The Adventures of identical twins Feldspar and Gypsum

Finalizing the Preliminaries

3/22/2017

For any non-resident of The City simply getting in, reaching the approximate center, and getting back out alive was a challenge. To successfully retrieve an object larger than a fist was considered almost impossible.
Yet, the candidates must be required to bring back something demonstrably originating in The City. Otherwise, they might simply skirt The City's borders and bring back some piece of discarded junk and never prove their worth.
After negotiation, it was determined that each twin would go into the city and either bring back anything that was clearly from The City, or demonstrate their presence there.
Both twins wished to go first and Gypsum would not allow Feldspar to claim seniority for this task. The twins used one of the oldest and most respected contests to determine who would have their way.
The game was called "rock, clothe, and knife." The rule was that clothe beat rock, rock beat knife, and knife beat clothe. The players would clap their open hands together twice in unison and on the third clap each would show a symbol of one of the three choices. An open hand symbolized clothe, a fist symbolized rock, and a single finger extended symbolized knife.
The men agreed beforehand that the first to win two contests would have his choice of going first or second.
As can be imagined, these two had engaged in this contest hundreds of times in the past. Each had a preferred strategy, and each was aware of the other's preference. If they were to compete one hundred times, the odds were against either ever having a lead of more than two, and each would have that lead at least once during the competition.
The first three games were all ties. Feldspar won the fourth trial by showing rock to his brother's knife. Gypsum won the second the exact same way. The next five games were ties and their audience was getting impatient, especially Beryl and Topaz.
But their impatience was rewarded when Feldspar showed rock, expecting his brother to show knife and Gypsum instead showed an open hand.
Both laughed.
"Congratulations, Youngster! You will have the advantage of allowing me to go first and provide you with information to help your efforts."
"Hold on there, Old Timer! I choose to be the first to enter the city. You can wait with the others and watch as I demonstrate my abilities."
Feldspar answered with a grin—an expression indistinguishable from a vicious threat to anyone not a Riotori. Both turned to the rest.
"Shall we do this tomorrow morning?" asked Gypsum.
"Yes. At least you will. However," warned Pyrope, "You will not be allowed to pass on any information to your brother. You will be kept apart until his trial is completed."
Calcite continued, "The trial often takes a full day. And in the past we have waited for two or three days before a hopeful suitor has reemerged to claim his prize. Often after that long in The City he is in bad shape—dirty, bleeding, injured or disfigured, hungry and thirsty, and, sadly, has failed to retrieve an object to prove his sojourn into the center."
"That will part will not be a problem. I do not intend to bring back anything. Rather, I will leave something there that proves my presence."
"How will we know that? You might simply take something with you, leave it somewhere near the edge, and come back."
Feldspar started to retort, growling his anger against the implied dishonesty of his brother. Gypsum quieted him with a gesture.
The younger man looked at Pyrope and Calcite, and then winked affectionately at Topaz. "Trust me."
And so they must.

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Negotiating Ploys

3/7/2017

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"Of course, you must each go separately," began Pyrope, "And to different parts of The City. This has never been, nor can it be, a team effort. You will not have each other to depend on in marriage, so you should not have each other for the trials."
"Why not?" asked Feldspar. "We have always worked together; I'm sure your daughters have as well. When we are married there is no reason our two families will not be more like a single family."
"That sounds excellent!" Topaz responded. "It would be much easier on our husbands if they hunted in a pair, and easier on Beryl and I if we attended to the house duties together."
"In fact," Beryl added, growing enthusiastic with the new idea, "We could even build a single house for both families, with enough room for children from both."
"Ridiculous!" shouted Pyrope and Calcite together. "That has never been done! That is a violation of tradition!"
"Then perhaps it is time the traditions were violated!" snarled Beryl. "Just because it has not been done doesn't mean it shouldn't be if a better arrangement presents itself!"
This surprised the brothers. They had intended to be difficult about not working together only as a negotiating tool. They had planned on surrendering that option in exchange for the city's men giving up something the brothers did not like.
They had no real objection to going solo to accomplish their tasks. They had expected it. But this sudden support of their proposal—as bogus as it was at first meant—pleased the young men. That the sisters would leap so quickly to their aid and defense made them even more desirable. On top of that, this idea of a single dwelling to accommodate both families was, though radical, appealing to the pragmatic senses of the two.
Feldspar, being the pessimistic one of the two, could see unwelcome complications in such an arrangement.
However, now was not the time to worry about such things. The primary goal of this meeting was to define the trials he and Gypsum would be required to face. But, since the ladies had so quickly and enthusiastically come to their aid, it made their negotiating point even more powerful. They would give up the idea of working together...but only for considerations in their favor regarding the tests themselves.
Gypsum's thoughts were much like his brother's. But he, being more optimistic by nature, devoted a few seconds to considering the radical proposal he and Feldspar had never heard of. It did make a lot of sense.
Then he too put it out of his mind and concentrated on the give-and-take of determining the tasks he and his brother would be required to complete.
That resolve was supported by the next words of Calcite, delivered with loud and hostile volume.
"It does not matter now! What matters now is that these trials will be faced individually and that is not negotiable!"
"Very well," replied Feldspar, "So that will be. But the where and the how and the what should, in return, be something subject to compromise."
"Yes!" growled Topaz, and "Absolutely!" snarled Beryl.
The imperative tones of the two young women served notice to their male elders that they would not tolerate the brothers being assigned tasks that had better chances of failure than of success.
The brothers were careful to hide the pleasure they felt at the continued support of their potential mates. With any luck at all, their trials would be taxing, but not ridiculously so.

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Coming Clean

2/19/2017

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An appointment was made for the next day at the meeting hall of the city's officials. Those officials would be in attendance along with the girls' parents and both sets of twins.
As had been revealed to the twins earlier, the challenge was for a suitor to journey to The Old City and bring back a predetermined treasure. This might be a gem or an ancient tool or weapon or even a modern device only recently manufactured by the eccentric residents.
Now the city officials gave our young heroes more and necessary information. One of the eccentricities of those residents was that they had nothing but enmity for intruders and were not hesitant to attack and kill them.
"In fact," Calcite, the city's head official told them, "it is their habit to ambush new arrivals before they even get to any of the cities."
He looked at them closely. "You are the first travelers in a generation that were not ambushed at the very campsite you claim to have used. Would you like to offer an explanation for that?"
Both young men shook their heads slowly. Neither would be the first, without agreement, to reveal their simple strategy.
"Perhaps we were just lucky?" suggested Gypsum.
"Or maybe they have decided to abandon that custom?" offered Feldspar.
"Grrr. I do believe there is more to your story than you admit."
The girls' father, Pyrope, felt the time was right to apply a little pressure.
"Feldspar, Gypsum, you both seem like very acceptable young men. But it is clear that you are not telling all there is to tell. Which means that you may not be entirely trustworthy. We could never allow our daughters to go into a marriage with men they—or we—might not be able to trust completely."
It was clear that a speech of that length was an unaccustomed task. He uttered a brief growl of discomfort and rubbed his lips were they rubbed against his magnificently long tusks.
The twins exchanged glances, shrugs, and a few guttural sounds that meant nothing to the others, but were clear communication between the twins.
They agreed that no harm would be done by revealing how they had avoided the ambush. Feldspar yielded to Gypsum, who promptly yielded back to his older brother.
Feldspar explained briefly that the two had been suspicious of the campsite, found the evidence, and how they had fooled their would-be assailants.
Although Calcite and Pyrope expressed grudging admiration, the twin girls and their mother, Azurite, were much more extravagant in their praise.
"We have had others that expected the ambush, but they chose to prepare and then fight, never knowing what size of force might come against them" gushed Beryl.
"Although most of those did survive and make their way here, they were severely damaged," added Topaz.
"Your solution was much more practical. How did you come to think of that?"
Gypsum answered. "In Groakpod we were taught that avoiding an attack was better than defeating one. Especially if we had no idea what form that attack might take."
Beryl looked with pleased pride at the adults. "They have already proven themselves as intelligent. That is one part of the trial we need not include."
"Granted," offered her father, "Although they will need to demonstrate it again simply to succeed with the trials that judge the heart and the body."
Calcite added, "So now that we know that these young men are smart, let us agree to what trials they must face to win the privilege they desire."
And so the negotiations began.

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Getting Acquainted

2/10/2017

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One possible problem might have emerged, but chance favored the young couples.
It might have happened that Beryl preferred Gypsum while Topaz favored Feldspar. That would have presented a dilemma resulting in either the abandonment of the courtship, or a dictatorial declaration by the girls' father to acquiesce to the males' preferences. Which might have resulted in a mutiny in his own household.
Fortunately, Topaz found Gypsum's slightly leaner and speedier frame the more appealing of the two while Beryl was absolutely enthralled by the mighty musculature that Feldspar's physique revealed.
Other than the slight difference in the ruff at the neck and the spiral of the one horn, both females were identical and identically stunning. Their pelts were a very light brown with bright golden highlights mixed thoroughly throughout, giving them an appearance of blonde.
The small feminine noses on the ends of their delicate muzzles were a tan color our heroes had never seen before. They were captivated.
That very afternoon the four went strolling through the town. This was a custom observed universally on Kylrock. It announced that the suitors had made their choices. The other females would not be kept waiting in suspense, and any local lads that may have had ideas about the blonde twins would turn their attentions elsewhere.
As they strolled, they chatted. The young men followed their genetic predisposition and allowed their companions to dominate the conversation. They were pleased to discover that though the young women could keep the conversation going, neither insisted on filling every second with gossip or empty chatter. Periods of silence were allowed their turn. Only a few minutes into the walk each women had brazenly put her hand into that of her companion. This startled the young men, for according to the customs of Groakpod it was too early in the relationship for such familiarity.
But they had encountered other differences already in other towns from their hometown customs, so they did not pull away. They noticed, too, that none of the people they passed seemed at all scandalized by the contact. They seemed to barely notice, although one of two of the older female citizens smiled knowingly at the sight.
The leisurely stroll around and through The City took almost two hours. During that time Beryl and Topaz, with teasing insistence, coaxed Feldspar and Gypsum to tell them more about themselves and their journey.
With only a show of reluctance the young men obliged and described only some of what they had encountered and accomplished.
By prearranged strategy, each twin made sure to praise the courage and competence of the other as they related their stories.
The women made no secret of their admiration and heaped compliments upon their suitors. The men responded with their own compliments and very soon the atmosphere surrounding the four became so affectionate that breaking taboos might have resulted.
Fortunately, at that same time they arrived back at the ladies' home and, with teasing quick caresses of long nails upon the rough fur of the male arms, the twin girls disappeared into their house, leaving behind the echoes of soft happy laughter. The doorway was then filled by their parents.
The second step of the courtships could now begin.

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A Pleasant Surprise

1/24/2017

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As each of them found out the next day, no, his brother would not keep his word.
In the morning when they parted to meet with each of the other three on their lists, Gypsum took a round-about route to return to the home of Beryl, the stunningly attractive blonde female that he'd ranked first on his list.
At the same time, Feldspar took a different round-about route to the same home. They both saw the other approaching before either arrived at their destination. Their initial reactions were, not surprisingly, identical. Growls involuntarily formed deep in their throats and their bodies prepared for battle.
But then their intelligence and brotherly loyalty gained dominance over their instincts. They approached each other with apologetic grins. This was how they should have resolved the situation in the first place.
They approached the building together and scratched politely on the wooden door. The girl's father opened and was surprised to see both of them there. He turned into the house and called for Beryl to come to the door.
He was almost laughing as he remarked, "Daughter, you have two young suitors here to see you!" Then he turned to the twins. "You gentlemen make me proud. Obviously, my daughter is desirable enough to win the admiration of you both." The woman in question joined him at the doorway. He made room for her to step out past the door.
Feldspar, as the oldest, took the unpleasant duty. He bowed, and, a step behind him, Gypsum matched the gesture. "Sir," said Feldspar, in a tone of voice that was as close to apologetic as any Riotori male could manage, "What you say is true. Which is why we must give our regrets."
He turned to the young woman that had stolen both their fancies. "Beryl, it is with sadness that we must excuse ourselves from the pursuit of your favor. We made agreement even before we began our journey that we would not fight or even compete against each other for any reason, not even for the affections of one so desirable as you. We will no longer bother you. We will pursue one of the other attractive young women here. You are the only one that impressed us both so much that you were the first choice of my brother as well as myself."
Gypsum added, "So know that it is your very desirability that forces us to abandon our courtships before they have even begun."
Both young men bowed again, this time to the young woman who seemed to be taking the news quite well, nodded to each other, and turned away.
It is seldom that things work out perfectly, but sometimes they come close. Ideally, each twin would choose a woman that did not have a twin. This was preferred custom, but not in any way a hard and fast rule.
Beryl spoke to them in the soft purring voice they both found so endearing. "But Feldspar! Gypsum! Do not go yet! There is something that you do not know. There is a very likely solution to this problem."
She turned back into the house, exchanging knowing smiles with her father, who waited by the door, still looking proud and satisfied.
Beryl reappeared a moment later, accompanied by her identical twin.
"This is my sister, Topaz. She was working in our pottery shop yesterday with our mother all afternoon. It is her week to do so while I work in the mornings. Next week we will change schedules.
"But when you both visited separately, and expressed such wonderful favor with me that I could barely keep from dancing my pleasure, I anticipated this problem. Mother allowed me to stay here this morning on the likely chance you would both return."
Topaz was, of course, identical to Beryl in every way at birth, yet they were old enough to show differences. Since the Riotori live with identical twins all the time, they have developed keen perceptions to identify the differences between twins.
One main difference, of course, is scent. Even from birth, identical twins do differ in their personal scent, though very little. As they age, other tiny differences develop. In the case of Beryl and Topaz, the young men saw at once that Topaz, the younger by almost an hour, showed a thinner pelt at the neck and throat and the lovely shorter horn on her left had grown with a tighter spiral.
Some men would have considered this imbalance to be unattractive, but Gypsum found it uniquely fetching.
And so, the problem of choosing the females they wished to court was solved.
Soon the real trials would begin.

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Finalizing the Preliminaries

Negotiating Ploys

Coming Clean

Getting Acquainted

A Pleasant Surprise

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