The 37th of Fall, 515 AV
That morning had dawned bright and clear, the first in three days of gray, foggy, rainy conditions. There had been work to do through all that, but Kaitanu was glad to have a clear sky overhead. According to the rhythms of the campsite, and the talk in the markets, there was little enough time left to gather for the coming months. Every angle of light announced that the world around him was firmly in its golden autumn bounty, but the white fingers of frost had already touched his new grassland home. Soon it would be cold enough to wither the grasses, and make the berries and herbs that dotted the land wholly inedible. Kaitanu wasn’t looking forward to winter’s bone-deep cold, so a day that brought any warmth was a relief.
As the first gold of the sun touched the silver sky, Kaitanu pulled his head back into his tent and began to dress for the day, shivering a bit with the wet chill in the air. Even behind the strengthened canvas of his dwelling, every scent, every sound, filled his senses with information. A lifetime of living in the city made all the signs of nature somewhat new to the kelvic. Kaitanu found that he could almost feel the shifting of seasons in the air, or hear it in the birdsong and the chatter of ground squirrels. Until recently, he had not noticed these things for their own sake, but now the change struck him as for the first time. Everything around him was bursting with life, but it was so much different than when he had first come to this place. Deep in every fibre of his being Kaitanu felt the waning energy before the deep sleep; that strange, primal urge to fatten up and store away. This was the first autumn to affect the kelvic this way. Like a late-blooming bud he was beginning to feel his mind open to life and thought apart from blind obedience. Strangely, he found himself humming under his breath an old song usually reserved for bad times. Yet there was nothing against which he needed to comfort himself, unless it was the distant threat of winter. Perhaps the early-morning bird-song was having an effect on his mind.
With the notes on his lips, and no idea that he actually had a decent voice, Kaitanu pulled on his dark breeches, with a blanket over his shoulders to keep out the cold. In the main tent just a few yards away the children were already up. The kelvic could hear their playful banter from his own tent, punctuated by the other sounds of morning. Even if their words were yet strange in his ears, Kaitanu knew their exuberance for a new day was breaking through their parents’ sleep. He could guess that they were hungry, that they wanted to be out and about, eager as only the young could be to explore. Soon enough, as often happened, little footsteps announced their arrival at his tent. The pale young man could just see their silhouettes leaning near the material, and their half-stifled giggles. Then, laughing openly, they began to play peek-a-boo with the flap, cheeks pink with cold and eyes bright with fun.
Kyanite and Garrison- three and two - were old enough to wander about on their own when their protective parents were up. Like the other adults in camp Kaitanu helped to keep an eye on Dravite’s children, especially as Belkaia was so heavily pregnant. The boys' visit had become almost a morning ritual. Kyanite seemed to think it his particular duty to get everyone else up with the sun. His younger half-brother Garrison would toddle along and join in with whatever amusement presented itself. Kaitanu was more often than not their first "target", after their parents. Since his arrival they had both found a most accommodating adult to climb upon, or generally take advantage of in their innocent, childish way. The kelvic didn’t understand their fascination with him, but neither was he one to chase the little boys off. That was, of course, the point. Kyanite and Garrison had discovered that the pale man made an indulgent playmate. He seemed to have almost inhuman patience for their youthful japes, and might even be seen to approach a smile as they tugged him about the camp. At any rate, his eyes would soften, which was as close as he ever got to showing positive emotion…or any emotion, really.
Despite their taking to the kelvic so readily, the boys were sometimes frustrated by his inability to understand them. Not that their childish sentences conveyed much even to the others, but Kaitanu was the only one not acquainted with the language. He had picked up on a few words- “yes”, “no”, “water”, “eat” -but not much more. And when he would tell the boys, in his calm voice, that he did not understand them, they would only tug on him and repeat themselves insistently, as they could not understand him.
Naturally, both Kyanite and Garrison were not of an age to want conversation, so this seldom happened. Kaitanu, for his part, could at least extrapolate meaning from their body language. Right now the boys were just having a bit of fun before breakfast; running into his tent and crawling all over him like excited puppies. They were easy to pick up as he stood; Kyanite with his pudgy arms around the kelvic’s shoulders; Garrison clinging to one arm. They found such rides amusing, and their peals of laughter were loud enough to startle some nearby birds that had nested in the grass. Their demands to be carried about like that were obeyed, if not understood. Kaitanu exited his tent like a walking tree that grew children instead of leaves. They had not allowed him to get fully dressed, so he was both barefoot and shirtless and breaking out in goose-pimples. The kelvic barely noticed, nor did he mind. There were few other things that thawed his trauma-frozen mind and heart like the innocent presence of children.
That morning had dawned bright and clear, the first in three days of gray, foggy, rainy conditions. There had been work to do through all that, but Kaitanu was glad to have a clear sky overhead. According to the rhythms of the campsite, and the talk in the markets, there was little enough time left to gather for the coming months. Every angle of light announced that the world around him was firmly in its golden autumn bounty, but the white fingers of frost had already touched his new grassland home. Soon it would be cold enough to wither the grasses, and make the berries and herbs that dotted the land wholly inedible. Kaitanu wasn’t looking forward to winter’s bone-deep cold, so a day that brought any warmth was a relief.
As the first gold of the sun touched the silver sky, Kaitanu pulled his head back into his tent and began to dress for the day, shivering a bit with the wet chill in the air. Even behind the strengthened canvas of his dwelling, every scent, every sound, filled his senses with information. A lifetime of living in the city made all the signs of nature somewhat new to the kelvic. Kaitanu found that he could almost feel the shifting of seasons in the air, or hear it in the birdsong and the chatter of ground squirrels. Until recently, he had not noticed these things for their own sake, but now the change struck him as for the first time. Everything around him was bursting with life, but it was so much different than when he had first come to this place. Deep in every fibre of his being Kaitanu felt the waning energy before the deep sleep; that strange, primal urge to fatten up and store away. This was the first autumn to affect the kelvic this way. Like a late-blooming bud he was beginning to feel his mind open to life and thought apart from blind obedience. Strangely, he found himself humming under his breath an old song usually reserved for bad times. Yet there was nothing against which he needed to comfort himself, unless it was the distant threat of winter. Perhaps the early-morning bird-song was having an effect on his mind.
With the notes on his lips, and no idea that he actually had a decent voice, Kaitanu pulled on his dark breeches, with a blanket over his shoulders to keep out the cold. In the main tent just a few yards away the children were already up. The kelvic could hear their playful banter from his own tent, punctuated by the other sounds of morning. Even if their words were yet strange in his ears, Kaitanu knew their exuberance for a new day was breaking through their parents’ sleep. He could guess that they were hungry, that they wanted to be out and about, eager as only the young could be to explore. Soon enough, as often happened, little footsteps announced their arrival at his tent. The pale young man could just see their silhouettes leaning near the material, and their half-stifled giggles. Then, laughing openly, they began to play peek-a-boo with the flap, cheeks pink with cold and eyes bright with fun.
Kyanite and Garrison- three and two - were old enough to wander about on their own when their protective parents were up. Like the other adults in camp Kaitanu helped to keep an eye on Dravite’s children, especially as Belkaia was so heavily pregnant. The boys' visit had become almost a morning ritual. Kyanite seemed to think it his particular duty to get everyone else up with the sun. His younger half-brother Garrison would toddle along and join in with whatever amusement presented itself. Kaitanu was more often than not their first "target", after their parents. Since his arrival they had both found a most accommodating adult to climb upon, or generally take advantage of in their innocent, childish way. The kelvic didn’t understand their fascination with him, but neither was he one to chase the little boys off. That was, of course, the point. Kyanite and Garrison had discovered that the pale man made an indulgent playmate. He seemed to have almost inhuman patience for their youthful japes, and might even be seen to approach a smile as they tugged him about the camp. At any rate, his eyes would soften, which was as close as he ever got to showing positive emotion…or any emotion, really.
Despite their taking to the kelvic so readily, the boys were sometimes frustrated by his inability to understand them. Not that their childish sentences conveyed much even to the others, but Kaitanu was the only one not acquainted with the language. He had picked up on a few words- “yes”, “no”, “water”, “eat” -but not much more. And when he would tell the boys, in his calm voice, that he did not understand them, they would only tug on him and repeat themselves insistently, as they could not understand him.
Naturally, both Kyanite and Garrison were not of an age to want conversation, so this seldom happened. Kaitanu, for his part, could at least extrapolate meaning from their body language. Right now the boys were just having a bit of fun before breakfast; running into his tent and crawling all over him like excited puppies. They were easy to pick up as he stood; Kyanite with his pudgy arms around the kelvic’s shoulders; Garrison clinging to one arm. They found such rides amusing, and their peals of laughter were loud enough to startle some nearby birds that had nested in the grass. Their demands to be carried about like that were obeyed, if not understood. Kaitanu exited his tent like a walking tree that grew children instead of leaves. They had not allowed him to get fully dressed, so he was both barefoot and shirtless and breaking out in goose-pimples. The kelvic barely noticed, nor did he mind. There were few other things that thawed his trauma-frozen mind and heart like the innocent presence of children.
