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Family and Consequences

5/27/2016

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The twins discovered two things that day.
They discovered that they did not mind having servants to do some of the fetching and carrying and tedious chores.
They also discovered that the complete lack of travel-readiness and the slowness of their progress made the two hangers-on more trouble than they were worth.
Amethyst continued her chattering. At that age her fangs were not yet fully developed and talking still came easy. Too easy.
Her main subject of discussion was the new point of view regarding the lack of clothing and how it related to the Creator. She wondered aloud if she would ever dare to—after about an hour of the non-stop noise her father growled at her harshly to be silent, and stay silent until she was required to respond to a question!  She did not utter another word the rest of that leg of the journey. The twins gave Pyrite a few points of respect, finally, for that.
As the young men had learned earlier, Pyrite and his family were potters—the best this side of the mountains they had both decreed—and they looked forward to showing their saviors the excellence and artistry of their skill. They also both worried about the rest of their family, Pyrite especially. Although his wife and two sons were skilled, they were not as skilled as he. Krakold pottery, he assured them with pride, was treasured in homes even fifty miles away.
Worse, he and Amethyst had been returning from a sales trip with gold, silver, and some pots that had not sold. The wagon they had been riding had been lost, along with the young domesticated buffalo that pulled it, when the river took them. He had had the metals secure in a pouch tied to his belt and he left that with their family. But it was not enough to make up for the loss of the wagon, let alone that and the animal, and the pots lost to the river would have been worth some silver at least. He was very sad thinking of the hard times that lay ahead for them.
Feldspar, in his usual tone of sympathy, remarked that the ungrateful family had made that choice, not him, and perhaps they deserved whatever hardship resulted. He also pointed out that since their circumstances were due to their faithful following of their religion, the Great Condawk would certainly look out for them.
Amethyst did not notice the sarcasm in his words. Her father was more observant. He prudently held back comment.
Sometime after Shul had passed beyond the the highpoint of its journey, they arrived at the next village.  As they had traveled upriver the watercourse had moved away from the Ironcut Mountains and there was plenty of room for a small town.
They proceeded with slow respect down the main street, as was custom. They had traversed barely fifty yards when they were approached by the fattest Riotori male the twins had ever seen.  He probably did not outweigh them both together, but it might have been close.  He was unusual in another way as well. He was openly, almost aggressively, friendly. For the most part, Riotori did not greet strangers with cheerful welcome. Gruff restraint was the normal reception for unknown visitors.
But this village greeter, whose name was Apatite, was atypical in his manner as well as his girth.  His first words, however, were directed to the potters of Krakold.
"Pyrite! And your precious Amethyst! How fortunate we are to have you visit us again so soon after you brought us your wonderful wares! And with two impressive young men! I suspect that young women of Rackarn will be thrilled. But I see that you do not bring your wares with you, Pyrite. To what, then, do we owe this visit?"
The answer to that question, and the response, presented an unexpected challenge for all concerned.


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The Obscenity of "Obscenity"

5/14/2016

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The twins awoke when Shul prodded their eyelids with glowing fingers. They stepped carefully out of the tent; by unspoken mutual consent they would wait to dress as long as possible. To pique the discomfort and embarrassment of their two "guests" amused them.  Besides that, it was their custom. Groakpod had no customs against public nudity; there were communal baths. Like most species that nature had clothed in hair or fur, clothing was used for simple adornment or for protection and was never a requirement of public appearance. There were "mating holidays" when the young females would parade around the village dressed in nothing but necklaces, bracelets, and horn rings designed to attract the attention, and desire, of young males.
As they discovered, no such holidays were held in Krakold. Clothing was required at all times. Bathing was never done in mixed-gender situations, not even within families! The twins could hardly believe it. Pyrite had never seen his daughter unclothed since she became old enough to not soil herself and to bathe herself.  Amethyst had never seen her father wearing less than a thin sleeping outfit of pants and shirt.
It was no wonder both those people had been so shocked at the display furnished by the twins.
Gypsum was curious. "Pyrite, why do you believe that being seen without clothing is a bad thing? Are you ashamed of your appearance, or of seeing someone else? I would like to understand this odd behavior."
"There is nothing odd about it! You were obviously raised in a heathen village that had no respect for the Great Condawk! It is not fitting that we be seen unadorned by our Creator."
Feldspar and Amethyst had begun taking down and folding Gypsum's tent, the young man showing the girl the correct way to do it so that it used as little space as possible in the pack. Feldspar had found it difficult not to laugh.  The girl kept stealing glances at him, but not at his face, while trying oh so hard to not let him know she was doing it.  They both stopped to listen, each for a different reason.
"Why not?"
"It is disrespectful! The Creator may appear at any time, or see us from above. He would not wish us to be blatantly exhibiting our bodies to others, or to Him, or to the nature that he has given to us. He would wish us to show proper modesty."
"Why?"
"Because! Nudity is obscenity! That you and your brother have chosen to force your obscenity upon my daughter especially, and upon me, demonstrates that you have no reverence for the Creator."
"Did not the Creator make us? Is not our appearance according to his design and his will?"
"Of course it is!"
"Then you are saying that the design of the Creator is obscene."
Pyrite started to agree, but then stopped himself. That seemingly logical and inevitable conclusion had never been presented, as far as he knew, to anyone in Krakold. He was speechless, unexpectedly confused and uncertain, for the first time, about his beliefs.
Feldspar was grinning from horn to horn.
Amethyst was as suddenly at a loss as her father; but she had fewer years of indoctrination to struggle against.
Gypsum continued his assault.  He stepped back and spread his arms and legs, displaying himself completely.
"This is what the Creator designed! This is his creation!" He picked up the pants and shirt he had worn yesterday and would again today. "This is our creation." He fingered the shirt Pyrite was wearing. "This is your design, not his. You have chosen to conceal his work, to cover his design with your own creation! You believe your own pitiful makings should be seen and that his should be hidden under yours. That is what is obscene. I am surprised the Creator has not punished you all for your impudence and conceit!"
That last was a not totally factual. Neither Gypsum or any of his family, or any that he knew in Groakpod, believed for a second that the Creator punished. The Creator had created. The Great Condawk had completed his task and it was now up to the creations to do the best they could according to their natures. And if they did not, any punishments would be administered by some other of the creations upon Kylrock, either within their own species or without.
Feldspar restrained his inclination to applaud. His brother had been amazingly articulate. He nudged the girl sternly.
"Back to work!"
With a last wondering look at Gypsum, she obeyed. Less than a minute later Gypsum spoke the final word of that discussion. He gave Pyrite an almost crippling pat on the back.
"Think about that while you work! Get moving!"
Pyrite did as he was told. He had little choice.
But he felt his entire belief structure, like an ancient monument of weathered stone, begin to crumble at his feet.
Gypsum looked over to his brother and they shared wide grins. This day was starting out very well indeed.

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Enough Fire, Enough Fish, Too Much Fur

5/3/2016

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As the bottom edges of Shul began to flirt with the western horizon the twins admitted that it was time to make camp for the night.  Of course their new charges had no tent and no idea of how to make camp.
The twins did everything except gather firewood—that task they assigned. The discussion of sleeping arrangements was brief. The twins would share Feldspar's tent and their new annoyances would sleep in Gypsum's.  Neither twin wanted to share a tent with either of the other two. Pyrite was about the same age as their uncle, but he had demonstrated during the walk that he had gas.
Amethyst seldom shut up. The tent for them was pitched on one side of the fire while the twins pitched theirs on the other side, nearly ten yards away.
After the fire wood was arranged along with sharp commands from the twins to watch and learn, they discussed the possibilities of food.
Finally!  The two villagers could contribute something positive! Both were experienced at fishing and had fetched along the gear necessary, including bait. They were assigned the task of catching enough to feed the four as well as the cleaning and scaling. Again, to the near shock of the twins, the two villagers had brought the tools to accomplish these chores. They had not brought along cooking utensils, however. Apparently they had planned to eat their catches raw.
Riotori can safely eat anything that does not eat them first, and any meat or fish is as nutritious raw as cooked. But cooked is much preferred. Gypsum fashioned four spits from the thinner branches of the accumulated fuel while Feldspar constructed a crude tripod for each spit.
The brothers reluctantly admitted that the natives of Krakold knew fishing and fish preparation. After Pyrite and Amethyst each caught one she took up the task of scaling and cleaning, without being told, while her father caught one more. That last was of a size to impress even Feldspar and would easily feed the girl and one of the men. After the preparation was finished Amethyst rummaged through her belongings and produced a tiny covered pot. Inside was a multi-colored powder which she sprinkled upon the meat as it cooked.
The young men were suspicious but said nothing...until after they took their first bites. The meal was delicious! Feldspar grudgingly voiced the compliment and agreed that their adoption of these villagers might have an advantage or two. The meal was completed in silence. But then the father and daughter moved a little away from the camp, knelt, and spent several minutes kneeling and speaking their thankful praises to The Creator.
The twins exchanged looks, then rolled their eyes to the sky. This behavior would require some discouragement.
After the two newcomers had cleaned up after the cooking the four sat around, relaxing and conversing...which meant, mostly, listening to the girl chatter away. More than once she whined about the pains in her feet and legs.
Magnanimously, Gypsum dug a small piece of turgus root out of his pack, bit it in half, and offered a piece each to Pyrite and his daughter. After only a few minutes of chewing she admitted that she felt better.
The light from Shul had faded many minutes before, and the cloudless sky offered a view of the stars that the brothers found only comfortingly familiar, despite the strangeness of the customs they had recently encountered.
Feldspar and Gypsum, as was their habit, stripped for sleep. A growled protest from Pyrite was almost drowned out by a gasping shriek from the girl. Apparently the citizens of Krakold—or at least the members of Pyrite's family—slept in their clothes. The twins stood by their tent, comfortable in their furry nudity, and listened to the insane complaints of the older man.
Finally, Feldspar had had enough.  He told them so, then added, "It is our custom, and much more comfortable and practical! Remember, it is you that have insisted your lives are ours. I don't give a crozard's turd whether you choose to sleep clothed or not, but do not expect us to subject ourselves to your ridiculous habits! Now go to bed and keep silent!"
With obvious finality to stalked into his tent.  Gypsum followed. He found himself again wondering at the loquaciousness of his older brother. Who'd have thought that increased aggravation would provoke increased wordiness?
Then he thought of trying to sleep through a warm night while still wearing the clothing of the day. He shook his head, and then the rest of him, and his tongue protruded from between his fangs in an expression of distaste.  He lay down on his bedroll as far away from his brother as possible—perhaps two feet or so—and fell asleep.  

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    The story: This serial is about the "mascot" shown at the top of these pages. There are actually two of them, identical twins, Feldspar and Gypsum.
    The people call themselves Riotori, and their planet is Kylrock. The twins have been journeying for hundreds of miles, across many hazards, in search of mates. Please visit the archives to read their whole story.



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