Damia's Children (2 page)

Laria's mother and father, Damia and Afra Raven-Lyon, had spent the past fifteen years developing and refining this communications bridge—apart from the Dreamings—with Mrdini colleagues. Laria had been the earliest Human test subject. Constantly surrounded from birth by adult Mrdinis, and then young Tip and Huf, she had absorbed posture and sounds just as any child learns another language from early exposure. By the time she was six months old, she had had Tlp and Hgf as cribmates and had dreamed the pleasantest dreams in their company at naptime and at night. All the Raven-Lyon offspring had been similarly paired when they were six months old with 'Dini young.

On Iota Aurigae, such partnering had become normal. Even before much interspecies communication had become viable, miners—who were so overworked they were glad of any assistance—had taken adult pairs of 'Dinis into the pits and shafts when the Mrdinis had “dreamed” their willingness to do so. The tough and suspicious Aurigaen miners had discovered that the 'Dinis were instinctive colliers, hard workers, and unusually strong.

“Hey-YO,” cried someone behind her. Turning, Laria saw her brother Thian, his white lock flopping across his face, round the bend on his chunky black pony, Charger, Mrg and Dpl trudging along beside him.

Not for the first time did Laria regret that the conformation of the 'Dini made it impossible for
them, with their stout short legs and stumpy tail, to straddle the hardy little Denebian hybrid ponies that Humans employed. When they were younger, she'd occasionally put Tip and Huf up on Saki, Tip in front where she could hold on to it, and Huf riding pillion behind, its fingers latched tightly to her belt. But it wasn't the most comfortable way to travel and now her mates were too heavy to ride Saki with her.

“Good hunting, Thian?” Laria called back.

“Plenty for pot and spit,” her brother yelled, grinning hugely. “Rojer's right behind us, with their bag. He must have some secret source of scurriers, the amount he's bringing in.”

Hunting was a weekend occupation for the three oldest Raven-Lyon children, who were good archers while the 'Dinis were clever with traps. With such a big household to feed, small avian species and burrowing animals, scurriers, and the variety of rabbit that had adapted well to Aurigae were welcome additions to protein requirements, not always as well satisfied by the huge gardens.

The Tower could, of course, have brought in any supplies needed but it had become a matter of family pride and honor for
this
household to supply its own needs—Human and Mrdini—either from the high plateaus and valleys behind Aurigae City or from their fields.

Saki was too eager for her warm stable and supper to be held back to wait for Thian so Laria let her walk out, her tired young 'Dini mates hauled alongside.

As they finally reached the terrace level, lights were already beginning to augment the dimming day and illuminate the broad courtyard. Saki's
hooves clattered across it, summoning the resident pets: Coonies, Darbuls, and what Laria had termed slithers, the Mrdini equivalent of a pet.

Neither reptile nor bird, neither furred nor feathered, but loving, affectionate, dependent on assistance to survive anywhere, slithers had—to everyone's great astonishment—become accepted by Coonies, ignored by Darbuls, and endeared themselves to the Humans as useful household creatures. Their existence and nurture by Mrdinis had been a curiously important factor in the acceptance of the aliens: “Any critter that cares for a pet—even one as repulsive as that slithery reptiloid er . . . ah . . . entity,” the Fleet Commander had remarked, “can't be all bad.”

As slither diet consisted of Aurigaen insects and small bugs unappetizing to other life forms, the creatures kept the large sprawling Raven-Lyon residence and neighboring fields clear of pests that often caused humans on Aurigae considerable discomfort or nuisance when they fed on the crops.

*   *   *

Laria was already giving Saki a rub-down when first Thian and then Rojer arrived in the stable, to tend their own beasts. While one 'Dini brought the catch up to the kitchen wing, the other helped with hay and feed for the horses. That set the already stabled animals to stamping and snorting.

Have all the ponies been fed?
Laria asked, broadcasting her thought more than directing it to either parent.

Please, darling? Had some late Tower traffic,
replied Damia.
What splendid hunting you've all had!

Laria 'ported the feeds into the mangers, adding the special vitamins and salts that two of the newest ponies required until their digestions altered to Aurigaen grasses. As usual, the four 'Dinis clacked in loud appreciation of her kinetic skill.

WE FEED PONIS, WE MAKE PONIS 'APPY
, Tip and Huf chanted, although they themselves had done nothing, but as Tip and Huf were hers, any of her achievements were also theirs. Laria gave a small, almost inaudible sigh of resignation: for all their years in a Talented household, the 'Dinis were always more charmed by small teleportations like this than any of the major workings from the Tower. Cargo and ships just disappeared from or appeared in cradles, whereas now the 'Dinis could
see
the movement from one place to another.

WE FEED PONIS PLUS
, Thian's pair, Mur and Dip added.

WE FEED FIRST
, Tip began, turning its poll eye back over itself to pin Mur with a steely glance.

She signed it quickly not to be so silly and
tlocked
with her tongue a disapproving note. Tlp shrugged that off, swaying its upper body and head in reaffirmation.

As her parents had cautioned her as soon as she began to experiment with her telekinetic abilities Laria was careful in its usage. The young Raven Lyons did 'path more than most Talented parents would recommend for family communications but then the circumstances were unusual. Conversations between Humans—when the 'Dinis could not follow verbal speech—would be rude, so they often 'pathed rather than discourteously speak what their guests could not understand.

The entire Raven-Lyon family, including eight-month-old Petra, was considered by the Governmental Authority to be acting as official liaison representatives to Mrdini. Telepathy allowed the family the privacy and ease to discuss intimate matters which might have to exclude the 'Dinis.

As soon as Laria, Thian, and Rojer had seen to the comfort of their ponies, they and the other 'Dinis went up the ramp from the stable complex to the Hall where most of the combined household's activities took place. With their 'Dinis' help, Morag was already plucking, skinning, and eviscerating the catch. Zara, who would not butcher animals, was washing and preparing vegetables and greens. Afra and Flk were trussing bird and scurrier beast for the spit while Damia and Trp were doing multiple tasks with the rest of the meal. The 'Dinis were also carrying on a voluble conversation with their returning young. Despite the differences in shape and origin, there were many similarities between Mrdini and Human in the care, education and nurture of their progeny.

Laria caught only half of what Flk and Trp were saying to the younglings but the sounds merrily ranged up and down the pitches available to 'Dini vocal cords so she knew that nothing was amiss. 'Dinis might not use body-language supplements when speaking to their own but tone could be interpreted in this home of sensitive Talents.

Anything new?
Laria asked.

Nothing at all, darling,
Damia said.
Can you do some more carrots? You know how Flk and Trp adore them but they haven't got the hang of using scrapers.

Vitamin A!
Laria replied with a mental grin, and
'ported two more bunches from the storeroom, holding them up for her mother to approve the quantity. A nod sufficed and Laria began preparing them.

Tlp and Hgf immediately came to her assistance, their single poll eyes glittering for they were as fond of carrots as the adults. Once she had scraped, they sliced, Tip and Huf twitching their upper torsos happily, their “heads” bent so that their single poll eyes were focused on what their hands were doing. Ordinarily, 'Dinis brought whatever they were working on up to eye level but when attempting a Human task, they tended to adopt Human postures.

Some people said they couldn't tell one 'Dini from another but that's because they didn't work closely with a pair. Laria recognized, and knew the names, of every pair living on Aurigae. 'Dini Pairing itself was another mystery that hadn't been adequately explained, though biologists were trying. They had had to accept the fact that Mrdini always came in pairs. Laria did not know if Tip and Huf were the young of her parents' Flk and Trp: she didn't know if Flk and Trp were birth pairs, or had paired off by mutual choice when mature. There were still gaps in communication levels.

The Mrdinis Dreamed explanations but these did not explain their biology. Mrdinis reproduced during their annual hibernations. Whether mating occurred before or during was still debatable: the Mrdinis did not seem to understand “gestation” as a concept of time or even a process. They did not understand “abort” or “impotence” as a reason why not all “pairs” reproduced. Nor why
there were always twin births. Diplomatic courtesy denied Humans the right to observe in the hibernatory. No one was certain that these were live births, or if the Mrdinis might be oviparous. But the young were born “adult,” in that they understood the basics that all 'Dinis instinctively knew. They had to wait until their muscles strengthened to walk upright but they needed only to be “reminded,” Laria thought, of sounds—words—to reproduce them properly. As Damia once said, 'Dini young went from “oh” to “oration” in nothing flat. And they left the hibernatory “house-trained” and with mouths full of sharp teeth.

Mrdini builders had constructed the special hibernation facility well up in the hills behind the sprawling Raven-Lyons home. To this all the Aurigaen Mrdini retired for their two-month long period of inactivity. Not all pairs reproduced in that time. Not all remained for only two months. When all had left the facility, it was scrupulously clean and ready for the next hibernation period.

Laria was both relieved and lonely during the absence of Tip and Huf: relieved because she didn't have that extra worry about doing or saying something misleading; lonely because she enjoyed their company and the fun they could get up to. 'Dinis had whimsical humor and a special rippling wheeze that was their amused noise: not quite a laugh, not a sputter, but definitely laughter. Fortunately 'Dinis and humans had comparable notions of comedy.

Though she had learned to get tongue around the vowelless Tlp and Hgf, Laria used Tip and
Huf: Thian called Mrg and Dpl, Mur and Dip. Her parents called Flk, Fok, and Trp, Tri. Evidently 'Dini made do without vowel sounds, though they certainly had innumerable consonant sounds, glottal stops, and fricatives to produce all those clicks, clacks, dongs, bongs, tlocks, and infinite varieties of whistle. Laria had become so deft at interpreting, that her parents often asked her to verify their understanding of conversations with Flk and Trp.

Then dinner was ready and served with rapidity to the hungry horde. 'Dinis had clever blades that served as spoon, fork, and knife. Laria was adept with the instrument and kept one on her belt as Tip and Huf did. Fingers were permissible at home, Morag and Ewain employing theirs to good use, even remembering to use finger-bowls and napkins. Zara was even more fastidious at nine and her 'Dinis tended to imitate her. The fact that the 'Dinis were also accustomed to finger-bowls and napkins had at first astonished Humans. Afra had carved the first bowls from Denebian hardwoods, decorated with the first Dream which the 'Dinis had sent him and Damia. While he still entertained everyone in the household with his paper folded origami designs, he had added wood-working to his leisure time.

He had done 'Dinis in origami. Fok and Tri carried theirs in their belt pouches and would often exhibit them to 'Dini guests. While all the family liked to watch him create his animals and forms, only Rojer and Zara showed enough interest to learn to do the intricate paper folding. Fok and trihad attended the first two lessons and then retired. Their digits were too powerful for the delicate
movements needed and they tore more paper than they folded.

Mrdini mental processes apparently differed from Human—though the results might be similar—but areas of mutuality were in constant development, and double households like the Raven-Lyons contributed hugely to interspecies understanding. It wasn't their Talent that was exercised so much as their innate empathy and objectivity.

“Dad,” Thian began when he had assuaged the first edge of hunger, “we've about hunted out the nearby ranges. Aren't I old enough to use a sled?”

Afra thoughtfully regarded his eldest son, all bony ribs, elbows and knees in his latest growth spurt and likely to match his father's height soon.

It would be useful, considering the fact that we may not 'port our friends about the place.

Laria held her breath, for while she didn't begrudge Thian the opportunity . . .

Both Laria and Thian are responsible youngsters,
Afra went on, nodding at them in the manner both knew was cautionary as well as challenging.
I shall apply to the City for licenses. You two will have to qualify on your own merits but I'll arrange with Xexo a time to give you trial runs . . . Study the operation manuals.

Sure, Dad,
both Laria and Thian chorused, delighted. Considering both had the family eidetic memory, they'd be through that requisite in an hour or more. And Xexo, the resourceful T-8 Tower engineer, who kept all the machinery running smoothly, had known them since their births and was a special friend.

Then, as Thian turned to Mur and Dip, Laria signed to Tip and Huf that soon they wouldn't have to climb the hill: transport was going to be arranged. They would be able to reach new hunting grounds without effort. The 'Dinis clicked and wriggled enthusiastically—Tip almost falling off its bench in its exuberance.