Chương 66: A comfortable life 2

The farmer in his cleanest clothes lead a young boy who looked much like himself and a larger grey furred humanoid down the dirt path leading to the village slightly higher on the mountain.

"There is a path from the village crossing behind the mountain that leads to a small port town. We get shipments every now and again but it's never much. Wagons can't travel the route easily so it's mostly things they can pack on the back of mules. Furs, cloth, some salted fish we can place an order for wood or other materials but we have to pay in advance and wait the nearly two months before the shipment arrives.

It's a very simple way to live and that means the young ones who grow up wanting to be social end up traveling over to the port town. Most of the young stay and help their families, sometimes marrying into another one. Either way the village grows even if it's slowly." Blick was enjoying the lesson on the village history and culture. He was looking forward to seeing the people during their evening activities. Apparently there is an end of week party every week.

People aren't expected to come, but humans are social animals. They tend to want to be around others like them. Some more than others it seems. Blick wandered if maybe his people would have groups in other parts of his world that did something similar. It was hard to imagine groks throwing a social event and the idea made him smirk.

He was broken from his daydreams when the group walked around a rocky outcropping in the path and his eyes landed on the stretch of stone houses nearly carved into the side of the mountain pass. The buildings weren't beautiful in the sense that they had artwork or colors. The sight stole his attention because it was new. He had seen wood huts, a castle of stones, an academy with large towering windows, but never a building carved directly into a mountain. The idea hadn't even occurred to him.

He loved the way one entrance sat above another and a layer of steps was carved into the wall leading to the balcony of another. There were people on what amounted to the street, on random balconies, and even some kids playing on what looked like a swing hanging off one of the larger balconies farther ahead. As the group made the path he could see the people recognized Clarance and Chris, but they froze and stared at Blick.

Not an unexpected reaction but the first time he found himself wedged between rock walls with just one way out. A slight unconscious unease settled over him as he recognized how close to a trap this area looked. Clarance must have noticed the tension as he shouted out to the onlookers while waving his hands over his head.

"No worries everyone, we have a visitor tonight. We will be at the arena if you're interested." That was enough to convince most and the mood turned from uneasy to curious as men, women, and children looked on at the strange beast of a man walking down the path toward the end of week festival grounds. The path opened up just after the first ten or so carved buildings into what was clearly an arena. A large open flat area was surrounded on all sides by stone benches and terraced overwatch areas.

The large circle in the center held a bunch of loose dirt surrounded by a wooden fence that was maybe as tall as Blicks chest. There were several younger looking adults working inside a large pin on the opposite side of the arena who all stopped and stared as the trio made their way over to some seats.

"The party won't start for another couple of hours, but I usually let Chris help the teenagers prep the animals, and I'm pretty sure we will be taking some extra time on introducing you. I don't want to spoil the surprise so don't even ask." This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Blick moved his eyes from the old farmer over towards a small group of kids clinging to their parent.

"Stay here for a second so I can explain to them will ya." Looking back to see Clarance had a confident grin, the grok calmed himself down and nodded his consent. The adults came to meet him first and they spread the information about him like a wildfire. By the fifth time explaining where he was from and what he was to someone the next already knew and wanted different answers. Most were normal kinds of curious questions and as the grok and humans became comfortable more kids approached.

A small girl was being carried by an old white haired man. The two approached and the mood became oddly somber. The other kids stepped away and slowly stopped giggling as Blick greeted the two newcomers.

"Hello." He said with a three fingered wave to the little girl. Her brown hair was tied into two separate bubbles on either side of her head. She had a yellow dress on that looked cleaner than any other child's, and the old man carrying her had a horse shoe of white hair on his head with a thick white mustache. His clothes were more of the usual like every other adult. Most of these people seemed to dress very similar in bland browns and tans with a comfortable but functional vibe.

That made the bright yellow dress stand out all the more. The little girl and her mount stopped in front of blick before the man lowered himself to a knee and stood her up gently. She nervously walked on unsteady legs the last two steps to him as he watched her curious. In a tiny weak voice she asked "Are you a teddy bear?" Clarance and Chris both laughed as several others smiled at the question. Blick had no context for it so he just looked to Clarance with a raised brow.

"Yes little Beth. He's the first real life teddy bear!" Chris shouted out before anyone had the chance to respond to the little girl. Whatever that meant to the kids wasn't clear, but this little girl all but flew into Blicks arms with a squeal. He sat there with his hands out to well clear of the child and he looked frantically back and forth between her and her escort. The girl giggled and rubbed her face and hands through his fur before climbing up his leg and onto his broad shoulders.

This scene made the other children laugh and several of them joined her on their new furry climbing adventure. The old man started to cry even with a smile holding his mustache up on each corner. Blick was torn between his lack of understanding and the kids playing. Eventually the little girl named Beth achieved success by climbing onto his head and was slapping one of his ears while giggling at the way it bounced back.

One little firecracker of a boy was trying to pick up Blicks foot so he obliged the young man and lifted it along with the boy who was now holding on and laughing as loud as ever. It was a scene unheard of before. The normal festive atmosphere started off on an unprecedented high. With the evening not even upon them the people of the village began preparing with loud conversations snd laughter. The strange bear looking person had made the best possible first impression and he hadn't done anything but sit down.

What he did discover though, was a new sound. A sound he couldn't have imagined on his own world. The sound of children laughing. Blick was all teeth as he smiled and played with the children before the real party began.