jeriendhal | Fic: The Summer Intern (cont.)

Still grinding along until it's time for Nano. Then I 'll really be in trouble.

“What brings you out here?” the CP officer asked.

“Same thing as you, Greycoat. The difference is, I have the authority to do something about it. What are you doing here anyway?”

“Milord Brokentoe's office got a call that ferin were stealing crops. That's a crime, in case you didn't know.”

“That true, Master Furrow?” the First One asked the elder farmer. The old greyfur shrugged uncomfortably, apparently not sure what to make of the sparks grinding between the ferin and the CP officer. Which put him in the same category as Nan right now, though Freya and Skyler looked less shocked than resigned to the situation.

“Well, it's like I said to milord. I was checking my gravis fruit trees three days back.” He pointed to the orchard, where the native born fruit trees, tall with thick trunks and branches to support the pumpkin sized fruit, stood in neat rows. Though common locally, the fruit was an offworld delicacy with the advantage of being easily shipped without refrigeration or other special handling concerns, Nan recalled from her basic agro studies from her cub school days. “I found one whole tree stripped bare. It wasn't bat gliders nibbling at the rinds. I've got subsonic keepaways going for that. Thought it might be some north continent grazer that moved down south, at first.”

“You didn't think it was a ferin?” the First One asked.

“Da didn't see no reason to,” Furrow's son Bill replied. “We never had trouble with any troupes from the Region. Goddess knows we've even done fair trade from time to time, with them helping with the crops come harvest, and us buying gear for them the didn't have the creds for.”

“Second night though I saw 'em, though” Furrow said. “Had my window open for the breeze and I hear a joey start mewling out in the fields. You don't forget a squeak like that, poor things. Got out of my bed and grabbed my binoculars in time to see a doe pick up her joey from where he'd fallen out of one of my trees. There was a whole troupe of them up there, stuffing themselves sick on my fruit. Well I rushed out and started yellin' at 'em, and the lead buck with the pink hair just tries to stare me down. I asked him what by the Goddess did he think he was doing, and he said he feeding his does and what did I think I could do to stop him?”

“Did he attempt to assault you?” Graycoat asked.

“No, I ain't a fool. Didn't even have my old Service rifle with my just then, and I've seen what a ferin can do when he's riled up. Anyway, one of the does hopped down and looked at me sorta apologetic and tugged on his arm. Then he just jumped back up in the tree and then the whole pack of 'em just scampered back to the Region forest. Next morning I got on the com to Lord Brokentoe's office and they sent you and the First One out here.”

“Thanks, Master Furrow. My apologies for this incident.” The First One then told Nan, “Vix, make a note that Master Furrow is to be compensated from my personal accounts. Furrow, just tell her how much you think you lost and we'll settle it.”

Furrow waved the offer aside. “I don't care for the money so much. I just want to know that little gray thief won't be stealing my fruit again.”

The First One's face turned grim. “Oh, he won't be. Just follow me and you'll see.” He led them out around the house and started walking towards the edge of the orchard, in the direction of the treeline. The two farmers and Greycoat walked beside him, while Nan let herself trail back out of earshot to walk beside Freya and Skyler.

“What's the story with that Civil Protection officer and the First One?” she asked the ranger. “I thought they were ready to bite each others' ears off, but then he started calling the first one by his given name. I didn't think there was anyone with permission to do that who was less than eighty years old.”

“There isn't. Greycoat just does that to yank the First One's chain.” Freya replied.

“Who does he think he is then?”

Freya's laugh didn't have any humor behind it. “He's a Freeman Scholar, just as you are. Six years ago he became the first Newspringer to earn that title, on the basis of a report he wrote on integrating ferin instinctual tendencies better with vulpine laws.”

“Seriously? What happened?”

“He came to the administration village to work with the First One, same as you. Then he gave up the scholarship and left about a month later.”

Nan's eyes widened. “Why would he leave? Just getting here is hard enough.”

“He didn't leave, the First One kicked him out,” Skyler chimed in. “Big fuss at the time. I flew him back to the the visitor's center myself. Fella was mad enough to...” The ferin pilot shrugged. ”Well, he was plenty mad. And no ferin came even close to the First One's treehouse for a week after either. He was putting out some seriously bad vibes.”

Nan whistled softly. “And now he's a CP. With all that, I'm surprised he's posted so close to the Region.”

“Lord Brokentoe respects the ferin as much as any other, well most, vulpines.” Freya said. “But he's made no bones about being sore that his family had to give up a portion of their domain when the Autonomous Region was created. I think hiring Greycoat was his way of tweaking the First One's spurs a little.”

“Lovely.”

TBC