Chapter Four
The Voice
Garr and Ganlon were training, as usual, no matter what the day's heat. Rei was the water boy, who made sure they were either soaking wet or they drank all their water. Every time Rei got them to drink the water, he would purr in a self-satisfied way. Finally, Garr got tired of hearing the same thing over and over. During their break he grabbed Rei's hand, before Rei could try and force the water issue.
Looking as stern as he could be with Rei, he decided enough was enough. "Rei." Garr stated solemnly. Rei looked up at him with large eyes. "I am going to teach you to talk." Rei looked at Garr like he was crazy and spoke as he rarely did.
'But I do talk!'
"Not in our language." Garr persisted. (If nothing else Garr was stubborn…almost as stubborn as Rei.) "You are going to learn how to speak our language and I am going to teach you!" Garr started with the simplest way he knew how. He tried teaching Rei his own name.
After many tries and many days, Rei could finally say his own name in Common. Unfortunately, that was all that Rei seemed to want to learn. Each day, Garr would sit with Rei after supper and each day ended the same. All Rei could say was his own name. After a few months of this, Garr began to despair and lessons ended earlier and earlier.
~~~~*~~~~
Garr put his head in his hands and accepted the water that Rei brought. By now, both Ganlon and Garr had just given up convincing Rei that they didn't need the extra water and just drank it to keep him happy. The day was already hot and the sun had just risen.
Garr drank all the water and wearily handed Rei the canteen. On impulse, Garr hugged Rei. Rei stood there looking at him. Then Rei smiled the most self-satisfied smile ever and spoke.
"Thank you, Brother."
Garr nearly fell of the ledge where he had been sitting. "WHAT!!!!!" Garr grabbed Rei and kneeled so as to be closer to him.
"I said 'Thank you, Brother.' You are my brother right?" Garr blinked. Then he swept Rei up into a bone crushing hug.
"EH! LET GO! LET GO!" Garr immediately let go. Rei fell several feet and landed on his feet. Rei just stared up at Garr. If his vocabulary wasn't quite as limited as it was he would have told Garr several things. Instead he contented himself with glaring.
"Well! Are you my brother?!" Rei crossed his arms and continued glaring up at Garr.
Garr laughed. "Of course, Little Brother." Garr hugged Rei again, but this time left Rei on the ground. "FATHER!!" Garr said, unable any longer to contain his excitement.
Ganlon came over. "What's wrong? Did Rei kill you?"
"No. He's my brother. Why would I do that?" Rei said, anticipating the expression of shock he would get. There was a loud thud and the earth shook. "Did I kill him!?" Rei asked Garr.
Garr ran over to his now laying down father, and shook his head. "No, but he is out. You better go get some water." Rei ran off as fast as he could. When he got back, he anticipated Garr's orders and threw the water on Ganlon, something he had not done in a while.
Ganlon slowly opened his eyes. The first face he saw was Rei's. "You. What did you call Garr?" Rei blinked and backed away.
"Brother…" Ganlon looked fierce.
"Then what am I?" Rei blinked and backed into Garr. He grabbed Garr's hand and got ready to hide before he answered.
"…Daddy…" Again, Rei was swept up in a bone crushing hug and again he was dropped. Rei started muttering to himself, as he rubbed his shoulder.
~~~~*~~~~
After that day, Rei's vocabulary increased astronomically. Within days, he was talking as well as Garr and Ganlon. After a few more days, Garr took him to go see the Patriarch of Urkan Tapa.
"Make sure you're polite to the Patriarch." Ganlon said, warning Rei whose vocabulary included several ways to yell at people. Garr and Ganlon were the ones who Rei happened to practice on.
"The…what??" Rei asked, slightly confused.
"The Patriarch." Garr repeated.
"The Patriak…the Patrikarch…the…the…THE PATRICK!" Rei said finally, getting fed up. Garr and Ganlon burst out laughing. Suddenly Garr sobered.
"I wonder if his name really is Patrick…"
"Huh?!" Rei asked, paying attention once more.
"Never mind we better get going."
"BUT!" Rei protested. Garr looked at him
"But nothing. We're going. Now."
~~~~*~~~~
Garr and Rei went to a room that Rei had never been allowed in before. Guardians do hold some influence among the priests. Rei walked ahead of Garr and got to point to Garr as his pass. Needless to say, Rei was very happy with this arrangement…until they got to the prayer room.
"YOU!" The head priest shouted, jabbing a finger at Rei.
"mewr?" Rei pointed to himself eyes wide.
"YOU!! You make the Lord very, VERY nervous!"
"…what'd I do…" Rei turned to Garr. "What'd I do!" Garr just shrugged and stepped over Rei. Suddenly, the head priest found other things to do than yell at little kids.
Rei followed Garr up the stairs, turning at the last minute and sticking his tongue out at the head priest. Then he scurried to catch up with Garr, who was standing in front of a HUGE rock.
"Is that the Patrick?"
Garr started laughing as he easily moved the rock from the groove it had worn into the ground.
"You moved the Patrick!"
"I what!?"
"Moved the Patrick…are you allowed to do that?" Eyes open wide, Rei stared at Garr, suddenly worried.
Garr doubled over with laughter. "No…"
"YOU'RE NOT!?" Rei's heart began to race.
"I…"
"BUT YOU JUST DID!"
"But…"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! They're gonna KILL US!" Suddenly the assistant, aroused by all the yelling came out.
"SEE!" Rei ran in front of Garr and began apologizing. "We're sorry! We're sorry…we didn't mean to move the Patrick! Honestly! Don't kill us! WE'RE SORRY!"
By this time Garr was rolling on the ground laughing. "This isn't funny! WE'RE ABOUT TO BE KILLED! And YOU'RE laughing!" Garr tried to get enough breath to reassure Rei, but was laughing far too hard. The assistant looked from the…hyper…little kid, to the Guardian that was by no means dignified and sat down, totally confused.
"One thing…Who's the Patrick?" she asked no one in particular. Rei whirled around to face her.
"The guy Garr just moved!" He said in a panic.
"Guardian Garr named the rock?" she asked, confused.
"NO! That's the Patrick! And Garr moved him and now you're going to kill us and I don't want to die and …and…and…an…d… you're not mad…" Rei paused, thoroughly confused. Now the assistant was immobilized by laughter.
"Do you mean…" she laughed some more "to say the Patriarch?" She said, dissolving into laughter once again.
"Didn't I say that?" Rei asked, even more confused. Garr finally got his laughter under control.
"Rei…that's just a door. I was going to say 'No…that's not the Patriarch.' But you beat me to the end!" Garr explained between fits of laughter. "The Patriarch is waiting inside!" Garr got up and shook his head slowly. "Well, Rei, shall we go see the Patrick?" Rei sulked for a while before taking Garr's hand and following.
~~~~*~~~~
The assistant got up and trailed behind, still laughing. When their eyes adjusted to the dimmer light inside, the first this Rei saw was a really old guy sleeping. He tugged on Garr's robe.
"Is that the Patrick?" he whispered. Garr nodded, as the still laughing assistant went to wake the Patriarch up. "What's he doing?" Rei asked still whispering.
"Meditating" Garr said in a low voice.
"No, he's not…he's sleeping." Rei protested. Garr nodded.
"I know…just don't let him know you see through his act."
"Why?" Rei persisted. Garr just shook his head, staying silent. Rei looked at Garr for a moment before turning back to study the sleeping Patrick.
Finally, the assistant succeeded in waking the Patriarch up. Slowly, the Patriarch blinked clearing his sight.
"Ah…Guardian Garr. You have not come to see me lately. Who is that that you brought?" The Patriarch said in a voice that sounded as old as he looked.
"I'm Rei! I'm his brother!" Rei spoke up, not waiting to be introduced.
"Guardian…" The Patriarch said, warningly.
Garr nodded solemnly. "It is true. Rei is my little brother. I wish you to acknowledge it."
"Do you know what you're asking?" The Patriarch asked, incredulous. Rei looked at Garr, but kept silent by tone in their voices. "Did you talk to your father about this?"
Garr nodded again. "It was my father that suggested that it was time. Rei is a part of our family as surely as if he had been born into it. There is nothing that this can change, he is already family. Both the burdens and the joys." The Patriarch said nothing, but looked at Rei. Rei not really understanding what was going on, stared back, but moved closer to Garr.
"All right then…I recognize Rei as your brother and Ganlon's son." The Patriarch closed his eyes again and fell instantly asleep. Turning, Garr picked up Rei and carried him outside. Instead of going through the prayer hall, Garr just jumped off of the roof/pathway.
"AH!…DON'T DO THAT!…or at least warn me…" Rei said, startled out of the quiet mood that had fallen over him.
"Sorry…Let's go home…" Garr said sounding tired. Rei blinked and looked up at Garr. He wriggled around and gave Garr a hug.
"Let's go home, Big Brother."
The Voice
Garr and Ganlon were training, as usual, no matter what the day's heat. Rei was the water boy, who made sure they were either soaking wet or they drank all their water. Every time Rei got them to drink the water, he would purr in a self-satisfied way. Finally, Garr got tired of hearing the same thing over and over. During their break he grabbed Rei's hand, before Rei could try and force the water issue.
Looking as stern as he could be with Rei, he decided enough was enough. "Rei." Garr stated solemnly. Rei looked up at him with large eyes. "I am going to teach you to talk." Rei looked at Garr like he was crazy and spoke as he rarely did.
'But I do talk!'
"Not in our language." Garr persisted. (If nothing else Garr was stubborn…almost as stubborn as Rei.) "You are going to learn how to speak our language and I am going to teach you!" Garr started with the simplest way he knew how. He tried teaching Rei his own name.
After many tries and many days, Rei could finally say his own name in Common. Unfortunately, that was all that Rei seemed to want to learn. Each day, Garr would sit with Rei after supper and each day ended the same. All Rei could say was his own name. After a few months of this, Garr began to despair and lessons ended earlier and earlier.
~~~~*~~~~
Garr put his head in his hands and accepted the water that Rei brought. By now, both Ganlon and Garr had just given up convincing Rei that they didn't need the extra water and just drank it to keep him happy. The day was already hot and the sun had just risen.
Garr drank all the water and wearily handed Rei the canteen. On impulse, Garr hugged Rei. Rei stood there looking at him. Then Rei smiled the most self-satisfied smile ever and spoke.
"Thank you, Brother."
Garr nearly fell of the ledge where he had been sitting. "WHAT!!!!!" Garr grabbed Rei and kneeled so as to be closer to him.
"I said 'Thank you, Brother.' You are my brother right?" Garr blinked. Then he swept Rei up into a bone crushing hug.
"EH! LET GO! LET GO!" Garr immediately let go. Rei fell several feet and landed on his feet. Rei just stared up at Garr. If his vocabulary wasn't quite as limited as it was he would have told Garr several things. Instead he contented himself with glaring.
"Well! Are you my brother?!" Rei crossed his arms and continued glaring up at Garr.
Garr laughed. "Of course, Little Brother." Garr hugged Rei again, but this time left Rei on the ground. "FATHER!!" Garr said, unable any longer to contain his excitement.
Ganlon came over. "What's wrong? Did Rei kill you?"
"No. He's my brother. Why would I do that?" Rei said, anticipating the expression of shock he would get. There was a loud thud and the earth shook. "Did I kill him!?" Rei asked Garr.
Garr ran over to his now laying down father, and shook his head. "No, but he is out. You better go get some water." Rei ran off as fast as he could. When he got back, he anticipated Garr's orders and threw the water on Ganlon, something he had not done in a while.
Ganlon slowly opened his eyes. The first face he saw was Rei's. "You. What did you call Garr?" Rei blinked and backed away.
"Brother…" Ganlon looked fierce.
"Then what am I?" Rei blinked and backed into Garr. He grabbed Garr's hand and got ready to hide before he answered.
"…Daddy…" Again, Rei was swept up in a bone crushing hug and again he was dropped. Rei started muttering to himself, as he rubbed his shoulder.
~~~~*~~~~
After that day, Rei's vocabulary increased astronomically. Within days, he was talking as well as Garr and Ganlon. After a few more days, Garr took him to go see the Patriarch of Urkan Tapa.
"Make sure you're polite to the Patriarch." Ganlon said, warning Rei whose vocabulary included several ways to yell at people. Garr and Ganlon were the ones who Rei happened to practice on.
"The…what??" Rei asked, slightly confused.
"The Patriarch." Garr repeated.
"The Patriak…the Patrikarch…the…the…THE PATRICK!" Rei said finally, getting fed up. Garr and Ganlon burst out laughing. Suddenly Garr sobered.
"I wonder if his name really is Patrick…"
"Huh?!" Rei asked, paying attention once more.
"Never mind we better get going."
"BUT!" Rei protested. Garr looked at him
"But nothing. We're going. Now."
~~~~*~~~~
Garr and Rei went to a room that Rei had never been allowed in before. Guardians do hold some influence among the priests. Rei walked ahead of Garr and got to point to Garr as his pass. Needless to say, Rei was very happy with this arrangement…until they got to the prayer room.
"YOU!" The head priest shouted, jabbing a finger at Rei.
"mewr?" Rei pointed to himself eyes wide.
"YOU!! You make the Lord very, VERY nervous!"
"…what'd I do…" Rei turned to Garr. "What'd I do!" Garr just shrugged and stepped over Rei. Suddenly, the head priest found other things to do than yell at little kids.
Rei followed Garr up the stairs, turning at the last minute and sticking his tongue out at the head priest. Then he scurried to catch up with Garr, who was standing in front of a HUGE rock.
"Is that the Patrick?"
Garr started laughing as he easily moved the rock from the groove it had worn into the ground.
"You moved the Patrick!"
"I what!?"
"Moved the Patrick…are you allowed to do that?" Eyes open wide, Rei stared at Garr, suddenly worried.
Garr doubled over with laughter. "No…"
"YOU'RE NOT!?" Rei's heart began to race.
"I…"
"BUT YOU JUST DID!"
"But…"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! They're gonna KILL US!" Suddenly the assistant, aroused by all the yelling came out.
"SEE!" Rei ran in front of Garr and began apologizing. "We're sorry! We're sorry…we didn't mean to move the Patrick! Honestly! Don't kill us! WE'RE SORRY!"
By this time Garr was rolling on the ground laughing. "This isn't funny! WE'RE ABOUT TO BE KILLED! And YOU'RE laughing!" Garr tried to get enough breath to reassure Rei, but was laughing far too hard. The assistant looked from the…hyper…little kid, to the Guardian that was by no means dignified and sat down, totally confused.
"One thing…Who's the Patrick?" she asked no one in particular. Rei whirled around to face her.
"The guy Garr just moved!" He said in a panic.
"Guardian Garr named the rock?" she asked, confused.
"NO! That's the Patrick! And Garr moved him and now you're going to kill us and I don't want to die and …and…and…an…d… you're not mad…" Rei paused, thoroughly confused. Now the assistant was immobilized by laughter.
"Do you mean…" she laughed some more "to say the Patriarch?" She said, dissolving into laughter once again.
"Didn't I say that?" Rei asked, even more confused. Garr finally got his laughter under control.
"Rei…that's just a door. I was going to say 'No…that's not the Patriarch.' But you beat me to the end!" Garr explained between fits of laughter. "The Patriarch is waiting inside!" Garr got up and shook his head slowly. "Well, Rei, shall we go see the Patrick?" Rei sulked for a while before taking Garr's hand and following.
~~~~*~~~~
The assistant got up and trailed behind, still laughing. When their eyes adjusted to the dimmer light inside, the first this Rei saw was a really old guy sleeping. He tugged on Garr's robe.
"Is that the Patrick?" he whispered. Garr nodded, as the still laughing assistant went to wake the Patriarch up. "What's he doing?" Rei asked still whispering.
"Meditating" Garr said in a low voice.
"No, he's not…he's sleeping." Rei protested. Garr nodded.
"I know…just don't let him know you see through his act."
"Why?" Rei persisted. Garr just shook his head, staying silent. Rei looked at Garr for a moment before turning back to study the sleeping Patrick.
Finally, the assistant succeeded in waking the Patriarch up. Slowly, the Patriarch blinked clearing his sight.
"Ah…Guardian Garr. You have not come to see me lately. Who is that that you brought?" The Patriarch said in a voice that sounded as old as he looked.
"I'm Rei! I'm his brother!" Rei spoke up, not waiting to be introduced.
"Guardian…" The Patriarch said, warningly.
Garr nodded solemnly. "It is true. Rei is my little brother. I wish you to acknowledge it."
"Do you know what you're asking?" The Patriarch asked, incredulous. Rei looked at Garr, but kept silent by tone in their voices. "Did you talk to your father about this?"
Garr nodded again. "It was my father that suggested that it was time. Rei is a part of our family as surely as if he had been born into it. There is nothing that this can change, he is already family. Both the burdens and the joys." The Patriarch said nothing, but looked at Rei. Rei not really understanding what was going on, stared back, but moved closer to Garr.
"All right then…I recognize Rei as your brother and Ganlon's son." The Patriarch closed his eyes again and fell instantly asleep. Turning, Garr picked up Rei and carried him outside. Instead of going through the prayer hall, Garr just jumped off of the roof/pathway.
"AH!…DON'T DO THAT!…or at least warn me…" Rei said, startled out of the quiet mood that had fallen over him.
"Sorry…Let's go home…" Garr said sounding tired. Rei blinked and looked up at Garr. He wriggled around and gave Garr a hug.
"Let's go home, Big Brother."