Fic: The Summer Intern (cont.)

[jeriendhal]

Nan went back to her room to find Nez at her desk, leaning over her drawing tablet with an intense look on her face, her tongue caught between her teeth as she sketched out what looked like a ferin's bion distribution system.

“Homework?” she asked.

Nez looked up from the tablet. “Self improvement. I thought if I could sketch out how their bion generation system connects with their primary nervous system, I could understand them both better.”

“How's that working out?”

“I think I'll stick with unicorns and rainbows,” she declared, putting her stylus and pad away. She cocked her head at Nan. “Aren't you back a bit early? It's barely mid-day.”

“I got kicked out. I was reading the First One's mail to him and he decided he wanted some alone time after getting one from Matthew Townsend. “

Nez's eyebrows rose up in surprise. “He's still alive?”

“Only just, apparently. Anyway, I shouldn't be a gossip.” Nan waved the subject away. “I've been meaning to ask you though, what bring you to Newspring anyway?”

“I got a scholarship, same as you did,” she replied with a grin. “I am going to be the first Wazagan to earn a specialty in Ferin xenosurgery. Assuming Dr. Pouncer ever lets me close enough to one of his patients to operate on.”

“I can't imagine the opportunity comes along very often.”

Nez nodded. “The ferin have some pretty understandable historical paranoia about aliens poking surgical instruments at them. I have helped set the occasional broken leg and arm though. Even they can't land on their feet every time.” She picked up her stylus again and waved it at Nan. “Your turn. What are you trying to accomplish?”

“Write my paper, try not to annoy the First One, and get a better understanding of arboreal and in-betweener ferin.”

“Believe it or not, from I've heard anyway, you have to work really hard to annoy him for real. Though it has been done.” The wazagan frowned. “But that's all?”

“Well...” Nan felt her face heat up. “I want to be a diplomat.”

“Between vulpines and ferin? Not much need for that these days.”

She shook her head. “Between humans and ferin. I've got a minor in human psychology. I think... there must some way of making humans, the majority of humans, not just the liberal minded, see the ferin as people and not just animals. It has to be possible... or at least I hope it is.”

Nez whistled softly. “Bismallah, Nan. You don't think small, do you?”

“It's a dream. I never said it was practical,” she said, feeling suddenly defensive.

“Nothing wrong with dreams, if you're willing to work at them.”

TBC