While Tragar, Hepbeth and Roshel groomed themselves after their successful gize hunt and resulting very satisfying meal, Tragar kept watching Hepbeth. He reflected how touchy she'd become lately, although she didn't seem that way today. He wished she'd really start appealing to him in that special way as she'd done when he first met her. But since she'd borne his first litter three years ago, she'd never smelled so enticingly again. He knew from his own experience as an adult male tabbi that female tabbin were supposed to smell enticingly and attract males this time of year. But Hepbeth had seemed different since that first time.
If she didn't start issuing that marvelous odor soon, he'd just have to absent himself from the Keep and go into the woods to hunt another female who would accept him. Like he'd had to do each spring since that first spring with Hepbeth. He knew that Roshel also roamed the woods each spring in search of females. But so far the two males had successfully avoided meeting and fighting over the same female. It wouldn't do to have to fight the male who lived in the same human den with him. It was Roshel who'd been responsible for introducing Tragar to the Keep, Tragar reminded himself--and sighed.
The person of Tragar's conjecture had just tuned into the human telepathic channel. She discovered that Jozlyn, Theor and a visiting mage, Tonor, had just decided to travel off-world to another planet! "Magin go to Mousikosal World!" she telepathed to the males and bounded off over the meadow toward the Keep.
The startled males kept close behind her. So when the magin strolled out of the Keep to start their journey, the three eager tabbin were there waiting for them! The magin laughed, then Theor constructed one of those symbols in the air that magin used to transport themselves and their guests, in this instance the tabbin, to the In-Between.
The tabbin were startled to pop out into this thick green stuff that seemed to fill a round room. Around the walls of this room were several greenish swirling structures that reminded the tabbin of whirlpools they'd seen in the creek. Only these whirlpools were much larger.
To move about in the funny green stuff, the tabbin soon discovered they could use a swimming motion and navigate successfully. For a few moments the magin watched the tabbin orient themselves to this strange place. Then the magin called the tabbin to their sides once again. This time Theor chanted something before one of these whirlpools--
--the tabbin felt strange adjustments to their own vibrations--and then they popped out into a very lovely garden!
Jozlyn telepathed that this was Tonaling Keep, Tonor's home on his native planet of Mousikosal. At first the tabbin were almost overwhelmed by all the sensory input. Each object gave off a sound that seemed somehow connected to the color and odor of the object. Even the very air seemed to emit musical tones. After a few moments of standing put while they oriented themselves, each of the tabbin wandered off in a different direction. They paid no attention to the humans' affairs, they were so intent on their own discoveries.
Tragar wandered over to the garden wall and looked out the gate at the meadow beyond. Standing there, her ears pricked forward and looking at him, was a beautiful female tabbi! As soon as she had his attention, this female telepathed, "Tee-delli here. Tonaling Keep den for Tee-delli."
"Tragar here," he answered. "Tonor bring Tragar, Roshel, Hepbeth and our magin from Luciheptal World." He tuned into Roshel and Hepbeth so Tee-delli could see them in his mind.
"Bring Roshel, Hepbeth here," Tee-delli instructed and began walking toward him.
Telepathically, Tragar called to the two tabbin from his world. When Tee-delli could tune into them, she sent them mind pictures of where she and Tragar were. Soon the others joined them just outside the Keep's gate.
The tabbin indulged in sniffing each other, the official tabbin way of greeting and getting to know one another. Tee-Delli had taffy-colored fur that almost seemed to irridesce in the sun's light. Her stripes were only a subtle shade darker than her background color.
"Hepbeth hear Tee-delli body sing," Hepbeth told her. "Everything sing here."
"Tee-delli hear Hepbeth, Tragar, Roshel body sing." The resident female seemed amused.
Tuning into their own bodies, suddenly the three visiting tabbin could hear their own bodies sing, also!
"Tabbin body not sing on Luciheptal," Tragar observed.
"Luciheptal silent world?" their hostess asked.
The three visitors looked at each other. How do they explain the lack of noticeable tones emanating from objects like they do here?
Finally Hepbeth took a stab at it, "Bodies, animals, birds, humans make loud sounds, not sing sounds like here."
"Loud sounds?" the other female still didn't understand.
Hepbeth roared. Then she telepathed, "Tabbin loud sound."
Tee-delli thought she understood. "What loud sounds plants make?"
Tragar said, "Plants not make loud sounds like animals, birds, humans. Plants make sounds when wind push leaves together."
"Tee-delli understand now. Animals, birds, humans here make loud sounds. Also singing sounds. Tee-delli stay on Mousikosal," she decided.
For the rest of the day, their hostess showed them around the grounds, fields, woods, then inside Tonaling Keep. Not once did the humans call them, so the tabbin were happy occupying themselves with tabbin interests. |