Kham heard familiar footsteps approaching. Lissa. He turned to face her. She was as beautiful as ever, if a bit tousled from her work in the kitchen. Her tusks, delicate and fine, gleamed like old ivory. They showed particularly clear when she was frowning, which she was now. She stopped about a meter away and put one hand on her hip while the other unconsciously caressed Shandra's head. Clinging to her mother's leg, the girl sobbed softly. Lissa said some quiet words to her before looking at Kham.