Before the Cave, part 2

“Hello,” said the mammoth.

This puzzled Ilara. As far as she knew, mammoths don’t talk. It seemed to her that this mammoth was breaking some fundamental laws.

And what’s the point of having laws if you’re just going to break them? In any case, the mammoth clearly wasn’t doing what it was supposed to.

Still, the would try to be reasonable about this. “I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be talking,” she said. “You’re a mammoth.”

“And I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be talking,” the mammoth replied. “You’re a human.”

2 thoughts on “Before the Cave, part 2”

  1. “Well why did you say hello then?”

    (Apologies if you want us to keep quiet and just enjoy the show – you have piqued my interest anyway).

  2. (1) Ilara says “Hello” as you or I might say such a thing to a stray dog or cat, expecting no response. At a deeper level, she is choosing to do something slightly absurd in order to dispel her own fear at suddenly and unexpectedly encountering such an extremely large creature.

    (2) The mammoth responds out of politeness, and also with a sense of bemused fascination at this rather curious phenomenon: a human that possesses the power of speech.

    (3) Yes, I suspect you will have a better time of it if you just lean back and enjoy the show.

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