I am writing this in our quarters because I do not want to run into Senha Leskel. She is staying on Deck 11, which is quite a few floors above where we are staying. I wanted to meet some Alharhanians while on this ship, but I don’t know if I could have put up with much more of Senha Leskel’s constant jabbering. I think she was talking about Tezuelhan milk or ‘horàlynhal milk or some such commodity, but I might have shut off my hearing on several occasions, just so I could give my poor ears a rest.

Jhorhea is bored. So what else is new? How do you convince an 11-year-old cub that there is always something new and interesting to see on a spaceship. You can ride up and down the elevator, you can visit the library, or the Playroom, or the swimming pool… No, that wouldn’t do, would it? Those places have already been visited more than once, and now they are just boring.

So what am I to do? I’m just her father; I can make suggestions and hope that one of them sticks, and she will go out and follow my advice. But it seems that no matter what I suggest, the usual answer is, Oh, Papa, I’ve already done that. So now she is here with me, lying on her bed, studying her tail. A moment later Khedrhokhazh presents his teats and she drinks. Well, at least she won’t find that boring, because that is one activity that is instinctive in all Tereskàdians.

Rhalhea has taken Rheža and Jhalhemha to the Playroom. Jhalhemha came out of my pouch early this morning, and immediately sought out Rhalhea’s teats. She fastened on to the left one with the eagerness of someone who might not have had a drink for days. As soon as Jhalhemha was attached Rhalhea told me that she was taking the cubs to the Playroom.

Jhorhea is still with me because she didn’t want to go, and Rhalhea wasn’t going to force her. So my eldest daughter who has just finished sucking on Khedrhokhazh’s right teat is now preening herself. When I asked her if she is going to go somewhere later, she said she might, but there was no enthusiasm in her voice.

I was not about to spend my time in our quarters with a daughter who didn’t seem to have any plans for the remainder of the voyage, so I decided to go to the Meeting Place again. I don’t know, because I don’t want to run into Senha Leskel again. But then, she is so far the only Alharhanian who has bothered to talk with us. Even though her subject matter doesn’t appeal to me, I doubt that many other Alharhanians are eager to talk with us.

She is in there, sitting at one of the smaller tables, playing a game with cards. Looking at her, I would say she was almost as bored as Jhorhea, but unlike my daughter who is bored because she has nothing to do, Senha Leskel seems bored because she has too much to do, too much of the same routine that demands too much of her attention.

She is so engrossed with her card game that she doesn’t even notice me looking at her. Kykherhenha tells me that maybe we should leave her alone, that she probably doesn’t want to see us right now. But I have this feeling that she could use some companionship, so I walk over and ask her what game she is playing. She looks up, and her eyes seem to filled with a kind of sadness that seems to be a combination of loneliness and fear. I don’t want to ask her what is troubling her, so I just take a couple of steps back and tell her maybe I should leave her alone. Sit, she says quietly.

She tells me that she has been thinking of Jhar Morněl, even though she doesn’t want to. I was his mistress, she says, and my brother… He once worked for him. He was with him when he killed S’hĕrhe’s cub, but at that time we all followed Jhar Morněl. He was the one who had made plans to rule Tereskàdhar once Thalif VIII died. He was the one who made plans to destroy all the Tereskàdians, on Alharhan and Tereskàdhar. And Tevren and I, we went along with it, as did many other Alharhanians living on Tereskàdhar.

I don’t know why she was telling me this, unless it was some sort of confession. I want to ask her what all this was leading to, but I do not want to interrupt her. So I let her keep talking, about how Tevren suddenly had a change of heart, how he tried to convince other Alharhanians that Tereskàdians were not animals who had to be destroyed. I sided with him, she says, and I’m glad when Jhar… when you killed Jhar Morněl.

I look at her closely, because the lie that she has just told me is so strong that I can smell it. I know that she still has feelings for Morněl, even after all these years. I begin to fear shiver very slightly, not enough for her to notice, but enough for Kykherhenha to ask me what the matter is. I tell her that Fhelhomha Leskel will have to bear watching, because she is not what she seems.

Do you miss Jhar Morněl? I ask. She tells me she is glad he is dead, and another lie oozes forth from her lips. There is no doubt in my mind that Morněl still holds a memory in her mind, and she does not want to let go.

I am writing this part in my quarters. Rhalhea and the two younger cubs have not yet returned from the Playroom, and I am starting to worry. I have contacted Rhalhea via our whistling dragons, and she tells me that they will be just a little longer. I tell her to come to our quarters right now because I have something to tell her.

When I tell my mate about my suspicions regarding Senha Leskel, she tells me maybe I was interpreting it the wrong way. She was lying, I say bluntly. She still has feelings for Jhar Morněl, and that’s what makes her dangerous.

We will have to keep our eyes and ears tuned constantly.

Pešhŏk. 32.489/Day 564