Culture Shock - 6. A nice, relaxing dinner???

The meal was fraught with tension. Eldest Syn-dra-val'i took a huge chance by inviting the two men to her table. Of course neither would have even dared to refuse her polite request. And neither one would dare to insult the Eldest by arguing or acting with anything but the utmost civility and politeness. The toll that this enforced civility had was huge on both Geh-tril-pah'o and Bah't.

The Eldest was actually enjoying the tension in an evil, vindictive way. Now the two men that had been terrorizing the Wind Dancer compound, and the entire village for that matter, was coming home to roost. Watching the control that these two were exerting to ensure that the meal was to all outwards appearances normal was actually quite funny.

Both men watched the Eldest as she brought food over to the table and puttered around her small kitchen. They knew better than to offer to assist her. Her temper was well known, as was the defence of her kitchen. Instead, they were forced by social rules to engage in small talk while she busied herself preparing the meal.

From her seat between the two men, the Seer Kla-por'o'a'o was enjoying the poor acting ability of the two men. She watched the Eldest as she played the situation as skillfully as any musical performer.

As the Eldest brought the final plate of food she sat herself down at the small round table across from the Seer. Three sets of eyes turned to watch the Eldest, one pair with amusement and two pairs with pain.

The Eldest allowed herself a small smile before saying in s sweet tone 'Please friends, help yourself to food.' The formula was followed perfectly, with each person helping themselves to food before the hostess took her food from the plates arrayed on the small table. Being as the Eldest herself was seated at the table, everyone waited until she raised the carved eating implement to her mouth before digging in to their own food.

Comments of appreciation for the food and its tastiness were passed around the table. The Eldest smiled and put her eating implement down on her plate. When the others started to follow suit, she motioned for them to continue eating. The Eldest's whims were well known. She followed, made or broke whatever rules suited her at any given moment.

She rested her elbows on the edge of the table, a scandalous enough act, and then laced her fingers together just in front of her face. She regarded the two men carefully and chose her words with precision.

'I see that you two actually are able to be in the same room without souring the stomachs of all those around you. Good.'

As the two men stopped moving in shock, Bah't froze to such an extent that his eating implement slid completely out of his grasp and bounced across the table to land in front of the Seer.

The Eldest simply smiled and resumed eating her meal, totally ignoring the scathing insult she has just delivered. The Seer was forced to examine something on the wall to her left in the attempt to stifle the laughter that threatened to escape.

Both men dropped their heads in shame, and tears even started flowing down the face of the Wind Dancer, as they both realized how their actions of the past while had demonstrated a complete lack of manners.

Geh-tril-pah'o was the first to speak. 'Eldest, I am shamed in front of you and the entire village. In my hurting I have acting horribly. I have let my emotions, especially the negative ones, rule my life. All that I can offer is the pain and torment of losing something most dear to me.' He lifted his head and shyly smiled at Bah't. 'I have lost my best friend and I am unsure of how to go on with my life with at gaping absence.'

The Eldest smiled in sympathy as she reached across and smacked Geh-tril-pah'o on the back of his head hard enough to cause his chin to slam into his chest. He knew that a bruise would be evident by morning. 'You dear, idiotic man. You have not lost your best friend. You have only lost the physically intimate relationship you two once shared. If neither one of you cared for the other, you would not be going out of your way to inflict the hurt you are feeling.'

Bah't wiped the moisture off of his face and faced the Eldest. 'I am sorry for acting in the same manner. Both of us know better, we're both grown men. All that I can do is offer my apologies and promise to act more civilly in the future, to myself, Geh-tril-pah'o and the village as a whole. I have also mourned the death of our friendship without realizing that it was still intact.' He smiled tentatively across the table and saw the smile returned to him in full measure.

Before anything further could be said, the Seer convulsed and her eating implement flew across the table, narrowly missing the Eldest's head. The two men jumped up to assist the flailing woman out of her chair and onto the floor where she could do the least amount of damage to herself.

The Eldest pushed her chair back from the table and painfully heaved herself upright. She walked over to the small side-table beside her door and rang the small metal bell sitting there. She muttered curses under her breath for the pains that ageing had blessed her with, realizing that preparing the meal herself was perhaps a trifle unwise.

Within a minute she heard the sounds of movement coming from the Wind Dancer compound. Elder Ho-mah-sed came puffing up to the Eldest's lodging and skidded to a halt. Her face revealed that the Seer that had been staying with her also had an event and the Eldest realized that she must have already been on her way across the village for her to have arrived that quickly.

Lights began to pop up around the Wind Dancer buildings as the Eldest brought the out of breath Elder inside. The two women made their way over to the spot on the floor where the two men held on to the thrashing Seer.

Normally by this point, the Seer would have started speaking, revealing the vision. This time she mutely convulsed, at times so hard that the two men assisting her were forced to move back out of the way. Finally she arched her back, rigid an immobile. A shriek tore out of her body, a shriek that was matched in various areas throughout the village, before she collapsed in utter exhaustion.

Still kneeling over the prone woman, Bah't tentatively reached his hand out to Geh-tril-pah'o and gently took one of his hands between both of his. 'We need to talk more about things my friend, but right now I believe that I will be asked to Dance the Winds tonight.' His shy smile was mirrored by the man on the other side of the silent Seer. A tearful nod was all the answer that he needed. In both of their chests the pain lightened and for the first time in many days both men breathed more easily, without the painful constriction.

Bah't gently released his ex-lover's hand and quickly regained his feet. He brushed at the dust on his knees and made his way over to where the Eldest was watching the scene with Elder Ho-mah-sed. 'Eldest, Elder, if you would please forgive me, I believe that the events of our lives have once again taken a turn for the monumental. I must make sure that my craft is ready to Dance the Winds. I feel that there will be a meeting at the central cross-over point tonight.'

Without waiting for a response, Bah't nodded his head in respect to the two Elders and left at a dead run. By the time he was within shouting distance of the Wind Dancer's compound he smiled in relief. He saw that his craft, the swiftest and most secure in the entire village, was already being dragged out of the hanger that it was stored in and being made ready to Dance tonight.

Bah't arrived at this craft just as someone finally realized that the siren should be sounding. Whoever was blowing the notes had a massive lung capacity, Bah't thought to himself as the shrill noise pierced the evening quiet. He nodded in satisfaction as he saw the crew that worked on his personal craft was swarming over and through every part to ensure his safety. Before he could turn, a messenger ran up to him with a pouch of notices from the Elders to be shared to the Wind Dancers of the other villages.

Taking the pouch, Bah't took a calming breath as he walked to his craft. He ran his hand lovingly across the hand-rubbed frame of the door and walked in to the extension of his being, the craft that would see him Dancing the Winds. He secured the pouch from the Elders in the small cabinet and latched the door to ensure that it wouldn't shift around while he Danced. He made his way to the seat at the front of the craft and watched as his crew stepped back in awe. It was the same crew that had been watching in awe for the past 12 years as he went through his pre-Dance preparations.

His face lost the lines of stress and worry that had been engraving themselves deeper and deeper since he and Geh-tril-pah'o stopped being a couple. Tears of joy welled up in his eyes, as they did every time he prepared to Dance. He felt rather than heard the door being softly closed and secured against the winds they would soon be buffeted by.

Finally the peace that preceded every Dance washed over Bah't. He placed his hands on the polished board in front of him with the deftness and tenderness of a lover caressing the body of his mate. The windows in front of him began to lightly condense moisture as his breathing deepened in preparation of his Dance.

As the ship began to vibrate with barely restrained power, Bah't began humming a happy tune. Freedom was his again, and for the first time since the break-up Bah't was able to muster enough control to Dance the Winds.

The ship rose gracefully, swiftly leaving behind the village as Bah't Danced westward across the continent. He left the village behind him and put aside the worries that he had felt while kneeling beside the Seer in the Eldest's lodging. Fighting with thermals and high altitude winds took all of his concentration.

He Danced the Winds across the barren, unpopulated land until the bright lights of the central cross-over station became visible on the horizon. Roughly an hour and a half after he tearfully promised to meet with his ex-lover to discuss their friendship, Bah't fought exhaustion as he brought his craft up to the high wind-swept plateau of the brightly illuminated central cross-over station.

Lights never went out at the station. There were always people arriving and departing as people for both coasts of the far-reaching continent exchanged ideas, good and personnel. In his position as Wind Dancer to the council of Elders of his village, Bah't took his position on the smallest landing area. Already there were several dozen other village Dancers present, and more were streaming in as he jockeyed his craft onto the field between two other similar craft.

He retrieved the pouch from the cabinet on his way out the door. The feeling of elation at having Danced the Winds had not diminished since his Uplifting Ceremony. The exaltation put a jaunty bounce in his steps as he entered the meeting hall.

The murmuring was enough to bring his head back down to reality and for the first time in a long time he began to truly be afraid. Three other villages had actually sent Elders, an almost unheard of action showing the level of worry everyone was showing these days. One village had even sent a Seer to share what he had felt.

Many hours later, a very tired Bah't made his quiet way across the field to his waiting craft. He secured the exterior door himself, stowed the newly-filled message pouch and took his place in the chair that showed signs of wear that conformed exactly to his body. He waited until his turn came to Dance the Winds and left homeward.

Due to his exhaustion, the return trip took over two and a half hours and he was shaking violently as he brought his craft to lightly kiss the field just as the sun was poking its head over the eastern horizon.

He sat, slumped over the polished board in front of his chair until his crew slipped on board and carefully lifted him out of the chair. Hands reverently carried the sleeping Dancer to his quarters and put him to bed, drawing heavy curtains to keep out the sun's early light.

The courier's pouch was retrieved before the craft was stored in its hanger and a runner was sent to the waiting Elders in the amphitheatre with the pouch. The Eldest scanned the list of attendees from the impromptu meeting at the central cross-over station. Only a small handful from the far north-western reaches failed to send representative, and one upper level storm could have prevented their attendance.

Eldest Syn-dra-val'i flipped through the messages, reading the summary. She sighed explosively and stood up as quickly as her stiff and aching body would allow. 'Honoured Elders, ladies and gentlemen present, I have read through the summaries from the meeting and I can assure you that no-one knows any more than we do. Being as we're all in the dark over this, I heartily suggest that we all try to get some sleep even though the sun is starting to present itself for the day. There's nothing we can do at this point so I say fuck it and I'm going off to find my bed!'

Once again, the Eldest had shocked all those assembled as she hobbled out the door to the amphitheatre.

The sun was just kissing the western horizon later that same day, the amphitheatre was completely filled. Everyone that lived in or around the village was in attendance. The Eldest waited until the people quieted down before she heaved herself out of her chair and walked to address those assembled. A small motion to her far right caught her attention and she gave a small nod and smile.

'Before I begin tonight, I believe that there is an important statement that two of us wish to make,' the Eldest state clearly.

Murmurs of surprise, shock and relief ran through the amphitheatre as two men made their way to stand beside the Eldest. Bah't and Geh-tril-pah'o were still holding hands as they turned to smile at each other. Bah't raised his exhausted, hoarse voice to address everyone assembled, 'I am truly ashamed for the actions I have afflicted on all of you for the past several days. You all know by now what transpired between myself and this man beside me,' he paused while the crowd rustled and some even dared to laugh out loud.

'When we ceased to be a couple I also mourned the loss of my best friend. In my grief I failed to realize that our friendship existed before we became a couple and that it did not end when we split our home life.'

Geh-tril-pah'o gently squeezed his best friend's hand to let him know he wished to speak. 'I also was beyond grief thinking that I had also lost my best friend. We were convinced to see the error of our ways last evening thanks to the Eldest.' He paused to rub the back of his head gingerly. The gesture was cause for Bah't and the Seer to burst out laughing, much to the confusion of everyone else.

'I am also ashamed at our actions and we both wish to beg your forgiveness. We have discussed the matter and Bah't and I will be cleaning the food preparation areas in addition to our regular duties for the next cycle of the moon, in an attempt to begin to compensate for our reprehensible actions.'

Both men bowed their heads in humility as the Eldest took a step forward. She smiled at the two men and addressed the assembly 'What say we all? Shall we accept the heart-felt apology and let this matter be laid to rest once and for all times?' As she finished saying those words, she raised her hands to complete formulaic request for action.

The entire assembly let out a sigh of relief, rose to their feet and started stamping on the hard-packed earth in an increasing tempo. Hundreds of pairs of feet pounded out the rhythm as arms were raised above heads throughout the amphitheatre. Completing the ritual action, the tamping stopped abruptly as every voice was raised in joy shouting 'Let it be ended!'

The two men sank to their knees in relief as the Eldest waited for a moment before calling for order once again.