so many questions, so few answers [REIT]

Terebellum could hear the footsteps walking to and fro past his head. Then again he could hear so many things now and he couldn’t say that he particularly enjoyed it. The usual silence that he experienced in the tundra was too far away now. Instead, his ears are now constantly being harassed by the sounds of big cities. The constant footsteps and the sounds of cars that drove past were only a few of the things that made him miss the quiet simplicity of the Arctic Circle. That and the heat might have had something to do with it. Okay, so the heat was the main factor in his hatred of California. But could anyone really blame him? It was sweltering even under the shade of the trees.

The blonde lifted his head to peek at the man that had addressed him. From his position on the ground, Terebellum could not accurately discern the height of the person nor the person’s face (the sunshine was behind the newcomer’s head and all Terebellum could make out was the shape of his head and upper torso) but he looked big. His build was wide and it did help block out some more sunshine but there was so much dry heat that blocking the sun really didn’t help anything. Terebellum would have loved nothing more than to continue laying there but the man clearly would not have appreciated it.

With a slight groan, the blond picked himself off the ground so that they could speak face to face. Or, face to chest rather. The other man was bigger than Terebellum had anticipated and he couldn’t help but gape a bit. ”Sorry sir,” he quickly apologized. More for laying in his path than anything else. ”It’s too hot out here and I needed to get out of the sun if only for a little bit. I cannot understand how people are able to stand this heat.”

"I see," Terebellum replied simply. So the man did not appreciate being called sir. It was a first for Terebellum who was beginning to worry needlessly about what he should call the man. There was little chance that he needed to address the stranger by name now that they were talking face to face but what if he needed to? Would 'you' suffice? Terebellum remembered being smacked for doing that when he first moved to Grise Fiord and knew no one.

" No. I'm from the north. The heat doesn't bother you?" It was unthinkable to the blond that such a temperature was considered the norm. At least in cold weather you could wear layers to help keep yourself cool. In the heat there was only so much you could take off and even then it might not relieve you at all from the heat. Terebellum already felt uncomfortable and practically naked in short pants and a short sleeved shirt and it provided him little relief. He was hot and sweaty and it was not an enjoyable feeling..

A flash of blue and the sound of fluttering drew Terebellum's attention to the creature resting on Moose's shoulder. It looked familiar but he could not exactly tell what the strange creature was. "What is that?"

Moose's reply made Terebellum realize that Californians sure were some amazing people. He was really beginning to see that there was a whole world past Grise Fiord. It was too bad that he was wrenched from said town and his comfortable life with little warning and thrust into the world so unexpectedly that he had no wish to appreciate it. Maybe if he had a bit more preparation he might have actually realized what a great opportunity it was. But no, he could care less at the moment. 

No matter, it was not like he would ever complain to the stranger in front of him. His cousin, now that was another story.

"A dragonfly?" Terebellum observed the tiny creature entranced. He briefly remembered attending school in a trailer that served as the one room schoolhouse. He never really paid attention to anything that was taught about the outside world but he did remember briefly a vague lesson on insects. Was this what she was? 

"She's looks really interesting. This is my first time seeing a dragonfly in real life." 

It was rather nice that he was making her a home to live in. There were plenty of dogs in Grise Fiord but even they never got their own private homes. They just stayed inside and lived with their owners. Especially when it got really cold.

Terebellum peeked inside the box to see what 'thing' the man was making. It looked rather small from what Terebellum could tell but if this was how dragonflies lived then so be it. "So you can take care of them like you would a dog?" Terebellum thought some more. "Are dragonflies also useful similar to dogs? What I mean is can they hunt or do anything special?"

He would have to research dragonflies more when he got the chance. He really should have paid more attention in school instead of skipping to go outside all the time. It was just too bad that there was no one here he could ask to help him with a computer.

"Well I suppose that all animals are supposed to be outside," Terebellum said thoughtfully. Hell, even he usually preferred to be outside if he had a choice. It was so much more freeing to be able to run around outside. And to be able to snowboard was even better because then he could feel himself flying through the air at high speeds. Gosh, he missed the snow.

"No tricks. I see." It was such an interesting creature though it did not seem to have anything particularly special about it in terms of usefulness towards humans. Then again, all animals, even the seabirds that often flocked near their kill, had their merits in the natural world. He was sure that the dragonfly had its own positive traits.

Terebellum fell silent. There really was not much to say to this strange, hulking man that he had just met. They were far from friends and the only reason they were talking was because he had become fascinated by the blue creature. What should he do now?