CHAPTER 12: MARIEL
The first thing I noticed about his scoop was that it was seriously crowded. And this wasn't Andalite clutter; this junk was from anywhere but here. I didn't mind, seeming that he was out of this world himself. I had to turn away to hide the "open book" of my face at this devious thought.
Where did you get all of this.stuff?
Any and everywhere you can imagine, he looked back at me with his stalk eyes, smiling.
What do you do with it all?
Nothing. It's just stolen junk from Skrit-Na ships that the Captains don't care to hold on to. A lot of this is literature.human literature. I can read most of it. Humans are the most damnable race though, I mean, what other sentient species develops and speaks over a hundred different languages.
Do they all use that many languages? I asked incredulously. The idea sounded insane to me. Karrass just laughed.
No. What language or languages a human uses is determined by a variety of factors like what 'country' they are from or their race or things like that. It's very interesting. Humans are pretty interesting, if seriously confused, but neat all the same.
Oookaaay. So, what do they write about? I wanted to try an easier question to understand without giving my ignorance away.
Everything. Really, everything. Murder, aliens, growing up, politics, journeys, morals, love. A lot of the stories are fictional and involve animals.
Why would they write it down then. if it were not real?
He handed me one of the pieces that looked like bound paper. It was not heavy and about twice the size of my hand. I handled it as I would a bomb. For amusement. To escape reality. To let other humans share their hopes and wants indirectly, he looked at me with all four eyes and smiled, It won't bite you.
I know that, I snapped and deftly handed the book back to him. Then I sheepishly stepped back. I subconsciously knew that I should not have gotten away with talking to him that way.
They write about true events, too. It's just that sometimes fiction can convey a message more easily. I personally like the scary stuff. 'Death lurks around the corner with his victim's cry in mind.' They are a very imaginative people.
I was relieved that he went on talking, dismissing my slip in conduct. That's what you get for allowing yourself to become too comfortable. He put the thing down and walked outside. I followed him, careful to stay two steps behind.
Walk beside me?
Sure, I said unsure of myself.
I hate not being able to see your face when I say something that catches you off guard. He smiled and I melted. I had no problem with seeing his face either. Besides, I loathed anything bearing semblance to male supremacy. I could not help smiling, but the gesture pained the stiff muscles of my face. My smile faded to a wince.
I guess we had better get going, he said touching me face. I nearly jumped out of my skin! That was the equivalent to a kiss! And I didn't even care that he could have just ruined my reputation.
He stepped back form me quickly. I followed him. He nearly stumbled trying to get away from me. It was too cute! He coughed, I've been neglectful long enough.
I furrowed my brow. That's when I remembered my injuries. Oh, those little scratches. They aren't that bad
The wounds, no. The infectious microorganisms, yes, he smiled as I felt myself blanch, Besides, we cut a deal - you go see a physician, I pretend I didn't find you this morning and that I didn't take you to the base tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow morning?
Yeah. It's too late to even start off for the base now.
We continued walking and talking together until we arrived in the more populated region of town. Then I resumed the proper position, two steps behind my escort. It was funny how Physician's Row and the rest of the commerce section of the territory resembled the military portion of the same territory.
Karrass led me into the third edifice on our left. All of the buildings were indistinguishable from one another: sterile, clean cut, large interiors, everything that as could be expected of a completely stylized society. The only section of the territory that was, in fact, bright and happy was controlled by the mercantile guild. Needless to say, they were generally looked down upon. I rather liked color and excitement though, black market or not.
The next Row was lined with law and government offices. Unlike the Mercantile Row, this one was controlled by the upper class and seemed to be ominous and rather imposing.
Karrass and I entered the doctor's office. He left me waiting while he talked to the orderly. While he was talking, the triage nurse surveyed me shrewdly with her stalk eyes. He returned to stand beside me and wait. When the nurse called a name Karrass nudged me, That's you, sister dear.
I stared dumbly at him for a moment while the nurse called the name again and came over to assist me. I shot Karrass a look as he turned to the person waiting beside him and said, Poor thing, it must have been the trauma.
The first thing I noticed about his scoop was that it was seriously crowded. And this wasn't Andalite clutter; this junk was from anywhere but here. I didn't mind, seeming that he was out of this world himself. I had to turn away to hide the "open book" of my face at this devious thought.
Where did you get all of this.stuff?
Any and everywhere you can imagine, he looked back at me with his stalk eyes, smiling.
What do you do with it all?
Nothing. It's just stolen junk from Skrit-Na ships that the Captains don't care to hold on to. A lot of this is literature.human literature. I can read most of it. Humans are the most damnable race though, I mean, what other sentient species develops and speaks over a hundred different languages.
Do they all use that many languages? I asked incredulously. The idea sounded insane to me. Karrass just laughed.
No. What language or languages a human uses is determined by a variety of factors like what 'country' they are from or their race or things like that. It's very interesting. Humans are pretty interesting, if seriously confused, but neat all the same.
Oookaaay. So, what do they write about? I wanted to try an easier question to understand without giving my ignorance away.
Everything. Really, everything. Murder, aliens, growing up, politics, journeys, morals, love. A lot of the stories are fictional and involve animals.
Why would they write it down then. if it were not real?
He handed me one of the pieces that looked like bound paper. It was not heavy and about twice the size of my hand. I handled it as I would a bomb. For amusement. To escape reality. To let other humans share their hopes and wants indirectly, he looked at me with all four eyes and smiled, It won't bite you.
I know that, I snapped and deftly handed the book back to him. Then I sheepishly stepped back. I subconsciously knew that I should not have gotten away with talking to him that way.
They write about true events, too. It's just that sometimes fiction can convey a message more easily. I personally like the scary stuff. 'Death lurks around the corner with his victim's cry in mind.' They are a very imaginative people.
I was relieved that he went on talking, dismissing my slip in conduct. That's what you get for allowing yourself to become too comfortable. He put the thing down and walked outside. I followed him, careful to stay two steps behind.
Walk beside me?
Sure, I said unsure of myself.
I hate not being able to see your face when I say something that catches you off guard. He smiled and I melted. I had no problem with seeing his face either. Besides, I loathed anything bearing semblance to male supremacy. I could not help smiling, but the gesture pained the stiff muscles of my face. My smile faded to a wince.
I guess we had better get going, he said touching me face. I nearly jumped out of my skin! That was the equivalent to a kiss! And I didn't even care that he could have just ruined my reputation.
He stepped back form me quickly. I followed him. He nearly stumbled trying to get away from me. It was too cute! He coughed, I've been neglectful long enough.
I furrowed my brow. That's when I remembered my injuries. Oh, those little scratches. They aren't that bad
The wounds, no. The infectious microorganisms, yes, he smiled as I felt myself blanch, Besides, we cut a deal - you go see a physician, I pretend I didn't find you this morning and that I didn't take you to the base tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow morning?
Yeah. It's too late to even start off for the base now.
We continued walking and talking together until we arrived in the more populated region of town. Then I resumed the proper position, two steps behind my escort. It was funny how Physician's Row and the rest of the commerce section of the territory resembled the military portion of the same territory.
Karrass led me into the third edifice on our left. All of the buildings were indistinguishable from one another: sterile, clean cut, large interiors, everything that as could be expected of a completely stylized society. The only section of the territory that was, in fact, bright and happy was controlled by the mercantile guild. Needless to say, they were generally looked down upon. I rather liked color and excitement though, black market or not.
The next Row was lined with law and government offices. Unlike the Mercantile Row, this one was controlled by the upper class and seemed to be ominous and rather imposing.
Karrass and I entered the doctor's office. He left me waiting while he talked to the orderly. While he was talking, the triage nurse surveyed me shrewdly with her stalk eyes. He returned to stand beside me and wait. When the nurse called a name Karrass nudged me, That's you, sister dear.
I stared dumbly at him for a moment while the nurse called the name again and came over to assist me. I shot Karrass a look as he turned to the person waiting beside him and said, Poor thing, it must have been the trauma.