Just Another Day

The Heyen clan members were bundled up against the light drizzle as they tended their suppers, repaired garments, and watched cubs play nearby. None really paid any mind to Shanku as she moved among them, looking around for the white haired elder that had once guided her through the initial emotional turmoil she had experienced shortly after being banished from the Nyre. At length, she began to make inquiries as to where he was at. When she was informed he was out among the trees gathering autumn herbs and spices, she sat back out into the forest to find him.

The dampness enhanced the various smells below the canopy. The saturated bark, the glistening grapes and berries, mushrooms everywhere, the sour dill, the spiky chestnuts waiting to injure an inattentive passerby... Shanku had poked a toe on the latter and had to stop to remove the thorny tine. Afterward, she continued following Onami's scent until she found him collecting nuts, burdock, and late blooming flowers.

"Need an extra hand?" Shanku offered as she trotted up to him. Onami gave her a basket and instructed her how to gather what he was looking for.

"What brings you out here?" Onami asked.

"Multiple suggestions," Shanku chuckled. "Mostly revolving around Kleu."

"The goblin hound," Onami said wistfully. "What an honor to meet him. You must show him great respect."

"I reckon," Shanku shrugged as she plucked a rather bumpy mushroom and placed it in her basket. "A big, bat-winged kurach from what I saw. What is he, our grandpappy or something?"

"To some degree, yes," Onami nodded.

"Are you going to make me beg for the story?" Shanku asked eagerly, on the verge of a whine.

"I don't know much of it, honestly," Onami replied. "Kleu created us, the fairies gave us the ability to walk on two feet, and at some point after that he ceased contact with us."

"And we used that ability to walk on away from him, as he told it," Shanku said glumly. "I was hoping the story was longer."

"It was a very long time ago, long before our kind started keeping records. Perhaps you could ask him about it directly," Onami suggested.

"So what is he, anyway?" Shanku asked. "God or demon? Most I talk to err on the side of 'demon'."

"Neither. He is simply goblin," Onami replied. "A powerful goblin, and immortal, but just a goblin."

"I wasn't aware that anything but the divine had the power to create life," Shanku remarked, quite puzzled.

"According to the little folk, a very long time ago, many mortals could," Onami said thoughtfully. "But they abused the ability, and it was taken away. Kleu may have created us during then."

"We're not goblins then, are we?" Shanku asked as she wrinkled her nose.

"In a sense, I suppose we are," Onami said and chuckled softly. "Which makes the little green goblins in the woods our cousins."

"I'm not likin' this story so far," Shanku shuddered. "So, when we're on four feet, we're goblins, but when we're on two, we're fae? We kind of look like them..."

"Oh, no, kurach are not fae at all," Onami explained quickly. "We may carry a gift given by the fae, but we are not one of them."

"So do the Prairie ever walk on four feet?" Shanku asked curiously. "So far only those I've met in the far north do."

"It is a sacred thing not commonly done," Onami said quietly. "Only shaman and medicinal kurach may assume the shape, and only after proper preparation."

"Those up north do it to hunt," Shanku remarked. "It's a bit of a big deal whether you're able to do it or not."

Onami looked worried and made a quick gesture before him. "You have not yet, have you?"

"No, not yet," Shanku sighed. "My friend, Huata, managed it not long after I arrived, but she wouldn't share the secret to it."

"It must come with age and wisdom," Onami said sternly. "It is not something to be taken lightly."

"Heh, those featherheads in the mountain felt the same way about the feral form," Shanku giggled. "That was their mark of strength and higher being."

"We test our warriors with it," Onami said. "If they can hold the form and control themselves, they may defend the clan. Otherwise, they are never allowed to assume it again."

"A wise choice," Shanku said. "It's not an easy one to manage. So, now that my basket is full, what else do you need?"

"That should be all for now," Onami replied. The elderly kurach lead her back to the camp and bid her farewell for the evening. Shanku returned to her brother and friends to join them for supper.