Phylogenesis - Alan Dean Foster [89]
What other surprises did the bug have in store? “What about me?” he asked curiously. “How do I smell to you? You can smell, can’t you?”
Desvendapur dipped his antennae forward, but not before compacting their sensitive feathering to shutter his perception of the biped’s odor as much as possible. “I can. You are…pungent.”
“‘Pungent,’” Cheelo repeated. “Sure, okay.” Turning, he climbed back up into the tree to get his pack. Desvendapur observed the process with fascination, composing avidly as he watched. Not even the most gymnastic of thranx could match the flexibility of the human’s body and limbs. Nor would they want to, he reflected. His reaction was similar to what a human would feel watching an octopus unscrew the lid of a sealed jar to get at food left inside.
Cheelo started to toss his pack down, considered, and then called out, “Here, make yourself useful. Catch this.” He held the tough, lightweight material out over the branch.
It was not a significant drop, but Desvendapur knew nothing of the bag’s contents. Still, based on what he knew of human physiology he did not think it could be dangerously heavy. Obediently advancing until he was beneath the branch, he extended both foothands, taking care to ensure that his smaller, more delicate truhands were folded tight against his body and out of the way.
“Ready? Catch.” Cheelo let the pack fall.
The thranx caught it easily in both outstretched foothands, then used all four manipulative limbs to place it gently on the ground. Satisfied, Cheelo rolled up his blanket and tossed it over next, then climbed down to join his implausible companion. Desvendapur watched silently as the human bundled his equipment together, straightened, and slipped the pack-and-strap arrangement onto his back. It was difficult to understand how and why the additional weight did not cause the biped to fall over backward. Though smaller and lighter, with a minimum of four legs and a maximum of six to support its slim body, an adult thranx could carry more than even a very large human. This knowledge led him to make an offer that was in the nature of a painless gamble.
“Want me to carry that for you? It has to hurt your upper body, trying to support it that way.”
Cheelo eyed the shorter creature in surprise. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you packing enough gear of your own?”
“I can manage the extra mass easily. If we are going to travel together we should each make use of the other’s natural strengths. I could not climb into that tree without help, as you did, but I can carry a good deal of weight. Your pack would not inconvenience me.”
Cheelo found himself grinning. “That’s real nice of you.” He started to reach up and around to slide the pack off his back. Abruptly, his smile faded. “No, on second thought, I think I’ll hang onto my own stuff for a while longer. But thanks for the offer.”
Desvendapur automatically gestured an appropriate response. The rapid hand and finger movements meant nothing to the human. “As you wish.”
It might have been an honest offer, Cheelo thought as he turned and strode off into the trees. But what did he know of alien motivation? Suppose the thranx was operating from ulterior motives. At an opportune moment it might decide to take off with a nice, prepacked grab bag full of terrestrial souvenirs, graciously supplied by one trusting, half-witted Cheelo Montoya. He knew next to nothing about the big bugs, including how fast they could run. It had confessed to being a poor climber, but it didn’t look clumsy or lumbering. He was willing to bet that when it utilized all six legs it could move over the ground at a respectable