Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Names

There were twelve younglings that had been left to their own devices for their entire lives on this new world. They ranged in age from three (the child who'd named the dragons) to eleven. They looked more human, the younger they were. As they aged, from what they could see of the younglings they had, they slowly took on aspects of the other kin.
   But how were they supposed to know any of that? They didn't know what kin existed on this planet! Halflings and gnomes were all throughout Earth lore, so they'd gone off of what they knew, and assumed.
   The dragons were so very large, it was hard for them to distinguish such minute details as a child whose ears had just begun to tilt upward. Or the one who'd sprouted fine golden fur on his pale little body. And really, how were they supposed to detect the sheen of scales on someone that was a fraction of the size of one claw? No one would have expected them to see the tusks on the eight year old girl, because they just barely peeked out.
   On the subject of names, they had stalled with this new information. How did they name a child that could become any sort of kin? What if you named her Kitty, and she became an orc? Or you named him Bill, and he grew up to be a bird? That would just be ironic!
   "We could use my people's naming customs, and give them birth names until they are old enough to choose their own."
   The catkin had a good point. There just wasn't any other way, was there?
   "I would correct you, but I guess if we use their naming customs, then we are still your people." Onnu didn't want to make him feel bad for falling back on what he knew. That was how they survived. But she did want to help everyone feel like one people, one... well, family was the closest she could get, but there were already a few couples pairing off, and that would be an awkward classification.
   In the end, they did decide to use the two-name system, because they couldn't think of a better solution.
   The next question was, what names did they want? Did they name themselves after their chosen profession? Then there would be about thirty Hunters! Colors, like Slate, were an option, but there were many more slate colored kin. Scales were a popular skin type, in these environs.
   "Maybe surnames? That would add specificity."
   Some of the kin rolled their eyes at the big word, but it was a decent idea.
   But then that brought up marriage, and children, and nobody was ready for that talk yet! They were as newborns on this planet. Those thoughts were far in the distance, even for the elf and human who had been dating before Crossing.
   Someone jokingly threw out the idea of third names. "We've had first names, and surnames, but what about thirdsies?"
   "I suppose it is no different than first, middle, and last. As there are few familial bloodlines to preserve, we could perhaps choose first and middle, and leave surnames until they are needed?" She looked to the elf with her daughter, specifically.
   The young-looking mother shrugged. "I don't think she'll care what her last name is, so maybe we all get a fresh start?"
   Some of the possible teenagers cheered "No last names! Freedom! Wooo!"
   The longer they spent with the smaller kin, the more they were able to guess approximate ages--given what they knew about the smallest kin, that is. It would take time to know the full range of heights of different kin, as they'd simply assumed the shorter kin were in the normal spectrum. Now they looked for signs that they might be younger, not inherently shorter.
   The greyskin who liked astronomy and crafting decided that his name would be Firmen, as if you'd said "firmament" quickly. His middle name, since he was working with the other artisans to make containers, would be Potter.
   "That might be a common middle name, if that's your logic," dragonfriend pointed out.
   "Ah, but how many will choose Firmen as their first name?"
   Nobody could argue with that.
   The ogre who'd been instrumental in finding the basket-shells chose Clay Tinker, since his skin was vaguely clay colored, and he was, well, tinkering around with materials... one of which was claysand.
   The reddish furgoyle shyly said that her name was Maggie. "I'm not very creative, I'm sorry."
   "What's your middle name, then?" the other furgoyle asked gently.
   "Th... the Red?" She would've blushed as bright as her chosen name, if she could've, when a few Kin giggled. "Look, Vikings had names like that! Why can't I?"
   "Well, then I'll be Liam, the Grey." Liam looked around at the other kin, with an arm around Maggie's shoulders. Most backed off and looked around for whoever wanted to name themselves next.
   "My name's Todd, and I'm not changin' it." This was the outspoken human.
   His elf girlfriend stood with her hands on her hips. "Then you can get used to calling me Solara Windchime, and if you don't like it, oh well."
   The gigglers were quieter this time, but still audible.
   "What? She was my elf Bard, back in college when I played D&D. I put a lot of hours into Solara, may as well claim her as my own, right?"
   "Dude, does that mean I can be Smash Bulgehammer?" one of the giants asked.
   "I mean, nothing is stopping you, but some of us don't wanna think about bulges, so..."
   The giant blushed. "I'll... think about it a bit more."
   Their most brash gryphon decided that his name would be Leo Flash, to no one's surprise. He chose Leo because his cat-like attributes seemed to be those of a leopard.
   One of the centaurs named himself Chet, because he liked Piers Anthony's Xanth series. He was still working on a second name.
   "I mean, by that logic, you could be Chet Anthony, or Chet Pier," Clay suggested.
   "Eh, I'm not much for fishing, and my name used to be Tony, so maybe not."
   Most of the denizens of the dragonhold wanted to change their name, since they were entirely new people here.
   The catkin who'd suggested the two name system gave his name much thought. He was a strong hunter of skitters and flitters alike (like a housecat, though no one wanted to mention it), so he chose Bones Jones.
   "Might I ask why Jones? I know you collect bones for tools, but..." Dragonfriend flapped a hand, at a loss how to continue.
   "Oh, I love Indiana Jones. He also hates snakes, and I kill things that kinda look like snakes." He shrugged, embarrassed.
   "Huh. No, that totally makes sense."
   "Wait, you're fine with Bones Jones, but not Maggie the Red, or someone's D&D character?" Todd really didn't have a leg to stand on, since he'd been one of the gigglers.
   "I didn't laugh at anyone's name."
   Todd grumbled and crossed his arms.
   Stella's owner, who was a stout grey gargoyle, said he was too old to change Stan, but he'd gladly trade his old middle name for Granite. "It kinda rhymes, an' I look like stone. Mebbe not granite, but I dunno, the almost-rhyme makes me chuckle. An' at my age, I'll take a chuckle where I find it. Not gonna take it for granite."
   Onnu chuckled, and said "Now, I'm not sure how old any of us truly are, here. We got new bodies, so does that make us like a month old? I dunno 'bout you, Stan, but I didn't wake up with any of my old aches and pains."
   He started to reply, but stopped. Rolled his head a bit on his shoulders. "Ye've got a point. But ain't no way I'm a month old!"
   "Plus we don't know how long the year is, here. We don't know if there are seasons. How would we even measure our ages?" Firmen had a good point.
   Onnu looked to Pannu. Did they tell them now? He hadn't specifically asked what was in the solar system, he simply bemoaned a lack of temporal landmarks.
   His eyes slid away first, but not by much.