“Really,” muttered Eighth Click as he landed by St’Stck. “This is just downright insulting!”
St’Stck, showing great amounts of self control he rather thought, refrained from heaving a dramatic sigh as Eighth Click pushed into his personal space on the high perch that overlooked the broad open space that served the humans as a recreational ground, the quad, as they called it.
St’stck could not assume that the statement needed any response so he settled back down to where he had nominally been watching the match between the two teams of humans hurling a lightweight plastic disc back and forth over a net suspended in the air. Really, at this distance it was all rather a blurry patch of movement, but the cheerful sounds of human exertion that drifted over the quad to his sensory hairs, the warmth of the local sun, the stated fact that teams changed quickly and he would not be required to recognize a ‘winner’, and the swirls of movement made for a relaxing state of meditation. Or rather it had.
“As if any winged with his horns attached wouldn’t be able to dodge such a giant, slow moving mass!” Eighth Click was going on, working himself up into a fury as indicated by the way his fur rippled in eerie waves down his body. “As to getting smacked or grabbed by a human! If any Winged has the energy to lift off the perch we have the speed and dexterity to-”
St’Stck edged away slowly trying to slip back into the easy meditative stated he had been in before this nuisance had landed beside him. The swirling patters of human movement were very soothing and he was quite ignoring irritating voice when it changed cadence and pitch suddenly to a directed question.
“What did you ask?” St’Stck asked, “I wasn’t listening.” He wondered when he had stopped being horrified by having to make such an admission.
“Why would Susie lie about her abilities?” Eighth Click presumably repeated. “Is it some sort of long term competitive behavior?”
St’Stck stiffened up a bit. He didn’t know this Susie by name but as irritating as Eighth Click was he was usually astute in his observations of human behavior.
“What was Human Susie lying about?” He asked.
“You really weren’t listening,” Eighth Click observed with a snort and a toss of his head. “She as always been quite adamant to me that she was bad at this game.”
Eighth Click, for a wonder, actually paused as if he expected a reaction from St’Stck and was giving him time to think about his response.
“What game are they playing?” St’Stck asked. “I can’t actually see details at this distance and they have never explained it to me.”
Eighth Click made a sound of surprise and rubbed his horns thoughtfully.
“It is an object to forbidden zone game,” he explained, speaking slowly for a Winged. “They have that lightweight flat disc that is designed as a wing surface with no inherent directonality. The humans catch and fling the wing surface with their hands over an obstical that sepearates the two forbiden zones. The goal is to get the wing surface to strike the ground in your opponents forbidden zone.” Eighth Click paused again and St’Stck pondered this.
“And Human Susie claimed to have little skill at this, but you judge that she has much skill at this game?” St’Stck asked.
Eighth Click bounced his body about in a Winged gesture of confirmation.
“She swore to me that she lacked the hand eye coordination to catch the wing surface, the coordination to fling it directionality, and the power to fling it any useful distance,” he explained, “and she is nowhere near the best player on the field but she is frequently catching the wing surface and directing it with intention.”
Eighth Click actually let silence fall over their thought as St’Stck ground this between his mandibles. Though St’STck could see that Eighth Click was twitching to prompt him to speech.
“Human Susie is not one to exagerate or mistate her abilitys in my observation arc,” St’Stck finally said.
“Oh I agree!” Eighth Click interjected. “That is why this is nipping my wingtips!”
“She is however fairly young in comparison to the other humans on this campus,” St’Stck mused, rubbing his chilcerae thoughtfully with one paw.
“What does that have to do with the topic?” Eighth Click asked .
“Those massive brains humans have,” St’Stck said. “I am under the impression that they do no fully finish developing till a human closes in on thirty of their standard years.”
Eighth Click actually paused and that and gave a thoughtful chirp.
“Human Susie is only twenty-five standard Earth years,” St’Stck observed.
“Maybe the last time she played this game she really was as bad as she said,” Eighth Click mused. “She did tell me that she hadn’t attempted the game in many years and was only doing so now because a particularly friendly human had pressed her into it.”
“It must be quite strange to have a feel for you abilities for many years, and then have that changed by a game,” St’stck observed.
“I suppose so,” Eighth Click agreed. “Like going bald, but in reverse.”
St’Stck absently patted his own head to check for thinning.
St’Stck, showing great amounts of self control he rather thought, refrained from heaving a dramatic sigh as Eighth Click pushed into his personal space on the high perch that overlooked the broad open space that served the humans as a recreational ground, the quad, as they called it.
St’stck could not assume that the statement needed any response so he settled back down to where he had nominally been watching the match between the two teams of humans hurling a lightweight plastic disc back and forth over a net suspended in the air. Really, at this distance it was all rather a blurry patch of movement, but the cheerful sounds of human exertion that drifted over the quad to his sensory hairs, the warmth of the local sun, the stated fact that teams changed quickly and he would not be required to recognize a ‘winner’, and the swirls of movement made for a relaxing state of meditation. Or rather it had.
“As if any winged with his horns attached wouldn’t be able to dodge such a giant, slow moving mass!” Eighth Click was going on, working himself up into a fury as indicated by the way his fur rippled in eerie waves down his body. “As to getting smacked or grabbed by a human! If any Winged has the energy to lift off the perch we have the speed and dexterity to-”
St’Stck edged away slowly trying to slip back into the easy meditative stated he had been in before this nuisance had landed beside him. The swirling patters of human movement were very soothing and he was quite ignoring irritating voice when it changed cadence and pitch suddenly to a directed question.
“What did you ask?” St’Stck asked, “I wasn’t listening.” He wondered when he had stopped being horrified by having to make such an admission.
“Why would Susie lie about her abilities?” Eighth Click presumably repeated. “Is it some sort of long term competitive behavior?”
St’Stck stiffened up a bit. He didn’t know this Susie by name but as irritating as Eighth Click was he was usually astute in his observations of human behavior.
“What was Human Susie lying about?” He asked.
“You really weren’t listening,” Eighth Click observed with a snort and a toss of his head. “She as always been quite adamant to me that she was bad at this game.”
Eighth Click, for a wonder, actually paused as if he expected a reaction from St’Stck and was giving him time to think about his response.
“What game are they playing?” St’Stck asked. “I can’t actually see details at this distance and they have never explained it to me.”
Eighth Click made a sound of surprise and rubbed his horns thoughtfully.
“It is an object to forbidden zone game,” he explained, speaking slowly for a Winged. “They have that lightweight flat disc that is designed as a wing surface with no inherent directonality. The humans catch and fling the wing surface with their hands over an obstical that sepearates the two forbiden zones. The goal is to get the wing surface to strike the ground in your opponents forbidden zone.” Eighth Click paused again and St’Stck pondered this.
“And Human Susie claimed to have little skill at this, but you judge that she has much skill at this game?” St’Stck asked.
Eighth Click bounced his body about in a Winged gesture of confirmation.
“She swore to me that she lacked the hand eye coordination to catch the wing surface, the coordination to fling it directionality, and the power to fling it any useful distance,” he explained, “and she is nowhere near the best player on the field but she is frequently catching the wing surface and directing it with intention.”
Eighth Click actually let silence fall over their thought as St’Stck ground this between his mandibles. Though St’STck could see that Eighth Click was twitching to prompt him to speech.
“Human Susie is not one to exagerate or mistate her abilitys in my observation arc,” St’Stck finally said.
“Oh I agree!” Eighth Click interjected. “That is why this is nipping my wingtips!”
“She is however fairly young in comparison to the other humans on this campus,” St’Stck mused, rubbing his chilcerae thoughtfully with one paw.
“What does that have to do with the topic?” Eighth Click asked .
“Those massive brains humans have,” St’Stck said. “I am under the impression that they do no fully finish developing till a human closes in on thirty of their standard years.”
Eighth Click actually paused and that and gave a thoughtful chirp.
“Human Susie is only twenty-five standard Earth years,” St’Stck observed.
“Maybe the last time she played this game she really was as bad as she said,” Eighth Click mused. “She did tell me that she hadn’t attempted the game in many years and was only doing so now because a particularly friendly human had pressed her into it.”
“It must be quite strange to have a feel for you abilities for many years, and then have that changed by a game,” St’stck observed.
“I suppose so,” Eighth Click agreed. “Like going bald, but in reverse.”
St’Stck absently patted his own head to check for thinning.
RSS Feed
