Fraggle fic: The Minstrel's Path

[The Count]

Yay. His name is his profession, as is the custom with the Fraggle colonies. But uh, did you mean to incur in the third person at the end where you say, "Cantus said to Jago" when he and Mrray were leaving the old settlement? Enjoyed that Mrray's species are called "Piscas".
A pisca, a pasket.
Makes sense since they live, in a cave not a van though, down by the river catching fish as their main dish.

Looking forward to what you decide to post next.

 

[Slackbot]

Yay. His name is his profession, as is the custom with the Fraggle colonies. But uh, did you mean to incur in the third person at the end where you say, "Cantus said to Jago" when he and Mrray were leaving the old settlement?

*edit edit* What do you mean? Cantus was speaking to M'rray, not Jago. Read it again if you don't believe me.

Enjoyed that Mrray's species are called "Piscas".

Heh, I was being lazy and fiddled that word out of French and Latin.

A pisca, a pasket.
Makes sense since they live, in a cave not a van though, down by the river catching fish as their main dish.

I have a feeling I'm missing something here. Sounds almost like a Seuss reference. but then, Murray looks kinda Seussian. And so does Cantus. Wonder if he has a star on his belly?

Looking forward to what you decide to post next.

You won't be waiting long, but it's probably not what you expect.

I want a Cantus smiley.

 

[charlietheowl]

It looks like Jago/Cantus' attempt to teach the colonies about the power of music will not be as easy as he thought. I'm glad Murray is deciding to stay with Cantus on his journey, which will surely be filled with some pretty interesting encounters.

Thanks for posting!

 

[The Count]

The bit about them living down by the river, that's a reference to the ol' Chris Foley/Matt Foly, Motivational Speaker sketches from SNL.

So long as it's fic, I'll read it, especially if it's yours.

 

[Slackbot]

In The Bells of Fraggle Rock Cantus says "[Gobo] may be as determined as he is wrong. I admire that." I took that to mean that Cantus didn't hold it against Gobo that he didn't believe Cantus, and ignored his advice in favor of going on his little crusade. Cantus may have good reason to be sympathetic to Gobo then; you have to search for your own truth, and sometimes that truth is that you're dead wrong.

 

[Slackbot]

So long as it's fic, I'll read it, especially if it's yours.

Heh, appropriate smiley. Let's just say that Janken finally gets to fulfill an ambition concerning Cantus that he's had for a long time. Scooter doesn't mind; he helps.

 

[Slackbot]

Me post more fishy stuff.

*****

The Minstrel's Path​

Part 9​

by Kim McFarland​

*****

Cantus and M'rray walked back to the underground river where they had first met. There were no other Pisca there at the moment. They would not come again until two days from tomorrow, as they only fished every third day. Cantus didn't understand why. Dead flesh went foul very soon after it was killed; surely they wouldn't eat days-old fish? The thought was stomach-turning.

The plank bridge had been pulled back to the other side of the river. Since the Fraggles' attack the Pisca only left the bridge in place while they were fishing; they did not want to encourage Fraggles to cross the river and approach the Pisca colony. Cantus and M'rray jumped across the pinch point where the Pisca strung their net. It was narrow enough that a reasonably athletic adult could leap across, but wide enough, and the water beneath it rough enough, to command respect. Then M'rray led Cantus into a passage at the other end of the cavern.

Cantus looked around as he walked, uncomfortable with leaving known territory without marking the path. It was hard to suppress hundreds of days of training. He noticed that mushrooms and other delicacies grew large here. Nobody was eating them. Murray's folk must not consider them food. Well, Cantus thought, he couldn't eat fish, but he certainly wouldn't go hungry.

After a few twists and turns through unfamiliar passages they arrived in a cave that was longer and narrower than the Fraggles' Deep Gallery, but was an obvious communal point. Side passages opened all along its length. Some were curtained over. A small stream ran along one wall, widening into a pool at one point.

There were also Pisca here, more than Cantus had ever seen at one time. They all looked much the same to him: wiry green furry creatures with round heads and no noses. Their coloration varied slightly, as did their sizes. How did they tell each other apart? Cantus was glad that Fraggles were more distinctive.

M'rray had decided to get it over immediately. To those who had seen them enter and were now staring with alarm at the alien in their midst he said, "This is Cantus. He's come alone as my guest. Don't worry, he's harmless. He's a musician."

Cantus heard his name. The rest was a collection of nonsense sounds. From the way the others reacted, first surprise and then amusement, he guessed that M'rray was allaying their fears.

Some Pisca were approaching. Now they seemed openly curious. M'rray said to Cantus, "We play music now, yes?"

"Yes." He set down his improvised backpack and took out the Magic Pipe. M'rray took his guitar out of his bag and led Cantus over to the pond. There were smooth boulders all around it, just the right size for sitting on. M'rray began playing, and after a moment Cantus joined in.

More Pisca emerged from the side tunnels. They liked music, and wondered about the source of the unfamiliar sound. When they saw Cantus they stopped and stared. Fraggles were territorial; they chased away anyone they found near their colony. Recently they had even attacked the Pisca at the river. M'rray had explained that that was a mistake that would not be repeated and had even claimed to have become friends with one of them. M'rray was no liar, but they had found this impossible to believe. Yet here was a Fraggle in their midst! What did it want?

By the time they finished playing it seemed the whole colony was there. Most of them had never seen a Fraggle up close and were curious. It didn't look warlike to them. M'rray's claim to have befriended one and learned to talk to it had gone around the colony, and had been met with various combinations of surprise and disbelief. Now they were seeing the proof.

M'rray repeated for everyone to hear, "This is Cantus. He's my guest. Don't be afraid of him. His people won't bother us any more."

After Murray spoke the other Pisca murmured. Uneasily Cantus asked, "What did you tell them?"

"I say, you Cantus, my guest. Not be afraid, Fraggles not attack us again."

"Oh."

"Not worry. You guest, you safe. This is true."

Cantus nodded. He could only hope that M'rray was right. These people had no reason to like Fraggles. He would have to give them one.

*

They played some more music, and then M'rray showed Cantus to his home. They had taken a length of tunnel and partitioned it with cloth stretched across bamboo frames into a series of rooms with a walkway along one side. M'rray pushed one curtain aside and told Cantus, "My place. When you visit, you stay here."

The way he said it, it was an offer, not a command. It looked to Cantus to be a bit small for two people, but not uncomfortably so. He replied, "Thank you."

*

Cantus stayed there for days. Each time the Pisca saw him they seemed less on edge. He played music for them. He tried to learn their language, but only succeeded in picking up a few basic words. When M'rray was not available to translate Cantus got by on pantomime. He joined a group of gatherers—the Pisca did eat something besides fish, thank goodness!—and learned by trial and error what they considered suitable for food. He gathered plenty for them, and always picked some mushrooms and greens that they didn't like for himself.

There were places in the colony where he could not go. Mostly that was because they had to do with fish. They brought the fish they caught to a certain tunnel and cut them apart before cooking them. The sight and smell of the carnage sickened Cantus. However, he was surprised to see that they didn't butcher all of the fish right away. Many were still alive when they got them to the colony. Those went into the central pool, which was blocked at the downstream end, Cantus now saw, with a finely-woven net to prevent escape. These were then scooped out with a net on a hoop as needed. That was how they kept the fish they ate fresh. There was one fish bigger than the others, however, and they would not eat that one. M'rray explained that it was Haduma, the colony's pet.

He and M'rray played music after the colony's one communal meal of the day. Sometimes others did too. They did not join in, however; each took a turn, playing their own favorite tune. When Cantus learned that among the Pisca music was a performance, not a shared event, he was surprised. Even more shocking was the idea that people could claim to own music. How could anyone control who sang a song, and why would they want to? He and M'rray discussed this matter, to the frustration of both. Their basic assumptions were so ingrained in their cultures that they took them as unshakable truths, and they would have found them hard to explain even without the language barrier.

Eventually Cantus decided simply to accept what he didn't understand. It made no sense to him, but among these people it was a truth. Before he played a Pisca song he had learned he asked M'rray whether it was one of the safe ones. The songs children sang were all safe, and as the children warmed to him they began teaching him their songs. This turned out to be a good thing, diplomatically speaking; who could be afraid of an alien who was often seen playing children's ditties?

*

Cantus woke up one morning and wondered how long he had been there. Fraggles rarely kept track of time. There had been three fishing expeditions while he was here. After the most recent one a child had given him a gift.

He reached back, behind his bedding, and picked up a river-polished stone with a hole in the middle. Stones with holes were rare, and considered significant by the Pisca. The child had shown him how, if you blew across the hole, it whistled. She couldn't explain it to him—he still knew barely any of the language—so she had made an elaborate pantomime to demonstrate. The sheer delight on her face when he had finally caught on still made him smile. In return, he had sung a Fraggle children's song for her and her friends. After he had assured them that they were free to sing along they had all joined in, changing the words to their own language and making each other choke with laughter. He never found out what the joke was, but did it matter as long as they enjoyed themselves?

He felt calmer now than he had when he had first come here. These people were very different, but he no longer found them all that strange. If he could only learn their language! That was the snag. Murray spoke Fragglish more clearly every day, but Cantus could only learn isolated Pisca words, and if he didn't use them he forgot them. He had to face the unmistakable fact that he had no talent for languages.

He looked at the stone whistle again, and smiled. This was a pleasant place. But maybe there was a reason he couldn't learn the language. He could not stay here. He had promised to travel with the Magic Pipe. While he was here he had, he hoped, demonstrated to both sides that Fraggles and Pisca were not natural enemies. What more could he do here?

It was time to move on.

The thought didn't intimidate him. It felt right. It was what he was meant to do. His time here had allowed him to rest and calm his heart, and now he must begin his mission. Today, he thought as he felt the weight of the stone in his hand.

He got up, which was to say out of his bedding, and rolled it up, then tied it with twine. He only had a few other possessions, and with the exception of the Magic Pipe they fit into his pockets and bag. M'rray, who had awakened when Cantus had started moving around, said, "What are you doing?"

"Packing. It's time I continued on my journey."

M'rray had expected Cantus to stay here a while, until he got over his disappointment with his own colony. It had taken longer than he had expected, but he hadn't minded. Cantus was a pleasant, undemanding guest. Getting out of bed, he said, "Oh. Where you will go?"

"Out there," Cantus said with a vague gesture.

"Not to home?" M'rray asked, surprised.

Cantus said, a faraway look in his eyes, "No. I have a journey ahead of me. I must walk forward, not backward." He met M'rray's eyes and said, "Thank you for having me as your guest. I have learned much here. I will miss you."

"Today you go?"

"Yes."

"After meal. Wait 'til then?"

Cantus nodded. "All right."

*

Cantus half expected M'rray to try to convince him to stay. He seemed distressed about Cantus leaving. Cantus felt the same way, he supposed; he had come to think of M'rray as a good friend. It's hard to leave friends behind.

However, M'rray had not done anything to try to change his mind. In fact, Cantus hadn't seen him at all. Was he angry, and avoiding him? He hoped not. He didn't want to leave his friend on a sour note. Yet he knew he must move on.

When the Pisca assembled for their afternoon meal—as usual, fish, with various vegetables and fruits on the side; Cantus ate the plant matter and supplemented it with some mushrooms he had gathered—M'rray reappeared, carrying a tube in his hands. He handed it to the Fraggle and said cheerfully, "Look at these," then went off to get his food.

Cantus unrolled the tube. It was made of several sheets of some sort of light-colored material, thin and brittle-feeling, yet it didn't crack when bent. On it were shapes drawn in various colors, mostly brown.

When M'rray came back Cantus was staring at the images. He said, "I make map copies. Everything around here."

"They're…interesting. What do you do with them?" Cantus asked.

M'rray blinked. Then he said, "They're maps. What you do with maps?"

"I have never done anything with them," Cantus replied.

M'rray stared at him for a moment. Then he began chuckling. "Fraggles don't make maps? Okay." He sat down and placed pebbles on the corners of one to hold it open. "It show you where things are. This is river." He traced a blue line running diagonally through the center of the page. There was a drawing of a fish in a wide spot. "Here, where we fish. And here—" his finger followed a squiggly line leading away from it to an open area—"tunnel from river to Pisca home. Here, this way to Fraggle cave."

"I see." Cantus understood the concept now. He didn't see the point, though. If you know what's around you, why would you need a diagram of it?

M'rray showed him the next sheet. "Here, river, Pisca home, Fraggle home." The area he pointed two was only a small section of the paper. "Here, paths. More colonies. Things that grow. Dangers. You see here, you not make mistake, go here where tunnel lead nowhere, just stop. Not go here, rocks fall. You go here, safe path, near water so you don't get thirsty. See?"

"I see," Cantus murmured. Now he understood. A map was a way to show what was around you even if you'd never been there before. That had never been relevant to him, as Fraggles of his colony did not travel far. Their territory was theirs, and the outside could take care of itself. This was like blaze marks on a cave wall, but it showed you your entire path!

As they ate M'rray pointed out items of interest on the map. There was another Pisca colony here, and further out they had seen Fraggles and other people. Patches where edibles grew were also marked, as were good fishing spots and pools where, with a little luck, sweetwater could be found. By the time they finished they had plotted a course for the first leg of Cantus' journey.

Cantus rolled the maps up. M'rray said, "When do you leave?"

"I planned to leave now."

"Wait." M'rray held up a finger, then went back to the tunnel where he made his home. He came back with a roll similar to Cantus', his bedding and guitar.

Cantus said, "You are coming too?"

M'rray replied, "Yes. One Fraggle alone in caves, not safe. Two, much safer. And…" He cast about for words; it was hard to express some things in a different language. "I think you are right, pipe is right. Share music, meet other people, learn and teach. I believe too."

Cantus smiled. "Those are good reasons."

Cantus slipped the maps and his pipe under the twine bindings of his pack and raised it to his shoulders. M'rray did the same. Cantus asked, "Do you need time to say your farewells?"

"I did that already," M'rray answered.

"In that case… let's go."

The two went out the east passage, as plotted on the maps. As they did M'rray said, "More reason I come. I like you. And I want to see what crazy Fraggle does next."

Cantus laughed.

*****

Fraggle Rock, Cantus, and Murray are copyright © The Jim Henson Company and are used without permission but with much respect and affection. The overall story is copyright © Kim McFarland (negaduck9@aol.com). Permission is given by the author to copy it for personal use only.

 

[The Count]

That was enjoyable to read.

Yeah, who would be afraid of an alien singing children's ditties. Unless it ends up being one of those creepy aliens that mothers warn their children about. Sorry, didn't mean to go there.

Good that Cantus and Mrray are bonding during their time at the Pisca colony and even now as they leave with maps showing them the way.


The greatest adventure, is one that lies ahead.

More please?

 

[charlietheowl]

It's interesting to see the differences between the Piscas and the Fraggles and Cantus' reaction to them. I found it a bit strange that Cantus didn't initially understand the idea of the map, but I guess their colony does not have the traveling itch found in the Great Hall colony.

Excited to see more of their travels!

 

[Slackbot]

The Count: Notice how Cantus seems to do better when he doesn't talk? His own colony thinks he's a bit squirrelly. He won M'rray over, and changed some minds in the Pisca colony, without preaching because of the language barrier.

charlietheowl: Maps? Cantus didn't even recognize paper! His colony is not big on writing things down because they don't have much to write on. Cantus probably could write something down if he had to, but it's not a common thing to do. You're right, they don't have much urge to explore and travel. Who cares what's out there? It's the colony that matters.