Humans are Weird - The Mountain
Fstk’tk pattered happily along the catwalk letting the ambient vibrations of the base pulse up through her paws while her gripping claws adjusted the basket she held in front of her. The air tasted every so faintly of the staining agent the wood-fiber class was using to apply patterns to their baskets (hers was one of their unfinished products) and the air was muzzy with the vapor and particles in the air of textile industry. Fstk’tk made a mental note to run a manual check of the atmospheric quality sensors as she reached Human Friend Charm’s living quarters. She chittered happily to herself as she tapped the door bell and felt the vibrations of the chimes that sounded in the dwelling place. This was followed by a roar of greeting from Human Friend Charm and Fstk’tk trotted through the door.
Human Friend Charm had a wonderful sense of taste in interior decoration, that was sometimes visible behind the shelves crammed with every conceivable implement for weaving fibers of every sort, balls, tubes, and tangles of fibers of every sort from brilliantly colored synthetic blends to more muted natural tones, half finished weaving projects, and books of every description. Fstk’tk mindful stepped on a tome that seemed to be about weaving seats for some precarious looking water craft because she couldn’t avoid it.
“You here for that quivit sock?” Human Friend Charm asked, rising with what would have been majestic slowness from her practical research over a natural fiber square.
“Yes!” Fstk’tk said, holding up the basket. “First Textile Engineer is going to be giving a speech on thermodynamics modification and domestic species and I want to have it as an example!”
Human Friend Charm was already, rudely, turning to survey the crowded room and Fstk’tk had to remind herself that humans did not adhere to the same rules of behavior as a Trisk.
“Laundry pile,” Human Friend Charm suddenly declared, and began lumbering towards what Fstk’tk had initially thought was a new piece of human sized furniture. However as she circled the spider-walk around the interior of the room she realized with some shock that what must be most of Human Friend Charm’s clothing supply was piled in one corner, off-gassing warm mammal scents mingled with bacterial stench. Human Friend Charm folded over the pile, doubling her long body up, and began snatching at the top layer, grabbing individual clothing items, any one of which would have made a serviceable field tent for a Trisk, and tossing them lightly behind her until she had shifted nearly half the mass of the pile.
“There!” Human Friend Charm declared, snatching a small patch of vibrant color that resolved into the hand-worked quivit sock that had been the talk of the college for weeks when Human Friend Charm had first produced the original pair. According to Human Friend Charm the left sock had long since slipped through the sub-space ether that ate such socks, but Fstk’tk was reasonably sure that was human hyperbole. “Not gonna be a problem that it’s dirty?” Human Friend Charm asked, making a one handed attempt to organize her long hairs ash she handed the item to Fstk’tk.
“No problem at all,” Fstk’tk assured her. “This will help to demonstrate use – but - ”
Fstk’tk hesitated and Human Friend Charm looked at her curiously.
“But what Fussy Lil’ Friend?” the human prompted.
“But why is it dirty,” Fstk’tk finally worked up the courage to ask. “Are the laundry facilities non-functional?”
Human Friend Charm’s face contorted first in anger, then in self-directed annoyance, then in exasperated effort as she clearly fought through instinctive defensive reactions.
“Because I’ll get to my laundry eventually,” Human Friend Charm finally said, turning abruptly back to her work.
Fstk’tk gave a click of understanding and turned to leave. Of course what the human had said made no sense, not even grammatically in response to Fstk’tk’s question. However Fstk’tk had long since learned that such a reply actually meant that the human was dealing with complex psychological motivations that even the affected human might not fully understand and did not want to speak of it. Still Fstk’tk stuck a mental thread to the pile of clothing on the floor for later tugging.
Why would a perfectly healthy adult let a chaotic mess accumulate in their living space when the option of removing it was so easily and readily available?
Human Friend Charm had a wonderful sense of taste in interior decoration, that was sometimes visible behind the shelves crammed with every conceivable implement for weaving fibers of every sort, balls, tubes, and tangles of fibers of every sort from brilliantly colored synthetic blends to more muted natural tones, half finished weaving projects, and books of every description. Fstk’tk mindful stepped on a tome that seemed to be about weaving seats for some precarious looking water craft because she couldn’t avoid it.
“You here for that quivit sock?” Human Friend Charm asked, rising with what would have been majestic slowness from her practical research over a natural fiber square.
“Yes!” Fstk’tk said, holding up the basket. “First Textile Engineer is going to be giving a speech on thermodynamics modification and domestic species and I want to have it as an example!”
Human Friend Charm was already, rudely, turning to survey the crowded room and Fstk’tk had to remind herself that humans did not adhere to the same rules of behavior as a Trisk.
“Laundry pile,” Human Friend Charm suddenly declared, and began lumbering towards what Fstk’tk had initially thought was a new piece of human sized furniture. However as she circled the spider-walk around the interior of the room she realized with some shock that what must be most of Human Friend Charm’s clothing supply was piled in one corner, off-gassing warm mammal scents mingled with bacterial stench. Human Friend Charm folded over the pile, doubling her long body up, and began snatching at the top layer, grabbing individual clothing items, any one of which would have made a serviceable field tent for a Trisk, and tossing them lightly behind her until she had shifted nearly half the mass of the pile.
“There!” Human Friend Charm declared, snatching a small patch of vibrant color that resolved into the hand-worked quivit sock that had been the talk of the college for weeks when Human Friend Charm had first produced the original pair. According to Human Friend Charm the left sock had long since slipped through the sub-space ether that ate such socks, but Fstk’tk was reasonably sure that was human hyperbole. “Not gonna be a problem that it’s dirty?” Human Friend Charm asked, making a one handed attempt to organize her long hairs ash she handed the item to Fstk’tk.
“No problem at all,” Fstk’tk assured her. “This will help to demonstrate use – but - ”
Fstk’tk hesitated and Human Friend Charm looked at her curiously.
“But what Fussy Lil’ Friend?” the human prompted.
“But why is it dirty,” Fstk’tk finally worked up the courage to ask. “Are the laundry facilities non-functional?”
Human Friend Charm’s face contorted first in anger, then in self-directed annoyance, then in exasperated effort as she clearly fought through instinctive defensive reactions.
“Because I’ll get to my laundry eventually,” Human Friend Charm finally said, turning abruptly back to her work.
Fstk’tk gave a click of understanding and turned to leave. Of course what the human had said made no sense, not even grammatically in response to Fstk’tk’s question. However Fstk’tk had long since learned that such a reply actually meant that the human was dealing with complex psychological motivations that even the affected human might not fully understand and did not want to speak of it. Still Fstk’tk stuck a mental thread to the pile of clothing on the floor for later tugging.
Why would a perfectly healthy adult let a chaotic mess accumulate in their living space when the option of removing it was so easily and readily available?
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