#hik

Koj’s ears moved again, and it shake its paws agitatedly, Finn smile looking at the happy monster, who started carefully make another ‘x’, it pointed at it and said again, “Tazit?”

“No, no,” Finn pointed, “ex”

“Exssss”

“That’s it.”

“Ex. Tazit!” Koj started reaping the words non stop as it always does at new things, Finn wondered what species these monsters were, they are obviously not humans, but they aren’t animals either. What was bugging them the most was: How did the humans not know about their existence when they were so close that Finn found them (was found by them but same) not so long after being thrown into the forest?

Koj noticed they weren’t paying attention and started to draw more exes to earn praises, which Finn bestowed. At first the tone Finn used was the most important, but Koj loves new words too much not to teach it from time to time.

“Poje!” Hik called from inside, saying it was time to eat. Both Koj and Finn wordlessly got up and entered the cave.

Again there were only fruits for Finn, they were starting to worry, they wanted, needed meat, but the monsters eat it raw, and as much as their fear had decreased they didn’t want to mess with Hik and Koj’s food, much less using fire, that didn’t seem like a good idea at all.

So they eat their fruits, and the other herbs that had managed to show Koj they like, well, like is a strong word, but well, they are edible.

Finn was still scared, anyone in their shoes would be scared, but it must be true that humans can get used to anything, because as the weeks went by their fear wasn’t blinding them anymore, they could, for example, look around the cave and instead of focusing on the monsters or in the fact that there was only on way out, they focused on the walls and the floor.

Hik and Koj and a sense of… design? ornamentation? It was not like a human’s home, but Finn could feel that that place was a home. The walls were not made smooth, but it was clear that it wasn’t the original’s cave’s wall. It was more pointy now and when Finn looked long enough they could see a large spiral-like craving, if they had to guess it was Hik’s idea.

Hik likes heavy things, sometimes it brings in rocks taller than Finn themselves, or a big tree stomp. It then molds —beats— it and forms cube or sphere-like things and just lets them around.

Koj, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to these smooth forms too much, instead it brings home always the more weird shaped things, like rocks covered in holes, sometimes it brings it shine and colorful bugs and frogs, and always Hik throws them away and starting a scolding about recklessness so firm that it surpass the language barrier between the monsters and Finn. Reason Finn doesn’t know the word “tree” but knows the words “poison” and “death.”

Finn wasn’t ever good at drawing, but from what they had noticed until then the monsters didn’t draw at all, so it feels like they, also, have a special something to add to the house. It feels good.

While Finn was lost in thought, Koj looked at a red pepper Finn was passing on the herbs before eating (one must try to get flavor somewhere, right?), then glanced at its parent (?) and started saying something, Hik then tilted its head and looked at the fruit.

“I don’t understand,” Finn said, answering Hik's words, the monster repeated itself and Finn shook their head.

Hik pointed at the fruit and said the word for ‘death’, Finn looked down at the pepper, well, the monsters didn’t truly think it could kill, else they wouldn’t have given it to them, so they must be asking if this was harmful in some way.

“Spicy?” Are you asking if I find it spicy?

Koj said something then ‘poje’ then more something Finn didn’t get.

Finn thought for a while and cut a really small piece of the pepper, putting it in their mouth, “Poje,” they tried, nodding.Then they got a whole pepper and held it near their open mouth, “Don’t poje.”

Hik, apparently really serious, said “wieryn”, and Finn couldn’t help but laugh at the words formed by two they had learned already, which made it more funny because it sounded like a word that already existed.

“I guess,” they said, “You can call it ‘little death’ I think this fits…”

“tazit?” Koj tilted its head.

“That’s it,” Finn smiled, “That’s it, Koj.”

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