#31: New Friends Are Made

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The big black, grey bearded brawny Texan, all the company sergeants and several little people stood companionably grouped near the newly constructed palisade. They drank coffee together and conversed as best they could. Hobbs thought that it’d be easier for him to concentrate if the females had been wearing more clothes. They looked much, much too human and had…..interesting curves. It also VERY much didn’t help that they weren’t the least bit shy. One was sitting on First Sergeant Halsey’s knee.

Sgt. Hobbs jerked his attention away from the small female and focused, intensely, on the Texan. "I take it that the little people are peaceful? They don’t want to fight us? You managed to talk with them? " asked the sergeant.

"Oddly enough, they’re not, they don’t and we did" said the Texan. "We are learning to understand each other at an alarmingly fast SwineRate. We discovered a trick. Stranger still is that you can use it too and all the rest of the company...AND the Trolls. Very strange, I know several earth languages and have experience learning new ones but this is just so fast it’s stupid. No one can learn a new language this fast, and yet I am….we are. I've never heard of anything like it. You’re not going to like this so let’s get it over with.”

The Texan nodded to the little people. They all spread out. One little guy or gal to a human.

“ Form a circle around me. Pick up a little guy .” said the Texan. That was no request it was a command. “Now”

The men were sergeants in the military. They were trained to obey the orders of officers, no matter how confusing. The did so. The human sergeants, with little guys on their hips, were soon standing in a circle around their commander.

“Now everyone hold your right hand out ”

The men followed the example of the ones they were holding. Soon there were a circle of hands, palm up pointing toward the officer in the middle.

“Now hold still. Don’t anyone move. NOT AN INCH”. Quick as a striking snake the Texan drew a bowie knife. Very carefully and precisely he then made a small cut in each outstretched hand. The knife was so sharp that no one felt any pain. Blood welled up and pooled in each hand.

All the humans were stunned. That was the last thing they had been expecting. Before they could even react the Texan barked.

“Now shake hands with your partners. Mix the blood. Do it. NOW!” Hobbs and the other men were career soldiers and soldiers obeyed orders. They did so. Bloody human palms met the equally bloody palms of the little people. Their blood was smeared around and well mixed.The many pairs stood there grasping each other’s hands. They listened as the large Texan continued to speak.

“He and his people are not the least bit peaceful. They are hunters. I'm learning more about them by the minute but they are so alien it’s taking time. Many of their terms have no counterpart to me. He says he wants to be peaceful with US however."

The other little men , and women, nodded their heads in agreement. The all spoke quite rapidly and with a great deal of enthusiasm , at first it was just gibberish. They continued to speak for some minutes and then stopped..

Hobbs looked expectantly at the Texan.

"You can let go of their hands now," Lamar said with a smile, “people will begin to talk otherwise”

Hobbs extracted his hand from that of the smaller man. He found that he was strangely reluctant to let go. Odd that.

“I actually caught some of that” said the First Sergeant. Everyone turned to stare at him.

The man shrugged. "What can I say. I cheated. Me and Minaiwen are already blood brothers” The Sergeant grinned and displayed an open hand. It had a red line across the palm. The tiny female on his shoulder displayed her palm...it too had a thin red line.

"By Odin's red beard I think you must be right Capt'n. I almost understand some of that myself. Didn't he say something about ...about...somebody flying in for breakfast?" said Sgt. Hobbs in amazement. He kept looking at his hand. It was healing as he watched. Not only had the bleeding stopped but the cut had closed and scabbed over. It itched. It looked as if it were a days old injury instead of mere minutes.

The Texan and the little man both grinned and nodded their heads.

"I don't understand the part about 'flying in' though, the Griffin are already here " said the Sgt. STILL not looking at the almost naked, very mammalian, little girl on the first sergeants shoulder.

"Oh...I think I do" said the Texan. He was looking past Hobbs. "Turn around and I think you will understand. Is that him Kraki?"

So the Little Guy’s name was Kraki. Kraki nodded his head , turned and waved...at the slowly approaching dragon.

Next Episode
#32: There be dragons…
Previous Episode
#30:A Pleasant Morning…
First Episode
# 1 : In the beginning…

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