#i can't think of anything else to write so have a short story of Fuh'fin learning a few silly things

[pr0cyon-lotor]

Learning with Fuh'fin: Drums?

Fuh'fin scurried over to the main lounging area after a crash. Where he expected to see a fallen crew member groaning in pain after falling from a worrying height (again), instead he found everyone perfectly fine and playing with... drums?

 

Not like any he had seen before. He'd seen other space dwellers have different forms of drums. Some were made out of hide or skin. One type was made using the membrane of a blob creature from an aquatic planet. However, those became illegal after the species almost died out due to production.

 

Fuh'fin approached, and Vi-Vi finally seemed to notice him. She smiled and waved him over. He picked up his pace and trotted over. He looked up at the navigator.

 

"Do you know about drums?" She asked politely. "Yes, I've seen many from other races, and even the Yimex have their own variant," he answered with a chirp-like sound.

 

Vi-Vi chuckled. "We should order one so you can teach us how to play," she offered, and Fuh'fin's tail wagged in excitement. He always loved it when the crew was willing to learn about his species. He loved telling everyone about his home life.

 

Another bang, and Fuh'fin looked at the strange drums. "What drums are those?" He asked as he watched a crew member strike them with a small stick. Most of the time, Fuh'fin hadn't seen other races use a tool for drums. The Yimex use their tails to strike the surface, so it was interesting.

 

"Marching drums. Ella wanted to show everyone how fast she used to play in high school, and everyone is trying to replicate her," Vi-Vi said while putting a hand on her hip. "I never played percussion. I used to play the clarinet," she laughed mostly to herself.

 

Fuh'fin looked at Vi-Vi, trying to understand everything through context clues before giving up. "Highschool?" was his first question.

 

"Education. Typically higher in the types we have on earth," Vi-Vi explained patiently. Fuh'fin took the information and tried to make sense of it.

 

Education was a newer concept for the Yimex. They never needed it before. They used to be war bound, so there was no use for school, like most races needed it. They had relied on instinct.

 

That has changed recently, but only after Fuh'fin left his mother planet. He never experienced it. The closest thing he had to education was job training.

 

But he quite preferred to learn as he went. He learned how to read multiple languages without a translator, just fine. So the concept of school was still hard for Fuh'fin to wrap his head around, but he understood it in theory.

 

So the word "highschool" was explained. Now, for the other word that confused him, "Marching drums? Like battle drums?" He asked.

 

Vi-Vi hummed in thought, her hand moving to scratch her head, the red of her hair much more faded than it once was. Fuh'fin was told it wasn't an indication of illness but a cosmetic choice. Like berries staining his fur, as he was told. Just a more permanent berry stain.

 

"Sort of," Vi-Vi ended up saying. "Not for war per se. Not anymore, at least. Just a relic of times past," she explained.

 

Fuh'fin thought about it and came up with a comparison. "Oh, like how the Yimex still wear imitation crustacean armor even though we stopped being at war with the crustacean species on our planet?" He said proudly.

 

Vi-Vi hummed. "Sometimes you say some metal stuff, Fuh'fin," she said. Fuh'fin had no idea what that meant, but from her tone and body language, it was a compliment. Also, metal is a strong material, so she was probably calling him strong. And that's always good.

 

"Thank you," he responded with a few subconscious dooks. "You're sweet," Vi-Vi said, and Fuh'fin did know what that meant. He dooked a little louder.

 

"Oh yeah, I meant to ask. What's a clarinet?" He asked after he calmed down. 

 

Vi-Vi chuckled. "An instrument I could never play well. It always squeaked," she said as if admitting to something. It didn't mean much to Fuh'fin since he still had no idea what a clarinet was. He knew that squeaking was bad. He hated the sound of anything that squeaked; it hurt his ears.

 

"Still? What is it?" He asked again with clear confusion. "Hm, maybe I'll show you when we have time," Vi-Vi offered.

 

Fuh'fin was about to agree when the steady beat on the drum changed to an unsteady crash. He turned over and saw that Ella had given her drum to someone else. It was clear the other didn't know how to play as steadily as she did.

 

Fuh'fin scratched his ear; it felt like it was rubbing his head wrong. "I should return to patrolling," he muttered, hoping no one thought he was being rude for running away.

 

Vi-Vi laughed. "I'll tell Hugo to play jazz in the lounge later. I think you'd like it," she said as Fuh'fin trotted away from the awful beat. He wanted to respond, but the urge to leave won out. 

 

Once he escaped, he stopped and realized he had one more question.

 

"What is jazz?"