She is not interrogated about the bird. The 'confusion' is resolved and the slave returned to work. 

Aya asks one of the slaves who was around to field Atyel's offer if she'd be able to ask the new ones whether they'd take it if Atyel came back.

Their answer turns out to be 'depends how credible she is about being with the terrorists and having a way and stuff.'

Okay, well, they shouldn't try it on their own, it will be much safer with help and she may come back. Atyel seemed very credible to Aya but probably has ways of being convincing that she didn't exhibit to Aya too.

They seem amenable to waiting. 

Summer ends. "I'm heading back to the city, do you want to come or stay?"

"I'll come."

Nod. "Want to ask everyone else?"

"You don't need the plantation staffed?"

"I do, but if they all want to come live in the city I should know that so I can figure out a way."

She goes and asks if anyone would care to accompany them into the city.

Couple people are interested.

Which she relays to Amait.

They can come too. 

Back they go.

Secretarying and notetaking and snakes with rows of eyes up and down their sides ho hum.

She is sometimes clearly resisting the urge to ask but she doesn't ask. She explains her votes to the two new slaveowners - this one's mostly a favor traded for these six votes on this other decision, this is a bad idea because it's mostly supported by this warmongering faction who should be stifled lest they get their war, this one's actually a good idea here's why...

"Would the vote actually empower the warmongering faction, or make them uppity, or do some complicated thing that I'm not intuiting?"

"Convince other people they're useful allies, mostly."

"So - any time someone gets what they want, it looks like it's more useful to have them want what you want, which is done principally by offering them things they want?"

"Approximately. There are too many votes for most people to track them all individually, 'just got a major policy victory' is a good shortcut."

"You are obviously tracking them all individually."

"Well, yes. Do you want me to go through them all and explain what they want and what they're useful for -"

"...sure."

Amait pulls out notes but doesn't consult them much. This person is proxy for a senile old man with six votes down south; she mostly just wants to secure her inheritance and her last eight votes have been like so and she might marry this other guy - Amait doesn't approve, but if it looks inevitable enough she'll arrange it, have more steering power that way - senile old man could be coaxed into naming his grandson instead but grandson would side with the warmongers when he showed up to vote at all. It still might be worth it if she could frequently arrange for him to be too drunk to show up for votes but he might mature out of that tendency. This person votes without a proxy and wants money flowing towards his township and his wife's family is rich off the international slave trade and he votes like this...

Aya takes her own, differently organized notes.