Sasha takes the stimulant with a sip of lukewarm tea, and pockets the other pills for later. She's surprised by the heresy police line, but it makes sense that Iawa wouldn't have joined this mission without some sort of prior training.
"I don't think our printer is food-safe. I certainly wouldn't trust any of the dyes. Are food-grade printers common, in your time? Maybe if I ever get a proper equipment budget we can get one-- that sounds really interesting."
"Wait." The implications of the rest of Iawa's comments are sinking in. "Ashari and I-- we don't do anything in private-- I'm not Imsayed."1
Sasha can feel the blush splotching all the way down to the bottoms of her feet. This is awful. It's worse than the time her high-language conversation partner asked how many parents she had.2 "Iawa, is everyone going to think Ashari and I are . . . involved? How do I make it stop?"
[1 If only Ashari were getting all the action attributed to them, they would be much more relaxed!
2 Yelling "My parents were legally married when I was born!" and rushing out of the teashop is not considered appropriate either in the heptarchate or on Naxarat.
As for the tablet, we'll just chalk Sasha's earlier question up to a vain attempt to turn the subject away from heresies.]
does Iawa give lessons in sinking into the floor?
"I don't think our printer is food-safe. I certainly wouldn't trust any of the dyes. Are food-grade printers common, in your time? Maybe if I ever get a proper equipment budget we can get one-- that sounds really interesting."
"Wait." The implications of the rest of Iawa's comments are sinking in. "Ashari and I-- we don't do anything in private-- I'm not Imsayed."1
Sasha can feel the blush splotching all the way down to the bottoms of her feet. This is awful. It's worse than the time her high-language conversation partner asked how many parents she had.2 "Iawa, is everyone going to think Ashari and I are . . . involved? How do I make it stop?"
[1 If only Ashari were getting all the action attributed to them, they would be much more relaxed!
2 Yelling "My parents were legally married when I was born!" and rushing out of the teashop is not considered appropriate either in the heptarchate or on Naxarat.
As for the tablet, we'll just chalk Sasha's earlier question up to a vain attempt to turn the subject away from heresies.]