It wakes up the same way it had the only other time in it's short memory - immediately, going from troubled cold sleep to full alertness in a fraction of a second. It's eyes snap open, stare up to see bleached bone beams above it, thick hide stretched over the bone.
It stays deathly still for a few seconds, gathering it's wits, taking in the sounds and smells of it's surroundings, recalling it's most recent memories.
TheMad fell. world stopped again.
then, a new realisation no longer does TheMad's bones ache, his body no longer shakes, and his breath does not mist before his face. it takes TheMad a small amount of time to find a word for this new state.
TheMad...is warm. after deciding it likes this new condition, the creature looks around the small hut, barely more than a tent, nevertheless giving off a homey, lived-in atmosphere.
a question forms in TheMad's mind.
Where is TheMad?
It rises from the floor where it had been laying, a mass of fur skins falling off it's naked form. It moves around the warm little space, gingerly brushing the backs of it's hand on various curiosities, until an inviting smell from the center of the room draws it's attention, and sets a gurgling pain afire in it's middle.
There, over a small round plate glowing the colour of TheMad's hair, sits a battered, blackened cylinder. inside the cylinder is a liquid, from which the enticing aroma rises.
Cautiiously, TheMad reaches down to touch the liquid with a fingertip, and yelps with pain, jumping back and tripping over the pile of furs it had been sleeping under. It puts it's finger in it's mouth instinctively. Surprised, it stops at the taste in it's mouth, and sucks a few moments.
The taste quickly fades, and TheMad now eyes the battered makeshift pot hungrily.
If TheMad had something to get the stuff out, the stuff wouldn't bite TheMad's finger.
With this in mind, TheMad begins rummaging through the tent anew, gathering up antything it thinks might be practical.
A long thin metal object with a dull edge and a sharp edge, coming to a tiny tip that draws a drop of red when he touches it with his finger. a word again enters his mind unbidden. Claw
A very light, wispy thing, slim, made up of a thin bone through the center and then smal stiff filaments lnot unlike those sprouting from TheMad's head. No words ris up for this, but the mad suspects it may be useful in getting at the enticing liquid.
The last likely object is a slim cylinder, a uniform thickness most of the way, tapering in a little at one end before swelling out again into a bulb-like shape. The other end is flat, apart from and odd bump on the bottom.
TheMad moves back to the liquid, plops down with it's tools, and ponders which to try first.
Claw is deadlysharp. TheMad does not want to make red come out of TheMad's mouth. Claw is for taking red out of others, mad needs to be careful with Claw.
It studies the next item, picking it up, waving it about. The light thing is covered in patterns and catches the light and glimmers prettily. TheMad admires it for a moment, and then dunks it all the way into the liquid.
When TheMad draws it out, the object had shrunk, going as slim as the stalk all the hair had sprouted from, but some of the liquid had clung to the stalk, so TheMad popped it in his mouth and sucked, with mixed results.
It did get some of the tasty fluid, but it also got a mouthfull of the small hairs, and they did not taste well, and felt annoying in it's mouth. THeMad discards the soggy object, and picks up the odd pink thing.
While the object is thicker than the other two, TheMad decides it can get it in it's mouth. After studying it in the light the same way it had the previous object, and finding it oddly familiar, but not nearly as attractive, TheMad again unceremoniously dunks the object into the liquid.
This time the object did not shrink, and, indeed, some of the liquid did stick to it. TheMad grins triumphantly, before popping it into his mouth to hugngrily suck all the delicious stuff off his newfound tool. The liquid tastes only a little different, but not so much TheMad minds, and he begins to quickly dip and suck in a swift rythm.
This continues for a few minutes until, without warning, a side of the tend flips outward, letting in a flurry of cold wind and a creature standing on twolegs, all wrapped in skins like the ones TheMad had been sleeping under. Long brown hair falls out from under it's hood, and it's features remind TheMad of TheBlue from earlier, a fogotten word tickling the back of his mind.
a....Her.
TheHer stops a moment, startled, before making more noises in a calm tone. TheHer then notices TheMad's eating device still protruding from it's mouth, and begins making high pitched screeching noises. TheHer makes it's face go a bright red, and TheMad leaps back, dropping it's eatingdevice and grabbing it's Claw, growling low, taking up a threatening stance.
Flashing through TheMad's mind, it sees ways it could rush THeHer, gra it's arms, push TheClaw into it, take out it's Red, but TheMad hesitates, watching.
**********
The Situation had suddenly changed from a mightily embarressing one to deadly serrious from Jama Froststride. Before her, the odlly-coloured naked - VERY naked man, who had moments ago had the pink object she used to ease the lonely cold nights in the wastes in it's mouth, crouches before her like one of the wild frostapes she hunts, growling, and holding her cooking knife in a way that suggested he knew how to use it the same way the Itherion soldiers know, with deadly force.
Her only weapons on her are her lightcaster and her hunting knife. She knows how to handle the animals out here with a caster, and might get lucky if she ever found herself having to fend off a small angry frostape, but the thought of trying to defeat this wild-looking creature gives her pause.
Jama had always prided herself for having a cool head in dangerous situations, and now she applies it with a quiet urgency, going over the events she had witnessed since finding the crature before her tumbling into a snowdrift from who knows how high above her.
He had only been startled when i yelled out...perhaps i can talk to him...calm him down...
"It's okay, i'm not going to hur-" She cuts off when the wild man growls, and crouches lower.
okay, i think we can assume he doesn't understand you, Jama. So you're going to have to speak without words.
The young gently woman raises her hands, showing they are empty, and slowly sits on the floor of her tent, not making a sound. The man hesitates, looking into her green eyes with it's unearthly yellow-in-red ones, seeming to ponder something for seconds that feels like hours.
Then it, too sits cross-legged, raising it's hands, but still clutching the knife. The look in it's eyes makes Jama smile, seeing that it is only mimicing her, watching to see what she will do next.
Jama wonders what to do next. He obvously doesn't understand her language, but it seems that he isn't going to make any forst moves. She remembers him sqatting over her stew, her pleasure in his mouth, and while the thought makes her cheeks pink again, she surmises that he must be very hungry.
She slowly makes and eating motion with her hands and mouth, and points at the man across the tent from her.
He looks to her battered pot hungrily, but quckly locks his gaze back on her, growlinmg just a little.
Jama takes the hint, and shuffles back from the fire to the edge of the tent. The man moves forward cautiously, not taking his eyes from her. He reaches again for her pleasure, and dunks it into the pot.
Oh spirits, not again...
Jama again begins to blush as her new tentfellow begins to use her pleasure as an ill-suited spoon, still watching her with deadly serious eyes. were it not for her mortification, Jama would find the whole thing incredibly amusing.
i have to stop him, before i die from shame! she thinks to herself.
Slowly, she begins to shuffle forward, her face bright red. The man watches her, then back off, growling, to sit again at his edge of the tent and glare at her, but he does not raise the cooking knife.
Jama gets her bone bowl from her pack slowly, not looking at her guest, and scoops some of the elicious smelling frostape stew into the bowl before taking a sip.
She meaningfully puts the bowl down where the man can reach it, and shuffles back.
After staring at her for a minute or so, The man moves forward again, picking up the bowl in one of his strong looking hands. He sips from the edge of the bowl, and immediately drops Jama's pleasure, much to her relief, and holds the bowl with two hands, gulping down mouthfulls of warm stew. when the bowl is empty and licked clean, he puts fills it up to the brim, and sits it down in the same place Jama had put it, staring meaningfully into her eyes.
**********
TheMad looks across at THeHer, watching to see what she will do next. He has decided for the moment, the he does not want TheHer's Red, since TheHer seems to not want his, indeed, it seems to want to show him things. The Bone scoop was much better for eating than his own eatingthing.
He studies the skins she wears curiously. TheBlue, too had covered itself in another skin, and it made TheMad curious.
TheMad watches as TheHer shuffles forward again, picks up her scoop, and sips at the luquid. He sees in it's eyes that it too is curious, but also cautious.
TheHer might be like TheMad, but it uses the squaks, like TheBlue, and it changes colour, which TheMad does not understand.
"Jama"
TheMad starts at the sound of TheHer's noise, but doesn't move from where it is. It suspects there's something more to the noises that it doesn't understand, so it continues to watch TheHer, to see if it can solve the riddle.
TheHer points at itself, and makes a noise again. the same noise.
"Jama"
TheMad scowls, puzzling out what TheHer's actions mean. TheMad decides to try what had worked so far. It points at itself. "J'Maaa" TheMad croaks.
TheHer's face canges a little, but the gesture is lost on TheMad, who is trying to figureout what making the noise actually acomplished. Nothing had changed about TheMad or TheHER, or the liquid. perhaps if it tried again.
"J'Maaa!" it says, pointing to itself. it repeats the process again and again, still garnering no result.
It stops, and looks at TheHer across from it's side, waiting. It didn't work.
TheHer isn't looking at TheMad, but has it's eyes closed. TheMad wonders what TheHer is doing, wants a way to find out, but it does not know how to find out. TheMad thinks there are things inside TheHer TheMad does not know, like there are things inside TheMad only TheMad knows.
This thought triggers something. Not a memory, or an ability, or knowledge in any firm sense.TheMad doesn't understand how it comes to the realisation, or even what the realisation means, but it makes the connection to things in it's head, the want forl TheHer to have those things in it's head, and to have TheHer's thgs in TheMad's head. This desire combines with it's short experiences with the sounds both TheHer made and TheBlue had made, and something comes together.
Recalling the sounds TheBlue had made when it'd first seen him, TheMad tries to mimic them, pointing at itself.
"Gah! UMMaadTHmaad....Satchiooo! iiiinedillp"
TheHer's eyes open at TheMad's noise, and it grins, bringing up more memories of TheBlue's noises "Maaad?Maaad?Maaad?Maaadic? Wasong? Wiantyooo?CHIT! CHIT!"
His voice sound pitched high, like TheBlue's, but his inflection leaves much to be desired, and much of what he says is unintelligble. TheHer seems to pick one thing out though.
It points at THeMad, and makes a sound.
"Maaad?"
THeMad blinks a few moments, and then the past few minutes become clear. It points at iself
"Mad." it says in it's rough voice.
it points at TheHer. "J'Maa"
TheHer, TheJama bares it'sa teeth, but not in a way that makes TheMad feel threatened. TheMad returns the gesture, showing all it's white, gleaming teeth.
OOC: the process of mad learing feels a little rushed, i know, but i just didn'ty want it to take forever. more in six months time? we'll see!/ooc
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