Steppe Earth - Gahn, Part 1
copyright comidacomida 2026

A knock at Waen's apartment door caugh his attention; in the three months he'd lived there he'd only ever had one other visitor, and, when the old Human woman saw that he was a Gahn, she quickly left. Humans, Waen had learned, tended to avoid any beings larger than themselves and they especially didn't seem to appreciate any with 'pointy bits'-- he wasn't a predator species, but apparently his horns counted. Sighing, he got up off of his sofa and made his way to the door, stepping back and ducking down so he could get a good look at whomever had mistakenly come to visit.

A Human male, young, if Waen's knowledge of Humans was any indicator, was standing before him, a large parcel in his hands. The large Bull saw right away that the address on it was his apartment: 8A. Although Waen didn't get many guests, he did recognize the man who delivered his packages, and the Human standing in front of him was not that individual. He made sure the Human realized he knew it. "You are not the mail delivery Human, Human."

Rather than shy away from him, as most Humans seemed to do, his visitor offered what Waen believed to be a friendly smile-- not an expression he encountered offen. The man then replied in a light, playful voice "Nope."

The Gahn sighed, leaning against the doorway. "Then will you tell me what you are doing with my mail?"

The smile didn't falter. "I think this got delivered to my apartment by mistake... I'm one floor down-- 7A." He held the package out to Waen with both hands and the Gahn accepted it with a single one. "Oh."

The Human's smile never faltered. "My name's Theodore... most folks just call me Ted."

Waen had been through enough social situations with Humans to understand their casual method fo introductions. Usually there was also a meeting of hands, followed by a firm shake, but the Gahn presumed that the delivery of the package was probably a substitute. He responded to the introduction simply. "Waen."

Ted offerd a nod of his head-- it was a Human acknowledgement, and he continued talking casually. "I heard the usual guy's off for the next few weeks... hopefully the temp will figure out his route soon."

The Gahn grunted, his thick fingers gripping the box tightly as he regarded the Human. He waited to hear if there was anything more on his unanticipated guest's mind. When Theo didn't say anything else, Waen realized that it must have been his turn. "A new delivery man. That would explain it. The normal one did not make mistakes like this."

When Ted just nodded again with a smile, Waen wasn't sure if he'd done something wrong in the exchange. He remained standing in the doorway staring at the Human. When his visitor didn't add anything to the converation, Waen suddenly realized what it was probably about: Humans normally acknowledged favors and work done by others. "Thank you..." he paused, realizing that he probably had to clarify. "...for bringing my delivery... to me." When Ted offered another smile and a light head bob, Waen figured he might have overdone it, so he walked back his thanks a small degree, gesturing to the spot beside his door. "You could have left it."

The Gahn shifted his weight from one hoof to the next, the floor beneath him creaking faintly as he did so. Ted finally responded. "Nah... I don't mind going the extra distance. Most places in Axis are pretty nice, and this neighborhood is no exception, but it's still impossible to say when you might get a visit from some porch pirates so I figure if I'm going to get a package to the right place, the least I could do is make sure I get it into the right hands."

Waen mimiced what he knew to be the Human 'nod' gesture with his head; he'd gotten good at using it in the warehouse where he worked. He wasn't familiar with the term 'porch pirates', but he definitely understood the final part of the Human's statement so he could at least respond to that. "Yes. You did that."

Ted moved to lean against the wall opposite Waen's door. "Welcome to the neighborhood, by the way... I think you're our first Gahn."

The casual statement was a surprise, and the easy-going nature of his smile was oddly disarming; most Humans with whom Waen interacted had a certain prejudice toward non-Humans, and he equated most of their expressions with ones of superiority. Ted seemed to lack that and, moreover, recognized his species. "Thank you. Yes. I have seen no other Gahn here... just two Juni downstairs."

The Human smiled. "Right! Tanae and Uwarh... they're in 2B."

Despite Gahn and Juni both being from Steppe Earth, Waen had little interest in interacting with them so he didn't care to find out any more details, but he was mildly surprised that the Human seemed to know any details about them. The Bull straightened up. "Most Humans I have met just call me a Bull or Minotaur... not many bother with the right name."

Ted refreshed his smile. "I think that's just common courtesy. Maybe not a lot of people know because you guys are still relatively new to the Accord."

Waen shrugged. "Maybe. I've been here for three months... I keep to myself... I don't cause trouble-- I don't look for it either."

The Human nodded. "Yeah... that sounds like a good policy too. I also don't cause trouble, but most of the folks here in the building know that I tend to get into everyone's business now and again... high quality busy-body and all that."

The specific terms used by Ted didn't all make sense to Waen; he was proficient in English, but some of the finer points and less standard words didn't always connect. He figured he'd offer a neutral response. "Oh. Okay."

Apparently he didn't respond in a way that Ted approved. The Human's smile disappeared and a hint of concern replaced it; that was even more evident in his tone. "Oh! No-- I don't mean like that. I don't get into everyone's business or anything... I just like to make sure that everything around here goes smoothly. I mean-- if you need something or whatever you can just let me know and I'll try to help out."

Waen blinked; the Human was flighty. "I understand."

Ted continued talking regardless. "What I mean is, I'm usually on top of the comings and goings from here... all the more reason why you're such a surprise. You've been here for three months? Sorry I didn't get a chance to say 'hi' earlier." and then offered the blink of a single eye in an expression Humans referred to as a 'wink'.

Waen grunted again, a slightly less gruff sound this time. He didn't return the wink, but a faint, almost imperceptible upturn of his lips broke through when he realized he understood the sentiment; it was a concept he'd heard was not wholly uncommon among the Humans. "You are 'civic-minded'."

The Human actively laughed. "Sure! I guess you could say that."

The interaction at his door was close the normal amount he got all week, which meant that he was ready to conclude the conversation. He tried to remember the best way to do that without being rude to Humans. "Thank you again for the delivery."

Ted smiled. "You're welcome, Waen. And, again, welcome to the community."

Waen grunted. "Yes. And, next time, if you have something for me you don't have to knock again. You can just leave it-- you spent way too long delivering a package to me that did not involve you in the first place."

* * * * *

Work in Axis was not hard to find for a Gahn; different resource centers, warehouses, and shipping hubs always had need of a laborer and Waen certainly fit that mold. While not as massive as some of the Greater Ilsit Drones he worked with, and definitely no equal to the two Ennigi at the shipping center (they were larger than he was by the same measure that he was larger than Humans, and they had trunks, meaning they could move three boxes at a time), Waen still managed to bring home enough to live comfortably and maintain his work Visa, allowing him to remain on Land Earth.

The Human's version of Earth didn't appeal to him in its own right, rather, it was more about not being on Steppe Earth. While living in Axis he didn't have to do the social performances required of Gahn males; he didn't have to take part in weekly fights with other males; he didn't have to waste energy courting numerous females; most of all, he didn't have to appease his father. After living on Land Earth for three months, in fact, Waen was most content when he was off work, locked away in his apartment, watching old Human entertainment on his big screen viewer.

Letting out a contented sigh, the massive Gahn sunk into his well-used sofa, hooves up on what Humans referred to as a 'coffee table', but he found more suitable as a hoof-rest. He enjoyed the feel of the way Humans manipulated sounds in their moving picture shows, and the creativity they exhibited in their entertainment mediums; he particularly liked science fiction presentations, and ones of a fantasy nature. It was the former he was enjoying at that moment: several Humans on a space ship trying to avoid being eaten by a monster that had come from space.

So engrossed with the full body experience of the vibrations from his hefty sound system, Waen almost missed the one-two-three knock on his front door. Reaching out to push the pause button on his controller with his thumb, the Gahn waited and, sure enough, a few breaths later the one-two-three knock repeated itself. Waen did not have guests and he hadn't ordered any food so, grunting, he stood, adjusted his sleeveless shirt and boxers, and made his way to check on who was interrupting his time off, tossing a half-eaten snack package of dried apples on his counter on his way.

Opening the door, he was only mildly surprised to see Ted, the Human who had visited two days prior with a box for him. His eyes went from Ted's smiling face to the parcel he wa sholding, then back up to the man's eyes. "You again..."

He still wasn't incredibly savy in the best way to interact with Humans, but he'd always been told that being direct was the best way to conclude a conversation so he stuck to that. It worked on most Humans; they usually finshed up whatever reason they had to deal with him and moved on their way. Ted, however, was a different matter. Still smiling, the Human profed the package. "Hey... just wanted to make sure you got this."

Waen sighed, reached down to pluck it out of the Human's grip; deliveries had worked so well the first few months, but something had obviously changed. Trying to keep the sound of complaint from his voice, he settled for a tone of resignation. "It seems the new delivery courier still cannot get their job right."

Ted had to use a hand-and-a-half to carry the box but for Waen it could be easily palmed. Freed from the box, Ted sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "It's not a big deal... I'm happy to make sure you get it."

The Gahn looked over the box, eying the tape securing it. "You didn't open it."

The Human gave him an incredulous look. "Well, sure. I'm not the owner-- not my box, so I'm not opening it... didn't even check the return address." Ted offered a wink; he seemed fond of that gesture. "I may be naturally curious, but I'm not into invasion of privacy or anything like that."

Waen offered a nod of his head. "Good. I had enough of nosy neighbors on Steppe Earth... don't need any here."

After the words came out of his muzzle he was, for a moment, convinced that what he'd said was offensive-- it wasn't always easy to know how Humans would respond to casual statements. Fortunately, in the case of Ted, the man seemed unperturbed, and continued right on talking. "So... how you doin', Waen? Not that I'm keeping tabs on you or anything, but I never see you in the halls, on the stairs, or in the elevator."

The Gahn palmed his parcel, fingers moving over it distractedly as he grunted in acknowledgement of the Human. He glanced to the package, then back to Ted, before offering more. "I'm fine. I got everything I need in here do I don't see the point in wanderin' around unless I gotta."

Ted offered a thoughtful nod. "Yeah... I guess that makes sense."

Silence stretched out between the two of them for several seconds and Waen flicked his ear back to his viewer when he heard the faint 'click' of it going into passive mode due to being on pause for too long. "So... are you always this... social?"

Ted laughed at the question. "Well, I know most people in cities tend to be recluses, but I've always found that a neighborhood feels more like a community when you know the people who share it with you. Sorry if I'm bugging you, but if I figure I'm bringing you your mail the least I could do is be friendly about it. If it bothers you I can just shut my trap and do the cold, indifferent city-dweller thing though."

Waen thought about the statement for a long moment. He'd met a lot of Humans in passing, or, rather, he'd 'encountered' them. Ted was right in that cities among the Humans seemed to be a good place to disappear, which was something the Gahn enjoyed, but there was an element of isolation to it, especially since most Humans he encountered wanted nothing more than to get away from him as quickly as possible. Ted, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind him at all. He figured the least he could do was return the favor. "Nah... you're fine. Seeing as this is the second time they sent my package to the wrong place, I figure cold and indifferent isn't gonna get my mail delivered, will it?"

The Human actually laughed at the statement, almost as if it were a joke. Waen hoped that the insides of his ears weren't turning red; he never managed to get jokes to land correctly and, suddenly, without him even trying, someone was laughing at something he'd said. Ted leaned back against the wall opposite the Gahn's door. "You're a pretty cool guy, Waen-- oh! I almost forgot!" The Human stood up, holding his left hand up, palm out, and he said "Obalamo."

Ted's pronunciation was far from correct, but Waen was surprised to hear him try a greeting in the Gahn language. It wasn't particularly wrong, but it definitely didn't capture the Bull's impression of the Human. "That's way too formal... you're not the ACTUAL delivery guy, Ted. You could just say Oba like a normal Gahn."

Laughing freely again, Ted blushed. He took the critique well, however, and tried again. "Oba, Waen. Utt moua alk."

Waen nodded. "Good. That's pretty good. Better than anything else I'd heard from a Human who hasn't been through the Unity Programme. You're not a UPer, are ya?"

Ted waved away the statement. "Nah... I just likle learning and talking-- if I can learn how to talk then it's a double win!"

The Bull nodded; he apprecaited the sentiment, but he, unlike the Human, was NOT much of a talker. "Sure. Good for you. Personally, I ain't much for small talk. Unless you got somethin' interesting to say, I'm gonna go back to my show." Despite the dismissive statement, he made no move to close the door; he didn't honestly want to be rude, but he wasn't wholly familiar with interacting with Humans in a casual social context. In order to lighten the dismissal, he quickly added "Thank you for my package."

Ted opened his mouth to say something, but Waen saw him apparently think better of it. "Oh. Sure. No problem. Go back to enjoying whatever you were watching, Waen. Sorry for the interruption."

Waen offered a grunt of dismissal, about-facing to return to his movie, using a hoof to close the door behind himself. With the sanctity of his apartment returned to normal, the Gahn returned to his sofa, dropping the package off on his counter on the way. Taking a seat, he let out a sigh, his hooves returning to their place on the coffee table as he reached for the remote. There was something liberating about having the place all to himself; it meant he could really focus.

For some reason, though, his mind kept drifting away from his movie and focus instead on the mysterious, overly social Human who had interrupted his day two times in one week. The Gaen found himself wondering if he'd be in for a third. He was, but it wasn't for another five days.

* * * * *

Land Earth may have shared a name with Waen's home world but there were a lot of differences; one of the most prominent ones he'd learned after he'd taken up residence in Axis was that Humans did significantly less walking than Gahn. Axis, in fact, was very much not made for walking and, even though the large Bull got from home to work under his own power, he had significantly less opportunities to be physical except when he was working. In order to bleed off some of his excess energy he'd taken to working out in is apartment.

Three days a week the Gahn spent two hours after work doing a variety of at-home exercises that would get his heart rate up, warm his muscles, and force him to move around; it certainly beat spending all of his time reclining on his couch, which he did plenty of regardless. He was most of his way through his routine on that given day when a familiar, polite, one-two-three knock sounded from his door. Waen made his way over to the entrance and, opening it, gazed down at Ted. "Hm... you again."

The Human, as with all prior times, had one of the boxes that should have been delivered to Waen but he also had a plastic bag in his other hand. The Bull couldn't focus on either item since Ted spoke up with an apologetic smile. "Looks like my timing sucked again. Sorry for interrupting your workout session-- just got another box that made its way to me instead of you again."

Waen realized that he was only dressed in a pair of shorts and, as lathered with sweat as he was from his exercise he could only imagined how he must have looked to the Human. Although the Gahn wasn't embarassed by his body or his scent, he did know that Humans were particularly timid around such things. He reminded himself that it was his apartment, and not his responsibility to account for the insecurities of a guest who hadn't been invited, so he didn't engage with the statement, choosing a different one instead as he accepted the box offered by Ted, motioning with the bridge of his muzzle toward the plastic package the man had in his other hand. "So... what's that you got there?"

Ted's smile warmed significantly. "Oh-- I saw you had some dried apple slices out last time I stopped by... not that I was snooping or anything... you just had em out on the counter. The Human held up the plastic bag, offering it to the Bull. "The stuff you get in stores is super processed. A friend of mine does small batch dried fruit for local bodegas so I thought I'd get you a bag since I didn't manage to give you a proper welcome to the neighborhood when you moved in. I hope dried apricots are okay."

Waen's eyes widened, his eyebrows raising as he accepted the bag. Still holding the box Ted delivered with one hand, he held the package of fruit up to his muzzle, using two flat teet at the end to tear into it and he paused, taking a slow, deep breath as the scent of the dried fruit reached him. Although he hadn't been particularly hungry he heard the sound of his stomachs rumble at the aroma. Rather than call attention to it, the Bull played it cool. "Homemade, huh?"

The human nodded, offering a fresh smile. "Yep! He starts with two pounds of apricots and then dehydrates it down to this. If you enjoy it you should be able to find it at the local farmer's markets. he also supplies some local shops so you can order it for delivery if you're not running into errands-- assuming you like it, of course."

Delaying no further, Waen gave the bag a little shake, sending two of the halved pieces of fruit down and onto his broad, bovine tongue; an explosion of flavor struck him the moment they landed. He had to fight to keep his eyes from rolling back in his head; he hadn't tasted fruit so amazing on Land Earth. Still attempting to keep his cool (and avoid scarfing down the entire bag), the Gahn did his best to immitate a Human smile. "Thank you."

Smiling wider, Ted offered a nod in return. "You bet! I hope you like em, Waen."

The Bull offered a nod to mimic the Humans. "This is... nice. Most people here just... leave me alone."

Ted laughed, an easy, casual sound. "Well, just because most people do something doesn't mean EVERYONE does. If I left everyone alone at my job I'd probably lose it pretty soon."

Waen stared blankly at the Human. "If I spent too much time focusing on others at mine I would probably lose it. Sounds like we have different jobs."

Shrugging, Ted leaned agains the doorway. "I'm in HR."

The Gahn offered a succinct nod. "Hired Resources... yes. Very different jobs."

The Human smirked, standing straight again. "You know, I used to hear stories from my grandfather that, back when he was my age, we used to call it Human Resources... course, that was before others started living here on Land Earth."

Waen grunted in acknowledgement of it. "Yes. I would guess that other species wouldn't like reporting to Human Resources, and Non-Human Resources sounds pretty insulting."

Ted released a fresh laugh; the Bull hadn't thought his observation was that funny, but apparently the Human had a different opinion on the matter. When he calmed down, however, he followed up with a question. "So what about you, Waen? What do you do for a living?"

Flexing, the Gahn stated simply "Warehouse and shipping. I'm part of the team that moves things they don't use robots for."

Nodding eagerly the Human smiled anew. "Yeah... I'm not that surprised, actually. You look the part."

The statement could have been said in any number of ways; Waen wasn't entirely comfortable when it came to reading Humans but, considering Ted's demeanor, the Bull was willing to assume that it was meant to be friendly. He wasn't ready to bet on that though. "Oh? Why's that?"

Ted pointed at him. "Well... because you're HUGE. I'd imagine they'd probably hire Gahn, Ennigi, Greater Ilsit Drones, Amplus Phin... probably Raugan if they can find any."

Waen offered another nod. "I'm the only Gahn there I know of-- on my shiftwe got an Ennigi and a few Drones... two Ampluses. No Raugan though... only seen a few at the warehouse here and there."

The Human rubbed his chin in thought. "Yeah... they're still pretty new to Axis. I hear there are more of them at Nexus." <<<>>>

Small talk had never been particularly easy for Waen and he was having a hard time trying to figure out what else to say. Despite his reservations, he found himself enjoying interacting with the Human, granted, he didn't get much of a chance to interact with anyone in a social role and he had to remind himself that Land Earth was far different from Steppe Earth. The long pause continued to expand so the Gahn decided to fill it. "You seem to know a lot about other races."

Ted smiled, rubbing the back of his head as his cheeks reddened; Waen remembered the cheeks and neck were where Human blushing was visible. "To be honest? Not as much as some. My brother and sister were both in the UP but I never managed to get in. I learned enough to be able to do my job and get a VISA to work in Axis... but that's about it." He paused, turning to face Waen more fully. "What about you? What brought you here?"

The Gahn's interest in small talk began to fade rather quickly due to that question. "It's better than being back home."

He didn't know if it was his tone or perhaps the Human was good at reading his body language, but Ted's deamnor closed off quickly. "Oh... well... ah... I hope you... uh..." he reached up to rub the back of his head. "Anyway... I wanted to make sure you got your package, and all. Sorry to interrupt your workout or whatever."

Waen grunted. "Yeah. Thanks again. For the package... and the fruit." He gave the opened bag a little shake.

Ted offered a faint wave and quickly started off down the hall. The Bull was definitely not skilled as socialization, and it wasn't just with Humans; he hadn't fit in with his own people either, but, at least on Land Earth he didn't have Gahn politics to contend with. He didn't have his father on his case to collect himself some wives and start being the bull he expected him to be. Waen apprecaited Land Earth's willingness to let anyone live the life they wanted without having to play into societal expectations.

He'd heard a few times from coworkers that HUmans were generally accepting of most lifestyles; Bulls weren't judged by how many Cows they had and Cows weren't judged by the strength and status of their Bulls. It was one of the main reasons he'd decided to go to Axis on Land Earth and, for the most part, it had served him well. Being a Bull that preferred other Bulls or Cows that wanted to be in a relationship with other Cows was counter-culture in Steppe Earth; those few who had lovers of the same sex usually did so separate from their societally expected relationships, but Waen wanted no part of it.

Breaking out of his thoughts of the past, Waen moved to finally close the door, pausing right before it shut. The scent of his apartment and his own body odor from exercising was strong but, in that moment, infiltrating his senses like the measured one-two-three interrupted his workout, the Bull caught the whiff of a scent that could only have been Ted. Waen had always had a great sense of smell, but it took awhile for him to recognize the unfamiliar aroma, and, in that moment, understanding struck him: Ted was interested in him.

Letting out a groan, Waen dropped his head to the wall, letting it strike it with a resounding *thump*. He had been so caught up in trying to navigate social interaction and dialogue that he'd completely missed it. Could Humans be interested in a Gahn 'in that way'? His nose rarely lied. So, he mused to himself, what did He think of that new development? Waen resolved to take some time to consider the question... but he resolved to first free his horns from the drywall.