Chapter 9 Grighri
GRIGHRI
A very young adult, or a people who did not fly into the places the Star Gods and Demons dwelled, I mused as I mixed the dried hrangae powder into a paste which I slowly dissolved into water.
The gourd was now half empty, so I’d have to go to the spring to refill it soon.
This would ordinarily be no great chore, as the village spring on this level was only eight rooms away.
I only ever needed enough for cooking and making ckha to wash the food down with, as we all utilized the great pools of heated water for bathing.
“Whah tchoo maykuing?” he asked, pointing at the pot.
“Broth,” I replied, guessing he was asking what I was preparing for him to eat.
He repeated the word after me, just as his stomach growled. His skin flushed a shade of deep red, and he looked embarrassed. “Hecks cuooze mee.”
I smiled at him, letting him know that this was a normal reaction after much hunger. For some reason, his skin became even more flushed, the color now spreading to his small, rounded ears on the side of his head and down his neck and upper chest. “Dayum seckzee ayleeunz,” he muttered, looking away.
I decided to let him work through whatever emotions he was feeling and turned my attention back to the broth, stirring it to make sure the paste dissolved evenly and without any lumps.
I was certain he had a lot to think about, having been dropped from the sky after the demon grak plummeted from the heavens.
A soft scratching sound at my door alerted me that I had a visitor. I left the broth to simmer and went to answer it.
“Ho,” my friend Rimbet said. “The chief said you found a wounded being, the star demons dropped in their mighty bird. He said Grokah told him you needed your traps checked.”
I sighed, motioning him in. His eyes widened at the sight of Rah-bee.
“Is it a kit?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “Grokah checked his balls. Adult male, though how young of one we don’t know.”
“Huhi!” Rah-bee said, waving a hand at Rimbet. “Ah’m Rah-bee.”
“That’s his name,” I explained. “Rah-bee.”
“Ho, Rah-bee,” Rimbet replied to him. Then, pointing at himself with his tail, he added, “Rimbet.”
“Rimmbeht,” Rah-bee parroted back.
“Rimbet,” he agreed. Then, turning his attention back to me, he said, “I’ll go check your traps for you.”
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks. You’ll need to take supplies as they’re a full day’s walk across the plain, at the edge of the crystalline forest.”
“In the usual area?” he asked.
I nodded. “I tied markers at the base of the trees where the traps were hidden nearby.”
It was standard practice, the colorful strips of cloth easily spotted by a hunter, yet overlooked by the nurgut we set the traps for.
“I will go and bring your bounty back and take it to the smokehouse.”
I knew he’d claim part of the meat for himself, but only what was fair.
“Let me give you provisions,” I said.
“No. Keep them. You have an unexpected extra mouth to feed.” He grinned, baring his canines. “I’ll go say goodbye to Rista. She’ll pack my bag with plenty of good things to eat and her special blend of ckha leaves.”
I let out a low laugh. “That she will. She’s had her eye on you since we were all kits.”
“I know. I keep telling her we are destined only to be friends. If we were mates, the star gods would have marked us so already. She insists that they are waiting for me to truly see her.”
“It is unfortunate. But, while you are there, tell her she is welcome to come meet Rah-bee. She can fuss over him while you’re gone.”
He laughed, the loud sound booming, causing Rah-bee to startle.
“She will see how thin he is and bake him cakes,” he agreed. Then he raised his hand in farewell and left, closing the door behind him.
I walked over to check on the broth. It was bubbling nicely, so I scooped some ground nurgut paste out of a jar and stirred it in. While it continued to simmer, I fetched him a mug, which I ladled some of the hot liquid into before handing it to him. He gave it a sniff.
“Smehlz gud.” He began blowing the steam away in an attempt to let it cool enough to drink.
I took his broth off the cooktop, placing it on the stone shelf above it.
Then I took out a pan and some dried meat, which I drizzled some of the broth over to soften it up, adding some of the vegetables I kept stored, already peeled and sliced.
Rah-bee watched intently the entire time, blowing until he was satisfied his broth was cool enough to drink.He took a tentative sip and screwed his face up.
“Hitz blahnduh,” he said in a complaining voice. “Needz sahlt.” Whatever he was complaining about it over, he kept drinking it anyway, proving he was as hungry as we’d suspected.
The meat and dried vegetables were soft enough to fry now, so I scooped out some fat and began to fry them.
“Sssturh frie!” Rah-bee cried out excitedly. “Gaht nuudlz?”
I took out a plate, placing my dinner on it. Rah-bee looked stricken when he realized he was only getting the broth.
“Soon,” I told him.
“Naht fayhur,” he sulked, pouting.
Perhaps he’d cheer up once he finished his broth and had some chkha. I stood up to put the kettle on.
“Ohh wow yoo hahv uh ketul! Iz thur kaf-fee?” he asked excitedly.
“Chkha,” I replied, showing him the dried leaves I would steep and then strain.
“Teee!”
“Chkha.”
“Chah kah.”
Close enough, I decided as I added the last of my water to the kettle and placed it on the cooktop to boil.
“Aye liek teee - Ah meen chah-kah. Iz thur meelk hand shoogur?”
“Drink,” I said, pointing to his broth as I settled back down to eat my own meal.
“Gruhmpee seckzee aleeun,” he muttered, but he did as he was told.
I hoped the skygods came back soon, or we sent hunters out to investigate the dead sky grak.
Perhaps we’d find one of their language demons who could put the words in Rah-bee’s head.
Or perhaps the Sky Gods would have noticed the demon bird, and would soon come, and they could do it.
I wished for this very hard, hoping they would hear my plea, because trying to teach him word by word was exhausting and would take a very long time.
Far too long a time for my patience, as well as his, I suspected.