Page 35 of Stalk the Sky
The flyboys on the rows above and below shushed them so loudly that those sitting farther up and farther down also started shushing.
Pip poked Fieran in the ribs. “See how disruptive you’re being?”
“Me? You’ve been talking just as much as I have.” Fieran’s smirk sent far more flutters through her than the too-handsome Star Forest currently sharing a romantic first meeting with the maiden he’d rescued, a maiden he doesn’t yet know is a princess.
“Shush!”
Pip wasn’t sure who said it this time, but she shared one last amused look with Fieran before she turned to better face the screen.
As the moving picture continued, Pip dared to lean her head against Fieran’s shoulder. Just a little bit. Not too snuggly. Just getting as comfortable as she could on a stone bench not designed for comfort. Since Fieran didn’t seem to mind, she wasn’t going to pull away.
Because this moving picture was a two-reeler, there was an intermission when the first reel finished and the crew had to swap it out for the second reel.
A spread of donuts and ice cream had been laid out on tables in the mess hall, and Pip hung back rather than join the shoving for the food. Two of the trolls got into a punching match over the chocolate sprinkles they both wanted to put on their ice cream, and a few of the others were about to come to blows over the donuts. Not a safe environment for someone vertically challenged.
“What would you like? I’ll fetch it for you.” Fieran gestured to the troll warriors, dwarves, and flyboys descending on the food like a pack of scavengers.
“A maple donut, if they have any. Or any donut, really.” Pip placed her back to the wall where she wouldn’t be trampled in the continued stampede for the refreshments. “Thanks.”
“All right.” Fieran glanced around the rest of their group. “Well, men, there’s our target. Form up.”
On cue, Tiny took station to Fieran’s left with Merrik to his right. Lije and Pretty Face took the spots to either side of Tiny and Merrik so that they now formed a wedge with Stickyfingers, the shortest and smallest of the flyboys in their group, filling in the wedge as a rearguard.
Fieran led the way, and their wedge sliced into the tumult. They didn’t get into wrestling matches or engage in too much shoving. There was just something about the confident way that Fieran strode into the melee that had those around him moving out of his way.
Aylia leaned against the wall next to Pip. “Good thinking, finding a spot by the wall.”
“I didn’t want to be trampled.” Pip searched the seething mass, but Fieran and his flyboys had disappeared into the fray. “Fieran is getting me a donut.”
“Pretty Face is getting mine.” Aylia grinned, shrugging. “He offered, and I was not about to brave that. Not even for food.”
Pip opened her mouth, but Fieran stepped from the crowd a moment later, followed by the others.
With a triumphant grin, Fieran held out a plate containing a cake donut with the brown, maple-syrup-flavored icing. “Your donut.”
“Linshi.” The elvish thank you rolled off her tongue as Pip took the plate and picked up the donut. It was still warm, so the base’s cooks must have made the batch fresh, perhaps even missing the moving picture to make them.
Fieran held a bowl of chocolate ice cream topped with chocolate fudge and chocolate sprinkles.
Tiny gripped a bowl with two massive scoops of vanilla ice cream sporting just about every topping available, from the chocolate sprinkles to nuts to strawberries. Stickyfingers had both a donut and a bowl of ice cream while Lije’s chocolate ice cream sported as much additional chocolate toppings as Fieran’s.
Pretty Face bowed and flourished a plate with a powdered-sugar-coated donut. “And here is your donut, milady.”
“Linshi.” Aylia took the donut with a smile that was kind but not flirtatious.
“Let’s move back to our seats and get away from this crowd.” Fieran once again led the way.
Pip fell into step behind him so that he could part the way for her. Having tall men around was so convenient when they were providing a shield for her in a crowd.
The strains of the Star Forest theme still blared from the phonograph as they returned to their seats while the screen simply said “Intermission.”
After they all polished off their food, Merrik gathered all their plates and bowls to return them to the mess.
Just as Merrik returned and shuffled past them to reach his seat on the other side of Pip, Captain Gradrah strode down the center aisle and halted in front of the screen.
The music abruptly cut out, and the conversations all around the arena staggered into silence.
Pip tensed. If only Fieran would brace his arm behind her again. Whatever Captain Gradrah was about to say, she was likely going to need the comfort of his strength.