Chương 65: A comfortable life 1

Blick strung up his ivy hammock across the gap between two goat pins. The pins had been empty and cleaned out. He wasn't exactly an animal but he was much more comfortable sleeping in his hammock than in those narrow human beds. The straw was never as comfortable as his swinging sleep sack. It had been too long since he left the forest and he honestly started missing being able to sleep in the thing. The months of traveling through the plains and hills hadn't given him many opportunities to hang the bed.

As he set it up his sleeping arrangements the young boy named Chris had pestered him relentlessly about everything from how he pooped to where he got the bird companion. He hadn't spent a lot of time around human children and was quite caught off guard with the young man's curiosity. It reminded him of himself when he was that small. The desire to see everything hadn't faded, but the enthusiasm with which he dove headfirst into it had tapered off as he grew. He was forced to be silent as a child.

He wasn't sure if that had just been a natural state for his kind or if Grok youth would be just as inquisitive given the safe environment this human was growing in. Was it their nature being different? Would they grow differently given other circumstances? It was a new line of thought for Blick.

"Ok Chris I am going to lay down. Can we continue your questions tomorrow?" He asked while climbing into his hammock. The young man made a pouting face Blick had never seen before. He tilted his head while the little guy walked away kicking the dirt clumps out of his way. An unnecessary gesture as he hadn't needed to kick a single one to get in the barn. Blick shrugged and laid down to contemplate the coming days.

Clarance had negotiated some heavy lifting to clear a field of large rocks on the far side of the farm. And he had promised to escort Blick around the village afterwards to let him meet new people and learn what he can. The older man had expressed a kind of pride in his village and their lifestyle and was happy to share it with others. It only helped that this someone was from an entirely different world. Honestly Blick had expected that to be a harder sale, but the man took the information really well.

It must have just been a normal leap of logic for a person to be so drastically different. He did mention their local dark hair and tan skin was not the norm around the planet. He had met others at a port town when he was a child who had different shades of skin and different colors of hair. Blick sat his sites on locating a port town after this visit to seek out new peoples. The morning came earlier than Blick was prepared for as the old farmer poked him with the dull end of a shovel.

He woke with a yawn and a question.

"Why are we up before the sun?" The man just chuckled and handed him the shovel before replying "Come on. If we get started early enough we can finish before the day gets hot. We have a bit of a walk, need any breakfast?" Blick grabbed a small handful of blue berries out of his pouch and made a show of enjoying them.

"Pretty resourceful, aren't you?" Clarance asked with a slight amount of respect in his tone.

"I have had to survive alone in the wild since I was a child. I don't even know how old I am." Clarance paused in his walk across the barn to look back at the grok following him.

"How far back do you have the numbers for? You could always count from then on and you know you're at least that many years old." This made Blick pause. He raised his large grey hands and counted off as Clarance watched. With four digits per hand he slowly flipped them down on at a time clearly doing some mental guesswork, before settling on a number.

"I think it's been three years… maybe two? Since I met the first humans. I have no idea how long I was lost alone so maybe another year of wondering the forest?" Clarance had to pick his jaw up off the floor.

"Chris is ten as of last month. You're telling me he's over twice your age?" Blicks eyes opened wide as he finally realized how much different that made them.

"My people are sturdier, larger, and much less emotional. I think a lot of our differences come from the planet ecosystems. My people have litters of two to four pups and they only stay in the home until they can survive alone or find a mate. We didn't have calendars or clocks so I don't really know the normal, but I would imagine we would have overpopulation problems if not for the number of dangers." Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"It would make sense that your people would have to grow fast and strong or enough wouldn't survive. I do wonder if that impacts your lifespan though. It is kind of sad from where I'm standing though. You didn't get to play like the kids here do." Clarance had an idea and smiled before finishing the conversation.

"After we clear this field I want to show you something. Just be patient with the people." The work was hard on Clarance. Blick didn't struggle so much having the strength of a solid layer in his core, but he could see the sweat rolling off the older man's head. The field was, from what Blick could tell, just a normal stretch of land. On the flatter side of the valley with random boulders sitting around and a small tree or bush here and there.

The work wasn't actually difficult and after understanding the goal Blick casually strolled around the lot and dug out rocks and trees with the shovel. Not wanting to be shown up by a four or five year old alien, Clarance worked harder than he intended and by mid day the lot was cleared of all obstacles.

"About three days ahead of schedule. That definitely pays for a goat. I honestly didn't expect you to be so strong. Do you even sweat?" Blick nodded with a small growling chuckle.

"Yes I'm just pretty advanced for cultivation on this planet. I've had some lucky breaks with mana resources." He explained as he stuck the shovel in the dirt and sat down beside the exhausted old farmer. They shared a water skin Clarance had carried out over a shoulder while they looked over the finished work.

"Seeing how strong you are now, I'm honestly thankful you didn't take offense to my demands about the goat. You could have done whatever you wanted and I wouldn't have been able to stop you." The older farmer finished his statement with a look of seriousness over at Blick.

"Blick…" he paused thinking as the young grok sat up a bit straighter understanding the tone shift.

"You're very young and you have already seen a lot. I don't even need to hear the details. The fact that you approached this situation the way that you did implies you have worked around other people. Unfortunately growing up alone means you are likely to have to learn things the hard way. Can I give you some advice from an old man?" He looked into Blicks large black reflective eyes as he nodded and gave a small huff that seemed like a yes.

"You will meet people who will push you to do bad things. You may meet people who know enough to take advantage of your lack of knowledge. Having the power you do means there is a lot of people who could become collateral damage if you're not careful. I'm going to ask on their behalf. Will you think before fighting? Even if you're right. Even if it's a bad person who may deserve it. You should always consider those who will be affected by losing that person. You have a responsibility to use your strength wisely."

Blick thought on that statement for a while. He hadn't considered himself responsible for anything. He had been living based on his whims for as long as he could remember. The idea made him consider his past choices.

"Where I'm from. If you hesitate, you will likely die. I've nearly died many times. I've been handling every situation with the same mindset. Everyone I have killed tried to either capture or kill me first. I don't regret those actions." Clarance controlled his reaction to the admission of killing people. He nodded and gave more reflection.

"Blick. I won't fault you for defending yourself. I am just asking that you consider who else would be affected when you find yourself facing the next threat. Did those people have families? Mothers? Kids of their own? Have you ever lost someone?" Blick looked over at the bird who was chasing a small critter around the pile of rocks and trees with playful squawks.

"No. I haven't lost anyone. I don't think I've ever had anyone besides that stupid bird." Clarance crossed his arms with his discomfort.

"Then I imagine it will be hard for you to understand how it feels to lose someone you love. Just keep it in mind son. Let's get back to the house and get cleaned up. I need to get Chris in the bath if we want to make it on time."