Culture clash

Enya stared at the creatures loaded up with gear. One a pale dove's grey, the other roan; both looking at her quite plainly while their riders checked their tack and saddles. She wondered at the beast's patience and bravery. She had never seen animals let alone horses-which were reclusive by nature-, allow people to come so close to them to touch them. Enya's eyes nearly fell out of her sockets when she saw two strange little men riding on the backs of horses. She had heard stories of humans riding on the backs of horses for travel, using lupine creatures called dogs for hunting but she hadn't thought much of it. Their stories were fun to listen to but no one really consider it true, just a silly tale for children to get worked up about.

"Why do 'dey stay?" She asked, gesturing at the nickering animals.

"The horses? They're trained from birth. We've tamed them for so long that they don't fear us anymore, just like other animals. Don't giants use animals for work?" they left clearing, she led them through dense wood, following a trail only she could see.

She stared at them blankly. She didn't understand the vast majority of what he said. Had he just asked her if the bucket was tame enough like the others for carrying a horse?

"Eh? I don't know what you said."

Eragon repeated himself more slowly enunciating each word carefully. "The horses, they do what we want them too, because we train them too. Don't Giants do the same?"

Enya shook her head no. She had only heard of such tales around the fire at late night meals-with plenty of berry wine to lubricate the vocal cords. One thing still bothered her, a word that stuck out like a tree in the prairie. "Eragon, what is a Gee-ant?"

Murtagh and Eragon exchanged glances before looking back at the giantess who was nearly walking backwards to get a better look at them. She stared at them with unassuming curiosity looking back and forth between them. "Giant is our word for you," She ogled him more confusedly

"I'm Enya, no Gee-ant," She stated quite firmly.

"What Eragon means to say is that Giant is the word we use for your people, since we don't the proper word that use for yourself It's also a word for something or someone very large so that's why we call you that. You're a giant." Enya Suddenly grasped what they were telling her. Piecing together the bits of their language she understood, the end result made her giggle. The two stared at her- it was such an odd sound to come out of a person of her stature.

"I'm not Gee-ant; I'm small, For Naidzeilin, e-ei-ven for a nena." She looked irked at this statement, but that could've been because she failed to construct and pronounce proper sentences.

"So, Naidzeilin is the proper word for a giant?" asked Eragon, "and what is a nena?"

"Ta, Naidzeilin is Gee-ant. An Enya, Naidzeilin ay pen Shrtraden, An o nena, ceolhar epn sinacro quilza

"What was all that?" He asked for a translation. Enya slowed her thoughts so that she could properly shift her thinking into the strange language of humans.

"I'm Enya…Gee-ant of Shrtraden; I'm a nena, not grown-up. I 'ink is what I say?" She shrugged in her odd fashion, moving one shoulder and tilting her head to the opposite side. She continued leading them through the indecipherable trails carved through the ground. Her head barely brushed the hanging liana as she kept walking; Eragon and Murtagh had to concentrate on making sure their mounts didn't trip on roots.

"You still haven't answered my question, what's a nena?"Eragon demanded. He was getting irritated at her apparent evasion. She frowned at the boy; she wasn't quite sure how to answer his question. She of course knew what a nena was; it was a fairly simple and direct translation the problem was is that she didn't know what the word for it in English. She was reduced to gesturing.

"I'm nena, you tako.' She said, pointing first to herself and then to Eragon. He shrugged at her still confused.

"What's a tako?"

"Gah, tako… is man, nena is …like man. Arya is… like man…not quite. Naira's chosen we say," she struggled for a while after that, not quite able to convey her meaning. Finally Saphira stepped in to save Enya from tearing her hair out. The language barrier was beginning to take its toll.

"I believe what she's trying to tell you, that she is female. For nena in her peoples tongue means a young woman- a girl; whereas tako means a young man-a boy."

"Oh."

Murtagh snickered when Eragon finally figured it out. He'd long since realized what Enya was getting at, but kept his mouth shut for his own enjoyment. He found it quite amusing to see the giantess stumble over her words in an attempt to make Eragon understand; still he was human enough to feel guilty for laughing, though it was mostly at Eragon's ineptitude.

They walked on; the trails were getting wider a more defined as they traveled deeper into the mountains. Murtagh stayed constantly alert, in the way someone unfamiliar with the territory. He scanned the area for any movement, he felt deep unease; not that this was not unusual for him. He often felt discontented or weary. Lately he had been feeling particularly weary, however his discontentedness had decreased since meeting Eragon. The relief he found from being out of the Empire's was odd. He lived his whole life under the Empire's watchful glare, constantly checking over his shoulder for servants of the king. He felt relived of that anxiety, but now he had other problems to worry about. Like how he would get Eragon to the Varden safely without being captured by them and what he'd do after he was free. The independence was vast; it dropped away into the unknown leaving him a speck in its expanse; Drifting without anything to anchor him.

There was a sharp cracking noise off to the right. The horses stopped mid-step, their nostrils flared and their ears pricked forward. Both Eragon and Murtagh reached for their swords, the red blade rested in Eragon's palm, Enya looked at the strange with one eye on the area where the noise came from. She knocked an arrow into her bow, keeping it low at her side. She caught a flash of movement between the branches; lower then she expected. A human? No it was too high up for a human and to low for giant, a giant child perhaps? It was nearly her height so that was the most plausible until a small black Arrow came shooting from the leaves. She dropped to the ground to avoid the missile.

A large creature charged forward before she could get up. She stumbled out of its way before it could attack; Eragon caught it with a glancing blow from his sword. Rusty blood oozed from the scrape, contrasting greatly with its grey skin.

The Urgal stopped to face Eragon, from what Enya could tell it was not angry but cautious and calculating. He raised his hand and bared his throat, "You are the dragon rider, and you will come with me to serve my master." Enya stared after the strange creature before her. It was even stranger looking then Eragon of Murtagh on their horses. He had the grey skin of a dead man, of muddy-river fish. It was built like a boulder, with limbs as thick as trees. It's most attractive feature was the two curving horns protruding from his forehead and sweeping back elegantly. Still she was much afraid of the thing, He was much more intimidating then the two young human males were. She only understood a little of what he said, his accent that the words came out mutilated. However, Eragon and Murtagh seemed two understand perfectly what he had said; and whatever it was, it wasn't good. Murtagh yanked his sword out of the sheath, swinging out of his saddle and into his fighting stance. The Urgal just stood there; Enya couldn't see the expression on his face he pulled out his sword to match Murtagh. Eragon then did the strangest thing; he put sword back in its place and took off his gloves like he was planning to fight it with his bare hands.

They weren't nearly strong enough to defeat the Urgal, the two men. Enya had heard from stories that humans were stronger then they appeared but still both of them together wouldn't be able to fight off the monster. She got to her feet quietly, It wasn't necessary. Murtagh had rushed at the Urgal but was blocked with the loud grate of steel. They didn't even notice her brake off a thick branch.

She swung hard and connected with the side of the Urgal's skull.

The creature staggered once and then fell to the ground, bruises spreading all across its face. She couldn't quite believe what she had just done. Enya had never been a violent person; she hunted not to cuase pain but to contribute to her family and clan.

The two humans stared at her, she dropped the stick, which she held in the hitting position. It landed on the Urgal's chest with a thuwmph. Without a word Murtagh walked over to the Urgal to rest a finger on its neck.

"It's not dead, just knocked out. Eragon what do you want to do with it?"Eragon startled out of his reverie, he looked like he had just woken up from a nap. He was shocked to see the Urgal lying on the forest floor. Had he done magic unwittingly? Usually he had to fight to get at that little nodule of magic at the back of his mind but like that first time when he lit that arrow in Yazuac by mistake. But no, Enya stood over its prone body with a branch in her hand with a shocked expression on her face. Then it hit him that he hadn't done anything, it was their giantess guide who had stopped his attack. It took him a moment to register what Murtagh had said.

"We have to get rid of it; we can't risk it going back to its master." Murtagh just nodded, with a grim little grin plastered on his mouth. He motioned for Enya to help him move the body. She grabbed its arms and pulled; not only was it large but also dense with muscle; it weighed nearly as much as a horse. Together they dragged into the brush and brambles. Then Murtagh did something she wasn't expecting; he pulled out his sword and stabbed the creature deep in the chest. Blood flooded out of its chest like water from a broken dam, staining its rough leather clothes and dripping into the twigs.

She was stunned, never before had she seen a creature killed out of cold blood and with such a calm face. This was not the hunting for food or the mercy killing of an animal that was too injured; this was murder. She looked away, upset with the bloodshed. But it was necessary and they had to keep moving if they were going to make anymore headway before the sunset. So she bit back her regret and followed Murtagh. He stopped her and said.

"This Is what I meant, there are people who want us dead and if you're with us you will be caught up in it all; just so you know what you're risking." She looked at him right in the eye solemnly and shrugged in her way.

"I said I would help you," She brushed past him back to the path they were following. Murtagh walked back, his muscles burned from carrying the scout even though Enya had taken most of the weight. The forest was eerily quiet after the fight the birds had flew away of hid in the trees waiting for safety, all the ground animals had frozen in fear or now waited in their dens. No one knew what to say so, the easy if a bit halting conversation had stopped and they couldn't pick up where they left off. So, they carried on in silence, the trial was nearly as wide as a city walkway, the dirt and plants beaten away by many feet over the years. The horses plodded along easily, Eragon was getting agitated at the slow pace, after so long traveling at a brake neck pace it was odd to not bounce hard in the saddle or urge his steed past its limit.

It was the second night they spent together. After the attack they had traveled straight through 'til night fall. They ate the left over stew from the morning, She was amazed at how much they could eat, accounting for their slight frames. But there they sat, sprawled around the campfire, eating and refilling their bowls until there was nothing left. None of them said much they were all deep in their own thoughts.

It was just then that Eragon looked over at her, "Enya how old are you?" He asked.

"How old? I have spent four- ten years at spring."

"You're only fourteen?" He exchanged a glance with Murtagh.

"Four-ten, ta."

"I thought you'd be older."

"Why…you say that?"

"Well…it's just, that you look older," he shrugged.

"It's the height that does it" Murtagh drawled, he leaned against Saphira his eyes closed. Enya had thought he had gone to sleep.

"I'm not 'dat tall, for a gee-ant I'm still small and growing," To Enya her lack of height was a source of frustration. So it was surprising and gratifying to hear about how tall she was. Of course it didn't mean much coming from human's who were so small compared to her that she must've seemed well…giant. Eragon perked up, his curiosity piqued, not that it took much to do that.

"How tall can giants grow?"

"Seventeen kein is tallest we grow," she said absently spooning for leftover stew into her blow, chewing each grain individually.

"Alright, what's kein?" Asked Eragon, growing more excited with each question; Eragon almost never got to ask so many questions at one time. Enya did something odd just then; she set down her bowl and took off her boot. Tapping her foot she repeated the word 'kein'.

"So… if kein is foot, then giant's can grow up to seventeen feet? How is it possible that no one's noticed, you're not exactly hard to miss," Eragon wondered aloud. The sounds of Murtagh's snoring add to the night time noise

Enya shrugged in her fashion, "you don't look up?" she guessed. Her eyes were getting itchy with sleepiness, the food rested heavily in her stomach. She was finding it very hard to keep up with the conversation. She thought she heard Eragon laugh before crawling into her blankets.

Why hello 'dar! Been awhile hasn't it? There's a bit more action in this chapter, just like I promised. not much else to say, there's more of Enya's language and culture in here which is alway's fun to write. Odd little fact the word for boy(tako) in was taken from the japanese word for octopus. the other tranlastions are below. Oh, I forgot, ya know in some languages there's feminine and masculine? well in the giant language they kinda have that. Certain letters are considered feminine while others are masculine

An Enya, Naidzeilin ay pen Shrtraden, An o nena, ceolhar epn sinacro quilza =

I am Enya, a giant of the Shrtraden, I am a girl, still not fully grown (meaning he hasn't passed all the rites of passage, she deliberately left out which passage she hasn't passed is the custom.)

Ta=yes

Ni-no

Tako=boy

Nena=girl

Naidzeilin= the giant's in general