A Home Away from Home

[Kehkhiro (Kiki)]

Kehkhiro regarded the odd egg Zelaya was calmly rolling into the living room of their new quarters with a measure of trepidation. What was going on now?

The Hekhi household had earlier that day moved from a tiny studio apartment in the Weyrd caverns into a larger multi-room brick house located just outside the Weyrd proper, courtesy of the wages Kehkhiro now earned by working as a gymnastics and dance instructor for the Weyrd's extraordinarily complete school system. She was a student at the school as well, taking lessons in the common tongue, Weyrd and Planet history, and economics, but the school paid her more than the costs for her lessons, so for the first time since Kehkhiro's arrival at the Weyrd nearly a month earlier she was able to afford enough space for her entire odd-ball family to rest in comfort together - and there was more than enough room for the family to continue growing.

Perhaps that was why the egg had shown up? Or maybe this was just one last gift from the strange winter holidays the people of the Weyrd observed. Or perhaps it was a housewarming gift from some well-meaning neighbor. Whatever the source, it was apparent that the furry firelizard had taken the egg in hand, and Kehkhiro was perfectly happy to leave the fuzzy beast to it. She had far too much work to do to worry about some egg. Like figuring out how, exactly, the appliances in her kitchen worked. The house had come with a strange blend of fixtures, none of them particularly familiar to the Churrhehynan, and she was at a loss for how to work the majority of them.

Well, she would just have to experiment, and hope nothing exploded in the process.

(Egg 1/20)

[Kehkhiro (Kiki)]

Kehkhiro stood on the terrace that ran the length of the second story of her house, built in the classic colonial-style, gazing out into the sunset as dusk settled over the Weyrd. It had been a long week, her time split between attending classes and teaching them at the Weyrd's school, and she was ready to relax and recover for the weekend. Sindel was waiting downstairs for her bonded to finish soaking in the evening's promise of freedom and peace, ready to drill her on vocabulary in the common tongue - for while the Arathli could not physically speak she had a fine ear for the language and was an excellent coach on correct usage of words. And they would likely have another long conversation about philiosophy, an exchange unfettered by Kehkhiro's novice Common skills since the Arathli could understand anything Kehkhiro said in her own language. Perhaps they would bring Xandretta into the conversation again; the Flamma had been eager to educate Kehkhiro about the Whazzitmas holidays, and they all enjoyed guessing what the mystery egg Sindel tended might contain. With those thoughts fortifying her, the Churrhehynan gave the darkening skyline one final look, prayed a moment for the safety and health of her distant family, and turned to return inside where her new family waited for her.

(Egg 3/20)

[Kehkhiro (Kiki)]

<<How does anyone ever know what they can buy around here with all these different currencies?>> Kehkhiro exclaimed in frustration, shoving her notebook aside and reaching up to scrub at her face. The Churrhehynan sat at the kitchen table, paper and stylus scattered all over its surface as she tried to work out the accounts for her economics class. The question revolved around bartering between a person using gold coins as currency and one with pieces of paper, both of which had values that seemed completely arbitrary to her. The Churrhehynans had a relatively simple system of exchange - value being based on the time required to produce an item, with technology investments offset by education investments offset by growth time for foodstuffs. She struggled to reconcile the idea that chips of metal and slips of paper could in any way equate to each other, let alone to food, housing, or services. The fact that she had spent all day teaching children how to tumble - or more precisely, how to fall down without hurting themselves - and been bitten three times by two different students just made it that much harder to focus on the mystifying art of currency conversion. <<I am never going to understand these people,>> she moaned before abandoning the text to fetch a mug of tea, dodging around the egg basket on her way to the stove. At least she had figured out how to run the stovetop, though her fur still showed the singeing she had suffered figuring it out. <<I think I'll have to ask the teacher for help again...>>

(Egg 4/20)

[Kehkhiro (Kiki)]

<<What did you say this place was?>>

It's a church.

<<I don't understand.>>

A temple.

<<What?>>

A cathedral. Mosque. Synagoge. Tabernacle. Altar.

Puzzled silence as the duo continued their stroll around the Weyrd, the felid carrying the mystery egg in its basket.

A place of worship.

<<I don't understand.>>

It's where people pray, and make offerings to their gods.

<<You have a special place for that?>>

Some religions do, yes.

<<But... what do you do when you travel, then?>>

... You should talk to a clergyman about that.

<<A what?>>

A priest!

<<Oh. Okay.>>

Another silence, this one pensive.

<<Where do I find the priest?>>

AT THE CHURCH!

<<Oh. I guess that makes sense, if that's how you pray.>>

Sindel seriously considered throwing the egg basket she carried at her bonded, since it was the only accessible object. It really wouldn't be fair to whatever was inside it, though, so she restrained the impulse, and provided Kehkhiro directions back to the church, for whenever she was ready to check it out.

(Egg 6/20)

[Kehkhiro (Kiki)]

"My daughter has the skills to be a world class ballerina. She just needs a teacher. You will teach her," the bleach-bottle blonde woman insisted, glaring at felid in the gymnasium.

"I not know 'ballerina'," Kehkhiro replied as she continued cleaning up after the recently departed class. How students made such a mess while exercising she could never understand, but every class somehow made chaos out of her workspace. Why were there towels under the bleachers, and what was that gym shoe doing hanging from one of the light fixtures? But at least moving around to clean up kept the vapid mother from cornering her. The Churrhehynan did not understand everything the woman was saying, but she understood the tone and body language just fine. This woman wanted to force Kehkhiro to do something without consideration for the child, and having met the girl, KEhkhiro was not inclined to be a part of it.

"It is a kind of dancing. You are a dance teacher. How do you NOT know about it?" The blonde woman was looking more irritated by the minute.

"Ballerina not Churrhehynan dance. Cannot know what not learned. Find other teacher. Or let child learn other dance," Kehkhiro answered, completely unfazed by the blonde's frustration. She finished her circuit of the room, having recovered the towels, then pulled a chair over to the light fixture to set about untying the dangling shoe. "Or something not dance. Dance is not only option for child."

Whatever the mother had expected, it was clearly not this. "How dare you! My daughter needs to learn ballet, and you are the only dance teacher in town. You have to teach her!"

"Cannot teach if not known," Kehkhiro insisted as she finished freeing the shoe and climbed back down from the chair.

"You have to! If you don't, I'll have your job!"

"Good luck teaching children dance and acrobatics. Not look like you can do the job. Hard work. Requires muscles, and grace. You have not."

The woman gaped at the felid, mouth working, but nothing came out. With an outraged huff the mother spun on her designer heel and stormed out of the gymnasium, muttering to herself about seeing the principal about the rude dance teacher. Kehkhiro shook her head, gathering up the towels and shoe, and left herself, flicking off the lights and locking up. Why some parents thought they could control the school, or the teachers, she never would understand, but it was not her problem. The day was done, and she could finally go home for some well-deserved rest. Though with the way her day had gone, she would probably find the mystery egg hatched out a beast that made a mess of her house the same way the kids trashed the gym each day.

(Egg 7/20)