bring the corn and bear the fruit

Unatsikanogeni Adahy · 08-29-2012, 09:09 AM

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Pretend the long bit of English at the end is Cherokee; I was not going to try to translate all of that. xD

Word Count → 313

It was probably ridiculous for him to be afraid of the yearling girl, but Unatsi had ceased really caring about his dignity. His big ears twitched after every stern word, but what she did say was enlightening. He frowned and glanced back at the plants, watching her closely as she knelt down and pulled closer to the base, freeing the root. “Tsigoti,” he muttered, but he didn’t see why; was it a plant where the root was the food, like a carrot?

Saqui repeated the word for oats, and he scowled sharply. “Tsigataha,” he said—except he didn’t. Or, well, he knew what oats were for, but he’d never harvested them, and—it was all very overwhelming. He put his face in his hands for an instant, knowing that he was just a few seconds away from completely losing his composure, and the wolfdog’s last question very nearly did him in.

“Hia?” Unatsikanogeni echoed, and shrugged his white shoulder as he considered the question. “I’m doing my job, or trying to, at any rate, because I’m not going to just sit on my butt and feel sorry for myself and not go out and do anything.” The Cherokee words seemed to run together as he talked at her, but there was a lull as he flattened his ears bad-temperedly. “Oh, unless you mean this as in this whole joke of a profession? That, my dear girl, I’d have to say is my spirit guide’s fault—except it’s not a fault, they’re never wrong, but Udanvti kicked me toward agriculture because I’m a cowardly failure of a warrior and so that is why I am doing this and why the whole Tribe is probably going to die because I’ll start harvesting deadly nightshade instead of apples!” He bristled, the scar tissue on his face twitching, and then slumped with defeat. He was a failure.

Image courtesy of wanderingsoul-stox@deviantART

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