Lexicon:Modern/Gyrska
| Gyrska | |
|---|---|
| Stage | Modern CLT |
| Pronunciation | /ˈgɪɾs.ka/ |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Etymology | from Gyrr; a bred line of the Neska |
| Related words | Neska, Gyrr, Chirska, Naev |
Gyrska — the household and ship line of the Neska. Kept for company as much as for use.
Notes
Nine centuries of people keeping the friendly ones and feeding them have made it a different animal. Smaller, shorter in the face, patchier and softer in the coat, with a curl to the tail and a great deal more to say. It seeks contact rather than tolerating it, sleeps on people, and attaches to a person or a household rather than to a place — which is the exact reversal of what the stock was built to do. It still hunts. It does it as play, and brings the results to somebody. Every ship carries one, since a hull is a house that floats and a working Neska would be miserable in it. A ship’s Gyrska belongs to the vessel rather than to any one hand: it knows the whole crew, inspects a new one thoroughly before accepting them, and sailors take the verdict seriously. A ship without a Gyrska is thought poorly run, which means either nobody thought about the stores or the crew is the sort an animal does not settle with. Both readings are made. Crews trade and gift the young between vessels. Named for the Gyrr it makes.