Jarn’s Journal Year 6 Day 151

Year 6 Day 151

Little Gnu is walking again, and even running, though I doubt he will ever have his old speed or agility. Unlike Giraffe, who worked well with Patches, he seems unable to grasp the idea of hunting with a non-human partner. But without hunting partners he cannot hunt mammals effectively, so we were mostly eating fish and small game we could snare.

We did need hides, so I took to stripping the hides off fresh lion kills. At first I mostly relied on a local pride, counting on my warnoff to keep them away long enough for me to separate the hide telekinetically and then leave the carcass to them. Then I realized that they were actually backing off their kills as soon as I appeared, apparently hoping that I would strip the hides and give them easier access to the meat! After some discussion with Gazelle as to the most desirable parts of the carcass, I now teleport some of the better meat as well as the hides back to our home. If the predators are benefiting from my removing the hides, it is only fair that they pay something!

I have also started rotating which species and which individuals or groups of predators I target.

Little Gnu may not be able to hunt, but we are amassing so many tools that I suspect he will do quite well giving them to more able hunters. These people do not seem to have trade as such, but they gain status by giving gifts, and generally are given gifts in return. Meat is a prized gift, but so are exceptionally well-made tools. I’ve seen a couple of individuals who are crippled to some extent so specializing, and there is no reason Little Gnu cannot become one of them.

Weekend Writing Warriors

Welcome back for another snippet from War’s End. The big question for all of them (aside from how to stay alive and get home) has been how they got from the ship (which was getting decidedly unfriendly) to the surface of Rakal.  Now they may have that answer, though the problem of survival is still there.

“Lyra said if she were frightened enough she might teleport to me. But ….”

“Colo was still after her!” Audi exclaimed. “She went farther to get away from him, and since she wouldn’t leave you, and we were all in physical contact, she brought all of us along. No wonder she’s hungry!”

“Poor baby,” Ginger said as she rummaged in her kit. “Nothing wrong with you, Coralie—no Human mammary system could keep up with the energy demands of a R’il’noid baby who’s just teleported that much mass. No wonder she couldn’t quite manage the energy and momentum matching.”

For more snippets, click on the logo at the top of the page to get to the list for Weekend Writing Warriors, and that at the bottom of the page for the facebook page for Snip Sunday.

I’ll be slow getting around today (most will be next week, if at all) because I’m taking off in a plane about the time this goes live at midnight. (The only way to get connections out of Alaska is via the red-eye.) If I make my connections, I’ll get to upstate New York (Ithaca) well into the afternoon and I am not going to arrive in any condition to be surfing the internet and leaving coherent comments.

Jarn’s Journal Year 6 Day 105

Year 6 Day 105

Almost any stone will do for pounding, Little Gnu assures me, but for tools to cut, the stone and how it is shaped depends on what is to be cut. Most of the cutting tools he showed me were some form of microcrystalline quartz: chalcedony, flint, jasper or even agate. A few decorative pieces, more for showing off or for grave offerings than for use, were of colored quartz. But his real prize, used only for the most delicate of tasks, was a carefully chipped piece of obsidian as sharp as any steel knife.

“The stone is rare,” he told me, “and not easy to work. Sometimes I can arrange to trade a worked piece for a much larger piece of the raw material. But sometimes a thorn or a spear is driven into the body, and this is the best kind of knife for cutting it out.”

“It is also,” Gazelle remarked, “the best thing for cutting hides. When I can get my hands on it.”

It took me a moment to remember that Little Gnu was not at the gather the year I presented them with obsidian. “Would you like some raw stone to work?” I asked. “I know where I can find some, and it would be easy enough to get it. You could make knives while you cannot walk well enough to hunt.”

He was delighted at the suggestion, and so was Gazelle. “If he has more of that stone, perhaps I could have a knife of my own,” she said, “just to use for cutting tanned skins.”

Weekend Writing Warriors, War’s End

Welcome to another snippet from War’s End. Coralie has just realized she has no more milk for Michelle, who’s been nursing almost continuously. Kelty and Ginger seem to have figured it out, and Ginger is speaking first.

“Coralie, it’s not you, and I have some milk substitute in my kit. Remember what happened the last thing on the ship? Just before we wound up here?”

“That man — he grabbed Michelle from me. She was afraid of him, and — but he was moving away from me! And Michelle was back in my arms! I thought — but he can’t have given her back to me.” Her eyes widened as she remembered the conversation with Elyra.

The conversation was before they were even on the ship, but you’ll have to wait until next week to find out what Elyra said.

For more snippets, click the logo at the top for Weekend Writing Warriors, or the one at the bottom for Snip Sunday.

Jarn’s Journal Year 6 Day 85

Year 6 Day 85

Well, they’ve left.

I keep telling myself not to become attached to individuals of the People, because they age quickly and will die all too soon. On that basis, it is a very good thing that Songbird, Giraffe and WildDog will not be staying with me this year.

I will miss them.

I will even miss Meerkat, who has finally realized I have no interest in her as a mate and set out, very much behind my back, to seduce Lion, who lost his mate to a fever last year. I hope Lion knows what he is in for!

Not that Gazelle, the mate of Little Gnu, is not a good cook and clothing maker, or that her daughter does not remind me of Songbird as I first knew her. Gazelle has also taken to the fish traps, and we eat well even without a hunter.

Little Gnu has turned out to be remarkably adept at knapping stone. Giraffe did make a small spear point for WildDog, but he spent a great deal of time doing it. Little Gnu has almost finished his supply of stone, and every tool he has made is a success. He is not very talkative, but he has managed to make me understand that different tools are best made from different types of stone.

“If I bring you several kinds of stone,” I said, “can you show me what each is best for?”

He beamed as he has not done since the elephant attacked him. I think I may learn more about stone tools than I had intended.

Jarn’s Journal is a part of the remote back story of my science fiction universe. The entire journal to date is on my author site.

Weekend Writing Warriors

It’s Sunday, and snippet time. Click on the logo above to find other participating authors, or on the logo below to get to the facebook page with similar information.

I’m still posting the same scene from War’s End, a WIP. The group has been stranded, how they do not know, on a very hot, wet, jungle planet. They have rigged a shelter and are waiting to see if the rain stops, though by now it is evening. Coralie has been suggesting that they will need a latrine trench, and trying to stop her daughter Michelle’s fussing. She has just asked if there is something wrong with Michelle or with her, and she continues to speak. If you want background, the index (above) has all of the Sunday snippets.

“She feels like she’s starving, and aside from a couple of naps she’s been nursing since we got here. And I thought she was getting plenty, until a few minutes ago. I’ve run dry!”

“That’s how we got here,” Kelty laughed abruptly. “She’s her father’s daughter, all right.”

The others looked bewildered for a moment, and then Ginger began to giggle.

Obviously Ginger and Kelty have suddenly figured something out, but what?

Jarn’s Journal Year 6 Day 50

Year 6 Day 50

I would never hunt an elephant, or encourage the People to do so. Elephants are too close to sentience. This killing, however, was in self-defense and it made sense to salvage the meat, though I can’t say it was particularly good. Very strongly flavored, I thought, but that might have been because the animal was in musth.

Little Gnu is recovering, and I am having a hard time discouraging him from hobbling around with the aid of a stick. I don’t think he will ever be able to walk evenly or run again, and he is very unlikely to be recovered enough to stay with his group when they leave. His mate and daughter are caring for him, and aiding Meerkat in preparing my meals. Which has led me to a possible change in my life.

“WildDog is really enjoying a chance to play with the other children,” Songbird said to me, and her voice was a little sad.

“Would you and Giraffe like to rejoin Rain Cloud’s group?” I asked. “I’ve been thinking perhaps I should take acolytes for no more than a seasonal cycle, and Little Gnu is not going to be able to travel for a while. He will be able to kill small game Patches turns his way, and his mate is a good cook. It is the cooking and clothing I cannot do for myself, and Giraffe should get more practice hunting with others.”

I wasn’t sure how she’d react, but she and Giraffe were both eager to go back to the nomadic lifestyle they had been raised with. Little Gnu’s mate, at least, was glad he would not be trying to keep up with a group traveling to new hunting grounds, and his shaman was delighted. So I have a new household.

I hope this group works out as well as did Songbird, Giraffe and their son. To be honest, I am not sure how much longer WildDog can be kept away from the computer.

Zhaim Laian (A to Z Challenge)

Zhaim is Lai’s oldest R’il’noid son, and as long as he has the highest fraction of active R’il’nian-derived genes of any of the R’il’noids alive, he is his father’s heir – if anything happens to Lai, Zhaim will take over. He took this position from Derik (who was just as glad to be rid of the responsibility) when he came of age several hundred years ago, and has come to define himself in terms of how he will improve the Confederation when he takes over from his dowdy and senile (in his opinion) father.

Zhaim is quite handsome in his way, vain about his appearance, and very fashion-conscious. His complexion is dark bronze, like his father’s, and his hair is black. His eyes are almost clear with silver veining – “ice and silver” is how they are often described. His hobby is making “artistic” sculptures out of living things (including slaves) and he considers himself a great but misunderstood artist. He likes and admires cats, but is violently allergic to them.

He is an important character in both Homecoming and Tourist Trap and will continue in the trilogy. Here he is speaking from the Bounceabout, early in Homecoming.

The Bounceabout. Ha! The Nausea would be more appropriate. And twice in one day?

Damn the old man! He knows how those rough jumps affect me. And he damn near ordered me to come. Blast Derik. I should have been the one left on charge, not that soft-headed fool. He’s even older than my father!

And now my father even admits he doesn’t have the slightest idea of where he’s going. Just that some possible jump points feel more “right” than others. Well, I knew it was a useless quest.

Still, he has a habit of being right. And if there’s even a chance of other R’il’nai out there …. If one of them were female ….

Damn it, the R’il’noids are better than either race! We’re smarter than the Humans; more practical and creative than the pure R’il’nai. We don’t need the R’il’nai any more. But if the old man finds others ….

I’m his heir, the son who has inherited the most of his R’il’nian genes. He mustn’t have a child by a pure R’il’nian!

I’m doing my A to Z blogs from my books, both characters and background information. For characters I’ll introduce them quickly, say what point of time they’re talking from since their situations change drastically through the books, and let them talk. The format of background information will vary according to what I’m talking about. Bold type indicates that more information has been or will be available in another A to Z post. All of these blogs will be scheduled to go live just after midnight Alaska time.

 

Yearday (A to Z Challenge)

The Central calendar is based on the solstices and equinoxes, with the northward equinox marking the start of the year, a planetary holiday called Yearday. The Central year is actually slightly more than 364 Central days, so Yearday is always defined by the northward equinox at the longitude of Confederation headquarters, and if necessary an intercalary day is inserted on the day after Yearday. This occurs roughly every 9 years.

The year is divided into twelve months of 30 days each, with holidays (which are considered not to belong to any month) between them. Yearday is the most important of these, and the only one firmly tied to the astronomical calendar. Northday is approximately on the northern solstice and Southday near the southern solstice; Feastday is near the southward equinox.

The school calendar starts with the first day of the fifth month, a month after Northday. There are two month-long vacations, starting with Northday and Southday.

Both Feastday and Yearday are times for parties and celebrations, but most students do not have enough time off school to travel home at these times. Only those whose parents are able to teleport them home normally get anything but the celebrations planned at school.

I’m doing my A to Z blogs from my books, both characters and background information. For characters I’ll introduce them quickly, say what point of time they’re talking from since their situations change drastically through the books, and let them talk. The format of background information will vary according to what I’m talking about. Bold type indicates that more information has been or will be available in another A to Z post. All of these blogs will be scheduled to go live just after midnight Alaska time.

Weekend Writing Warriors

It’s Sunday again, and time for Weekend Writing Warriors, a blog hop where a number of authors post up to eight sentences from their writing, published or unpublished. Click on the logo above to get to the list of authors. The one at the bottom gives the facebook page for snippet Sunday, with more authors.

My snippet this week is again from War’s End, the story I’ve been giving excerpts from for some time. A group of five adult Humans, a month-old baby and an alien have suddenly found themselves on an alien, hot, unfamiliar jungle planet. Coralie has just asked Audi for clarification of why she referred to the Maung as “she” and “Red,” and Audi is answering.

“It’s a lot more than just ‘Red,’ of course, but we needed a short, easy-to-remember nickname. As for the ‘she,’ I didn’t ask specifically, but the first thing she asked was whether we knew anything about where her children were. If Michelle needs them, I did find the diapers.”

Coralie glanced down at her fussing daughter, and shifted her to the other breast. “Latrine trench,” she said firmly. “Somebody make a note of that. Ginger, is Michelle all right? Am I all right?”

And why is she asking that?