Gravitační traktor
Usha was minding his own business (surprisingly) when his acute hearing picked up a foreign sound among the usual chatter of the Neverhood. He perked up and focused on it. Had it come from the south?Then, suddenly, there was a sharp yelp of pain. Immediately Usha recognised the voice – his brother Arig. The location – the Garden. Cause – must be eliminated.
Before Usha’s brain had the chance to think, the Guardian had already invoked his second contract. His back sprouted large wings; he beat them fiercely and in a span of two breaths he was high above the Garden, overlooking the scenery.
Down below, somebody was brawling with his brother! Without a second of hesitation, Usha dove head first. He grabbed his brother by the shoulders, pulling him away from the perpetrator. But alas, Arig was too burly for the lean Usha and he wouldn’t budge. In a spasm of desperation, the Guardian swept his wings and blew the attacker away with a wild gust of air. The red-skinned bitch rolled a few satisfying meters before stopping, limbs tangled.
Usha huffed. Nobody messed with Arig! Nobody!
He leaned down to check his brother’s well-being. Arig seemed stunned, but unhurt. “...Huh?” he uttered, mouth hanging open.
“Are you okay?” Usha asked him. Arig looked up. Usha smiled down at him. Arig did not appear thankful, however. Instead, he shook his head a little and began tearing up. It was then that Usha felt that something may have been wrong.
The sprawled Hoodian groaned and, after some effort, managed to roll onto his back. Usha recognised him in the process – it was Krevel, Arig’s friend. Seeing that the Hoodian no longer posed a threat to his brother, Usha straightened and folded his wings back. “Why were you fighting?” he asked curtly.
Silence followed. Then Krevel repeated: “Fighting?”
Usha’s feeling that something was wrong intensified. At his feet, Arig was slowly curling into a ball, his breath betraying the onset of crying. “Weren’t you?”
Krevel pushed himself up, swaying dizzily. But the moment he saw Arig’s state, he focused remarkably fast. He got to his feet and barked at Usha: “Go away!”
Usha goggled at him.
“I said, go away!”
Half subconsciously, Usha spread his wings out. But Arig turned toward him, nodding and mumbling: “Please.”
Quite confused, Usha obliged and took a few steps back. Krevel hurried forth, pausing two metres before Arig.
“May I?” he asked anxiously. Upon receiving a nod, he knelt before his friend and embraced him protectively. Over Arig’s shoulder, he shot Usha an extremely dirty look. Bewildered, the Guardian noted that suddenly he was the one Arig was being protected from!
At that point, Usha’s brain, which had gone on standby when it had registered Arig’s yelp of pain, began to function again. The Guardian noticed how his brother was leaning into Krevel’s chest. He recalled that Arig would always shy away from other Hoodians, and that he wasn’t entirely comfortable even with his brothers’ touch.
He noticed the complete familiarity and trust of their embrace.
“Why are you still here?” Krevel growled, twining his fingers through Arig’s stems and placing a kiss on the top of his head.
Usha blushed. Since he had no damn clue how to ask whether he had just interrupted his brother’s first time, he just flapped his wings and quietly flew back to minding his own business.
