Riotori do not talk much. Especially the men. Those wonderful tusks, so useful in personal combat and even in hunting, and so admired by the females of the species, make talking difficult. The females' tusks are much smaller, and only four instead of eight, so their speech is not affected quite as much. Conversations between male and female tend to be one-sided.
As it happens, though, this is not as much of a handicap as one might suppose. So much of the population consists of identical twins, and such twins share a certain mental bond. Not telepathy, exactly. They can't read each other's thoughts but they can communicate accurately and in detail with non-verbal communication along with a guttural utterance here and there, mostly for emphasis.
So when Feldspar and Gypsum finally emerged from their tents to break camp, the toil was mostly done in silence. Feldspar had greater affinity for profanity. He grumbled and cursed, growling invective at the mud and dirty water that had soiled his possessions.
Gypsum, of a calmer spirit, simply dealt with the situation in silence. He was always amused by his brother's ventures into profane complaining over things that could not be helped. He was careful not to allow his amusement to be too obvious. His brother was too often lacking in a sense of humor until the source of his displeasure was resolved.
When both had assembled their supplies and bundled them neatly into their backpacks, they continued the journey. Feldspar's grumbling helped break up the monotony of the hike. By this time he was over his aggravation but he was aware of his brother's amusement. He kept up the diatribe purely for the sake of humor even at his own expense.
They had days yet of travel to cross the Plains, but the mountains were finally visible on the horizon. The going would not get easier.
As it happens, though, this is not as much of a handicap as one might suppose. So much of the population consists of identical twins, and such twins share a certain mental bond. Not telepathy, exactly. They can't read each other's thoughts but they can communicate accurately and in detail with non-verbal communication along with a guttural utterance here and there, mostly for emphasis.
So when Feldspar and Gypsum finally emerged from their tents to break camp, the toil was mostly done in silence. Feldspar had greater affinity for profanity. He grumbled and cursed, growling invective at the mud and dirty water that had soiled his possessions.
Gypsum, of a calmer spirit, simply dealt with the situation in silence. He was always amused by his brother's ventures into profane complaining over things that could not be helped. He was careful not to allow his amusement to be too obvious. His brother was too often lacking in a sense of humor until the source of his displeasure was resolved.
When both had assembled their supplies and bundled them neatly into their backpacks, they continued the journey. Feldspar's grumbling helped break up the monotony of the hike. By this time he was over his aggravation but he was aware of his brother's amusement. He kept up the diatribe purely for the sake of humor even at his own expense.
They had days yet of travel to cross the Plains, but the mountains were finally visible on the horizon. The going would not get easier.
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