"You've been fighting with Pakku again," Nuka said. She fingered her betrothal necklace in a way that told Kanna her sister was thinking of her own betrothed and how well they got along.

"He's being a stubborn goat-monkey about all of this," Kanna said. "How hard is it to let me help him? It's not as though I care how long we're betrothed or if he can collect the bride price by himself."

Nuka raised her eyebrows.

"I would rather help him make the bride price than wait until after your wedding to be married," Kanna admitted. "There's no reason why I shouldn't. Pakku's mother is helping him and I'm younger and stronger than she is."

"She's his mother. You're his betrothed." It was clear to Kanna that Nuka thought that explanation satisfactory.

"So?"

Nuka sighed, drawing it out in the same way Kanna had when they were both young and Nuka had been asked a particularly stupid question.

"He's supposed to be the one providing for you, not the other way around."

Kanna had always known that was the way of the world, but she had thought that Pakku saw the world differently.