Humans are Weird - Hobby
Hst’hst trotted along the weekly tunnel, absently hooking a lower talon into every third support strand and feeling the give.
“I thought you were going to let your work drift off after you left the main platform,” Czt’czt observed with quite amusement twitching in her mandibles.
Hst’hst felt her hairs prickle in annoyance and she deliberately took far longer than a polite six seconds to respond. She did however alter her strides to make it harder for her to fell the strengths of the tunnel.
“It is no easy matter to redirect ones attention from a task when people’s lives depend on doing it correctly,” Hst’hst said.
The response was far too harsh for the context, and Czt’czt flinched back slightly at the implied rebuke. Hst’hst was attempting to wrestle a sincere apology up past her main lung when Czt’czt shook her legs out and visible dismissed the negative response.
“The winds are breathing past the spires,” she said, lifting three appendages as if she could feel the wind in the tunnel. “The air will taste like life, and we have a human friend to describe the stars to us!”
Hst’hst took the hint as the human said and waited only the polite six seconds to respond with the same emotional paw.
“It will be wonderful to run my claws through the sand,” she agreed. “Three on my right side have grown ragged this test cycle and the sensations of the beach will be delightful.”
Czt’czt angled her abdomen at Hst’hst, bringing her primary cone of vision to bear. For several long seconds the twitching of her mandibles indicated that Czt’czt was going to say something in response. If Hst’hst’s past experience was any guide something about artistic appreciation of relaxation and the soulless pawing of an engineer. However the calming pause did its work and Czt’czt decided to end the conversation there. They reached the exit and trotted out onto the platform.
Below them stretched the massive emptiness of a human-functional transpiration node. Powerful winds smelling of mammal blew down corridors with rigid, stone like walls. Brightly colored art of a broad, splotchy type chosen by the human decorators faded into indistinct, but still pleasant patterns in the distance. Human Friend Paloma was sitting on one of the ‘benches’ massive shelves meant for humans to fold their bodies onto to give them rest from the constant strain of their bipedal swaying.
Czt’czt rushed ahead waving a little silver patch of silk she kept on hand just for getting human attention. The flashing of the silver cloth caught Human Friend Paloma’s attention and she unfolded herself to her standing height, as she did so, shoving something into her backpack.
“Ready for a sunset on the lake?” Human Friend Paloma called out waving.
Hst’hst scrambled forward and the two Trisk eagerly settled on the human’s shoulders. Human Friend Paloma walked down the steps of the platform, the ‘falling’ sensation of going down stairs on a human was very different, more terrifying, than simply walking. They held on tight with all talons until Human Friend Paloma’s feet found the broad, sandy trail – a highway by Trisk standards- that led down to the lake shore. The trees sped by until they opened out to the warm, hazy light of the beach. Hst’hst could just see the net-fence that kept the local predators out of their recreational area at the rim of her distance vision. Human Friend Paloma examined the uniform stretch of beach for some mysterious combination of sand and distance from the water that would make a ‘good’ place to set down. This process done the human folded herself down and began writhing around to take her backpack off.
Hst’hst and Czt’czt took this as her usual less that perfectly polite signal that the ride was over and scrambled down into the sand. They took the time to make sure that they were in the human’s narrow cone of vision and Hst’hst began vigorously running her claws through the sand. As she had anticipated the sensation was delightful. The sand was warm and the abrasion was perfect, catching the rough edges of her claws just right. Czt’czt was turning slow circles, pulling the sand up into a perfect abdominal couch. Once she settled she would begin basking in the natural wonder, or some such thing that planning architects considered necessary.
As her claws began to smooth Hst’hst was distracted by the sound of a steady clicking. It gradually became clear that it was originating from just over the curve of Human Friend Paloma’s leg. Curious, Hst’hst trotted out a little further so she could see over the leg. Human Friend Paloma held two massive spikes and was using them to coil long soft-fiber into a loose cloth. Hst’hst waved to Czt’czt, catching both her and Human Friend Paloma’s attention.
“It would appear that I am not the only one who brought work to the beach,” Hst’hst said in deliberately loud tones.
“What are you talking about?” Human Friend Paloma asked, tilting her head to one side even as the spikes kept clicking.
“You brought that work task with you to our recreation time,” Hst’hst said, tilting a meaningful angle at Czt’czt.
“This isn’t work,” Human Friend Paloma said with a surprised tone. “This scarf is pure recreation.”
Hst’hst and Czt’czt paused, waiting for clarification. When none came Czt’czt stepped hesitantly forward.
“Human Friend Paloma,” she said. “You are in charge of making sure the human cloth weavers in this area are developing different methods, right?”
“That’s my job,” Human Friend Paloma agreed.
“Then how is this not part of your work?” Czt’czt pressed.
“Well, I’m not getting paid for one,” Human Friend Paloma said. “Two, I like it.”
“Isn’t the point of recreation time to rest from, doing work?” Czt’czt asked.
“Well,” Human Friend Paloma said with a wide grin. “There’s the third point. Responsibility and expectations. No one is making me do this, there is nothing on the line. I just want to.”
“And that is enough of a difference to make doing the same thing be work or recreation?” Czt’czt asked.
Human Friend Paloma nodded and then went back to glancing between her not-work and the distant sky. Czt’czt made a gesture of confusion to Hst’hst with one paw, but Hst’hst only shrugged and resumed running her paws through the sand. At least this meant that Czt’czt would no longer be treating her like a fuzzy little one.
“I thought you were going to let your work drift off after you left the main platform,” Czt’czt observed with quite amusement twitching in her mandibles.
Hst’hst felt her hairs prickle in annoyance and she deliberately took far longer than a polite six seconds to respond. She did however alter her strides to make it harder for her to fell the strengths of the tunnel.
“It is no easy matter to redirect ones attention from a task when people’s lives depend on doing it correctly,” Hst’hst said.
The response was far too harsh for the context, and Czt’czt flinched back slightly at the implied rebuke. Hst’hst was attempting to wrestle a sincere apology up past her main lung when Czt’czt shook her legs out and visible dismissed the negative response.
“The winds are breathing past the spires,” she said, lifting three appendages as if she could feel the wind in the tunnel. “The air will taste like life, and we have a human friend to describe the stars to us!”
Hst’hst took the hint as the human said and waited only the polite six seconds to respond with the same emotional paw.
“It will be wonderful to run my claws through the sand,” she agreed. “Three on my right side have grown ragged this test cycle and the sensations of the beach will be delightful.”
Czt’czt angled her abdomen at Hst’hst, bringing her primary cone of vision to bear. For several long seconds the twitching of her mandibles indicated that Czt’czt was going to say something in response. If Hst’hst’s past experience was any guide something about artistic appreciation of relaxation and the soulless pawing of an engineer. However the calming pause did its work and Czt’czt decided to end the conversation there. They reached the exit and trotted out onto the platform.
Below them stretched the massive emptiness of a human-functional transpiration node. Powerful winds smelling of mammal blew down corridors with rigid, stone like walls. Brightly colored art of a broad, splotchy type chosen by the human decorators faded into indistinct, but still pleasant patterns in the distance. Human Friend Paloma was sitting on one of the ‘benches’ massive shelves meant for humans to fold their bodies onto to give them rest from the constant strain of their bipedal swaying.
Czt’czt rushed ahead waving a little silver patch of silk she kept on hand just for getting human attention. The flashing of the silver cloth caught Human Friend Paloma’s attention and she unfolded herself to her standing height, as she did so, shoving something into her backpack.
“Ready for a sunset on the lake?” Human Friend Paloma called out waving.
Hst’hst scrambled forward and the two Trisk eagerly settled on the human’s shoulders. Human Friend Paloma walked down the steps of the platform, the ‘falling’ sensation of going down stairs on a human was very different, more terrifying, than simply walking. They held on tight with all talons until Human Friend Paloma’s feet found the broad, sandy trail – a highway by Trisk standards- that led down to the lake shore. The trees sped by until they opened out to the warm, hazy light of the beach. Hst’hst could just see the net-fence that kept the local predators out of their recreational area at the rim of her distance vision. Human Friend Paloma examined the uniform stretch of beach for some mysterious combination of sand and distance from the water that would make a ‘good’ place to set down. This process done the human folded herself down and began writhing around to take her backpack off.
Hst’hst and Czt’czt took this as her usual less that perfectly polite signal that the ride was over and scrambled down into the sand. They took the time to make sure that they were in the human’s narrow cone of vision and Hst’hst began vigorously running her claws through the sand. As she had anticipated the sensation was delightful. The sand was warm and the abrasion was perfect, catching the rough edges of her claws just right. Czt’czt was turning slow circles, pulling the sand up into a perfect abdominal couch. Once she settled she would begin basking in the natural wonder, or some such thing that planning architects considered necessary.
As her claws began to smooth Hst’hst was distracted by the sound of a steady clicking. It gradually became clear that it was originating from just over the curve of Human Friend Paloma’s leg. Curious, Hst’hst trotted out a little further so she could see over the leg. Human Friend Paloma held two massive spikes and was using them to coil long soft-fiber into a loose cloth. Hst’hst waved to Czt’czt, catching both her and Human Friend Paloma’s attention.
“It would appear that I am not the only one who brought work to the beach,” Hst’hst said in deliberately loud tones.
“What are you talking about?” Human Friend Paloma asked, tilting her head to one side even as the spikes kept clicking.
“You brought that work task with you to our recreation time,” Hst’hst said, tilting a meaningful angle at Czt’czt.
“This isn’t work,” Human Friend Paloma said with a surprised tone. “This scarf is pure recreation.”
Hst’hst and Czt’czt paused, waiting for clarification. When none came Czt’czt stepped hesitantly forward.
“Human Friend Paloma,” she said. “You are in charge of making sure the human cloth weavers in this area are developing different methods, right?”
“That’s my job,” Human Friend Paloma agreed.
“Then how is this not part of your work?” Czt’czt pressed.
“Well, I’m not getting paid for one,” Human Friend Paloma said. “Two, I like it.”
“Isn’t the point of recreation time to rest from, doing work?” Czt’czt asked.
“Well,” Human Friend Paloma said with a wide grin. “There’s the third point. Responsibility and expectations. No one is making me do this, there is nothing on the line. I just want to.”
“And that is enough of a difference to make doing the same thing be work or recreation?” Czt’czt asked.
Human Friend Paloma nodded and then went back to glancing between her not-work and the distant sky. Czt’czt made a gesture of confusion to Hst’hst with one paw, but Hst’hst only shrugged and resumed running her paws through the sand. At least this meant that Czt’czt would no longer be treating her like a fuzzy little one.
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