A Day Among Many

[Belgar]

Spring 42, 511

The common room trembled at the break of dusk as a few families of Coolwater cooked up their fresh-caught cod and icefish for dinner. To enter the modest hall was to let cheery orange warmth dissolve all memory of the blue outside, and to replace the murmurs of the ocean with the noise of good conversation. This was no extraordinary night in the lives of the people, and yet it was a night worth living for. To the wet-haired man at the end of a table, it was beautiful.

He had secretly come as a part of a renewed search for any young, mountless Icewatch guards, but in the meantime he had become lost in the culture.

Already they were bringing out the plates for those in attendance, a special addition added to each one. Between the fish and the blackberry pudding sat a strip of delicious seal. While this was not necessarily a delicacy around these parts (as the local hunters were more than skilled), it was the first catch since the animals had returned for spring—and it was not caught by a native to the hold.

Belgar’s thin lips smiled as best they could to express his pride as he met the eyes of the nodding Vantha around him. When the pretty fisherman’s daughter set down his meal, though, the expression immediately dropped to something more comfortable. Anyone who did not know him would think he was frowning, but really he was too busy with his dinner to concern himself with the language of emotion. His plate held the real treasure of the catch: not any charred protein, but uncooked, calorific fat. He had asked for it specifically.

Even after years of experience, he held the fork somewhat awkwardly as he tried to break his meal with it. The only difference between his dinner now and the moment he killed it was the location and the number of mouths who would consume it. And for that reason, it was even more delicious.

[Malisys]

Malisys entered the dining hall just like he would on any other day. He held his head high and squared his shoulders, offering greetings to his Coolwater kin. Dinner was one of his favored meals because he was given the chance to listen to the stories of his fellow hunters. It was also cooler during dinner time, which made him feel much more at ease. The Vantha was given a seat towards the end of the table two seats away from a strange Kelvic male, diagonal from himself. Malisys had never seen him before, even though Avanthal was not an enormously populated city. A plate of food was set before him that contained what appeared to be the fat of a recent hunt, rather than the fish, blackberry pudding, and seal he had on his own plate. Malisys had been a part of the team that caught the fish for this meal, so he had not heard as the others had who had provided them with the seal. The young man looked down at his own plate of food and gingerly tested the cooked fish and seal with his own fork— too hot for him still. He noted that most of the other Vantha were already enjoying their own food and were idly chatting amongst themselves, but none had engaged the guest of the Hold. Malisys was interested in the unique meal the Kelvic had before him, so he decided to engage him while his own food cooled off, ignoring the fact that he appeared to be frowning. "What brings you here today, my friend?" asked the Vantha while setting a soft gaze on the man he was speaking to, then his eyes turned towards the man's plate. "Your choice of meal is interesting. I've never seen anyone eat pure blubber before." Malisys' eyes remained their natural violet color, a sign that his emotions were not altered by his seemingly bold engagement of the man. It was not his way to leave a guest to themselves, but he also did not realize that he may be coming off as rather impolite and rude by engaging someone who did not look as though they wished to be engaged.

[Belgar]

His human teeth recoiled from the slippery blubber and he found himself gnawing to break the fat for swallowing, despite its sentimental value. Belgar recalled, for the first time that night, the last time he had tried to eat his favorite meal in his human form; he had been young, and stupid. She made him eat Vantha food in public, and he realized that he had never tried any different since. He put down the fork and wondered if it was worth it. Perhaps she knew best when she made him eat the meat like a cub.

Luckily, a Coolwater man rescued him from more sad introspection. He looked up at the speaker’s face. His expression softened, but did not rise. He replied, “It is what I eat when I hunt in the wild. I am... accustomed to it. The taste.” He paused, looked down at his plate, then decided against offering a sample to the human until he asked for it. The texture would not agree with him, no matter how delicious.

In his distraction, he found himself more talkative that usual. “I came to practice my swimming, and hunting.” He lied, knowing it inappropriate to mention his search. “And what better place than this worthy port! The fish are especially good from here, and the fishermen as hearty.” While he might have bent the truth, Belgar was not one to flatter. Sincerity filled his comments.

Then he remembered his manners, raising his hand from the tabletop in greeting. “But what is your name, Coolwater? I am Belgar.”

[Malisys]

Malisys leaned in to shake the man's hand. It was a little too warm, so he pulled away rather quickly. He then realized that he had completely forgotten his manners and red colored his cheeks coupled by his eyes gaining a red hue mixing with the regular purple, a sign of his embarrassment. "Excuse my poor manners, I am Malisys. It is a pleasure to meet you, Belgar. So you say you are a hunter? That's great! I love hunting, I'm one of the best!" he gloated fallaciously. "In fact, most of the Coolwater Hold comes to me for their hunting expertise. Let me tell you a story..." The Vantha began to tell Belgar a story about how he caught twenty-five fish in the span of half an hour, completely forgetting he was speaking to a Kelvic, not another Vantha who would appreciate his story more. His ego began to take hold of him as he went on. "You should've seen it, Belgar. I grabbed four fish straight from the water with my bare hands. Didn't even phase me. You know, we should go hunting sometime. I could probably teach you some things." mused the Vantha, satisfied that his acquaintance was impressed by his tale and confident he could back up his claims. Malisys glanced at his plate of untouched food and began to heartily eat the fish, feeling refreshed at sharing his tale with someone new. The meat had cooled off enough for his tastes and his rumbling stomach caused him to eat more rapidly than he usually would.

[Belgar]

Belgar delighted in the story Malisys gave, enjoying vicariously the excitement of the telling. His black eyes followed every gesture with genuine interest, that which he had developed over years of evenings spent in much the same fashion. He did not know if he was unique among his kind in appreciating the art form, but he could not understand why anyone would not take pleasure in the language and the enthusiasm. The nuances of truth and hyperbole danced together in the excited Vantha’s words; the eloquence of his native tongue translated happily the ideas in his head.

The actual content of the story, however, had little value to the Kelvic. He took in the details as facts to be considered, not feats of awe. A proper, albeit forced, smile responded to his suggestion of a hunt—then the storyteller began to eat. Though he was unsure whether it was appropriate, he spoke to the Coolwater even as Malisys was occupied with his plate. “Unfortunately, I would think our methods too different for any teaching or learning to be of use.”

He assumed the Vantha could tell the difference between the people of his hold and their visitor. Belgar’s Vanthan features were dull parodies of the true race, and certainly his acquaintance had encountered the Icewatch bears before... but perhaps not without a rider, or even in Human form.

Then he followed Malisys’s example and looked to his own plate. Ultimately, he decided the benefits outweighed the costs and took another bite of his meal. He had chewed through one bite by the time half of the other’s plate was cleared. Belgar grabbed a moment of breath between the Coolwater’s bites to mention discretely, “How do you like the seal?”

[Malisys]

Malisys continued to enjoy his meal for a few moments and mulled over what he could discuss with his new acquaintance. He tried to think of some more hunting stories to tell, but this thought was interrupted by Belgar mentioning that he did not feel they would be able to learn from one another. "Darn," he thought to himself. "I had some good stories to tell too..." Malisys looked at the Kelvic man. He seemed to be enjoying his meal, but at a slow pace. He had inquired what Malisys felt about the seal, but the Vantha didn't know why he was so interested in his opinion on seal specifically. Nevertheless, he complied and took a fresh bite of the seal. He chewed it for a few moments, trying to savor the taste. It was quite good, not the best he'd had but certainly better than the usual catches. "The seal is delicious," he remarked, looking over at Belgar. "I've not had seal this good in a few months. What's sparked your interest in the seal specifically? Is it your favorite meal?" The Vantha took a few more bites of the seal. The meat melted in his mouth, letting him savor the flavor. It looked like the meat was from a strong, healthy seal. Sometimes the hunters of his hold would bring back older seals with stringier meat, which wasn't as good as this. He knew a great deal about the sea creatures of Avanthal's waters. "This seal was quite healthy. It seems like it would've been a tough kill. Have you hunted seal before Belgar and wish to compare the skills of the Coolwater Hold to your own?" Malisys questioned with a half-smile.

[Belgar]

A spark of honest delight finally crept into the Kelvic’s face when he heard the candid compliment. He did not reply right away, unsure of what to say. Though he was most certainly proud—he had fished for praise like a Coolwater for grayling— he had neither the skill nor the gall to boast. Usually she did the bragging for him, laughing and holding his arm as she milked the admiration for all its worth. He would not know how to begin.

He carved out a small piece of blubber and found it much pleasanter on his human teeth than before. The catch had occupied the back of his mind the whole evening, and bringing it to the forefront both satisfied and disoriented him. Without realizing it, he was using his food to pretend to avoid the topic while at the same time bringing both attentions back to it.

Malisys persisted without even knowing, and presently Belgar found himself happy to oblige. “No, I... ah, not exactly,” he began, floundering between pride and reticence, “I very much prefer seal to fish. I have indeed hunted seal, before. I hunted— killed this one.”

Fortunately, his mind was easy to recover and quick to clear. Belgar gestured to the other plate with his fork, hastily interrupting his own confession with the same slow and gracious tone. “Though I am certain the men of Coolwater have caught many good and delicious animals in these waters. It is only the beginning of seal season, after all. How is your fish?”

[Malisys]

Happiness welled up inside Malisys for his new acquaintance. The Vantha could tell very obviously that discussing the catch made the Kelvic nervous, but he was plenty happy to listen to Belgar speak. He rarely got to hear a story about seal fishing, so he hoped he could hear the Kelvic describe the hunt. Catching seal was a praiseworthy affair to the Vantha, at least the younger, less-experienced ones, so he wanted any bit of advice he could absorb. "I'd love to hear the story of his hunt, but he seemed quite nervous a moment ago... I wonder if he's afraid of the spotlight?" Malisys thought to himself, trying to discern how to best proceed. The young Vantha decided that it would be best to ease up on his intrusiveness a tad and let the Kelvic ease into a story, if he had one to tell. Malisys considered the possibility that Belgar had simply sprang a trap and captured the seal, or caught it by surprise and killed it in a single blow. That type of information wouldn't help him out much, so he hoped that wasn't the case. The color of his eyes changed from a mellow purple to a bright golden-yellow, indicating a change from homeostasis to worry. "I must confess that I've never had the chance to hunt seal on my own, and it is a treat when a Hold member brings one back. It is not infrequent, but certainly not a common occurrence," replied the Vantha in a melancholy tone. "I wish we could eat it more often. The fish we have is very good, though. We catch it fresh and prepare it as quickly as we can to keep the flavor in." Malisys noticed that the amount of food on his plate was dwindling, so he figured this would be the best time to try and get a story out of Belgar. He relaxed his body and made sure to keep his midsection exposed to view, a sign of openness. "Was the seal difficult to capture, by the way?" remarked the Vantha in a cautious tone. He meant to probe Belgar for a story by using closed, probing questions. "I've heard how difficult they are to bring down. It must have been difficult."

[Belgar]

“It is not difficult, if you know what to do.” Belgar replied honestly, ignorant of any insult or vanity in the comment. He took the bait the Vantha had laid, happy to share with a man who did not seem to desire the ostentation of a typical telling. “Many bears will try to swim after them, but seals were built to fly, you know? They can easily outrun a set of four bumbling legs, beneath the ice.”

The use of such non-literal words were abnormal for the Kelvic, but he had found himself in a mood; he unconsciously mimicked the styles and word choices of those many men and women whose stories he had enjoyed for years. His words did not culminate in a story, but rather a set of facts befitting the straightforward beast. Nonetheless, his excitement was unmistakable. He continued, “Others ambush them on where they lie, but their reflexes are no trifle, either.

“There is a trick. No matter how well they swim, they are still air-breathers. Where the ice is thick, even in the thinning Spring, they make holes to come up and breathe. You wait by one. Sometimes you wait all day, sometimes it is the wrong hole and they never come up, but—if you are lucky—they do. And once it’s up, it is too buoyant to go back down, and you have it!”

Having ended the explanation, Belgar suddenly found himself with his arms out in emphasis. For a moment, his mind reverted to the old embarrassment, but then he recognized that there were at least four other Vantha in the room holding approximately the same posture. Perhaps he had spoken too much, but perhaps to speak too much was to speak correctly, in this town. He lowered his arms inelegantly and finished, “My mother taught me that.”

[Malisys]

Malisys listened to Belgar's story intently. Every word seemed to weigh heavily with the young man. His eyes turned from their natural violet to a vibrant, almost glowing blue, indicating his thrill and excitement. Hunting stories always captured his attention the best. Granted, he loved to hear and tell stories, but hunting was his lifelong ambition. Belgar recounted a few of the faults other bears made when hunting seal. Mental images flooded Malisys' mind as the Kelvic spoke, igniting strong emotions in the teenager. He felt like he was part of the story being told. When his acquaintance reached the portion regarding the trick, he leaned in subconsciously, hardly able to contain his excitement. Belgar told him the trick, and Malisys nodded thoughtfully, making a mental note on how to best accomplish that as someone using two legs. "That was absolutely fascinating, Belgar! Thank you for sharing. I will definitely use this knowledge in my future hunts! Your mother must be an amazing person, by the way, to teach you such a thing. How is she, well I hope? I'm curious if there's any other things as incredible as that you've learned from her." asked the young man, excitement still hot in his voice. Malisys leaned back in his chair, just now noticing how far he'd leaned in. If he leaned any farther, his clothes would've been smashed beneath him on his plate. He didn't want to discourage Belgar from continuing on. Even though he wasn't a Vantha, he could certainly tell a good story. Malisys was eager to learn from a Kelvic, especially since this one appeared to be quite the hunter. He folded his hands together with a soft smile as he looked across the table.