Chapter 15: Anoran Literature
Chapter 15: Anoran Literature
Back inside Minetz balances a tall stack of books on his paws. He fumbles to push them up onto the workbench dropping one of them. It hits the floor on its spine making for a dull thud.
Renno carefully picks up the book and looks through the pages of cryptic symbols.
"Oh, it's going to be so much fun. You got to learn to read now. Kyra's the boss, she said so, oh it's going to be great! I bet you could build all kinds of things. Just like me, but bigger cause you're bigger, you're not as big as Kyra. How tall do you think Kyra is? She's way taller than me. I bet she'll be taller than Keeta one day. Wouldn't that be scary?"
Renno looks up from the book at the little Thono who has now climbed onto the stool and clasped the edge of the book with his paws to get Renno's attention. "Yes?"
"It's upside down you know." He snatches the book from Renno's paws and spins around with one foot. Not for an instant considering the chance he might fall off the stool. He lets his legs out from under himself and lands seated and pulls out a sheet of paper. "The important thing is counting the lines. Like this" He begins to draw on the paper a few sets of lines from right to left. "See how the first one is just a line? And the second one is two lines."
Renno ponders if he can get away and spare himself this conversation. Ultimately he relents. "It looks like a crooked line to me."
"No no no, that's wrong. Its two lines connected at the top." Minetz pokes at his crude markings.
Renno studies the paper.
Minetz continues his explanation. "There are twenty numbers. I bet you didn't know I can count all the way to twenty. I can count to like a hundred. You know how many numbers there are? I don't but I bet there's lots.
Renno stops him. "To the point, how does it work?"
"Yes, well, you see, every letter has one more time till you get to five lines. Then you start over but with an extra line underneath." He draws several zigzag lines from right to left, then on the sixth line a single vertical line with a line below it. Like an inverted letter T.
Renno scratches his head. "Are these letters or numbers?"
"Both, use a dot after each word. Two dots if the word has a pause, and three dots before and after numbers."
Renno shuffles around uncomfortably. "Is this really necessary? I probably already know how to read my own language."
"Actually, probably not. Anorans write a lot but Kyra says the Tanoi don't. They say even the Thono don't read or write that much. When I go back home when I'm older ill be the best reader ever."
Renno looks down at the paper in his hand again. "Why do they write so much..." You don't really want to hear 'his' answer to that question, do you?"You know what? Nevermind." He looks at the paper. "So when you get to eleven what happens?"
"You start over again with a line on top instead and at sixteen you put a line on top and bottom." Minetz scribbles down all twenty letters in succession.
Renno studies the paper. "That's actually quite simple. I guess. So, um what's the difference between a letter and a word?" His voice low, embarrassed by his ignorance.
Minetz sequels with laughter. "You don't know what a word is?"
"I know very well what a word is." Renno half shouting stands up slapping the paper to the workbench.
Minetz holds his ground only allowing his ears to retreat back flat against his head. "Kyra said you have to be nice to me."
"No, Kyra said I had to keep you busy." Renno settles back onto his stool.
Minetz frowns but continues. "A word is made up of a bunch of letters and each letter has a sound."
"Minetz I'm sorry." Renno looks up from his paper at Minetz.
Minetz snaps quickly back at him. "It's fine."
"It's not fine I shouldn't yell at you."
"It's fine."
Renno reiterates his point. "It's not fine I'm just very frustrated. I want to go home but I don't even know what home is. I mean who knows? I could be a criminal on the run. I don't remember anything at all, even after a week."
Minetz gets off his stool and hugs Renno's Leg.
"That's not necessary come on." He tries gently to pry him off. After a brief moment of resistance, Minetz lets go of him. "So, why do they write like this?"
"Kyra says they used to scratch on wood with their claws. But now they just write with ink."
Renno tries to copy some of the writing and smears the ink across the page getting it in his fur on his right paw. "Wouldn't it be easier to write the other way? From right to left?"
"Oh." Minetz starts flipping through his stack of books before picking out two of them and putting them down in front of Renno open to some unspecified page of text. "They do! But only sometimes. See?"
Renno examines the script. "They look the same."
"No no no, look at the lines. The ones that lean left read from the left. The ones in the other book that lean right read right."
Why in," he stresses the name, "Miran's name would they write it both ways?"
Minetz points at Renno's paw.
Renno instinctively raises his paw initially to object to whatever nonsense answer Minetz was bound to give but catches himself. He examines his paw and the ink smeared into his fur. "Oh, the ink. That's why. Isn't it."
Minetz nods. "Keeta taught me that. She says Lady Manon taught her. Lady Manon knows everything."
"I'm starting to think you know everything." Renno looks over his shoulder towards the stairs recalling his encounter with Keeta earlier. "So does Keeta come here often?"
"No, only when Kyra is being bad. Which is all the time actually. So she is here a lot."
Renno lets his head fall to the workbench smacking it unceremoniously overwhelmed by the youthful logic of Minetz. This sentiment would carry them through watchers rest spending the afternoon repeating the same lessons about sounds letters and words. The practice complicated by the translation magic causing a difficult mismatch between what is heard and what is written.
Renno sets down the ink pen and looks at his name scribbled multiple times across a sheet of paper. His writing sprawled illegibly over some old diagrams Minetz assured him he no longer needed. The results do not strike him as satisfactory.
Freed from his concentration Rennos ears perk up. The building moans and creeks and a cold air creeps in along the floor. "Do you hear that?"
Minetz puts a paw up to his ear and leans dramatically. The building creeks again and one of the locker doors slams shut below. "It's windy out."
Renno gets up from his stool and walks to the banister. A wave of cold air hits him. Below on the first floor, the poorly boarded front door fails to contain the wind. Small drifts of snow build up in the cracks near the floor. "We really need to fix that door."
Minetz shuffles his feet on the cold floor. "I know. But I can't fix it alone."
"Can we light the other fireplace? Just for tonight?"
Minetz scrunches up his face. "We can't. I keep the frozen things in there. See the door I made? It works really good. Kyra was impressed."
"Yes, I see, very nice. But seriously, the door. Try to help me try to push it shut then?" He waves Minetz over to the stairs as he descends to the lower level.
The two of them try their best. Pushing it with their shoulder trying to get it past the seal.
Minetz gives up and slumps to the door his back against it. "It's no use. The metal bands that hold the wood together are too loose. The door is crooked now. I gotta rebind it then put new hinges on."
Renno holds Kyra's torn clothing in his paws. "We can shove this in the cracks, for now, find me something to stand on."
Minetz nods and returns with a split log from the woodpile out back.
Renno tucks the cloth into the cracks holding himself up with his claws embedded in the door frame. He pauses a moment. _The bells._The toll of watchers rest rings out through the town faint against the wind. "Gotta go, Keeta is waiting for me."
Minetz blocks the door to the alley. "Bring me back rilots if you can!"
Renno reties his shirt tight to keep the wind out. "I'm not asking her for food."
"Pleaaaaaase?"
"No."
Minets strains his voice even harder. "Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase?"
"No, I don't have time for this. I gotta go."
Minetz relents. "Okay, but if I starve it's all your fault."
Renno rubs the top of Minetz head flopping his ears over. "I'll do what I can."
End Chapter 15