Kinderling 25

 In case you are interested in starting this story at the beginning, Kinderling 1 can be found here:

The Tricycle of Thought: Kinderling 1

Please don't judge the story or the writing too harshly, this story is written with little to no editing.  It is just meant to get me writing regularly for practice.  

Now back to our story, already in progress....

I was worried.  

This meeting between Uncle Zon, Mama, and Watcher was an important one.  The fate of so many Kinderling villagers who were being held captive was resting on this one meeting, and I didn't feel like we had a lot to offer.  Sure, I could promise to help the big Surface Gorf find his tribe, but what could I really do about that?  Might as well promise to pull down the moon for him, but I don't think he would understand.  "I would pull the moon down from the sky for you" or words to that effect being a common romantic "sweet nothing" whispered between young Kinderlings who are in love.

We also needed a place to meet.  The garrison was not appropriate due to it's infamy among the Gorfs.  Eventually, Old Barrel was chosen.  There is really only one way in and out of that place, unless you were jumping into the lake from the top, and I was told that was so dangerous that nobody would try it.  Watcher asked to delay a day so that he could go find -grumble,- the big Surface Gorf, because he wanted the big Gorf to be present during the negotiations.

When the time came; Mama, Uncle Zon, and I made our way down the briar tunnel and across to Old Barrel.  Bez and Father came along too.  I thought of telling them not to come because I was afraid that having too many Kinderlings might make the Gorfs uncomfortable.  Then I thought I should ask Father what he thought about it because he is the best negotiator in the family.  In the whole village really.  Which made me realize, Father is the one Kinderling we do want at the meeting.

When we reached Old Barrel, we found Watcher had already arrived.  I was happy to see that Watcher had the big Surface Gorf with him.  I felt that he needed to be there.  To my delight, Watcher was also accompanied by  a small Gorf woman.  

"Young Tandy!" Watcher exclaimed when we arrived.  "I want you to meet my beautiful wife -grumble-.  In Gorfish, her name is the word used for the scent that a flower gives off when it is being crushed.  If there is a word for that in Kinderling, I don't know it.  She agreed that you may call her Flower, as long as you understand that it is imprecise and not really her name.  She's pretty insistent about that."

"I understand,  I don't know a Kinderling word for that either."  I said, "Flower, it is an honor to meet you."

I stepped forward and held out my hand, but she shied back behind Watcher.

"If you will please excuse her rudeness Tandy,"  Watcher explained, "She grew up listening to stories about how the last Kinderling King and his soldiers hunted her people, and the things they did to the youngsters and smaller Gorfs women.  I think she agreed to come to this meeting because she was afraid I would be tortured and eaten without her."

"We would never do such a thing!"  I asked.

"Sorry Tandy," Bez cut in, "I was hardly able to believe it myself, but I found references in the archives from the time of the last King to feasts held after successful raids.  They were quite graphic...  And don't even ask, I refuse to show them to you."

The very thought of such a thing...  I felt like my insides were being crushed.  I have known that whenever a Gorf captures a Kinderling, they usually end up in a cooking pot.  I have even seen evidence of it first hand, mostly in the form of gnawed Kinderling bones tossed out in a Gorfs refuse pile, and once even sneaked my way in to retrieve a family heirloom for a distraught friend of Mama's who lost her son that way.  It doesn't happen very often.  Most Kinderlings keep to the village and we have the Kinderling Patrol to protect us.  I didn't hate the Gorfs for any of this, they live like starving animals.  

But Kinderlings.  Kinderlings aren't like starving animals.  The idea of Kinderlings raiding Gorfs settlements, taking prisoners, and then eating them.  I couldn't help myself, I wrapped my arms around myself and started crying.  I can't be part of a people who would do this.

What a sight I must have looked.  A tiny Kinderling girl bawling her eyes out, standing in front of three shocked Gorfs, while standing at the head of a delegation of Kinderling adults.

Poor Bez, not being used to being around young Kinderling girls, slowly backed away having no idea what to do.  Uncle Zon, Mama, and Father were further back because they were waiting to be introduced, probably hadn't heard the conversation so had no idea what was going on.

On the other side, the big Surface Gorf was getting agitated and started walking around in circles sniff sniff-ing and grumble grumbling to himself, probably something like "not my fault, this is totally not my fault, whatever this is."  All the while worried that he was going to get the blame. 

Watcher...  Seemed to understand.  Gorf facial expressions aren't exactly easy for a Kinderling to understand, but I think he at least could understand how distressed I was at finding out my people had done terrible things.

It was Flower's reaction that surprised me.  Grumbling and sniffing back and forth with Watcher, she slowly approached and patted me on the arm, as if consoling me, and re-assuring me that everything was going to be all right.  Oddly, through the blur of my tears, I noticed something I had never noticed about Gorfs before.  Flower had three fingers, and two thumbs on her hand.  We're all Gorfs like this?  I took a sideways glance at Watcher.  No, one thumb, four fingers.  Then I looked at Flower's hand again.  I hadn't imagined it.  There they were, three fingers, two thumbs.

Watcher noticed what I was looking at and guessed what I was thinking.

"The divine Gorphom is said to have three fingers and two thumbs on each hand.  Among the True Gorfs, we consider anyone born with two thumbs to be touched by Gorphom, and themselves divine.  Most of them are taken in and become part of the Priesthood.  Most of -grumble-... Flower's... tribe share this trait."

I looked over at the big Surface Gorf, trying to catch a glimpse of his hand.

"Well, the trait skips a few." Watcher said with what sounded like a little bit of humor.  "The Surface Gorfs, for whatever reason, generally look down on those with this trait.  -grumble- over there doesn't have it."

The big Gorf seemed to be settling down, and the rest of my party moved up.  I was surprised that Flower stayed with me, lightly resting her odd hand on my arm, as if to give me comfort.

I made introductions, "This is Watcher, of the Deep Gorfs.  His wife Flower, and that one is..."  Seeing me pause, Watcher and Flower grumbled back and forth for a few seconds.

"I believe Mouse is the most appropriate."  Watcher said.

Mouse?  I had a hard time not breaking into a fit of giggles.  I succeeded... just...

"Mouse." I finished.  "Watcher, this is my Mama, Bonnie.  My Father, Tadeus and my Uncle Zon who you've already met, and this is Bez."  I hadn't considered what order to introduce everyone in, but I suppose if didn't matter too much.

"Welcome, and I greet thee."  Watcher said and bowed in what seemed like formal perscribed manner.  To my surprise, after a short pause Father stepped forward.

"Thank you.  Welcome, and I greet thee."  Father said, also bowing.  "You'll have to excuse me, it has been a long time since I studied the Kinderling Forms of Formal Address, and I'm amazed to see them now."

"We of the True Gorfs still use them on formal occasions, although they didn't come from the Kinderlings, they were passed down from the High Elven courts.  Even Man used them for a time before they lost so much of their civility, only using a bastardized version of the Forms now."