Khomal

     The Zukar Plunar poked its head out of Bisha's robes. For the last few days the smells and sounds had been different. This had happened once before when he'd been much younger. Not long after he had left his mother for the big one that he loved and who loved him. His mother had told him that the Big Ones were kind. They made mouth sounds and he would have to learn what the sounds meant. There would be many things that he would do for the Big One that loved him and he would have to learn them as well. It would be hard to do but if he wanted to help the big ones he would learn them.

     Khomal had never known anyone but mother and his own big one, not really at least. Sure there had been other Big Ones around. He could smell them on his Big One's clothes and hear them in the Big Ones room. He had even interacted with other Big ones at various times. Both with and without his Big One being there. Generally though he stayed out of the way of other Big Ones when his Big One wasn't there. His Big One called him Khomal. He didn't actually know that Khomal was his name but he knew that it meant that he was supposed to come when he heard that mouth sound. He knew to do other things when he heard other mouth sounds but he didn't really understand what he was hearing. He just knew that if his Big One made those sounds he was to do those things. The Zukar Plunar used scent and body movements to communicate with each other. The only used mouth sounds in extreme situations or when they were very young and couldn't really see yet.

     Khomal was a bit annoyed right now. Usually he was able to ride around on his big ones shoulder. But for the last day he'd had to stay in his little house until his big one stopped moving so much. He was used to his big one moving but the motions were strange and Khomal wasn't really sure that he wanted out of his little house. Everything he'd known for most of his young life had changed, again. The scents, the sounds, the fact that his usually unmoving house was moving. The last made him the most nervous. At least it stopped every now and then so the fastidious little animal could go to the bathroom away from his house. All Zukar Plunar would not go to the bathroom in their houses if they had any way to avoid it.

    Thankfully he got to be where he belonged more often than when this had all started. He'd done this once before. So he knew that instead of staying on his Big Ones should he had to be in the Big Ones fur. Big Ones were amazing, they could change their fur repeatedly and never came to harm. Also their fur was full of little places that he could hide in. They even took their fur off to get wet. And if they couldn't take it off to get wet they got upset, or at least his Big One did. Fortunately the Big One hadn't gotten his changeable fur wet so far. He knew that there were other Big Ones with his Big One but they didn't really matter to the young Zukar Plunar. After all there had always been other Big Ones. Some of them even made really loud and shrill mouth noises when they saw him. Khomal didn't like it when Big Ones did that so he tended to stay as close to his Big One as he could to avoid that.

     Then a miracle happened to Khomal. Really really big Big One was making mouth noises to his Big One. Then the really big Big One reached out her hand towards Khomal. He knew that the really big Big One was a female because of her scent. But that was nothing to what had happened. Khomal could hear her in his head. She spoke to Khomal in a way that he could understand. For a time Khomal stayed frozen. This had never happened before. Nor had his mother ever told him that this could happen. This was a new thing and new things could be dangerous. His mother had told him so.

    The new Big One didn't move in any way. She sat completely still. Khomal was very confused no one had ever spoken to him properly, except his mother and siblings, until now. The really big Big One was somehow talking to him in a way that he understood without moving. Slowly Khomal poked his head even further out of his Big Ones robes. This was fascinating. His Big One wasn't upset or nervous or anything like that, he was relaxed and happy. The really big Big One still had her hand out and was still talking to him in his head.

     Finally Khomal crawled all the way out of his Big Ones fur and sat on his shoulder.  His Big One was making gentile and quiet mouth noises that encouraged him. Finally he moved over to her hand and sat there. He tilted his head from side to side, trying to figure out how the really big Big One was managing to talk to him. No one had ever managed to do that, not even his Big One, and his Big One could do anything and everything. At least as far as Khomal understood the world.

     Finally Khomal gathered up his courage and asked the really big Big one a question. He asked what the really big Big One was. Again he got an answer that he understood. Not in words or even totally in pictures alone. There was feeling and pictures and things that Khomal didn't really know but nonetheless comprehended. Khomal understood that the really big Big One was from the sands, although he'd never seen them. He also understood that she could speak to any of the furred or feathered ones that he could both smell or see. Even the sharp tooth ones that had scared him so much in the other place. He was safe in the large hands of the really big Big One. Not even her sharp, pointy teeth that looked so fierce didn't scare him anymore. Khomal knew she would never hurt her. He was as safe with her as he was with his own Big One.