snags as everyone insisted on calling them, and bantering about who wasn’t cooking it correctly. The twins had been passed around and coo-d over until Kit had insisted that they really needed to sleep. At some point, she’d seen Zallie painting Red’s nails with polish that she’d procured from somewhere and Br-uce had declared that she’d ruined his normally ferocious canine for life. It hadn’t been until after dinner that she’d finally got to talk to Del properly.

“Gazz’a and Cheryl were wondering if you’d like to stay a while,” Del said quietly as they watched Nicco and Estra toast marshmallows on the fire.

“As long as I don’t have to bring a plate to anything and you act as my translator that’s fine.” Kit snuggled back into Del’s arms as beside them Zallie slept, head resting on Red’s flank as the apparently fearsome canine’s toenails glinted pink and sparkly in the firelight.

 

Love the slang that needed translating and the image of a canine with a pedi This family is TOO Endearing!