quotillda became awake gradually. the sounds of flyers signaling daybreak with their own waking from sleep sounds. chirps and chitters, the rustling of branches and leafy fronds and flapping of their winged dependages. sounds different from those she was accustomed to yet she knew in her half slumbered state these were daybreak sounds she was hearing. then there was the louder more intrusive sounds of people speaking softly and walking around. then the light. as more people began to move about they caused the flickering of shadows behind her felty eyelids. the contrast in the brightness this created caused them to flutter and open. the brightness at first made her squint and when she widened them a set of dusty toes was what she saw. she raised herself to a sitting position on her hip rubbing at her eyes with one fisted hand like a child. oto squatted down to meet her gaze and hand her a cup of something steamy and pleasantly spicy smelling. she accepted the cup and pulled her knees up to sit firmly on her butt to drink. oto stepped to her side and dropped onto her pallet and quotillda could feel the excitement he was holding back. he waited until she slurped a few draughts from her drink and she could feel it stimulating effects. when she did, she said, oto i never sleep that way. what was in the food they served us? this was said good naturedly and knowing the drink would peak in its propulsive intensity. charging up her energy and it unlocked her usually reticent attitude around speech. normally only speaking when necessity demanded it, she was more the observer.
talk she did however, for the few moments of the effect. what she had to say surprised both she and oto, pleasantly.
she critiqued the beverage, positively, and cited what she felt the ingredients were. she was less positive about the way it made her chatter, something that normally made her feel silly and undignified. she marveled at the idea that she had slept so deeply and that it took her so long to awaken to all of the activity bustling around her. she's gone to sleep thinking they'd bedded down away from the edges of the buildings where business was done. as well as any dwellings, but portable stalls and stands were everywhere around where she and oto now sat obstructing pedestrian traffic.
oto, sensing the flurry of words had ebbed stood and began to help quotillda roll up her kit. the kindly villagers made their way despite their obstruction, quite unbothered and greeted them both pleasantly as they passed. oto directed them to the merchant he's gotten the drink from to return the cup and then they made their way to the large structure where the conveyance they'd come to use awaited.
they were greeted at the door by a managerial who showed them where to stow their gear and to their positions. on this conveyance riders had no seats to rest upon and read, or play cards and chat with several travelers. on this device, passengers paid their way by helping propel the vehicle on its way. position placements were decided based on physical stature. oto, lanky and muscular was sent to work a limbed position, helping to steer the great skeletal looking beast of a machine. he was fitted into a space in the hinge joint of a rear leg and busied himself with learning how to work his position, based on the diagram posted on the plaque right in his eye line. quotillda, also slender but a few hand spreads shorter, was directed to a perch with pedals mounted to it base, where her feet hung. there were straps to hold the foot down and bars with handles at the ends sprouted from the backrest on her. these had no function other than to stabilize her as she put her back into her pedaling, and steady her over any bumps they may encounter on the path previously trod by other trips.
she and oto had been placed so that they were in view of each other and could speak, if need be, but once underway little breath would they have to spare on that first day.
the conveyance itself when unoccupied looked like the skeleton of a great humping tailless rodent. it had a much tinier head section than the animal it was modeled upon but it was neither the head nor tail that made to the frame of this little animal that inspired it's over sized representation in the vehicle. it was the surprising capacity it had for speedy for travel and for travel on uneven ground. the tiny plump animal went by different names and adaptations according to the area it was found in, which might be water zones, under the earth or in the street depending on the area it was found in. but mostly they were known everywhere as speedy umps.
in any given terrain the little umps were often the fastest moving resident of its territory. in keeping with the structure of the ump frame, the construction of the conveyance vehicle was a skeleton of the hardest lightest substance known on the world, the roots of trees.
found on the still buried roots of trees so old they were dead to most living eyes upon them. truly, above ground what could be seen both to be dead, but underneath the soil the roots' composition was completely different. there they still grew and were not the weathered and atmosphere bleached or blackened and rotted of the tree, but white with a violet tinge to the edges. that part of the tree yet lived, vibrantly. entangling with trees the world over, underground and out of sight. there was an energy and information exchange that took place where the activity couldn't be easily seen.
on the surface, especially for people in tune with the organism, people would receive. after putting in a solemnly intoned request into their hands and placing them on the ground, palms pressed into the base of the teacher tree. the one that shared its ages old wisdom.
when the need to build a conveyance or replace the rare worn or broken part the receiver of knowledge learned of the utility of the dead looking tree's roots. how to remove them without harming the host, how to shape and manipulate the pulled root works from the system for use by the bipedals of the world.
the receivers were shown the intricacies of reshaping the roots to the needs of their surface dwellers. they were initiated to the ways that heat and vocal hum vibrations would make the roots pliant to their needs. mostly, the rootswere formed into all of the constituent parts of the articulated skeletal form of an ump.
the operation of the vehicle, once underway generated a sub aural tone that both energized the rider operators as well as sent signals through the ground of their imminent arrival. which upon arrival set the tone for it to make the way smooth for the oncoming traffic.
after the group had progressed until the sun shone down from straight overhead and the roving stewards aboard called for a halt. they moved about the three sections of the vehicle, offering bars of fruits seeds and ground tubers all soaked and stewed until the liquid dissipated. for the preperation the stewing pot and it's contents were buried for half a day beneath the e1mbers of a fire, then they were removed again and the contents were pounded and formed into bars. then dropped in some fat, and then dredged in a sweetened powder. they were chewy and dense, a complex blend of low dark sweetness, cut by the oily blandness of the seeds and the finish of caramelized fat with the tang of the sweetened powder made from the leaves of trees known for their quality of gifting the eater with a tasty energy replenishing boost.
after the snacks were consumed the stewards ushered the riders outside to stretch and allow the blood to flow from extremities to the centers of their bodies and for a brief rest. until the sun moved to a less punishing angle for the rider's exertions.
oto and quotillda together after a brisk stroll a short way off from the bony vehicle and settled down under the shade of an umbrella like shield from a nearby tree. so unused to the workout, even after their long foot journey, they felt exhausted; this was something more. they spoke few words before sliding into a deep sleep ending up piled upon each other.
nearly in unison the riders sensed the change in the sun's position and began to awaken. stewards moved amongst the group distributing drinks from pouches they carried. some serving several squirts per rider directly to their mouths with the spicy stimulant brew. this one different from the earlier morning batch, leaving a burning sensation on the throat and tongue that dissipated quickly leaving them with a long lasting energy after the initial burst of pain. other stewards waited to follow the first with pouches of water to cool the stinging palate and hydrate them.
after all had a chance to drink, the stewards directed all of the riders to take the last moments there before embarking once again upon their journey to relieve themselves and perform any personal necessities they needed to attend to.
soon enough they were on their way again and the new riders, quo and oto found they'd acclimated to their exertion and could chat with each other and the riders nearest them. this made the time fly past and they also had gained the wherewithal to absorb the scenery they spent past. all of the land they covered prior to the break had gone by in a blur of yellow green blue and the dun of the dust they'd raised.
now, quotillda could spend her eyesight on all of these previously unseen vistas and the life thriving there. the trip became so enjoyable, and the conversations so interesting. although quo barely took part in them, so absorbed in seeing the land morph as it passed. she was seeing in them in their natural being and not in the pages of some bound inventory volume nor any hearsay tale. here was the real thing. she was happy to listen and learn to see the land of the world in the lengthening shadows. until the shadow finally usrped the light.
that spectacle overrode her interest in speaking. by the light of the stars and distant suns, the conveyance moved steadily onward. finally, a first steward yawned, triggering a wave of them and signaling the end of the day's activity. the first up slept first and halted the trip.
all were happy to disembark, accepting more water and some packets of savory cubes sticky and salty, their wrap fragrant leaves that could be unfolded and used as the utensil for grasping its contents . there was little conversation as the riders and stewards chewed and drank. one by one they settled into their chosen sleeping spaces, everyone chewing on the straw used to remove any food stuck in their teeth before retiring. oto and quo lay beside one another, soon lulled into slumber by the warmth of their bodies where they touched.
on the third day of the journey and the final day aboard the riders were awakened as a group by the loud clapping hands of the stewards who stood distributed amongst the formerly asleep riders. they were roused and urged to converge around a cook fire over which a kettle hung. drawn by the aroma and sound of it's bubbling contents, a hearty gruel of some sort. using a collection of gourds a steward ladled out servings to the now salivating group of riders. upon receipt they were advised to snug their steaming receptacles into the cool sand upon which they sat, and to pass the time waiting for them to cool by quaffing more stimulant drink. they were also served cool water with the stinging solution. quotillda wondered aloud if the hot feeling might not have it's quality to light a fire under or within to help propel and energize the riders who drank it. as a groggy oto searched for a response in futility, a steward spoke from behind them startling her. that's exactly what it does, he rejoindered snappily in his loud voice. quo, who did not respond well to starts or interruptions to her conversations, took up her drink and bowl of gruel and moved off to a less populated area. oto sent a look conveying a shrug to the steward, gathered his containers and rose to go join her. as he sat next to her he murmured, quo, and she said quickly before he could say more, oto, i know. it's just too early and that one was far too chipper. oto smiled a small smile and decided to withhold for the moment further comment, knowing she on some days was touchy and quick to become aggravated. he allowed her the time she needed to finish waking and become civil again. he knew that strangers wouldn't be accustomed to her abrasiveness, as it was a rare condition in their world's occupants.
it was a trait of they that could access more dimensions than the one they all lived in possessed. quotillda was amongst the most functional of these, although she did have the occasional moment like this day's. so oto protectively placed himself between her and the other riders and stewards for these last few normalizing moments.
oto sat back to quo and listened to the soft clunks of the bowl and spoon as she ate the gruel and the pulp from the shell of the fruit it was made with. a milky fluid that heating the pulp leached out of it bubbled stickily under the mound of cubed fruit and starchy yellow bread that was topping it. in moments, the whole mass collapsed in upon itself, a steamy starchy glutinous mess and grainy sweetness wafted up from it.
oto had lunged for the bowls a local trader had been filling and received a rap across the back of his hand with the implement the merchant stirred the food with. shocked, he hissed in pain at the hot clinging ribbons of the emulsified dish on his skin. he met the eye of the elder female and chastened he waited until he was handed the two bowls he'd asked for.
absently rubbing the spot oto waited for quotillda to finish so he could return the crockery and utensils to the vendor. after a moment he felt her hand on his shoulder and she said, alright oto, let's go. they rose to go rejoin their fellow travelers and made their way back to the conveyance for the last part of quo's trip.