[Day 5, Early Morning] Rats in a Swamp

[Jiyo Sora]

Upon waking, Sora gathered the last of his dried hare and went looking for the Nezumi. Between the close quarters, and the fact that they were gigantic bipedal rats, he didn't figure that locating them in camp would be too tricky.

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

There was a large bipedal Brave-Warrior-Who-Remembers on the edge of the camp. He squatted down for a moment and began raising his nostrils in the air while looking out past the perimeter of the camp.

[Jiyo Sora]

Hm, not the one I've met...

"You have a moment?"

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

He turned and glanced at the human before looking back towards the woods.

“Moment?”

Silly humans and their needless introductory banter... ‘Moment’ must mean something stupid and redundant with an endless number of synonyms.

[Jiyo Sora]

"An essentially meaningless word indicating a variable amount of time. One of our little linguistic flourishes, but since you know our language and most of us don't seem to know yours, it's what we're stuck with."

He held out a piece of dried hare.

"You want some food? I have questions, but I hate to coming asking empty-handed."

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

He glanced sideways at the dried meat and returned to his observation of the wetlands.

“Question good. Listen. Maybe not die.”

[Jiyo Sora]

Sora shrugged and took a bite of the hare meat in his own right.

"Do you know anything about The Five? Five Ancient Races? Or know a Nezumi who might?"

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

"Rememberers know things of nights-before-this-night. Five races thing of long nights past." He pointed to the southwest.

"We get past swamp that come to find us... We arrive at place where father stay. Many Rememberers. Many memory sticks."

He paused and then looked at the rugged man. "You smell odd-rock too?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Smell? I'd say our sense of smell is pathetic besides yours. But... I looked at it. Saw things with this eye, and then had a spirit-talker speak with the rock. The two put together... I think your... Rememberers, is it? I think those memories will be important to our people, as well as yours."

He glanced sidelong at the Nezumi.

"Something you might be able to use in bargaining with us. Your people know a hell of a lot more than we do about a great many things, and our Emperor respects knowledge."

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

The Brave-Warrior-of-Black-Moonset had a puff of air come out of his nostrils as if something was humorous that the hairless-one just said.

"Bargain... bargain takes two. What value hairless-ones bring?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Not being overrun by nightmares. Prying the Kami out of the heart of your lands."

He shrugged.

"It's a place to begin. I suspect people higher ranking than I will make a great deal of noise about what we have to offer."

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

“Purple-Grass-Smell-Giant-Woman say you take Fallen-rock-man out... No bargain there. You need bargain to get to hole.” He replied.


“I see what hairless-ones do. Sneak-sneak in day. Steal pups like animals. No good at real fight. You see big-spirits you run like pups. No Name. No strength. You try to sneak to hole. Get your fallen-rock-man and go. You no help Brave-Warriors-who-Remember. You only help yourself... Hairless-ones always so. No think of pack. Only think of self.”

He paused, “What hairless ones can do to help?”

[Jiyo Sora]

Sora actually smiled at that.

The honesty was refreshing.

"I am not Seidou, but you're not wrong about what has gone before. That said, my Emperor- my chief, would be grateful to those who helped him free his brother- grateful enough to make us become something other than a nuisance to your north- and he does not forget easily."

A pause.

"Now that you know something else we might want beyond help getting to the pit... think about what you would ask of us. Your people and mine have a history- a bad one. But we can try to begin something else before it's too late. I won't ask you to forgive or forget what has been done to you and yours. But give us a chance to show you what we could be. And if your mind hasn't changed by the time we're done here... Well. You're no worse off than you were."

He glanced sidelong at the Nezumi.

"And if you... smelled the rock, you know that worse is coming. We may well need each other, like it or not."

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

He sniffed the air and looked into the wetlands, “Worse already here.”

[Jiyo Sora]

"Does this sort of thing happen often, since the disaster hit your people?"

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

He nods, “Pit make land change... pain-is-present. Pit most pain, but pain spread... always moving. This marsh new. Pain-is-present.”

[Jiyo Sora]

"Pain... you mean it twists things. Makes them slaves. Slaves from the pit."

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

“Pain... is pain. Pain-is-present....” he thought for a moment trying to remember one of those pointless human words.

“Danger.”

[Jiyo Sora]

"Most things bring some level of danger. This seems like... big danger."

He exhaled.

"I saw what it could do to me when I looked at the stone."

[Ch’chit T’kkiri]

“You die-die. Many danger things. If lucky, leave good Name. Humans sometimes lucky... except when not.”