"You must be Muhso," Nick said, looking up at the tall piece of at that was the newly arrived mber of the Ursa tribe. Lora and Kavam were tall, but Muhso was tall. He was also muscular, which made him appear even bigger.
It was a good thing that they were hosting the sausage party outdoors. Otherwise, Nick wasn’t sure they would fit in one house.
"Yes. It’s an honor to et you, honorable Outsider."
"Please, call Nick."
"Of course. Nick." Muhso nodded before awkwardly glancing at the two boars on his shoulders. Just like Lora and Kavam did when hunting, he had slit their throats and drained them of blood on the way.
"Over there is where we usually hang them up." Nick pointed at the tree that Lora and Kavam had used in the past. Kavam ca over and helped Muhso.
Muhso couldn’t help but glance at Nick as they got started with hanging up and skinning the boars.
"The Outsider...He doesn’t look like much," Muhso said carefully. It was the first ti he saw Nick, but Nick hadn’t made that deep of an impression. He certainly didn’t live up to the greatness that Lora and Kavam had when talking about him.
"Is that so?" Kavam tilted his head.
His initial impression of Nick had been of a mysterious and powerful figure hiding out in the center of Tiabe for so reason. In his mind, only a powerful being could do that with the sa ease as Nick. He had also been in a panic because Kai was missing. His fear had clouded his judgnt and made him more worried and paranoid than he usually was. It had made Nick seem scarier than he actually was.
Then, there was the tentacle.
Nick himself wasn’t scary or imposing, but the tentacle monster in his house was. That was the powerful one of the two. Kavam could tell that much after hanging out with Nick this much.
He understood Muhso.
If this had been Kavam’s first impression of Nick, he would have likely thought the sa. But...
"As far as I can tell, he’s an ordinary human. He looks like one and acts like one. His circumstances are a little special, but he’s a human nonetheless." Kavam’s analysis was spot on. It only made Muhso more confused.
"Exactly. I an, the sausage is great. I will never be able to thank you or him enough. But how co this one human got all the tribes in a tiss?" Muhso asked with a frown.
Kavam crossed his arms with a smug expression. He had noticed sothing Muhso had overlooked.
"He’s an ordinary human."
"Yeah, you’ve already said as much."
"Look at him. What was his reaction when he saw you?"
"..." Muhso was silent as he thought back to when he stood in front of Nick with a hefty boar on each shoulder. He towered over Nick. The puny human didn’t even reach his belly button.
He thought back to Nick’s expression. He hadn’t thought about it back then, but now that he had a different perspective, he understood what Kavam was getting at.
"He was...amazed."
"Any other human would have been...?" Kavam asked. The answer to that question would be the final nail in the coffin.
"On the ground with soiled pants." Muhso didn’t need to guess. He had encountered humans before.
Ordinary humans who moved without an ounce of warfare in their step weren’t used to big people. They weren’t used to big, hairy, ferocious people who exuded a bestial aura that could freeze a dog to the spot.
He had scared off more than one intruder just by appearing in front of them. It didn’t work on warriors who entered the forest with ill intent, but that was what his fists were for. But scaring people worked against ordinary humans—like Nick.
But Nick hadn’t been scared.
He had been amazed by the size of Muhso and his muscles.
As he continued looking at Nick, Muhso understood that it wasn’t just that.
Nick got along with everyone in the clearing. He chatted lightly with Lora and Mijko while they went about their tasks and preparations. Kai sought him out for headpats and to puff him around when he was bored, since he didn’t have anyone to play with or anything to do.
That was sothing Muhso hadn’t seen before.
Kai was one of the few bear cubs in their tribe. He was spoiled and cherished, but he also had a mind of his own. Getting on his bad side was easy. Staying neutral was doable. Getting on his good side and being granted the permission to play with him and stroke his fur was almost impossible.
Nick was dealing with a kid from the Ursa tribe, a woman from the Gezercher tribe, and Lora all at the sa ti without blinking.
Then, when Sosora and Malak returned with Issa trying to hide behind them, he continued doing just that. He chatted lightly with Sosora and Malak, teasing them. Before they could try and find a retort, he moved on and asked Issa about what she liked to eat, looping her into the conversation and making her feel welco.
Muhso could tell that Issa struggled with new people, with other people, in general. It wasn’t rare for mbers of the Seg tribe to be a little shy. But Nick dealt with it easily, even when Issa only gave short answers that were hard to build a conversation on.
Nick didn’t care about any of their appearances. He talked with them all like they were his friends.
Muhso had seen humans interact with the different mbers and tribes of Tiabe.
There were a few tribes with extre appearances. The Ursa tribe could be considered one of them, due to their size and tendency to intimidate people.
But people usually had the hardest ti talking with mbers of the Seg tribe. They were the only tribe without a face of flesh, skin, and sotis fur. They were tall and, in the eyes of most humans, alien.
It was difficult even for the other tribes to read the expressions of the Seg.
But Nick seed to be doing it like he was a close acquaintance of the Seg.
Muhso’s initial impression of Nick wasn’t entirely wrong. He didn’t seem like much. But the more he looked, the more he saw of the mysterious Outsider.
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