Humans are Weird – Rough Affection
Notes the Passing Changes gave a careful tug at the tendrils that were currently soaking in the silty mud lower down the hill and gave up with a distant feeling of sluggish depression. Over head the clouds occasionally parted, letting short bursts of sunlight down to evaporate the surface water, and the artificial drainage systems the humans and Shatar had put in were slowly letting the floodwaters seep out of the lower agricultural land. Notes the Passing Changes had meant to pull mass fully up to the higher ground around the more motile species dwellings before the spring rains had come, but a large portions of the tendrils had run through the crystallized water of the upper layers of the soil, and to remove them too quickly would have caused abrasion damage. Then a strong wind had blown down from the mountains and had brought sudden warmth and torrential rains, saturating the ground, and Notes the Passing Changes tendrils.
Notes the Passing Changes had of course recalled all of the waterproof tendrils to high ground, and more than two thirds of mass was wound around tree trunks, coiled in the ever mild ground cover of the Shatar gardens, or filling the walls of the human dwellings. Notes the Passing Changes even had a new and interesting awareness of the lizard folks granaries and rather hoped the presence there wasn’t going to be seen as an infection. However, very nearly a third of the mass had been in the warmer biomass of the low lying areas, and had not been optimized to repel water at this level. The tissues had been saturated and from the feel of them if they were to be retracted they would tear. This meant the Gathering had to leave them in the soaked mud and could only send signals to adapt them for movement in mud, no small task with so much of the biomass locked down by the freezing air. If Notes the Passing Changes worked quickly the should be adapted before tendril rot set in.
One of the human dwellings, the one belonging to particular friends, a young reproduction bonded couple named Pat and Sandy, suddenly vibrated in such a way as indicated that the front door had been closed rather vigorously. More than glad for something else to ponder on other than chances of a bad case of rot, Notes the Passing Changes observed the two humans lumbering down the path that led away from their dwelling and was pleased to note the sound of speech. It was in the low, soothing tones that indicated harmony between the speakers, despite their awkward movements.
With a sudden flicker of understanding Notes the Passing Changes realized that the thick mud was presenting a problem to the motile bipeds, possibly as much of a problems as it presented to the more stationary Gathering. With only their two limbs to provide support, any slipping in the combination of floodwater and soil would be quite hazardous. Both humans were carefully setting each foot down to maximize the surface area that interacted with the mud that covered the path. When Notes the Passing Changes focused on their talk it became clear that they were discussing how the path might be altered to present grater traction. They had just suggested lining the path with wood fragments, a tasty prospect Notes the Passing Changes had to admit, when one of Sandy’s limbs failed to find sufficient traction in the mud and she have a yell of surprise. Her upper limbs flailed and she staggered forward, presumably in an attempt to find her balance. With a splash and a vibration Notes the Passing Changes felt meters away Sandy fell face down into a particularly deep puddle of mud.
Notes the Passing Changes shifted awareness into one of the small evergreen trees. Though the view was fragmented over the thousands of needles they still gave a decent view of what was happening. Pat had made several quick steps towards his mate, calling out in distress and risking falling himself, until Sandy had heaved herself out of the mud, gasping and staggering to her feet. Pat stopped, ran his directional eyes up and down his mud coated mate, and burst out into laughter.
Notes the Passing Changes was pleased that the time and effort taken to infuse the acidic evergreens with was paying off so well. The visual information they provided in the winter was turning out to be highly valuable. Notes the Passing Changes would have entirely missed the subtle movements of human eyes if the only sources of information were buried vibration tendrils, and it was simply too hard to move light sensitive nodes through this mud. As it was there was a far more than sufficient view when Sandy stood to her full height and bared her teeth at her mate.
“Ye think tis funny dae ye?” She demanded, her accent thick and apparent.
“A wee bit,” her mate responded between laughs.
“Well then,” Sandy said stalking towards him with slow deliberate steps. “Yer caw.”
Pat gave a yelp and began moving off with an odd gate that Notes the Passing Changes supposed was meant to give him both speed and sure footing in the mud.
“Stay away from me swamp thing!” Pat yelled.
“Ah! Coorie in ye feartie-cat!” Sandy called out, spreading her arm wide and stumping after Pat. “Tis just a bit o’ muck!”
Notes the Passing Changes let attention drift from the visual feed from the tree as they got further away. This was a rather amusing and distracting situation. Both of the humans were laughing, so despite the aggression displays Sandy was presenting this was likely a friendly interaction. Pondering over what was so amusing about watching your mate fall face first into the mud would help pass time until the water receded.
“Flying Sparks”
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Drake McCarty should have died when the flash flood shattered his leg, but something defied the very laws of nature to shield him from the force of the storm. Sworn to keep a secret he doesn’t understand; Drake is swept up in a world where trees walk, mountains dance, and stars sing of war.
Science Fantasy Adventure Story
100K Words
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