The Non-Human Society Chapter 701 Four Hundred and Ninety Nine – Renn – A Hole in

"So is Vim going to make those benches?" Celine asked as I sat down at the table with her.

It was after dinner ti. Celine was to my left, Angie to my right and Liora and Nessa sat across from us. The reason I sat between the two on this side was because rit had been sitting in-between them a few monts ago. She had gotten up and left without saying much so I assud she'd be returning eventually.

"Benches?" I asked.

"The ones you see in churches. The long ones," Celine said.

Ah. "Pews," Nessa said.

"Ya those. Randle's going to start opening the church soon right? Doesn't he need those?" Celine asked.

Actually he did… Vim and the others had finished the church first, before our dormitory, but it was still relatively empty. In fact other than a few chairs, a couple tables, and a podium, there wasn't anything else really in it…

"I'll ask Vim to make so, he's focused on the sewer thing right now," I said. Vim had already dug and readied what he called the groundwork for the piping system, but as of yet had not made any pipes. I wasn't really sure what was left for him to do without the pipes themselves, but he obviously still had more work to do since he kept digging trenches and holes. He planned to install the pipes the mont the shipnt of supplies ca from Telmik, since they were to bring such things for him, but he still seed focused on finishing it all up before they arrived. Almost as if he expected the shipnt to show up any day now.

"Honestly I'm glad, rather running water at least in the kitchen than a bunch of seats I'll never use," Angie said.

I smirked at her. "What would Randle say if he heard that?" I asked, teasing her.

Angie gave a side-glance, the kind that told she had absolutely zero care for what Randle would say about it.

You'd think she'd like him more than she did. She not only trusted him, at least as far as I could tell, but Randle was also one of the few if not one of the only ones who didn't ever flirt or say anything even slightly romantic. You'd think she'd like him for that alone.

"Personally I'd prefer beds," I said.

Angie sighed at as Nessa giggled. "You would!" she shouted.

"I kind of like my rope thing," Celine said.

"Hammocks. They are neat, aren't they? I wish I had them back in the day, when I traveled and lived in forests. I could have put one up between trees all the ti, would have been nice," I agreed.

"You lived in forests…? Like the ones around here?" Celine asked, interested.

"Yeah, actually I was born not too far from here! A few weeks north, and a bit to the east past so big mountains is where I'm from," I said.

The table was quiet for a mont, which made my left ear flutter in worry. Had I said sothing odd?

"Sounds cold," Angie then said.

"Ah… yes. Up there it snows more than not, actually," I said with a happy nod.

"Hm… I'm not sure I'll even be able to handle the cold here, so I'm sorry Renn but I think I'll pass on visiting," Celine said.

I smiled at that. "It's not that bad once you get used to it. Especially once we really get our rooms set up, so they're easy to keep warm," I said.

Celine sighed and leaned forward, crossing her arms and resting her head on them. "You say that as if you never have to go outside… but you do. All the ti," she said worriedly.

"Not once we get proper hos built, with toilets and stuff," Nessa said.

"Yeah but how long will that take? It took Vim almost a month to build this place, and he said he'll not be here much longer," Celine said worriedly.

I frowned at that. Had he said so recently…? I knew he of course thought he'd get summoned anyti now, but I'd not heard him say he planned on leaving so myself.

"Renn."

I leaned back a little as to glance at the door. I found rit standing at it, who gestured for to co to her.

"Hm…?" I frowned as I glanced around, and realized I was the only one being summoned. I got up, stepped away from the table and walked over to the hallway. "Yeah?" I asked.

rit gestured behind her. "Co on," she said.

Oh…? She had sounded a tad odd just now. Tired, maybe? Was she going to invite to take a nap with her or sothing…?

I left the dining area behind, as those still there began to talk about our windows that Vim had recently installed. They were kind of basic, not able to be opened in any way, but were temporary.

"What's up?" I asked rit as I followed her down the hallway towards my room.

"Krass passed away," rit said as she turned as to step up the stairwell, heading upstairs.

"Huh…?"

I slowed to a stop as I watched my little friend walk up a few steps, then turn to look down at . She frowned and nodded. "Her son found her a little bit ago. She passed in her sleep," she said.

What…? But I'd… just seen her… we all just had dinner a little bit ago… I did rember her making a small comnt about going to her room to rest, but…

Glancing behind , back down the hallway to where Krass's room was… I frowned even more. "So… why are we going upstairs?" I asked.

"Because we have another problem. A worse one," she said.

Great…!

"Is she still in her room?" I asked quietly as I followed rit to the second floor.

"Yes. I'll send you to go get Vim in a mont. He and Randle can deal with her, and while they do you can help deal with this."

With what…? What was more important than one of our people dying…?

She led to her room, the one right above mine at the end of the western hallway… and she opened the door to it with a push.

I stepped up behind her, frowning in worry at what could possibly be so dire that it was more important than a death and…

"rit…" I groaned as I stepped past her and into her room. Right in the center, near her hammock… was a hole.

"I know…! I tripped!" rit complained with a tiny whine as she entered the room with .

I sighed as I stared down at the floor and through it to the room below… at my room.

Just what had happened…? It was a hole straight down through not just the floorboards, but what looked like several layers of wood beams and planks. I hadn't even realized that Vim had made the building like this; it looked like there were several feet of wood beneath the floor we stood on…

Bending down, I frowned at the hole. It was about the size of my open hand, at least the surface of it was… and it got smaller until the other end, where it was likely smaller than my balled fist. And the oddest part was even though it had a bunch of tiny splinters and broken pieces upon it, the wood all around the edges looked… charred. As if they'd been burnt.

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"Did you burn a hole or sothing?" I asked.

"No… I fell."

Fell…?

I glanced back at my friend and found her looking away, with a tiny bit of red on her face she shrugged at . "I tripped… fell and hit my elbow, and it hurt and I let loose so of my electricity… it caused a fire and made the hole bigger," she said.

Gosh… "How'd you even trip, rit?" I asked as I looked around. Like my room she had barely nothing in here. Her hammock, a basket of dirt clothes, a few trunks and chests… but nothing was around the center of the room, around the hole, to have caused her to trip.

"Don't tell Vim…" rit groaned.

Huh…? "We're going to have to, rit… how are we going to fix this?" I asked. This wasn't just a single floorboard, it was many and also the boards beneath it too.

"Guh…!" she made a weird noise as she reached up and covered her face.

I chuckled at her as I looked back at the hole. Reaching into it, I ran my finger along one of the burnt edges… and found it to be very cold.

So this hadn't happened recently… when had it happened, I wonder? I think I would have heard her fall and do this, considering how hard of a fall it would have had to been… so it must have happened while I was out and about. In town with Vim earlier, maybe?

Well, I suppose it would have had to have happened today… I would have noticed such a hole last night, or this morning, otherwise…

rit made so more noises as I tried to stick my arm all the way through it. I couldn't, but not because it wasn't long enough. The end of the hole, the bottom part that opened up to my room, was smaller than I had thought. I was only able to get so fingers through it.

I chuckled at her as I stood back up. "Vim's going to tease you horribly… he's going to say you did it on purpose," I said, smiling at the idea.

"Exactly…!" she groaned.

Ah… right… that was likely why she had not wanted him to know. Funny.

Honestly he'd not be too bothered. He'd likely only tease her because, like , he knew it would be funny to point out the silly coincidence that of all ceilings she poked a hole into it was one that led to my… or rather our bedroom.

"If you really don't want to let Vim know, that's fine. I'll try to help you fix it… but honestly rit it might just be better to let him do it, it's more than just a few boards or whatever," I said.

rit didn't say anything, she just groaned at .

Reaching over I patted her on the shoulder. "Co on… let's deal with this later and focus on Krass…"

She sniffed and nodded. "I'll go get Randle, you get Vim," she said.

"I promise not to tell him until after," I said.

"Mhm…" she nodded.

Leaving her room we headed back downstairs. We both went back towards the front of the building, where the hallway split and led to the entrance and down the other hallway where Krass's room was… and I noticed Tristin standing before it. He was standing up against the wall near her bedroom door, with his head resting on the wall… looking sullen.

Feeling bad, since I'd just basically ignored such an even to laugh with my friend… I glanced down at rit who nodded up to with a sigh. "Go find Vim," she said simply.

"Right…"

I left rit behind, and as I did Randle entered the hallway. I felt a bit of relief as he joined rit down the hall, without a glance or a word to . Which ant he had already known and was already dealing with it.

Krass and Tristin were both mbers of Randle's group, they had worked for him back at Telmik… so I knew he was the best man to leave it to, but I still wondered if I should do more than just go get Vim. Should I go say sothing to the lad…?

Tristin was honestly a good kid. Other than the fact he ignored and tried to stay away from Nessa, since she had tried to flirt with him and catch his attention on our trip here… but that wasn't necessarily a bad mark on his character. He was just… or well, he wanted to be, a priest. One who forgo romance and stuff.

I left the dormitory and frowned at the idea of vowing off romance. A part of understood it, I suppose… especially since I had basically lived that lifestyle myself for most of my life, before joining the Society, but…

"Ah…" I slowed as I realized I had done sothing terrible.

I was supposed to have painted her. Randle had wanted to paint her, and her son… since he had known she'd be reaching the end of her life soon…

I'd not been able to. We'd not yet gotten the paints needed. Randle had planned to get them for soon, but…

"How sad…" I whispered as I returned to walking. It was the dark of night and the sky had thick clouds, so I didn't need my hat, but it also made it so it took a mont to find Vim.

Seeing so dirt fly up into the air in the distance, I smiled as I picked up my pace and hurried over to him.

"Vim…!" I called out to him as neared his trench that he was digging.

"You don't have your hat on, Renn," Vim said from his hole as he paused in his digging.

"I know, I forgot… at least until a few monts ago. We have a problem."

"What kind?" he asked with a sigh.

"Krass. She passed away."

Vim turned to look up at , and frowned. Had he not even looked at until now…? How had he noticed I hadn't had my hat on then?

"How?" he asked, rather seriously.

"rit said in her sleep. I've not… verified it myself, but…"

He nodded. "rit wouldn't lie about sothing like that. Does anyone else know? Her boy? Randle?"

"They do…"

He sighed again and tapped his shovel with a thumb. "She's a devout mber of the cloth… which ans they'll want to lay her to rest properly. Also ans they'll want to give her last rites and purify her, likely… so they'll likely wait a day or two to bury her. She passed in her sleep? So she's in her room?" he asked as he climbed out of his freshly dug hole.

I nodded as I stepped back from him. He had pulled up his shovel with him, likely because he knew he'd soon have to use it for another purpose. "She is."

Vim nodded slowly as he glanced over my shoulder, likely at the buildings nearby. "It's always sothing, isn't it?" he said.

"Seems so… honestly I feel a bit rude, but it's rit's fault," I said.

"What do you an…?"

"I'll tell you later," I said. Even though I wanted to tell him now, I had promised to wait. "Do you think this will cause issues…?" I asked.

"Not likely. Randle said they all expected this to happen. The boy might get depressed for awhile or might want to leave now, though. A lot of humans can't stay where their family die… it disturbs them," he said.

"Ah… too. I'd not be able to live where soone I loved died either. I was barely able to last ten days with Nory," I said.

Vim slowly nodded at , but didn't say anything. Likely because he didn't really have the sa sentints.

Vim was stronger than in that way. Though I dared to think it wasn't because he was callus… rather I believed it was because of his age. I've lost a handful of people… he's lost thousands.

I could only imagine how few places he would be able to go to if he had the sa issue as that. If he was so disturbed by deaths that he avoided certain places… well… I doubted there was really anywhere in the Society he'd be able to go then, realistically.

A sad thought, honestly.

"You okay, Renn?" Vim then asked.

"Hm…? Yes… I feel for her, but I'd really not spent much ti with her. She busied herself with Randle, and stuff," I said. More often than not she had been in her tent, or room, even during the day. She had been older, and as such had rested a lot.

Vim slowly nodded, and I wondered if he had noticed my earlier thoughts and thus her concern. The ones about him likely being so used to death he simply wasn't bothered by it anymore. The thoughts had made sad, since it told of how harsh his life has been.

I'd thought of it before, but sotis I forgot just how old he was… and as such just how many he's lost throughout his life. And unlike , he has had relationships and lots of friends… so…

"And now you're crying…? Should I stop believing your own words, Renn?" he asked softly as he reached out. I closed my left eye as he brushed my cheek with a slightly dirty finger, replacing a tear-stain with dirt.

"No… I'm okay, really. I was just… thinking of sothing else. Sothing sad," I said.

I didn't want to outright say what had disturbed , and not just because I didn't want to remind him of all the people he's lost over the years… it was also because I'd realized I was likely going to experience similar pains myself one day. Since now I was gaining a lot of friends too… Compared to before, before I joined the Society, I now had… so many… and one day, inevitably… they'd be gone.

Sniffing as more tears ca, I smiled softly at the man who now looked genuinely worried for . "I really am okay," I promised.

For now at least.

"Hm… want to dig holes with ? It's therapeutic you know?" he suggested.

"I like that word… and maybe I'll take you up on it, later," I said. It was one of his words that he had taught .

"It sounds neat, doesn't it?" he said as he gently turned around and guided back towards the dormitory. He grabbed my hand as he did, and I spent a mont to enjoy the feeling of dirt between our fingers. Vim often enough tis got dirty and whatnot, but rarely did he hold my hand when so… As such this was a new feeling for .

"You know what sounds neater?" I asked.

Vim shifted the shovel in his other hand as to rest it on his shoulder. "And what's that?"

"Bed. Or a bed…? Or rather beds, since I think people would get upset with if I'm the only one you make one for…" I said happily, both teasing him and making sure to let him know that everyone was expecting him to hurry up and make them.

He chuckled at . "Yes… I plan to spend tomorrow making them, unless I get sidetracked. What with this ordeal," he said, implying Krass's death.

"Can I help?" I asked.

Vim nudged ever so gently with his elbow as he nodded. "Of course, just keep your teasing to a reasonable amount as you do," he said.

"Not going to happen."