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The Tent & The Change Series "Earth" Part 3 By thwale

---3 Days 13 Hours 25 Minutes 32 Seconds( 00:00:03:01:25:32 PM )

We got up and slid from under the tarps, climbed down and looked each other over. I wished we had brought the horse brush, we groomed each other as well as we could then headed towards the building. The building looked pretty normal red with white trim and white window frames, wood and nails, the windows had colored glass in them and the doors were carved with intricate designs, hinting at objects but never really showing anything in its entirety.

As we entered we could hear talking and many voices, even some saying that she must be senile, this of course all stopped as we entered through the doors. It was as if a wall dropped down the silence was so sudden and complete. As we walked towards the dais we noticed we were under extreme scrutiny from everyone, we felt as if we were being x-rayed. I could see her on the dais near the edge of a wooden stage smiling broadly and holding out a hand to help us up, we didn't need the help but accepted it graciously.

We stepped up onto the stage where the dais was and stood next to her, some wit in the audience made a comment about letting animals into the meeting hall, she glared at the man and he quickly silenced his objections.

She continued talking from where she had left off.

"...As I said they are no threat and infact need our help, and here they are, I would like you to meet Nuree and her mate Elden, say something for them..."

Elden looked uncomfortable, I probably looked the same, however he spoke first...

"Uh... hi there, um... I... *"

I didn't do much better "Hello, er... we are... well, we are not certain what we are...*"

I think I confused them more then anything else (I was by no means certain myself)... well confused the ones who were listening to us anyway, the astonished ones just sat there agape.

Flo spoke to help break the silence "these are visitors, they are not here to harm us, they merely want a place to live for awhile, I told them they picked the right village, please don't make me look a fool..." This got their attention, even the astonished ones seemed to come out of their daze and become more animated, a few looked embarrassed, then the questions started...

"You said you were not certain what you were, are you talking animals?'

I looked at Elden, he nodded so I let him have the floor...

"We are not talking animals, we have an identity of self, such as the aphorism I think therefore I am, we most certainly feel our consciousness, our identity of self is there, so no, we are not animals, no more so then humans are."

I was a bit stunned, how quickly one forgets, I didn't know he was so intelligent, time to alter my perceptions once again, not only is he a great lover but has a great mind to boot.

"You say 'You humans' are you then aliens?"

"Let me take this one" I told him, he nodded.

"We are not certain of anything (I felt a bit of fiction was in order) "something happened to our memories, we we do not know the extent our natural abilities and as such are only relearning them slowly, with time we hope to have relearned them all, this should also give us a better idea of who we are and where we came form."

That was safe, a bit more would be needed however I don't like being untruthful but sometimes telling everything creates more problems then it solves.

"We have no memory of where we come from, however a certain owner or owners of a tent in a traveling renaissance fair might have the answers."

There... that was pretty much true, and thankfully Flo was not interrupting.

"We are going to try find that person or persons once we have more control over our forgotten abilities."

This was certainly true...

The questions continued...

"The authorities were here today asking us if we had seen any strange animals, they were talking about you weren't they?"

"Yes I suppose they were, I had a run in with a police officer, don't worry I didn't hurt him, I did however turn over his police car, I tried to reason with him and he went for his gun" "However I am certain a talking animal that turns over police cars is most strange and therefore the authorities are trying to find us."

That was truth, I felt better.

"Why should we help you?"

Why indeed? I had been expecting this question but also hoping it wouldn't get asked, I didn't have a ready answer, I guess I would have to rely on their good will, the truth would be best right now.

Before I could answer Elden spoke up...

"We are lost and in trouble, my mate may be pregnant, with no where else to go all we ask for is some shelter, we will be glad to earn our keep."

Bless him, he said what I was going to say, I guess we really were meant to be together.

There was silence, then a lot of talking, Flo leaned towards us "they will talk for awhile, then they will vote" "do not worry I know them well enough, most will vote for you to stay."

"What about the ones who don't?"

"Well, in the end they will make the right decision, we are after all a good people."

She sounded more sure then we felt, it was her village though, so we trusted her judgment in this and remained silent. So they debated the pros and cons, it lasted for a good 2 hours, and we were becoming a bit uncomfortable up on stage. Finally however enough of them reached a decision to where a vote was started, a young woman in the front row stood up and took a stack of blank papers from her basket. She walked up and down the rows handing a small stack to the person on the end of the rows, they in turn passed them down until everyone had one. As soon as she sat down the Mayor of the village stood up and joined us on the stage, Flo leaned over and told us he was Mayor Danburs, he then spoke.

"People of Fainbourn, the vote before you is whether these two can stay or if they must leave, you will have to live with your decision, choose wisely."

Well at least we had the Mayor's vote, or so I hoped.

They talked some more, then quietly wrote down their votes, wadding them up and handing them to the person sitting next to them. The same young woman stood up and went to each row collecting them in her basket, when she was done she brought it up to the dais and handed it to Mayor Danburs.

"Thank you darling" she smiled and curtseyed.

"We have your votes now, I will read them off one by one and my Niece will tally them up on the chalkboard, I hope you remembered to not put your name on it since we want a blind vote, if anyone did not get a chance to vote say so now, there will only be a recount if its 50/50."

There was silence "good... oops, almost forgot" Flo was then handed a piece of paper, she wrote her vote wadded it up and dropped it in the basket.

---3 Days 17 Hours 43 Minutes 46 Seconds( 00:03:05:43:46 PM )

By the time the tallying was finished, we had won by a landslide, there were however 5 votes for us leaving and 3 undecided, we would have to keep our eyes open.

The mayor then spoke, "Thank you for your votes you have renewed me and my belief that this fair village on Fainbourn deserves the respect its always gotten... Thank you once again" he then turned to us.

"So now that you have been accepted what are your plans?"

"Find some shelter and get settled in I guess, would you happen to know of any available places to live?"

We heard Flo snort loudly "you will stay with me" She was adamant "I can let you two use the empty bedroom, is that alright with you Mr Mayor? He just nodded yes, then she smiled broadly "let's get you settled in then, we can talk some more" I had hoped she would say that.

The ride back was less bumpy, we were able to ride on our haunches in the back of the wagon, standing up and using the tail let us cushion the bumps, it was like being on a float in a parade, all the kids and adults wanted to see us up close.

Needless to say we had an escort all the way back to Flo's house, as we arrived she got off the buckboard and went to tend to her horse, we hopped over the side of the wagon and landed squarely on our hind paws accompanied by oooos and ahhhs from the children.

Several of the braver ones ran up to us, the parents looked uncomfortable, we could understood why, they of course had nothing to worry about, as the children touched and felt us like all curious children do, asking us all sorts of questions, our answers and actions put the parents at ease, soon they were smiling as they saw we were no threat they even they stepped close to examine us and ask us questions as well.

We felt a bit like a bug under glass, then thanks to timing Flo returned and shooshed the children away, they scampered off giggling and the parents followed them smiling.

"It seems you have been accepted as members of Fainbourn, lets go inside and talk some more, there is plenty of time for me to show you around Fainbourn later."

"Good idea" we both chimed.

---3 Days 18 Hours 13 Minutes 26 Seconds( 00:03:06:13:26 PM )

She just opened the door without unlocking it, I guess this really was a good and safe town, then I noticed there were no locks on anything, I would have found that strange at one time, but after what has happened recently, I just made a mental note, then forgot about it. As we slow hopped into the house I was thinking about the five people who had voted against us, the undecided three didn't matter, then she closed the door behind us, my attention was then pulled towards the room that would be our new home.

We had had no time to look it over the first time we were in it, now we could see it was fairly big, perhaps 9 meters by 9 meters with a little over 2 meter high ceiling, more then enough room since we currently had no belongings.

Flo entered behind us "Can you use a bed? I think they might have one large enough for the both of you to share..."

"I don't think we can use a bed anymore, perhaps a large padded mat would be more appropriate."

"Yes I see... I do think we need to buy you some supplies though, perhaps soap and a couple brushes can you think of anything else you might need?"

"Only if we are allowed to pay you back in some way."

"Do not worry about that, there are plenty of ways to do that..."

"Ok then I think we need something for our teeth to, it seems the items used for grooming horses would be appropriate, don't you think Elden?"

"That sounds good, I do think though we will shall need some maps and some paper and pencils, we need to track the fair."

Elden was correct, however would we that when there didn't even seem to be a phone available was beyond me, I posed this question to Flo.

"We do live in a way that would suggest we have nothing modern, don't let that fool you, we have one phone at the Mayors house, he also has a radio and a computer, we may look like we live in the last century but even we need to know when a storm is coming, or someone gets to ill for our local doctor to heal..."

"We understand... would the Mayor let us use the computer to track the fair?"

"He would if you gave him more information, he can be trusted with it or why else would he still be the Mayor?"

Good point, again we would have to put our trust in Flo and now in the Mayor as well, we were rewarded for our trust when the Mayor agreed to let us use it. That night we slept laying down on the floor to tired to even stand.

---4 Days 9 Hours 46 Minutes 6 Seconds( 00:04:09:46:06 AM )

The next morning we woke to the smell of cooking eggs and toast, we quickly showered and then groomed each other, by the time we finished she had two large plates of food waiting for us along with a couple of pitchers of fresh milk and a cup of honeybutter for the toast. After breakfast she took us on a tour of Fainbourn, there was a blacksmith and a doctor who was also Veterinarian, a general store and a barber shop, a post office and a bank, just some of the types of buildings you would expect to find in a place like this, there was no electricity accept at the Mayors house, for lighting and heat they used gas and candles.

We quickly found a niche' for ourselves, with our strength and speed we were able to help repair buildings, catch stray cattle, swim deep under the lake to retrieve lost items, help get carts and wagons unstuck and even watch the children while the adults did their work. Watching the children was good for us, it helped us get ready for our own child that we were certain was on the way... days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, sure enough I began to show my pregnancy, even though I had been expecting it I still found it strange, I was no way ready for this.

--4 Months 3 Days 10 Hours 23 Minutes 37 Seconds ( 00:04:03:10:23:37 AM )

I didn't even have an idea of what to expect, but good ol' Flo knew so she helped me through it, letting me know what to expect, that is of course if my pregnancy was similar to a humans, luckily it was, just shorter. However the sickness and mood swings would take some getting used to, the doctor (whom I soon discovered was named Burch) examined me and said I would give birth in a couple of weeks or so, it seemed our new form had a gestation period of a little over 4 months, he was not certain since of course he had never treated our kind before, we however trusted his opinion since my body was confirming his diagnosis.

If you have ever been pregnant then you know what I was experiencing, the good news was that I didn't have to work during the last week of my pregnancy, the bad news was becoming torpid and and finding it hard to concentrate, I also had strange dreams and cravings. My breasts that until now had been hidden by fur became enlarged and I needed to wear an apron to absorb the milk that seeped from them, Elden was curious one day and tasted my milk, he said it had an interesting and pleasant flavour, so I tasted a bit myself, it was strange (I had a momentary flash back to when I was a baby and human) I could taste the vitamins in it, it would suit our new child well.

It seemed the pregnancy was the final coffin nail for my old life, I was now female and whatever this new life and form may bring I was ready for it, or so I thought at the time, I could not have been more wrong... A bit over week later I went into labor, I won't go into details, lets just say I did not feel good and leave it at that.

--4 Months 18 Days 6 hours 29 Minutes 56 Seconds ( 00:04:18:06:29:56 AM )

Elden Flo and the Doctor were there the morning I gave birth, Elden looked excited and a bit uneasy, the Doctor seemed calm and Flo looked expectant...

"May I take notes? since this is the first time I have seen a birth like this..."

I nodded and then had to concentrate on pushing, breath in, push, exhale then repeat... My vision blurred and I heard a ringing in my ears as well as a very animal like howl, this was coming from me as I felt like I was splitting in half. A few minutes later I heard a small squealing sound and felt like I had shed 500 kilograms.

"Its a Girl!" the doctor announced.

I was then handed a small wiggling object wrapped in a towel, as I looked at the little bundle while the doctor and Flo left the room, my mate Elden came over to the side of our sleeping mat and stood there smiling like the cat who ate the canary. I sat up a bit unsteadily, and got to my haunches, as I opened the towel I beheld the smallest face I had ever seen, she (it was a she) had very little hair and looked like a wrinkled version of myself, about 3.1 kilograms and completely helpless.

Her eyes were open and she was looking at me, then began to cry, I quickly held her to one of my teats without thinking about it, and she began suckling, I cannot explain exactly how it felt I was just exhausted and wanted to sleep. Elden crouched down next to me and held and watched as our child fed, " I know this may seem strange to you but its natural, when my sister had her child I asked her what it was like, she said there was no way to explain it, but strange though it was it was somehow right.

"I wish I had that attitude... Yawning loudly I continued "This is completely new for me and since neither you or I have ever had a child of our own before we are both going to need some help."

"I guess so, I hope Flo can help" he said "she will i'm certain" then started to fall asleep, last thing I remember was Elden quickly leaning forward and reaching for my lap, then I blacked out and slept dreamlessly.

---4 Months 18 days 15 Hours 34 Minutes 48 seconds( 00:04:18:03:34:48 PM )

I awoke several hours later to find myself on my side and my child in my arms, Elden must have helped me lay down then placed my child in my arms when it finished eating. I looked over and saw him staring at me, smiling even broader then when we had first seen our child, he looked like he had been strutting around with his chest puffed out.

"The Mayor was over earlier while you slept, he looked in and then told me something I had not thought about, apparently here as in many other places couples with children should be married."

"Then we must be married soonest!" I said, although I said it with vigor I was very nervous.

"I knew you would say that, that's why I set it up for the Mayor to marry us as soon as you awoke" he then turned and raised his voice "you can all come in now."

The Mayor and Flo entered first, then the doctor and a couple of people that we had met a few weeks ago and found we liked "they are witnesses" the mayor said.

Everyone got settled in and the ceremony began, it was not fancy or big but was more then enough...

"We are here to marry these two people... err... beings... um...*"

We all laughed "That's OK, people works for me" I giggled. "Ahem... We are here to marry these two people in the legal and binding law of marriage, with these witnesses I the Mayor of Fainbourn give my blessings and agree that this is a proper and noble joining..."

He took a deep breath and continued...

"If there is anyone now present who believes that this marriage is improper or who has a reservation or reason why this joining of two people who care for and love each other should not occur, speak now or forever agree by your silence that it is proper legal and binding."

Of course no one spoke...

"Umm... we will skip the ring... then by the powers vested in me Jonathan Danburs as the Mayor of Fainbourn I now pronounce you Elden and you Nuree husband and wife, you are hereby and from here-on a legally married couple and citizens of the village of Fainbourn with all the rights and privileges this entails... you may kiss the bride..."

As Elden leaned forward to kiss me our child burst out crying, we all laughed then as I held our daughter to my teat, me and my mate Elden kissed completing the ceremony.

"I guess this was bound to happen eventually, when we were human we were very close, who would have ever thought it would happen like this."

Everyone then left accept Flo, congratulating us as they went out, soon only me Elden the baby and Flo were left.

"Have you decided on a name?" this from Flo.

I looked at Elden "any ideas?."

"I'll leave it to you i'm certain whatever you choose will be perfect."

---4 Months 18 days 15 Hours 50 Minutes 28 seconds( 00:04:18:03:50:28 PM )

"Thank you" I said in a slightly sarcastic voice, then I smiled with inspiration "I name our daughter Renai after the name of the fair where this whole thing started."

"Then Renai it is" Flo happily announced, quickly scampering out the door we heard her say "her name is Renai" and then heard cheering from many people, it was a very good sound, and we again felt as we had many times before at just how lucky we were to have found this village and these people.

-To be continued in Part 4-

©2004-2011 thwale