Chapter Four
Feeding the smaller animals
When Zem and Bev’s ruka started raising its head after releasing them. Mav gestured to the left end of the wall and said to the rest of us, “Let’s start over there.” I said, “Sounds good to me.” We all started walking toward the far left end of the wall. San brought a couple baskets of food over near Mav and Til. One of which he handed off to Pam. Pim went over by Zem and Bev. He handed off one of his baskets to Mim. A couple of the other Nal handed off a couple baskets of food to Tal and Sas. After they had done so, these maketake Nal just retreated a little ways away. A few of the other Nal went to some of the other animals. Sue said to Zem and Bev as we walked, “I hope he didn’t bite.” They both chuckled. Then Zem said, “I wouldn’t let him do that.” The treats that the other Nal on the deck were levitating to the larger animals were keeping them well placated. The other Nal that had come down with baskets were no doubt going to hand out a little food to the ones we weren’t tending to. I said to Mav and Til, “Zem and Bev say they are making another planet. Do you ever plan to do the same?” Mav and Til smiled at me as I spoke. Til said, “We probably will someday. But this planet is good enough for now.”
Having gotten near the end of the animals, Mav said to Sue and I, “Just pick a critter and start feeding.” Sue and I grinned. These grins spread to everybody else. Mav and Til headed over to the kopoz on the end. San and Pam, followed Mav and Til. Each levitating a basket of food near them. Sue and I headed to the kopoz next to the one they intended to feed. Tal and Sas came with us. They each levitated a basket of food near Sue and I. Zem and Bev headed to a kafkin that was standing amongst the kopoz. Pim and Mim followed them with baskets of food too. Sue and I didn’t have to walk far. These kopoz were certainly amazing. Their horns had to be about fourteen feet from one end to the other. But Sue and I knew that we were in no danger. Mav and Til gave a couple of treats to the kopoz they went to. At the same time, the kopoz Sue and I were going to feed lowered its head to us. Sue and I reached for treats as Mav and Til started scratching around the muzzle of their kopoz while it chewed. It made a seemingly happy low rumbling vocalization as it did so. This caused some of the other smaller animals to start to shift on our direction. But the rectangular Nal pushed them back.
Sue and I stuck our treats into the open mouth of our kopoz. After it took them in and started chewing, Sue and I started scratching around its muzzle. Which it seemed to enjoy too. As we did so, Panny and Lika let go of Sue and I and scampered down our arms. They jumped onto the muzzle of our kopoz and scampered up its head. Which didn’t seem to bother it. While this was going on, Zem and Bev walked right up in between the tusks of the kafkin. Bev petted around the end of its trunk as Zem reached up with a treat and shoved it into its open mouth. Panny and Lika scampered along the right horn of our kopoz. All of the creatures we fed and petted gave off seemingly appreciative vocalizations. Bev grabbed a treat and let the kafkin trunk take hold of it. As Sue petted our kopoz, Sue said in a friendly, slightly higher pitched voice, “You’re a nice big kopoz. Aren’t you.” Air rushed out of its nostrils and then back in as it seemed to give an appreciative snort. After it did so, I said to it in a friendly tone, “Just be careful. We don’t need any kopoz boogers.”
Having overheard me, Zem, Bev, Mav and Til laughed. As did Sue. I quickly joined in and we all shared in each other’s laughter. Then Mav said in a slightly louder than normal voice, “That can be a problem. But Tal and Sas can eliminate anything unpleasant heading your way.” As Mav and Til reached for a couple more treats, Sue grinned at them and said, “That’s good.” While all of this was going on, Panny and Lika had jumped from the kopoz’s horn to the kafkin Zem and Bev were feeding. At this point, Zem was petting a kafkin trunk as Bev handed its trunk another treat. Remarking about what Mav said, Sue said to Sas as she went for another treat, “You guys are useful in so many ways.” As I reached for a treat too, Sas answered Sue verbally and said, “We try to be.” Sue and I then fed our kopoz a couple more treats. The Nal up on the balcony were still feeding the ruka and forlix. Keeping them occupied as we took care of these smaller creatures. As the kopoz Sue and I fed chewed, Sue and I scratched around its muzzle with both hands. The kopoz lowered its muzzle to the ground and inward toward itself a little. As it did so, it also moved its head toward Sue and I a little. Pushing both Sue and I back a little.
Apparently it wanted to be scratched a little higher up and a little more firmly. Sue and I tried to do so. But we were so small compared to the kopoz. I turned my grin to Tal and Sas and said, “Could you guys help Sue and I scratch these things?” Tal said, “Sure.” Tal and Sas both turned into conical shaped bunches of bristles. Though Tal remained a green color and Sas remained a deep purple color. They were about a foot long and the wide end was about a foot wide. It was made up of a number of sturdy looking bristles. As a couple maketake Nal came in to levitate their baskets, Sas went to an ear and Tal went to the back of its neck. Tal and Sas both started scratching back and forth with what appeared to be some appreciable pressure. Our kopoz raised its head up and bellowed with pleasure. I and no doubt Sue could feel the sound waves vibrating us a little. Sue and I laughed and turned our laughter to each other. Everybody grinned at us. Mav said in a joking around manner, “What are you trying to do. Spoil my critters?” Zem, Bev and Til joined in on the laughter. Which Mav quickly did too. After the laughter, Sue said to Mav, “Sorry. But it’s in our nature.”
This reference to the story I told about the frog and the scorpion caused a little more laughter. Then Mav said as he and Til petted their kopoz, “I was only kidding. The Nal often help us pet our animals.” Then Mav grinned at San and said, “You guys are falling down on the job by not doing it yourselves.” A funny response on San and Pam’s part quickly flashed into my mind as everybody except me began to chuckle at what Mav said. I quickly directed my thoughts to San and Pam and said quickly, “San, Pam. Let’s have a private speed thought. Quick.” Everything slowed down to a stop. San said, “What is it.” I said, “Apparently Mav is playing around and trying to get a rise out of you. I thought of a funny response for you.” Pam said, “Please tell us.” I said, “I know that you Nal can simulate Reall mouths on your surfaces. Are you familiar with the human custom of sticking your tongue out at somebody in a playful manner of contempt and making this sound.” Then I thought to them the sound people make when they stick their tongue out at somebody.
I could feel telepathic humor from San and Pam. Pam said, “Oh yes. Humans didn’t invent it. And they won’t be expecting it.” I said, “Great. Just make sure that you both move to where everybody can see you.” San said, “It will kill them. Figuratively speaking of course. Thanks for the suggestion.” Time again resumed at a normal pace. Everybody except me resumed their chuckling. San and Pam moved to where Mav, Til and the rest of us could see them. Though they still levitated the baskets of food where they had been. San and Pam both formed mouths on their surfaces. Pam’s lips were more feminine of course. Then they both stuck out normal colored tongues at Mav in a playful, contemptible sort of way. They did it just the way a human might. Bringing in their lips around their tongues. At the same time, they both made that noise that people make when they do it. Mav, Til, Zem, Bev and Sue erupted in laughter. I could also sense additional telepathic amusement from Pim, Mim, Tal and Sas. My laughter wasn’t as intense. Because I knew what was going on. We all held onto our partners for support as we laughed. But Mav and Til fell to the ground laughing.
Apparently this reaction from San and Pam had really caught them off guard. Mav and Til’s reaction only made the rest of us laugh all the harder. I was so glad I thought of it. San and Pam became fuzzy. Though San remained red in color and Pam remained blue color. San went to Mav and Pam went to Til. They laughed verbally as they rolled around slightly between Mav and Til’s upper shoulders and the base of their necks. Their kopoz sniffed them a little out of curiosity. Even though they were preoccupied with mirth, San and Pam were apparently able to levitate a couple treats out of their baskets to give to the kopoz. Mav and Til soon started caressing San and Pam as they laughed. After at least a minute of laughter, Mav said to San in a mirth filled voice, “You guys kill me!” Til managed to get out to Pam, “That was so funny!” After a little more laughter, San spoke telepathically. Though we could all heat it. He said, “I wish Pam and I could take the credit. But it was Erik’s idea.” Still laughing a little, Mav and Til sat up. They both grinned over at Sue and I as they released San and Pam. At the same time, Sue gave me a bit of an extra hug with her cheek on my shoulder.
While Sue did so, Sue said, “You’re so funny darling!” I grinned briefly but happily at Sue. Then I turned my attention back to Mav and Til. Mav said, “You kill me too!” After a little more laughter, Til said to Zem and Bev, “Shame on you for keeping them all to yourself!” This caused a little more laughter as I gave Sue a little extra hug. Then Sue and I looked at each other with a little chuckle again coming out of us. As Mav and Til started to stand up, Sue said to me, “You make me so proud darling.” This caused a more loving look to come over my face. Sue also looked at me in a more loving manner. I said to Sue with a tender, highly loving voice, “It wouldn’t be possible for any human to not be proud of you darling.” Sue said, “Oh darling!” We started kissing each other passionately. Sue and I embraced each other and caressed each other lovingly. I didn’t know it at the time. But apparently Sue and I’s kissing seemed like a good idea to Zem, Bev, Mav and Til. Because those couples also kissed each other. But only lovingly and only for a few extended moments.
As usual, I was overcome with how wonderful it felt to be kissing Sue’s soft, loving lips. Also as usual, it was beyond description to say how wonderful it felt to be holding the warm, sweetly perfumed, loving body of Sue in my arms. The whole thing made me moan with pleasure as we kissed. My dear sweet love moaned with pleasure too. Our kopoz tried to nudge Sue and I a little. No doubt for more food. But I think one of the Nal kept it from nudging us too hard. Waves of love were washing through my body. And judging from the moans of pleasure here and there from Sue, my sweet darling love was feeling the same way. I heard the other animals making pleasured sounds. Another thing I didn’t know at this moment was that some of the other Nal had transformed into brushes and were brushing them. But I hardly noticed. I could also hear our kopoz chewing something. Apparently, somebody had considerately caused a treat to be levitated to it. Allowing Sue and I to enjoy each other’s love. After about a minute of Sue and I’s kissing, Mav’s thoughts came into our minds.
He said, “I hate to interrupt. But we have some hungry critters here.” Sue and I parted our kiss and grinned at each other. Then Sue and I grinned over at Mav and Til. By this point, Zem and Bev had moved over to the kopoz on the other side of the kafkin they had been feeding. Mav and Til had gone over to the kopoz next to it. Panny and Lika were scampering around on it. Their animals were chewing food. Another Nal with a basket of food was near the kopoz Mav and Til had been feeding. Apparently, it had just given it a treat. I could see some of the other Nal scratching around some of the animals. There were a few doing the same with each forlix and ruka. Sue and I put a couple more treats into our kopoz’s mouth. Then we took each other’s hand and grinned widely at each other. No doubt Sue was feeling as full of joy as I was. We happily scampered over to Zem and Bev. When we got to them, I embraced Zem from the side a little. Bev seen what was happening and turned to Sue. They briefly embraced each other from the front. Both Zem and Bev chuckled a little. Bev said, “What’s this for.” As we parted, Sue said, “Just because!”
They chuckled a little more. Then Zem said, “That’s probably the best reason for a hug there is.” This statement made Sue and I beam grins. Then we took each other’s hand again and happily scampered over to Mav and Til. Our baskets of food and the Nal that carried them came with us. Having seen what happened, they both turned to us with big grins on their faces. I briefly gave Mav a hug and Sue briefly gave Til a hug. While we did so, Til said to Sue, “What’s this for.” Zem and Bev were grinning at us. We all parted and Sue joyfully said to Til, “We just want to show our gratitude to our Reall critters!” This caused everybody to laugh. Even though Tal and Sas had gone to brushing the animals, they heard what Sue said and emitted telepathic humor along with our other Nal. To call Reall critters! Sue was so witty. After the laughter, in a reference to the funny thing I had suggested that San and Pam do, Mav said to Sue with a little laugh still coming out of him, “I can see we’re going to have to keep an eye on you too!” This caused us all to laugh a little more.
After the laughter died down, I said, “Your animals are so much fun!” Mav said, “Just wait until the fun really begins.” Sue and I beamed wide grins at them. Then Sue and I turned our grins to each other and made a happy “Eee!” sound. Sue and I then took each other’s hand again and happily scampered over to the other kopoz. Panny and Lika scampered over the horn of the kopoz Mav and Til were feeding and over onto the horn of the kopoz Sue and I were about to feed. They followed Sue and I and stopped on the head of Sue and I’s kopoz. Both Sue and I happily reached for a treat to give to it. After Sue and I put the treats into its mouth, we both petted its muzzle. The kafkin that was next in line reached its trunk in our direction. Our kopoz didn’t seem to mind the bodily contact it made with it. This kafkin was smaller than the others. It kind of made elephant like pleading sounds as Sue petted the tip of its trunk. Sue said, “Oh. You poor thing. We’ll get to you in a bit.” Though to keep it happy, Sue grabbed a treat and tossed it over to it. The kafkin pulled back its trunk to retrieve the treat.
I looked at Mav and Til and said with a little more somber expression, “There has been debate about it on earth. But what actually drove the kafkins to extinction.” As Mav and Til petted their kopoz, they turned slight smiles to Sue and I. Mav said, “Just what your scientists theorize. A combination of climate change and human hunting.” I said with a bit of contempt toward humanity on my face, “Another black mark for humanity.” Everybody else took on more solemn expressions. Mav said, “Humans can’t really be held all that responsible. The climate change simply made them the most efficient target. But for modern human morality, the prognosis is much more bleak. One of the reasons is that in any such discussion, race needs to enter into the equation. But in that sort of discussion, it’s as if the air stops transmitting sound waves. And rather than go against their diseased brainwashing, people’s minds retreat into nonsense.” Sue and I nodded solemnly in agreement. I then said, “Back in the days when humans and kafkins coexisted, you would think that they would have known they were becoming harder to find and stop hunting them.”
Mav said, “You would also think that humans on earth would know that they are becoming too numerous and that CO2 emissions are getting too high. But you shouldn’t feel too bad. Most other beings at your level of development have made the same sorts of mistakes. Which most often ends in tragedy. But for the enjoyment of the animals, maybe we should leave this gloomy discussion for now.” Both Sue and I smiled at them. These smiles spread to everybody else. Sue said, “You’re right of course.” Maybe it was to change the subject. But Til said, “In more northern climates here, we also have Wooly Mammoths. This made Sue and I grin. Mav and Til also grinned. As Sue handed a treat to our kopoz, Sue said to Til, “What do you call them.” Til said, “We call them what one of the ancient human groups called them. Ontaka.” At this point, a forlix brought its trunk down toward my basket. Apparently the treats the other Nal were giving it weren’t enough. As I took hold of its trunk, Sue said to Mav and Til, “It was wonderful for you to save them too.” I grabbed a treat and handed it to the forlix trunk.
The kopoz we were near started bringing its muzzle toward Sue and I as the forlix raised its trunk. We reached for treats as Mav said, “If we were going to save one kind, (Sue and I fed our treats to the kopoz as Mav added) there was no reason not to save the other.” Sue and I started to scratch an area of the kopoz nose with both hands as Sue said, “It was still wonderful.” Til said, “Thank you.” Zem and Bev started moving to the kafkin next to our kopoz. The friendly actions of the kopoz Sue and I were petting caused Sue and I to grin at each other. I said, “Something tells me the spiketails aren’t going to be as interested in being petted. Mav and Til overheard us as they reached for food to give their kopoz. They both grinned over at Sue and I. Til said, “The mluks are going to be a little more problematic.” Sue and I grinned over at them as Til added, “But being mammals, they will appreciate a little more anyplace you can find to pet them that isn’t armor plated.” Sue said, “I hope so. But the Nal appear to be doing a pretty good job.” Bev said to Sue and I as she and Zem started reaching for treats to give to their kafkin, “These animals are always eager for extra attention.”
Mav and Til moved away from their kopoz and started heading to the kafkin next to the one Zem and Bev were feeding. Sue and I moved away from the kopoz we were feeding and joined Mav and Til. Sue said to Mav and Til, “The kopoz are surprisingly gentle for being so big. But I don’t think I would want to get so close to them without the Nal around.” As we continued heading down the line of animals, Til said, “For a human, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. Anything might possibly cause them to swipe with their horns. Even though they may not want to do any real damage, being so big, they probably would.” We started heading to a couple of kafkins next to the one Zem and Bev were attending to. Another Nal with a basket of treats was still levitating food items to the animals we had already fed. Panny and Lika were now on the kafkin that Zem and Bev were feeding. Bev was fending off a little the trunk of the kafkin next to the one they were feeding. I grabbed a treat from the basket near me and held it up over my head. Then I waved it back and forth a little.
The trunk of the next kafkin over that Bev was handling left her. It started reaching its trunk toward my treat. Bev smiled at me and said, “Thanks.” Zem also smiled at us as he was petting the trunk of their kafkin. I said, “You’re welcome.” Sue reached for a treat too as Mav and Til moved to the next kafkin over from the one I was handing a treat to. I brought my treat up to the kafkin trunk. It smelled the treat as I brought it closer. When it was close enough, it grasped it with its trunk. As it brought the food to its mouth, Sue said to Til, “They may be big. But they seem friendly enough.” Our kafkin had quickly passed its treat to its mouth. It then held its trunk up for Sue’s treat. But Sue pushed the trunk away from her, walked up and held her treat up under the base of the kafkin’s trunk. It brought its mouth down to take it. Sue shoved it in as I held and petted the kafkin trunk. After it took the food, Sue backed up a little and helped me pet the trunk. Sue then turned to Mav and Til and asked, “How many places like this do you have on this planet.”
Til smiled at Sue and said, “We have about a couple hundred like it scattered around the planet. Like Bev said, this is a fairly popular planet.” Turning my head to also ask a question of Mav and Til, I said, “Coming in, I saw that you have a good amount of ocean on this planet. Did you populate it with mega creatures also.” Mav grinned and said, “Of course.” Sue smiled at Mav and said, “I would image that could make swimming in the ocean quite an adventure.” Til said, “It is interesting. But with San and Pam around especially, danger isn’t something I even really consider.” I said to Til, “Being immortal, I don’t imagine you could be killed anyway.” Til said, “That’s not completely true. If something caught us unaware and if our mental powers were somehow being blocked, our physical bodies could be killed. But what you would call our soul would live on. Our souls would simply reconstruct physical bodies.” Sue said, “Bev and Zem explained a little about such things. Though it still seems incredible.”
Then Sue and I reached for more treats for our kafkin. Mav and Til were doing the same as Til said to Sue, “There is much about us that you would find incredible.” As Mav gave his treat to their kafkin trunk and I gave mine to ours, Til added in a kidding around manner, “But you are Bev and Zem’s humans.” The thought of Sue and I belonging to Zem and Bev filled me and no doubt Sue with joy. We both beamed wide grins to Til as she then said, “It is up to them as to what they want you to learn or when.” As our kafkin reached its trunk back out for another treat Sue grabbed, I said to Til in a kidding around manner too, “Can we be your humans a little bit too?” This made Zem, Bev, Mav and Til laugh a little. Which Sue and I quickly joined in on. Til said with a big grin, “I was only speaking figuratively. But if Bev and Zem don’t mind, you can be ours a little bit too.” This made Zem and Bev laugh. Which the rest of us quickly joined in on. Zem and Bev started heading toward the kafkin next to Mav and Til’s. Bev said in a kidding around manner, “As long as it’s only a little.” We all laughed again.
Sue then happily scampered over to Bev. They hugged from the sides as they all continued to walk over to the next kafkin. Sue had the side of her head laying on Bev’s shoulder as she said, “No matter what, you’ll always be my favorite Reall.” Bev said, “Thank you. You’re so sweet.” All of us smiled sentimentally at this touching sight. I handed our kafkin a treat and started heading in that direction too. Mav and Til started to move away from their kafkin. They held hands as they did so. I ran up behind Mav and Til and put my arms around their shoulders. I leaned my head forward in between them. We all grinned at each other as I said, “I hope you guys don’t mind coming in second place to Zem and Bev.” They both laughed a little. Which I quickly joined in on. They let go of each other’s hands. Til put an arm around my back and Mav put a hand on my opposite shoulder. At this point, Zem, Bev and Sue were walking together. Bev and Sue were holding each other’s arms. They all turned to grin at Mav, Til and I. Til said to me, “There isn’t any better Reall couple to come into second place to.”
Bev said to Til with a sentimental smile on her face, “Thank you dear. You know we feel the same about you.” Zem nodded his head a little in agreement with Bev as he smiled at us. This made Mav and Til smile sentimentally at Zem and Bev too. I let go of Mav and Til. Sue was starting to give a treat to a houk that was next in line. Mav and Til moved down a little farther to let Sue and I feed a houk next to each other. These other creatures weren’t so large as to require two people to feed them. Mav said to Til, “I’ll take the spiketail dearest. You can have the houk.” Til said, “Thank you sweetie.” They then gave each other a brief but loving kiss. After parting, Til went to the houk next to mine and Mav went to the spiketail next to it. Tal and Sas turned back into normal Nal. Though they remained the colors they had chosen for themselves. Then they came back over near Sue and I. The other Nal that had been feeding treats to the animals we left behind started to lure them away with them. Sue had pulled in half one of the treats that were celery-rhubarb like bunches with berries on them. The other treats were slightly too big for these animals. The ones we had thrown to them earlier, they just bit chunks out of as they laid on the ground.
I couldn’t blame Sue for not wanting to hold a treat while it bit chunks out of it. The houk Sue fed lowered its head more to her level. As Sue petted it, it made a kind of high pitched (For its size) purring sound. Til and I took similar treats and pulled them in half before feeding them to our houks. As Til and I fed our houks too, we petted them too and got the same friendly reception Sue had. At the same time, somebody lowered the wall to only three feet. Mav had grabbed a treat and was holding it up a little high for his spiketail. The spiketail grabbed it with its beak. As it lowered its head, Mav scratched around its head a little as it ate. Sue said in a higher pitched friendly voice to her houk, “I think you’re my favorite animal here.” Panny and Lika had made their way onto the kafkin Zem and Bev were feeding. I said to Sue in a kidding around voice as Zem, Bev, Til and Mav grinned at Sue, “Don’t let Panny and Lika hear you say that.” We all chuckled a bit as some other Nal with of baskets of slightly smaller treats arrived. Which was a good thing. Because our baskets were just about empty.
The baskets that were levitating with us were taken away by the other Nal. They started flying out toward the field with the few treats that remained in them. Sue said to me, “Well Panny and Lika go without saying.” Til said to Sue, “The houks are wonderful. In a while, you are probably going to like them even more.” Sue and I grinned at Til and Mav. Then we grinned at each other with slightly more excited looks. No doubt, riding these animals was going to be a blast. Having given their kafkin one last treat, Zem and Bev started moving down the line to a couple more houks. Their depleted baskets stayed behind. Pim and Mim changed places with the two other Nal that delivered their two new baskets of smaller treats. One of the depleted baskets with its Nal rose up and started heading toward the other animals that were being led away. No doubt the basket that remained behind would use its remaining treats to lead the last kafkin away. Sue turned her smile to Zem and Bev as they made their way and said, “Do you ride these creatures very often?” Bev said, “Usually every time we visit.”
I turned my smile to Mav and said, “I suppose you do too when you come to visit your wonderful planet here.” Mav said, “Just about every time.” I said, “Do you have one you usually ride?” Mav said, “I most often have ridden the one Bev is feeding. But it doesn’t really matter. Besides, they move around so much, you never know which ones will be in the area.” Zem and Bev started feeding a couple houks down the line. The houk on the other side of Mav’s spiketail apparently got a little too close to it. Mav’s spiketail took a swipe at it with its tail. This was the same one that had its tail swipe stopped earlier by a rectangular Nal section. It was stopped again. Though this time, another Nal section appeared above its back. The Nal sections lifted it up and fairly quickly flew it out toward the field. I smiled at Mav and said, “I suppose that’s what he gets for being naughty.” Mav smiled back at me and said, “Some of them are a little short on sociability. Though I doubt if he really meant to hurt the houk.” Sue said to Mav as she fed her houk another treat, “With those spikes, it would be pretty hard not to.”
With the spiketail now gone, Mav skipped over a houk and went to the spiketail next to it. Apparently Mav was saving the houk for Til. Bev said to Sue as Bev fed her houk, “The spiketail’s tails are of course made to inflict damage. It is interesting to see them in a group if they’re being attacked by something. They form a circle with their tails facing outward. As you can imagine, it makes any successful attack nearly impossible.” I had fed my houk another treat as Bev spoke. Til was on her way to the houk Mav saved for her to feed. After I gave my houk one last treat and a pet of its muzzle, I stepped back from it and smiled at Sue. Sue smiled back at me as I held out my hand for Sue to take. As Sue came over to me, Sue replied to Bev and said, “I know I wouldn’t want to be around the business end of their tail.” Having taken hold of each other’s hand, we made our way down the line of animals. As we did so, Til said to Sue, “When they’re by themselves and not competing with other animals for treats like they are here, they would be very unlikely to bother taking a swipe at any creatures like us. Like the babies of various creatures, in a physical sense, we simply aren’t big enough to pose a threat to them.”
Sue and I went up to the next two houks in line. We then started feeding these animals treats. Panny and Lika made their way onto the back of Sue’s houk. Both of these houks appreciated the treats and attention like the others. As Sue petted hers, Sue said in a higher pitched, friendly voice, “You’re a friendly thing too. Aren’t you.” Having given their houks one last treat and pet, Zem and Bev started moving to the next two spiketails in line. As they did so, I said to Mav, “This houk seems a little fat.” Til answered and said, “That one’s pregnant.” Sue made a happy, open mouthed smile to Til and said, “Oh! How wonderful!” Then Sue grinned at me and said, “Switch places with me honey!” I stepped back from my houk and said, “Sure sweetie.” Sue went up to the pregnant houk and wrapped her arms around its muzzle. As Sue hugged it, Sue also rubbed her hands on it and said in a higher pitched friendly voice, “You sweet thing!” I petted the houk she had been attending to. The houk Sue was now showing some love to purred and rubbed its head gently against Sue in appreciation. Zem and Bev were giving their spiketails treats.
We all smiled at Sue and the pregnant houk. Mav and Til started moving toward a spiketail and mluk that were next in line. Sue let go of her houk’s head and reached for another treat. As Sue did so, she said to Mav and Til with a big smile, “Which ones do the houks like best.” As Mav and Til smiled back at Sue, Til said, “They like them all. But try a yellow one.” Sue said, “Thanks.” Then Sue retrieved one of the treats Til suggested. Sue fed it to her houk and petted more around its muzzle. As Sue dis so, Sue said in the same higher pitched, friendly voice, “I have to keep you well fed for your baby.” This caused Zem and Bev to briefly smile at each other. As did Mav and Til. Then they all briefly smiled again at Sue. I smiled at Zem and Bev and said, “I wonder if this one’s the daddy.” Seeing how it was next to the pr