Humans are Weird – Tumble
The woofing sound of human laughter chased Lungesup down the hill again and caught up with her as Human Friend Susie’s mass flopped over her in a mass of confusing, but joyful movements. The comforting weight of a smaller than average human pressed Lungesup down into the soft soil the humans called turf. The bright green ground cover cushioned the force of the dryland gravity and off-gassed delightful chemicals as their weight crushed it.
“Again!” Human Friend Susie called out as she gathered her four main appendages under her and sprang up to her usual bipedal stature.
Lungesup gave a hum of agreement and took a further moment to stretch and watch Human Friend Susie leap up the hill, against the gravity, with long, bouncing strides.
“What fantastic strength,” Lungesup observed.
Just then a Shatar, elderly by the graying at the edges of her long frill and seemingly shortened antenna, stepped out of the nearest building. Her broad triangular head was tilted to observe her data pad, and while the display was not clear to Lungesup at this distance it did seem to be displaying some kind of tracking display. Lungesup lingered at the base of the small hill in case the Shatar was tracking her. It was possible the tall inscetoid was looking for someone else but there were few resources on this side of the University wall to attract students or researchers.
As the Undulate had expected the Shatar quickly approached and soon turned her attention cone away from the tracking display and began trotting towards Lungesup with confident speed in her four legs.
“Greetings First Astronomer,” the Shatar called out. “I am Second Grandmother Segunda Proxima Hive.”
“Greetings Second Grandmother Segunda Proxima,” Lungesup replied. “Can I assist your drift in some way?”
“Yes,” the Shatar said, her short antenna relaxing, “I have just arrived to test for the position of Fifth Astronomer. I was informed that there would be an observatory located in a garden for me to use with Second Grandfather present.”
“Oh yes!” Lungesup said when she paused. “The one Human Friend Bertram built. He then grew a rose maze around it for the ‘romance’ I believe he called it. Do you find it meets your needs?”
“We do not,” Second Grandmother Segunda Proxima said with a grim set curling her antenna. “For one these ‘rose’ vines hardly reach over our antenna, and even in the places that they do meet in high enough arches they hardly block out a tenth of the solar radiation.”
“I sound your problem,” Lungesup said with concern. “Perhaps the thorns are a problem too now that I drift with that current.”
“Yes,” the Shatar said in what might have been a dry tone, Lungesup wasn’t quite certain, “the wood-hard spikes as long as my finger is thick with needle sharp tips are perhaps a problem.”
“Well,” Lungesup said. “That is our only garden with a built in observatory. However it will be fairly easy to modify one of the – what is wrong?”
The Shatar had suddenly gone stiff with horror and then sprinted forward a few unds, and then danced sideways, her frill straight out from her neck and her antenna arched with attention.
“The human has fallen from the top of the hill!” Second Grandmother Segunda Proxmia burst out. “She falling down- I can’t help her – too much mass-”
The Shatar paused and her abdomen expanded.
“I will apply first aid as soon as she stops falling. You call the medics to come quickly from the clinic-”
“No, I don’t think I will,” Lungesup said, trying not to wiggle with amusement at the display of stress, which was very touching after all.
The Shatar paused and rotated her head so far that Lungnesup was genuinely worried it might fall off.
“The human is in no danger,” Lungesup explained. “It is a controled decent. We have both done this several times already today.”
The Shatar turned to observe the human who was making good times down the hill towards them, and the Shtatar rotated her head just as far the other direction.
“Her vertical axis is horizontal!” Second Grandmother Segunda Proxmia finally managed to speak. “She is rotating around it! Her limbs-”
Lungesup waited politely until she was sure the Shatar had finished speaking.
“Her limbs are quit sturdy enough for this,” she said, shuffling over to pat the Shatar’s leg reassuringly. “Humans are quite sturdy you know.”
The human in question had ceased her rotational motion several unds from them and gave one final flop to land on her back. She then lay there laughing up at the sky.
“Sound that laugh,” Lungesup said, feeling her appendages curl in delight. “That is a happy human.”
“Human bodies are not supposed to move like that,” the Shatar said with faint horror.
“And yet they do,” Lunges up said. “And they put thorns in gardens so they can bask in solar radiation. Now, shall we sort out getting you and your mate a proper garden without those things.”
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