“Kuraqh.” Sjud called out for me from the other side of the campfire. “How’s the face?” It really felt good to hear him talk in this language. It reminded me of father. “Are you deaf? Or are you ignoring me?” he was getting angry from my lack of response. I touched the left side of my head, and flinched from the pain that stabbed me. “Still burnt.” Sjud froze and slowly looked up from the fire to stare at me. “Do you want to get a symmetrical face, smartass?” I opened a foul smile, almost challenging the one-eyed dwarf. “It hurts like hell.” I finally gave him an actual answer. “Good. Maybe the pain will knock some sense into your brainless head.” Sjud muttered while taking some bread from a bag by his side and giving me a loaf.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL22sgIrbDu
We just sat in silence for some time while we ate the bread. “There is one thing I did not understand in your story.” He broke the silence intrigued. “What is it?” I asked and then bit off a chunk of bread. “You said Geno was up to something. What was it?” I didn’t really understand the question. “When you talked about him spending time with Sonese. What was he up to?” I swallowed the bread and started to think. “It's… hmm, complicated.” I answered carefully. “How so?” he asked even more intrigued than before. “Well,... I don’t think there is a word for it in this language.” He looked surprised at my answer, and a bit confused. “What do you mean 'there is no word for it’?” It took me a while to actually come up with an explanation. “Well, you see, humans, unlike you, dwarves, need to give birth to each other, hence the genders.” Before I could continue, Sjud interrupted me. “Oh, yeah, I heard about it! Those 'jenders' that you speak of! How do they work?” I couldn't help but let out a little giggle because of the mispronunciation of the word. “Genders. Not 'jenders'. Basically, there is a man and a woman,” I had to use the terms for animals for the ‘male and female’. “and when they perform a certain action, the woman will, at the course of nine months, carry a child in her belly until it is ready to come out. The 'certain action' that I mentioned is what Geno and Sonese were doing.” Sjud's face lit up and he opened a smile, like someone that just understood a joke. “Oh, so they wanted a child!” I killed his buzz a bit. “Well, not really. You see, people don't just do it for having children, most people do it because it feels good, and it is something people do when they love each other, whether they want a child or not. And it’s not guaranteed that there will be a child.” Sjud went silence for a bit after that, until something else got in his nerve. “Wait a second. The children come out from inside other people!? That’s disgusting!” such fact seemed so outrageous for him it was funny. “Yes. And it hurts like hell. The pain is so strong. And it last for so long!” he seemed rather surprised at my response. “Wait, you’ve had one?!” I could feel my face growing red with shame. “Well… I… hmm… may or may not have gotten a tad bit too drunk one night and, hmm… done the 'certain action'. Forcefully. With Milo.” Sjud simply started at me for a while. “Not my proudest moment, alright? Well, moments.” He kept staring at me for some more time, whilst my face just kept growing redder and redder. “Ok! I admit it! I was only drunk the first time! Are you happy now?!” Sjud's cackle echoed throughout the road. “Yes! I am satisfied with that! But where is the child now?” everything went silent, as I recalled what I had for so long tried to forget. “He or she. It. Died before it was ever born.” Sjud, for the first time in centuries, regretted his words.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIKO8KDirg
We finished eating and slept, with an unbearable lack of words, seeing as we hadn't stopped talking ever since Sjud found me. The next morning, we continued our journey, and I continued my story.350Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHh0oVdmNb
