#debukefarmhold

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Mara sighs as home schooling continues. The DeBukes actually DO get a well rounded education, state certified.

She doodles in the margins of her notebook.

Engine schematics.

The teacher is going on about danglling participles or something... oh for crying out loud, let the poor participles fly free. Then a fellow in a red hat, not a cap, comes into the room...she's seen him at the funeral, and around before that. Bertrand.

She eyes the other nocker, trying not to fidget or interrupt the lesson...

He's younger than her, but still a wilder. And judging by the nose wrinkle as rules of grammar are made, he's about as excited about this as she is. But he does tip his cap to her, and waits. Quiet like.

Thank the land and sky that English is the last subject for today. "Okay, don't forget to pick a book to do a report on"

Mara hops up and books it over - smaller and speedier than her trollish classmates.

"hey, Mara... I'm Betrand, I think we met maybe once but that was before... "

"Yeah, before." Frown, shrug, scuff.

"So.. hey, wanna see the truck?"

"Sure..." he says

Mara drags him off to the barn - the truck IS running, but she is still tinkering with improvements.

He glances over, nods, "ain't drek. " A look to the windows "I could tint these if it's legal"

He taps along the truck, a motion that tests it...and Mara realizes she does it as well herself.

"Welllll, legal depends..."

A chuckle "Don't it always?" He drawls

She laughs. "Exactly!"

"Hey," He looks under the hood, "You got a cross relay flux disinhibitor here... nice. Cars aren't my strong point but I got a cousin who swears by it. Says Back to the Future inspired enough dreamers that anything looking like a Flux capaciter can work a lot of magic now"

"Yeah? That makes some sense..."

"Your cousin - your clan all nockers, like?"

"Not all... but nockers and nocker kin... thoug shoot compared to the DeBukes we're piddly in numbers. My older brother and me are nockers, but our folks are kinian. SOmetimes it ain't all it's choped up to be, nockers are the hardest critics on other nockers... you'll learn that soon enuff. But if you meet an old altnocker, you best listen between his bites there is usually good advice"

Shrugs. "I'm a DeBuke. I ken listen to any granther or ancient aunt for hours."

"Because they'll need it" he nods "But your aunt make you feel like a rank fool who never should touch tools again? Some old nockers do... THEN, if you're still listening... they tell you how to do things what they think is better." A sigh "Worse thing is sometimes they're right"

"Well, some of my aunts are furkin' forces of nature..."

"But we ain't got nockers around here, so it's more trying to convince folks that good enough ain't enough."

"Oh I hate that... you get folks what see what it is, insttead o whati t could be? that's just plain laziness of vision is what it is, but half the world, not just trolls mind, go about like 'well, if it don't broke don't fix it'... fix it hell.. we can make it great! We didn't muse mortals to get to the moon by saying if it were4n't broke don't fix it"

"Right!"

"I think I see why Chief Clem asked me over here... you're getting everyone else's views on Nockers but don't know many nockers yourself. You aint' got folks who understand the furking heart of the matter. Now... Golmers mean well, but they can't really relate."

She snorts. "DeBukes ain't got use for any other kith."

"DeBukes rely on themselves, unless, of course, it is some sneaky outsourcing they pretend doesn't happen."

"Right, let me guess, they don't understand the need to curse ?"

"Course not." She rolls her eyes. "You listen, I'm the candy-coated clown-faced devil. I should start stompin' around with a red balloon."

"First off, your patterns are a lot better than some, trust you me... met one of our kind whose face patterns made it look like someone had painted a giant middle finger from chin to brow..." He says "And let me teach you some of the vocabulary, so you can curse wsithout cursing.. .you might have used some already"

"Furk?"

"That'un just came, all by its damn self."

"Oh sure, but also have our own special names for the other kith" He clears his throat "Boggans are Pishers, Vermin, Twerps... Eshu when they tick us off are skulers and lazabouts... Pooka are Badchen, Naars... Redcaps sometimes get called Schtunks, but be careful to insult im iof you're in biting range... Satyrs are sluts and pervs or perverts.. sluagh is the heebie-jeebies..thoug hsom take it as a compliment.. and trolls are Bulbeniks, Ironheads, and or Golmers."

"Sidhe..oh we've got a lot of terms for sidhe.. though House Dougal gets a little slack as they actually do some work"

"I saw Dougal. Troll. Had this whole mechanical leg..."

"And Colton, he's got that arm!"

At THAT, Bertrand puffs up with pride "That arm weren't the work of no dougal. THat was my work"

"That arm is baller."

"It is" He says "I swear, I don't know if I could ever match it, but furk, it aint' a bad magnum opus if I do ssay so... now to their credit, the Rivervalers and some folks in Earth Runes and even some Debukes donated a bit of dross and the like"

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that..."

"Sure, well.. how it done come about is..." And he tells the story

When the story is done "Pert near wiped me out, but you saw the results."

She nods. "So.. glass is your thing. Hearth and Clem are all "you need time to work on your craft."

""Cept I ain't got a particular one?"

"Huh, well, you know, ain't like we're dreams of just one craft or we'd be like dozens of sub kiths instead of y'know, just nockers. You got plenty of time to find what you like best or what PLURAL you like... if folks can't deal with that, furk em. But you aint' gonna learn it fixing dishwashers to 'normal' when you're dreaming of greatness"