Chương 37: Meeting

With all the commotion over the last several days, Blick had moved quite far from the gate tree. Keeping in mind where it was should he need to return. He doubted that would be anytime soon with the danger they had brought down on themselves. A falling tree was loud in such a silent forest. The sound traveled far and for multiple days. The fact that things went quiet yesterday meant the soldiers left back through the gate, they were all killed, or they had figured out it was best to listen to the local.

Currently he sat in his hanging bed in a tree top watching the sun set past the purple cloud. This land was beautiful. To his right he could see one of the glowing tree groves that looked a bit bigger than it had. To his left there was a flight of birds silently crossing the sky. And in front of him was a pale yellow sun slowly dropping behind the mountains and leaving pink and orange streaks through the blue sky above. So much color made him smile. The world was full of dangerous and beautiful things.

It was about mid day as he explored a new stretch of wood when he saw a break in the ground cover. Thinking it a normal game trail he walked over to look for prints so he could decide his next step. Blick looked at the foot print in the soft dirt, then at his own foot. This print was a bit larger than his own, but it was the same shape. He had found his first signs of his kin. Not sure if it would be his father or some random member of his species, he progressed slowly and deliberately along this new path.

The trail led in a nearly straight line through the brush. Nearly an hour into the trip he found the well that he visited with his father as a child. Another member of his species was currently filling a water sac about the size of its own abdomen while its partner kept watch for danger. Blick was not considered danger according to the lack of a reaction when he entered the small clearing. The two just kept about their business and only acknowledged him when he stood where he was and stared at them.

The one on guard tilted their head and grunted at Blick. It seemed like a question but Blick did not know how to explain his situation without using human words. With a shrug and a nod he began walking the clearing trying to memorize each trail leading away from the well. Maybe if he followed each one to its end he would eventually bump into his old home hole. And if his family was no longer there he may be able to track them based on this location being a necessity.

Leaving the two currently there alone he went back down the trail he came from first. He now understood where the well was in relation to the tree he was sleeping in. This was a huge upgrade from the unsure searching he had been doing for nearly two months now. The first trail led to a burrow that wasn't his family, having searched the area immediately surrounding the trails end he found a single individual cleaning and skinning its meal near a fire pit.

When it saw Blick coming it grunted with a nod and offered some of the meat. Blick waved a hand downward as a way to so "no thanks" and with a shrug the other person continued its work. While he stood there unsure of how to proceed the other person stood and came over. Blick didn't know any customs or what was expected as he hadn't lived with his kin long enough. He used his words and only got a strange look as the other individual tried to copy them.

Imitation does not equal understanding and he eventually got frustrated. The other individual could clearly see his body language and patted him on the shoulder before waving him to follow. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The home hole these people used were well hidden. Usually built with small hidden entrance and dug out over time to make room for a family. Entering the underground home behind them, Blick appreciated the art.

Along the walls were hide covering with drawings of this families story. They had normal things the humans had in their homes, just a bit different. The bed was basically a pile of furs out of the way. The food table was made entirely of carved wood. The carvings in the table even held meaning as his kin could carve without tools using the claws gifted to them by nature. Without a language these people shared traditions and learning through paintings and carvings. This was ever present inside their homes.

Realizing they were waiting on him to stop looking around, Blick nodded and stepped closer as the person handed him a slip of hide. Pointing at it then at the stack of slips behind him the person sat down and started displaying slip after slip. This was a family story. He was basically watching this family build a home, make pups, and conquer beasts. The images showed the mate take a wound that was clearly fatal.

The next slip showed a person leading two pups in a hunt, then later teaching them how to build a hide hole. Finally the last slip was the person standing watching four people's backs as they walked away. When he looked up he saw the slight white color to the fur around his hosts eyes. The bitter sweet eyes that was sharing a life of accomplishment and loss. The last one. The one living out here alone because their mate was dead and pups had grown and moved on to make their own family.

Blick reached out with a hand placed on this strangers shoulder in understanding. With a nod they gather a new slip and hand it to Blick. He looked at the blank slip for just a second before his host pushed over two small pots with brushes in them. One pot held a grayish slime, while the other held a black slime. With a simple gesture to continue, his host made it clear.

"Tell me your story". Then they got up and walked to a stack in the corner and moved some stuff around before bringing out a lot more slips. Blick painted. At first it was difficult, but as he struggled this elder held his hand and showed him the movements needed. Blick painted for hours. Food was brought in at some point. And when he was finished, Blick shared his story to a wide eyed elder.

It was well into the night by the time they finished this form of story telling, so it was the first time since leaving home hole that Blick shared a bed with anyone. The culture didn't have shame or privacy concerns. Blick had just never met anyone of his species so he did not know what was normal. When the elder went over to sleep, they tilted their head as he started to leave. Before Blick made it to the exit, the elder stopped him with a hand in his shoulder and shook their head.

They pointed him back to the pile of furs and led him to lay down. His hanging bed was comfortable, but nothing like this pile of furs and sharing space with another ball or fur like himself. The feeling of safety and comfort put him into the deepest sleep he could remember.