page43 (1/2)

“You want big Zelandonii, you got Nohere Cherunio?”

“Here I a ina joke”

“Bad joke,” he said as he got up and then helped Radonio She had tears in her eyes and was rubbing her arm

“You were hurting me,” she cried

Suddenly he realized it had been meant as a joke, and he’d handled it poorly He hadn’t been hurt, and neither had Cherunio He shouldn’t have hurt Radonio His anger evaporated, replaced by chagrin “I … I not mean hurt you … I …”

“You didn’t hurt her, Jondalar Not that“And she had it co trouble”

“You just wish she’d start so to Radonio’s defense, now that they were back on normal terms

“You ht think a man likes it when you all come at him like that, but he doesn’t”

“That’s not true,” Radonio said “You think we haven’t heard youjokes when you think you’re alone, about this wo woirls before First Rites, when you know they can’t be touched, even if the Mother has made them ready”

The young e “So flathead females!”

Suddenly, looe of the fire, a woely obese The epicanthic fold of her eyes spoke of a foreign origin, as did the tattoo on her face, though she wore a tunic of Shamudoi leather

“Radonio!” she said “It isn’t necessary to speak filth at a festival in honor of the Mother” Jondalar recognized her now

“I’ her head Her face was flushed with eenuinely contrite ItThey were all hardly irls He had behaved abominably

“My dear,” the woently “A man likes to be invited, not invaded”

Jondalar looked

“But eren’t going to hurt hiht he’d like it … after a while”

“And he ht have, if you’d been more subtle No one likes to be forced You didn’t like it when you thought he ht force you, did you?”

“He hurt me!”

“Did he? Or did he ainst your will? I think that hurt you far ht be hurting her? You cannot force anyone to enjoy Pleasures That does no honor to the Mother It abuses Her Gift”