Rose wandered belowdecks, the "game" of sword practice no longer seemed as fun, and Mith's reaction to her doubts had made the reality of the rescue mission sink in even more.
As she stood near the door of the hold, she heard Birdie's voice cooing from the hold. "Good girl! You can do it...c'mon...GOOD GIRL!"
Rose peeked down the ramp, and saw the skin-changer hanging over the edge of the sea-cow tank. The three, great, grey creatures were lined up in front of Birdie, bobbing up and down in the water.
"Hullo, Rose! Come on down. I was just checking on our "herd", so to speak. You know, they're really very smart. Watch!"
Bird held up a succulent piece of seaweed, and one of the "cows" raised her bulk from the water, did a ponderous turn, and flopped back down, overflowing the tank.
"See? She's dancing! Good Girl! I've named them Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles. Come say hello." Then Bird caught the look on Rose's face as her she came down into the hold.
Rose, what's wrong? Is it time to go, yet?"
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