"What is my job going to be to help with this cause?" she asked them both fiercely.
There was a pause as both George and Joshua were too overcome with the memories to speak right away. "You are going to help us prepare those from the nieghbouring community make defence against the raging beasts on the surface," said Joshua after clearing his throat, "and to prepare an exploration party to go to the surface and try to find a place for us all to live there."
Teone's eyes must have shone at the idea because George spoke next, "This will be difficult and dangerous and take much tedious preparation, and once you set out at least some of you will surely die." The two men exchanged glances over Teone's head. "Well," she answered, "now that I know all this I will surely die if I don't do something about it. But I promise to learn quickly and to do my best."
"Good," said Joshua, "then you are ready. Go now with George and the other members of your delegation from yesterday to begin your training. I must consult again with the Elders."
Teone followed George to where Sally and the twins were sitting together waiting for them. They seemed as eager to get started as Teone was, but immediately she noticed a difference in their treatment and the tasks that they were assigned from what it was for her. George put them to fashioning tools and making weapons, while she had to sit for long hours and study the history of her people and the customs that used to be.
"This is boring!", she declared at mid-day, "why do I have to learn this! Let's just go out and get to work."
"It doesn't work that way," said George, "you are going to be interacting with strangers and you must know the rules of association before you can begin."
So she started to recite again the protocol and politenesses of times gone by.
It was something new to Teone to have to listen to others, to take instructions and to be told what to do and how to do it. Even as a very young child, her mother saw that Teone was capable of taking care of herself, so delegated her time to the younger, more needy siblings. Teone roamed about the cave on her own, going from group to group, watching their actions and listening to their talk. As she grew into childhood she learned which members could impart useful learning, and which ones were likely to burst out into screams or flail about with no warning. The latter she quickly learned to ignore. She would return to her mother with the knowledge of skills or habits that she had just seen, and they would briefly deliberate over which way was better. But her mother often didn't have time, and as Teone got slightly older, her talk became less about chores and responsibilities, and more about her observations and assessments of things around her.
This would often cause her mother to frown, as she couldn't bear to be distracted from her work. So Teone started to keep many ideas to herself, rather than burden her mother with unnecessary talk. But she was still very young, and Joshua and George -being much older- did not have time to teach a youngster the ways of life. Then, after her father's accident, she started spending much less time in the cave, so she never really got to know the two men in any meaningful way.
Now, as they sat with her new lessons, she realized briefly that she wasn't really getting to know the people at all; being so focused on learning. But again, she didn't have time to consider what she COULD be doing, as it was imperative to keep working at what she SHOULD be doing.
In the days that followed Teone was immersed in her new studies. Often she would grumble and complain about the seemingly endless insignificant details that were being taught to her, and look jealously over at the others who were busy preparing weapons, leather armour and packs full of supplies for their mission. Once in a while one of the other would wander over to see what she was doing all the time, yawn with boredom and go back to their busy group. Teone waited until Joshua was occupied in discussion with the elders before she asked George precisely why she had to learn all of this stuff. Joshua didn't like it when she asked, he became impatient at her complete unawareness of the rules and mores of her once-great society and just prodded her on her learning.
"Quickly," he'd say, "keep working. There isn't much time."
George gazed at her and thought about how to answer the question. "It was very important in the times before," he explained, "that people interacted with each other correctly. It was one of the signifiers of how great our people were."
"But it's so stiff and formal!" she said, "how is this going to help me when we are on the ground surface and I have to help battle the charging beasts or other dangers??"
"That is why you have to learn it so well," answered George, "because it has to be instinctive and automatic. Even in those times you will have to respond correctly to the strangers."
"But what about them?" she indicated the others in her group, "why don't they have to learn it like I do?"
"Enough questions," answered George, "back to studying or Joshua will want to know why you have fallen behind."
She started to run down, yet again, all the rules and responses that were expected of one in any eventuality.
Just when she thought she was going to burst with boredom and from inactivity, it came time to again meet with the other delegates. The youngest and weakest from their community had already moved over to the other dwelling. They had been given a stalagmite all of their own to live in together, so there was minimal disruption in everyone's daily habits. Reports were good that the children especially were spending their days on the canyon bottom, and the weakest and palest of them were getting stronger every day. All that remained at Teone's home were the Elders and those that could help in some way to prepare for the challenges that lay ahead. All of Teone's family had moved over; her father, crippled and slightly mad could be of help to noone, and her mother had to look after all of the younger siblings. Teone did not think of them much anyway, she had far too much work to do here and was far too excited about what the future might hold.
To be actually doing something important! To actually do something that could make a difference to the future of her people! The very thought filled her with visions of glory and rewards. To think that just a few short days ago she thought that the rest of her life would consist of scraping roots from the unforgiving ground of the canyon and running from the raging beasts. Now she was going to go off on an exciting adventure, with people she had never known before, to explore parts of her world that she had never before seen and couldn't imagine how it was. Suddenly her mind turned to Jared, and she found herself wondering if he would also be a member of the expedition. She was surprised to find that it actually mattered to her. That if he were not she would miss him. She shook her head briskly as if to shake this thought out of it. There were much more important things to think about than some stranger she had just met!
