At this moment curiosity was foremost at Rock’s mind. A new friend, and one that It could help. Sure it would be more change. But maybe change wasn’t so bad? That’s what Two claimed anyway. Two had spent the main part of the voyage to his place talking about how great Rock was, and how bad his friends were. Rock eagerly explained in which way It could help. It had noticed a few things it was better at than Sita and Two. They needed light so by, Two seemed to need less. But Rock could see almost as well by night as by day, except colors. Two explained Rock then what the ‘Bond’ as it called it, did to it. Strength, speed, stamina, a feeling of power as if Two could reach out and topple mountains if he trained it. Oh, and Two was certain it could also make use of Rock’s empathy.

Following a few twists and turns, Rock could find a few more examples of plants, and in the distance it saw a movement that might have been a small animal. Rock sensed wind. After a small conversation about Sita, Rock sensed a difference in the way It and Two spoke. “Why do you keep calling Sita, She?”

Having grown a bit used to Rock’s manner, the four-legged creature asked in return, “Why do you call Sita ‘it’?”. Rock’s answer was honest, “Because I think its correct?”. Rock sensed a little hesitance in the purple-skinned one, “Do you even know what a gender is, Rock? If you did then you’d know when to use ‘he’ or ‘she’.”

“Well Sita explained, but I didn’t understand it. But I’m sure you can explain clearly, right?”. Two rolled its eyes and tried to keep his feelings in check and from being sensed by the empathic creature. “I never thought I would need to explain this to a vic- friend. But there 6 genders in my kind, 2 in Sita’s.”

“2 genders? And yours has 6? So your gender is better?”

-“More does not always mean better. Just different.”

“Don’t you always have to try and be better?”

“-We’re getting off topic, Rock. Let me do my explaining.”

It sulked a bit.

What followed was an explanation on genders, the uses of the male and female gender. “And your kind’s 6 genders are generally counted as either male or female. So if you were to talk about me to another friend, would you refer to me as he or she?”. The purple skinned creature holding Rock hesitated. “Probably he, as the name Rock is of a more masculine bent. Or maybe it, because for outward appearances, you are after all an object, not alive.”

“But I am alive!.”

-“I’ve noticed. So which gender do you think you have?”

“I’m Rock!”

Two paused slightly midstride, before continuing. He responded with a chuckle, saying. “Indeed you are Rock, indeed you are. Never change.”

-“I try to!”

The stone-shaped creature felt a small regret coming from the one it had called Two. “Something the matter, Two?”

In response, Rock felt a Two’s hand, which It knew by now was not an arm, caressed It. “Oh just thinking about Friends. And the things they do to each other sometimes regrettable though they may be. Don’t worry Rock. I’ll give you a few lessons about the real world soon.”

“If you say so.”, Rock innocently responded.

When Two slowed down, it took up the same crawling and running pattern of movement again, which Two assured Rock would make him harder to see. Rock didn’t want to make Two sad by telling how easy it was to see him. And Rock realized that he knew next to nothing about moving really. So best leave it to the experts. He was probably missing something.

A dark cave welcomed Two. At least Two said it was dark. Rock didn’t notice the difference. The winding way it went onward did stop his direct view. Rock then asked, “Are the two of your kind around the corner are they, friends or bad people?” A confused sound escaped Two, “Around the corner?”. “Yes, there are two creatures like you around the corner. About ehm. Many of your lengths further.”

For a time Two wasn’t sure if it should react to Rock’s measuring methods or the fact that he could detect something out of his sight. “How did you notice them if you can’t see them?”

“But I can see them!”

-“How does that work?”

“I don’t know!”, It responded enthusiastically and helpfully.

“So how high does the ceiling go?”, Two asked tentatively. “Less many of your lengths.”

Ignoring the headache Rock’s answers could give some time, Two flexed the digits on his left hand and firmly gripped Rock on the other. Placing his fingers and one of his feet on the rock wall in a peculiar way, his face was frozen in concentration for a bit. Then he took a step, and then another, and his foot remained stuck on the cavern wall. “Wow! Sita said walls weren’t for walking!”

The stone-shaped creature grew silent after Two’s instruction, he didn’t want to be distracted. Rock focused instead on the peculiar things it could sense from Two’s body. It knew that inside creatures were lots of complex things involved water and other things that moved. But this felt different, it felt a lot like what Rock felt when It first awoke, and when it first shared senses with Sita and Two.

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It watched as Two crept up the cavern wall and even up to the ceiling. Two followed the uneven wall past where Rock had indicated the others of its kind would be. Rock noticed that it was raining again on Two’s face, while he was tensed. Weren’t they inside? Slowly, step by step Two made his way past the point. A drop fell down to the darkness. Rock could still see the drop and followed it downward. It landed on one of the two bad people. The one hit looked around confused but resumed its waiting stance. Soon after they had passed the point, Two speed up and would once in a while have his feet lose grip with their talons. Before he fell down, Two descended. “I was lucky they didn’t notice me.” The shiny stone in his grasp, however might be a problem. Feeling Two’s confliction about it. “Oh, I know this one. Sita had me play a game with this!”, and promptly the shiny glow went away. Rock was satisfied with Two’s surprised reaction.

“This is that Warren you spoke of?”, Rock asked as they entered an immensely large room with several of his kind moving about in an orderly and disorderly fashion. Some were pushing each other, or what Two called ‘fighting’ or ‘wasting energy’. Two answered with a wry grin, “Yeah, it is what my kind calls home. The first home. Remember what I said about secrets Rock?”. “I do, it’s like when you play a game and don’t tell the other what you’re doing.”, It wondered how it knew that though, Sita had never explained that one. “Something like that. Bad people would try and take you away if they knew what a good friend you can be. And that would make me sad.” Rock communicated a nod to Two. Two held Rock in his hand, but kept the hand downward, keeping it out of sight. Rock didn’t understand how that would work, but he believed in Two.

Two went into the throngs that occupied the passageways. He nimbly flowed through it, excusing himself to others that were bigger than him, and made himself seem bigger to others that Rock guessed were smaller. “Why do you do stuff like that?”, It asked. While ducking under the arm that was swiping sideways to hit someone else, Two answered directly to Rock but did so with an odd tone. A term sarcastic rose in his mind. “An ancient game that we keep playing, even though we are supposed to be a mature species. It is silly, backward and gives too much power to those that don’t know how to use it. If muscle were truly all that was needed we’d be sitting on the Elder Throne already.”

-“I don’t understand.”

“That’s ok, it’s not important anyway. But think of it like this. Being bigger or stronger is best, as you would say. So if someone shows that they are bigger, you make yourself smaller, then it’s clear who is best. Not showing you are bigger is somewhere rude and confuses others.”

-“What happens if someone disagrees, or if they are both as tall and no one wants to say they are not bestest?”

“Then they hurt each other until one is too sad to continue.”

-“I don’t like that. I’m glad that I’m small so no one will have to hurt me.”

“I agree, that’s why I show myself to be smaller or try to be too fast.”

-“Wow, you’re smart.”, Two showed what he called a grin again. Two seemed to like those. “Yes, I am. But others of my kind don’t consider being smart to be better than being strong.”

-“Does one have to be better than the other in all things? Isn’t it ok to just be different, like you said?”

With a start, Two paused. “That is… a good question. But sometimes there has to be one who is better.”

-“I don’t un-“

“It’s ok if you don’t understand, Rock. I’ll make all of the important decisions. Together us friends will go a long way.”. Rock felt Two’s confidence and was touched.

Taking a step to continue on, Rock felt something crash into Two instead. His view started turning around and around as It left Two’s grasp. The noise of the thick passage had disappeared. A deep rumbling hiss sounded, “You wretch. You have returned. But you still owe the tribe. You still owe me.” A version of Two was standing over him, except with a dark red skin and about the size of Two and a smaller Two together. Two lay prone on the ground, pinned down by three of the larger creature’s feet. A sound of pain escaped him, as the feet crushed down on him. With a desperate look Two reached out for Rock who lay just out of his reach. “Hehe, Roji. Of course. I’ll give you what you need and deserve in a bit. Just let me-.” Another stomp sounded in the passage, followed by a crack and shout of pain.

“No more tricks. Let’s see what you have here. You seem desperate for it.”