Atzi was furiously scribbling on a bit of platform that hadn’t survived Gründ’s arrival. There were descriptions of air currents, calculations, wing angles, weight/height ratios… Gründ was awestruck. So many things to learn! He had never been this happy in his life, except when he was flying.

Despite the general thought among Töskrs (and now Natls), Gründ was far from an idiot. He had an excellent memory, a solid knowledge of history and algebra, and was a decent engineer. He was also a very good hunter and gatherer,to his dismay. But I’m digressing again.

Atzi was impressed by the speed at which her friend absorbed complicated notions. She had expected some troubles, especially since her grasp of the Töskr language was very basic. But Gründ understood her scribbles and completed them, including his own weight added to that of the machine. Before dark he had all the necessary theory to fly.

The Natls didn’t want him to stay longer than necessary, and he knew his friends back home were probably worrying by now? Haylir would be so angry if he didn’t return this pulse…

“Hey, Atzi, I think I got it now. Thank you very much for your patience and for sharing food with me! I think I’m going to try and go home now…” The look on his friend’s face stopped him in his tracks. Was she sad that he was leaving so soon? Wait… The colony wasn’t so far, maybe…

“Do you want to join? So you can… You know… Keep me in check or something? Bared would be delighted to see you again. Oh, and Haylir, too! And well, that way I can repay the food you gave me, I know first paw how hard it is to gather all these berries.”

A smile as bright as the Core answered his words. Atzi was so happy that she jumped on the poor Töskr to embrace him in a monstrous hug. “Oof, Atzi, you’re very strong for your size, you know that?” She had almost broken a couple of ribs… But he didn’t mind. He had never been hugged before, and he decided that it was a nice thing. He liked hugs. Yeah.

Atzi translated Gründ’s proposal to the Natls flying nearby, and asked if some of them would care to join. After all, this was the perfect occasion for the 2 tribes to know each other better, and she knew that the colony could afford to feed a couple more mouths for one meal. Maybe this could open new trade opportunities, or at least start a communication…

Two of the Natls agreed. They were curious to know what kind of people could breed something as weird as Gründ, and they didn’t want to lose Atzi again. She was their best gatherer, their best explorer, and her choice to not have small ones was making her even more precious to the tribe. It meant she could be relied on and trusted. She was respected.

They would follow her, if only to keep an eye on that giant ball of fur that could destroy all their building efforts in the blink of an eye. Or so they said. Not at all out of curiosity. Nu-uh, none of that!