The Non-Human Society Chapter 94 - Ninety Three – Renn – A Pond’s Quiet Ripple

Sotis I felt... young. As if I was but a child, and had so much still to learn that it seed impossible to do so.

That old witch had made feel this way often. She had spoken about sciences, religion, and all the things that I had no knowledge about at the ti. She had taught to read, and that had felt like such a monuntal achievent... yet all it did was make realize how much more I had to learn.

Yet here now, before , it wasn't a book that was making feel this way.

It was instead two n working on a small dock, without saying a word to one another.

Vim and Trek were hamring freshly cut boards. Vim was waist high in the water, standing a few feet out into the pond... which honestly was a little too big to be a pond. It'd take half an hour to run around it, at least so it seed.

But most of the pond was covered in flora. Large cattails covered nearly all of the pond's edges, with only a few sections free of them. Other than them, there were also other plants. There were large blades of grass, flowers, and stuff that almost looked like vines were also mixed in.

It was a nice pond, honestly... but not so unique that I could completely understand the man's fixation upon it.

A small cabin had been built not too far from the pond, and it was undoubtedly Trek's ho... yet it looked a little worn down. A little old. A little... drafty. One of the windows looked missing.

When Vim and I had arrived this morning, Trek had been cutting wood and preparing it.

Without even saying hello, Vim had imdiately joined Trek in repairing the dock. I wasn't sure how it had happened, but half the dock had broken and sunk into the pond. One of the first things Vim had done was pull all the broken wood out of the pond, it was now stacked in the distance. It was glistening from the water, and covered in enough gunk that it was clear it had been subrged for so ti. Maybe months.

Had Trek been working this long, or had he simply started around the ti he expected Vim to show up?

Sothing told it was the latter. Especially since he seed as able and skilled with the hamr as Vim was.

I sat on a large fallen log. One that undoubtedly would eventually be chopped up and used as well. It had been sitting here for so ti, based off the way the log looked. It had already been stripped and cleaned, there was no bark or limbs upon it. It felt... a little too smooth. A little too dry. Odds were it had been sitting here for months as well.

Trek really had been preparing for this mont.

A loud clunk drew my eyes back to the pond. I watched as Trek and Vim set one of the boards down and went to nailing it to the pier. They worked swiftly and easily... as if they had done this before. And not just once or twice either.

The sight of the two n working was one that kept the eyes. And it wasn't because both of them were nearly naked, since they were working in the water, but...

What was such a relationship like?

Vim shows up, without notice or request, and then without a word goes to help. I knew no matter what Trek would have been working on, or doing, Vim would have aided him. Without question.

What was it like to have soone like that? To rely on them so easily?

Even if Vim would help like that, I'd... I'd honestly find it uncomfortable.

I'd feel silly. It'd make feel very conscious of myself and him, and would make want to thank him sohow.

I'd feel indebted. As if the scales weren't balanced. Yet it wasn't like that with Vim and the rest of the Society.

He arrived. He helped. He left.

To them it was as natural as the sun and stars.

Which honestly probably ant I hadn't properly adjusted yet to being in the Society.

I sighed as I stood from my seat. I had no intention of helping the two, mostly since they seed to be working at a pace that was beyond . I'd just get in the way, and slow them down... so instead I supposed I could find sothing else to do.

Surely he wouldn't mind if I cleaned up his house or sothing? Cooking, maybe. Would Trek or Vim get upset if I went into his house without asking? Vim had gone in and out a few tis, to get supplies...

Slowly walking to the house, I made sure to keep an eye on Vim as I did so. He glanced at , but just once. He looked away after a mont, which told that I was fine.

Vim wasn't afraid to make it a point that I was making a mistake, after all.

"Still, how big of a dock does he need?" I asked quietly as I walked up to the pile of freshly cut lumber. The stack of wood was nearly as tall as .

It was hard to tell how big the dock had been originally, thanks to it having been so broken... but surely it hadn't been that big?

What was the dock for anyway? I didn't see any kind of boat anywhere, not even a small one. And even if there had been one... although the pond wasn't too tiny, was it big enough for such a thing?

Walking around the pile of lumber, and then the area that was now full of sawdust and shavings of wood, I walked up to the house. It didn't have a porch, but it did have sothing of a canopy. Although I doubted its effectiveness, since it looked like it'd fall off the house at any mont. So of the nails that held it up were sticking out and looked as if they were barely hanging in.

"Maybe Vim should help him rebuild the house too," I said as I peered into the broken window.

It was indeed broken, or rather simply missing. There was no glass anywhere, not even fragnts could be found on the ground around it.

The inside of the house looked sowhat normal. A bed, a table with a few chairs. A small kitchen area in the corner, near a large open fireplace.

Glancing back to the pond, I saw the sa thing I could hear. They were still hamring the boards together.

"Hmph."

Was it Vim that was the odd one, or Trek, I wonder? Were they not going to say a single word to each other the whole ti?

Entering the house was easy. The door had been propped open. As I entered, I noticed... an odd lack of sll.

Did he ever even co in here? It slled devoid of life. Especially for one of our kind, who usually had a more distinct sll than humans did.

Once inside, I went to cleaning up a little. I didn't try fixing anything, which was difficult for . Just like the fra of the house, the stuff inside were worn down too. Dressers were leaning; the bed had a broken leg and was held up by a box. The table was sohow the only thing that didn't seem needing repairs.

I spent an hour or so cleaning, and eventually ended up lighting a fire as to cook sothing. The man obviously did live here, since there were stores of food. Dried at, pickled vegetables... even spices lined one of the shelves.

While I cooked I occasionally glanced out the missing window. Sotis Vim and Trek were together, hamring away at the dock... other tis they were separated. Vim spent a good hour on the large log I had been sitting on earlier. Every so often Vim or Trek would return to the house, either to grab sothing or cut and shape the wood nearby.

By the ti most of the food was done cooking, that log I had been sitting at had disappeared.

Putting the plates of food onto the table, I felt myself smile at the sight.

It had been a long ti since I had cooked anything. Lately Vim had been the one to cook, or he and I had gone elsewhere to eat. He seed to enjoy eating at taverns.

"Slls good at least," I said. Better than the sll of cut wood that was stinking up the place.

Putting the fire out, I hesitated as I listened to the last crackles and pops of the fire... and nothing else.

No more hamring. No more sawing.

Standing up, I peered around the window and saw the two n on the dock.

They were done.

Already?

Hurrying out of the house, I felt... a little silly as I stared at the two n.

They were standing near the end of the newly built dock. It was a little wider and went deeper than I had thought it would have. It went well out past the foliage and cattails.

For a few monts Vim and Trek stood there, staring out at the pond... appreciating their handiwork. And then, with gentle slowness... Trek sat down.

I blinked as Trek sat down at the edge of the dock, hanging his legs over the edge. I watched as his broad shoulders rose upward as he took a deep breath... and then he slowly released it.

A content sigh.

Gulping, I stepped forward and strained my ears. I no longer wore my hat, and they weren't that far... yet I heard nothing. But surely they were saying sothing? Surely they were talking?

Yet they weren't. They were as silent as they had been since we got here.

For a few solid minutes, I studied Vim who studied the pond. Then he glanced down at Trek... and simply nodded.

Vim then turned, stepping away from the duck and dock and headed towards .

My eyes grew watery as I realized that was it. This was it.

He was going to tell we were going to leave.

"Vim..." I whispered his na, afraid to break the silence the two had so willingly created.

"Did you cook sothing?" he asked once he was in front of .

I nodded.

"Good. That was nice of you. Get your stuff. Your hat too," Vim gestured to my head.

I nodded, even though it hurt to do so.

"We're... we're leaving...?" I asked softly.

"We are."

"But..." I looked out to the pond. To the man who still sat there, at the end of the dock. "You didn't talk yet," I whispered.

"We spoke enough," Vim said calmly.

They hadn't said a word.

Hesitating, I shuffled my hands around as Vim went to gather his clothes. He seed dry already.

While Vim got dressed, I grumbled and didn't know what to say. "Are... are you sure?" I asked. What about his house? It was about to fall apart.

Vim chuckled as he slipped on his shirt. "He's fine Renn. Trek is content. That man could die tonight, and will now do so with a smile on his face. He needs nothing else. You should be jealous of him, not concerned," Vim said lightly.

I sighed and realized he was completely serious. We were leaving, and doing so now.

Hurrying into the house, I quickly gathered up my stuff. My backpack, my hat... my jacket...

Pausing before the small table that was now littered with steaming food... I groaned as I took one of the small strips of at.

Putting it into my mouth, I hurried out of the house and found Vim was already walking away, heading back to the path we had used to co here.

"Vim..." I groaned with a mouthful as I went to follow him.

Vim ignored as I looked back to the pond. To the man who sat there, alone.

With a sigh I ntally said goodbye to him.

This was going to take a lot of getting used to.