“That grove or hollow Connie showed us last time you were here,” the medic explained. “It’s become the object of some controversy in the meantime.”
“You must have known something like this would happen,” Rosemary chided Rico as she daubed ointment on the neat crescent of pink indentations on his shin. “Riling the children up like that.”
Rico, sitting on a supply crate with his black pant leg rolled up, folded his thick arms gloomily. “I was only trying to keep them occupied while their parents were having their meeting. I did not know that one of them was feral!”
The medic chuckled. “I’ve never met a four year old that wasn’t.” She placed an adhesive bandage over the wound and stood to her feet, using Rico’s knees as leverage. “It’s painful because it’s against the bone, but she barely broke the skin.”
“Then why the bandage, señorita?” Rico asked.
“Moral support,” Rosemary shrugged, snapping up her medical bag.
“Where I come from, a kiss makes it better,” Rico grinned hopefully.
“Where I come from, it’s straight to amputation.” Rosemary offered a gap-toothed smile. “We’ll compromise.”
“Not that this isn’t charming,” Lamont said dryly from where he stood leaning against a crystalline outgrowth several paces away, “But what sort of meeting are they having? It seems awfully quiet around here, aside from the melee.”
“Not a meal,” Rico corrected him, sliding from the crate and testing his considerable weight on the injured limb. “A colony–er–what did they call it?”
“A colony conscience meeting,” Rosemary offered, shaking her head. “They’re trying to decide what to do about the shrine.”
“The what?” Lamont asked. He flicked the stump of his cigarette away and watched in his peripheral vision as it was quickly and silently absorbed into the purple, moss-like substance that covered much of the floor.
“That grove or hollow Connie showed us last time you were here,” the medic explained. She glanced in the direction of the children, who had initiated a game of tag to distract little Reese from her distress after Rico’s surprised yelp. “It’s become the object of some controversy in the meantime.”
“Oh, blimey,” Lamont groaned. “I’d better go have a look.”
Rosemary put a hand on Rico’s expansive bicep. “Not that I don’t trust you, but could you ask Ji-Ji to help you keep an eye on the sprogs? She’s making observations on the northside.”
“I did not join this crew to be a babysitter,” Rico grumbled.
“This may look like a fairyland,” Lamont reminded him, “But we still don’t know the first thing about it, or this tower. The colonists have entrusted what’s most precious to them to your care while they work things out. Have they made a mistake?”
“Of course not,” Rico assured him, straightening.
“Good man,” Lamont smiled.