The river nearby was flowing a little fast, even for as small as it were.
It was probably for that reason that Vim had us set up camp a little farther from it than we usually would. We were on the other side of the road this time, closer to a large hill that was rocky.
Vim stood across from the fire from me, and held a stick that had a large fish pierced upon it.
Our dinner. Or well, the last of it. He and I had already eaten three other fish of similar size.
"Would you have acted the same if they hadn't been human Vim?" I asked him.
"I'd have found out more information, yes. But I would have probably kicked the man all the same… though maybe not as hard," Vim said with a frown.
It had been a whole day, nearly on the moment, from yesterday's events in that tavern. Yet it wasn't until now that Vim was finally answering some of my questions about it.
I was starting to understand him a little more. Vim didn't mind answering questions, even ones that bothered him… you just needed to ask them at the right time, in the right place.
Almost as if he was fickle. But I knew that he wasn't. After all… he was as steadfast and solid as they came. I knew hundreds of years from now, Vim would be the same man as he was now.
"You waited until that woman got involved though, why?" I asked.
"Those men knew what they were doing. They chose that path, she didn't," he said.
"Ah, because of your free will then. Do you think it would have stolen her ability to choose if he had killed her?" I asked him.
Vim turned the fish a little, and it begun to sizzle a little. "You're reading into my actions a little too deeply," he said.
"Am I?" I asked.
"Can't you just accept the fact that I had done what I did as to save her? A man saving a woman in distress is usually seen as a good thing, and not investigated like this," he said with a glance at me.
"I'm just trying to understand you better," I defended myself.
Vim sighed as he turned the fish again. It sizzled louder, and I wondered if he was going to let it get burnt.
"Most of our kind wouldn't question me so much. Though granted some would also ask why I hadn't just killed them all while I was at it," Vim said lightly.
"Who would say that?" I asked, worried.
"Lilly for one," he said.
Ah. Yes… she probably would have.
"Then there are those like Jelti, or Henrietta and her family, who live amongst them. Love them, even," I said.
"Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, Renn. If you wish to be like me you'll learn to live amongst all of them, caring for them all as equally as the next," he said.
"It looks like it's burning, Vim," I warned. Some smoke was starting to come from the fish too.
"Just the tail, the rest needs a little more," he said.
"I like the tail," I teased him.
"You would," he said as he slowly spun the fish.
"Nory hated humans. She despised them," I told him.
"You mentioned that," Vim said.
"You act like you hate them sometimes… then other times, you act like you love them," I said.
"When have I acted in either way?" he asked as he finally took the fish off the fire. It sizzled loudly, and it and the stick it was stuck on smoked.
"You kill them without a thought you know," I said as he walked over to hand me the stick.
I took it, even though it was silly to do so. It wasn't too hot for me to eat, being who I was, but I kept myself from taking a bite as it cooled down.
"Once I decide someone needs to die, what more is there to think about?" he asked me.
"The person themselves?" I asked.
"The odds of someone changing within a few moments to stay my hand… I won't deny it hasn't happened, but I can't even remember the last time it had," Vim said as he thought about it.
"Then what about the repercussions?" I asked.
"What kind?" he asked as he sat down next to me. Although he sat gently, I had felt him through the earth. He was heavier than he looked.
"Well…" I hesitated, since I knew he probably didn't worry over such things at all.
"If you mean human law, then I'm sorry Renn but I've never feared it. Even if I feared such a thing how would I get caught? It takes me nearly a decade to return to places I go to, and humans can't remember things that long. Those people in that tavern, ten years from now, even if they recognized me wouldn't know what to do about it," Vim said.
"What about the ones you help? Like the cart you helped fix for that family near Nevi?" I asked.
Vim was silent for a moment, and I knew it was because he was searching his memories. "The broken wheel, yes," he said as he remembered.
"Kealla, and her parents Karl and Mary," I reminded him.
Vim shifted a little and gave me an odd look. One that made me hesitate right as I was about to take a bite.
Lowering the stick, I gulped an empty mouth as Vim stared at me. "What?" I asked.
"You remember their names?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't I?" I asked. Him not remembering, I kind of understood… but really?
Vim shifted, turning himself so he faced me instead of the fire. I sat up straighter, suddenly a little conscious of how close he was. He had sat down next to me, when usually he'd have sat a little farther. It wasn't that cold, so it wasn't because of the weather.
"What was on their cart?" he asked me.
"Furs. Some kind of pelts, I think Karl said they had moose pelts," I said.
"What was the name of the guild he belonged to?" he asked me, suddenly very interested.
"Um…" I thought of that for a moment. I remembered what they looked like, their cart, and the pelts… the little flowers Kealla had given to me as thanks for our help… I remembered their smell too; they had stunk like the pelts. "Fellish guild, in the north of town," I said after I thought about it.
Vim sat silently, and I wondered if I had gotten it wrong. Surely that had been it?
"Oh, he said their building was red. A big red building," I said quickly.
An odd silence filled the air between us, only bothered by the campfire as it popped and crackled. I shifted, feeling a little odd. Maybe I had answered wrongly.
After a moment, my nose reminded me I held a stick with a cooked fish. Taking a bite out of it, I did my best to ignore the odd stare of the man sitting next to me.
"Who did Lomi hug first when we first met?" Vim then asked me.
I stopped chewing for a moment, and realized Vim was being rather serious.
Quickly swallowing, I nodded. "I came down the stairs when she was hugging Crane," I said easily.
"Who did she hug next?" he asked.
"You teased Crane about Lomi. How she was going to nibble her if she didn't let her go. Then she hugged Amber and…" I went quiet as Vim's eyes narrowed at me.
Looking around, to make sure there was nothing weird around us… or especially any humans, in case that was why he was glaring at me like he was, I wasn't too relieved to find we were still alone and there was nothing odd around us.
"What is it Vim? What'd I do?" I asked him.
"Nothing. I'm just surprised you remember such things in such detail," he said after a moment.
"Really…? Vim those moments were special to me. I'll remember them my whole life," I said.
"Special," he finally looked away from me, and at the nearby fire. His eyes looked focused but I knew he wasn't actually looking at the flames.
"They might not have been to you, Vim, but they were to me," I said honestly.
"All moments are special, Renn. I didn't mean that," he said.
"Then uh… why is it so weird? You obviously remembered them, right? I mean you have to, since you used asked about them," I said.
Vim nodded, and then gestured at the fish. "Eat before it gets cold, Renn," he warned.
Ah. Right. I quickly took a bite.
"Do you remember what I was wearing when we met?" I asked him.
He blinked, and then looked away from the fire. "When we met?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Worn down rags. You wore pants from an era forgotten by humans, from a kingdom that no longer exists," he said.
I smiled and nodded. "See? You remember too. So why do you find it so strange?" I asked him.
"You haven't noticed Renn?" Vim asked.
"What?" I looked around again. Maybe there really was something weird nearby.
"Our people. They're old, Renn," he said.
"Oh… Well, I mean…" I hesitated as I tried to understand his real meaning. Was he actually saying that most of our members wouldn't, or couldn't, remember such details?
"Those your age, or mine, can't remember the mundane anymore. There are a few who can, but most are… well… Like how Lughes was," Vim said as he chose his words carefully.
"But… I mean…" I quickly tried to think of most of our members. Most of them had seemed…
"Though maybe that's my fault. You haven't really met many yet. Twenty or so?" Vim asked himself.
"If you count you, and Shelldon who I honestly never got to actually meet, then I've met twenty seven," I told him.
"That many already?" he asked, a little too shocked.
"Twenty seven wonderful people," I said for him.
"Hm… well, yes. My point still stands. Most of our kind barely notices the little things, Renn. They'll remember things like, meeting you. Your name. Maybe something important. For instance Rapti will always remember the game you played with her. But she'd forget what we were wearing. Or what we ate while we were there," he told me.
"I see. And you blame our age," I said.
Vim shrugged as I took another bite. The fish was still warm, but I knew soon it'd get cold. Maybe I should offer it to him once it was.
"It's the only reasonable assumption," he said.
"You seem to remember stuff just fine," I said as I took another bite.
"I'm more active. I'm always doing something, focused on tasks. It helps I'm sure," he said.
"I'm sure," I smiled as he nodded, seemingly proud of himself.
"And not everyone is… as bad. Where we're headed right now for instance, is one of our oldest members. He's rather sharp even today," Vim said.
"Oh?" I picked at the fish as I glanced at Vim. It seemed most of the fish left was bones.
Vim nodded. "We're headed to the smithy. Nebl is the head of the family. A good man."
As I picked some meat from the fish, I studied Vim. He had a soft smile on his face. He seemed to enjoy the thought of us meeting this Nebl.
"Will they be scared of me? You said they were…" I remembered the word, but didn't know what it meant.
"Monkeys. Primates."
"Right," I nodded, that was it.
"We'll stay there for a month or two. Let the rest of winter pass us by before we try to cross the passes," Vim said.
"I don't mind snow," I said as I found there wasn't much fish left to eat.
Slowly turning the fish around, I figured there were only a few bites left. A few more if I was willing to really pick the bones out.
"Neither do I. But the villages along our path will find it odd if we arrive while the passes are still blocked. Since we're not in a hurry, we'll just spend it with the smiths," Vim said.
"Why do we stay in some places but not others?" I asked as I handed him the leftovers.
Vim took it, but glanced at me when he realized how little was left.
"I stay where I need to, and for as long as I'm needed," he said as he took a bite. I couldn't help but stare when he actually bit into the fish, ignoring the bones. He had taken a bite right where I had been picking at the meat.
"So there's… a need for us there? At this smithy?" I asked.
"Obviously? And you're the reason, mostly," he said.
"I am?" I asked, growing excited. Why was I the reason?
He nodded as he chewed, and I heard him chewing even the bones.
Although I could do it as well, I had never desired to do such a thing. Maybe he was some kind of animal that ate bones.
"They're a nice family, I expect you to enjoy it quite a bit," he said.
"I don't know what monkeys are," I said.
"You know what a human is?" he asked.
"Uh…" I wasn't sure what to say to that.
"There's your answer," he said with a smirk.
Vim's smirk remained even as he took another big bite out of the boney fish. And as he chewed the bones, I realized he wasn't going to specify what he really meant.
Oh well. I'd meet them soon and learn for myself.
And if he said they were a nice a family… then I was sure to think the same.