Fic: The Summer Intern (cont.)

[jeriendhal]

The conversation ended as the First One came to the edge of the great forest, stopping to stand at an easy parade rest, staring at the trees. Nan took a moment to whisper to Skyler, “Are they here?”

Skyler's face became abstracted, as he looked around with his inner eye. “They're here,” he finally said. “I'll be bet they've been keeping an eye on us the whole time. My bion range stinks, but even I can feel how tense the troupe is.”

“So what now?”

“Just watch,” Freya advised.

The First One continued to stare at the trees, seemingly content to stay where he was all day if need be. In perhaps five minutes though there was a shuffling among the tree branches, and then a single buck came down, followed by several does and bachelor bucks, perhaps twenty in all.

The alpha buck matched his holograph. Dead gray eyes looked the group over, peeking out from under pink bangs. Like the rest of the troupe he was naked, and Nan could easily see the scars in his chest where the feed ports had been removed after he'd escaped his service in the power tanks. He strode up to the First One, stopping two meters in front of him, then crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited.

The silence stretched out for almost a minute.

“What do you want?” the buck finally asked, after a glance back to one of the does, who was comforting a fussy joey in her pouch.

“Master Furrow here says you've been stealing the fruit from his orchard.” The First One didn't bother phrasing it as a question.

“So what if we did? We were hungry.”

“It's not yours to take.”

The buck's tail lashed. “He can grow more.”

“It's not yours,” the First One repeated slowly, as if he was talking to an idiot cubling. “Ya got two hundred thousand square klicks of Region to wander around in, what made ya think stealing from a farmer on the border was a good idea?”

The buck grinned. “Fruit grows fatter when there's somebody tending it. And the vulps owe us.”

The First One hissed quietly in irritation. “Wrong. The vulps owe me. You're just ridin' my coattails with that argument. You're here because the vulps decided to be kind. You owe them big, all of them, for pulling you out of that power cell and giving you a world to call home. They don't deserve to be spat in the face by you stealing from them.”

The grin dropped from the buck's face, his expression turning quickly to anger. “No!” he shouted. “I don't owe them anything! I got pulled from the only troupe I ever knew when I got taken from that power cell! What about them, huh? What about all of them that got left behind?”

The First One answered, his tone still quiet and even. “They're still there. They're still slaves. It stinks and it ain't fair, but there ain't squat you can do about. There ain't squat I can do about it. That's just the way it is. Sometimes you just have to swallow it and move on.”

“Fragg that! I'm not going to swallow that crap anymore! I'm not gonna swallow anything from anybody anym...”

The angry buck's speech stopped in mid-sentence as the First One stared him down. Nan felt as if every hair on her pelt was standing on end, as she realized the First One was projecting himself, letting the buck taste exactly how much power the ferin that confronted him really had. Beside her, Skyler swallowed and dropped down his knees, spurs and tail flattening, as did the bachelor bucks and does standing behind the Alpha buck. The buck was the last to kneel, a great shiver going through his body as the First One made him acknowledge his superior bion projection.

“Now that you're paying attention,” the First One said in that same quiet tone. “Here's how it's going to go. You're going to move on. You're going to leave Master Furrow and his farm, and the farms of every vulpine on this planet alone. Because if I catch you bothering them again, I'll move you and your whole troupe to the other side of the fragging continent. Do you understand me?”

The buck muttered something inaudible.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Yes, First One,” the buck said more loudly.

“Better. Now get out of here, far from here, and pray your does have more sense than you do and keep you from doing anything that stupid again.” The First One then turned his back on the buck and his troupe, walking back to the farmhouse as the buck and his troupe melted back into the forest.

“That's it?” Officer Greycoat demanded.

“That's it,” the First One said. “It's over and done. They won't come back here.”

“They're still thieves!”

The First One hissed again. “They're ferin thieves. My responsibility, Region citizens, and outside your bloody jurisdiction. I told him to stay away and I let him know just how junior he is to me. He'll obey. As for the rest, my offer of compensation still stands, Master Furrow. Just contact my office and it'll be taken care of.”

“I may,” the farmer replied, looking satisfied. “I'd be just as happy if they stayed away though.”

“They will.”

“And what am I supposed to write up in my report to my commander?” Greycoat asked.

“That the matter was resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. You can make up whatever details you want to go along with it, if it'll make you happy.”

Officer Greycoat went back to his cruiser, grumbling to himself, as the First One shook paws with Master Furrow and his son, and then climbed back into the flyer. As a still subdued Skyler took them up into the air, the First One muttered, “That one's going to be trouble.”

“Which, Officer Greycoat or the buck?” Nan ventured to ask.

“The buck,” he replied. “Greycoat is just another CP who's too full of himself.”

“I thought you said he'd listen to you and not bother the farmers anymore?”

“I did. That doesn't mean he won't find something other kind of mess to get it into.” For the first time that afternoon, the First One allowed a wry smile to cross his face. “I know the type.”

TBC

Comments

[drakemagi.livejournal.com]

*shivers* I had no idea Terinu . . . Wow.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Even among his own people, he's a bit of a freak.

[lilfluff.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no more farm raiding. I suppose he'll either start raiding other troupes or start trying to find ways to undermine Teri's authority (even if as is apparent he can't stand up to him in a straight on confrontation).

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

[random observation]
Somehow it's giving me headaches that the Ferin are referred to with terms usually reserved for animals.
[/random observation]

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

It's an artifact of how they were raised and treated by the Varn. And the unfortunate fact is that they do operate on instinct a lot. No more so than any other sentient being, but they have fewer pretensions about what really drives them.

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

Mhm. Just looking at the stuff that is sometimes labelled "PC" in English nowadays, it seems weird that animal-terms are used by default. I guess I've heard of too many humans rejecting degrading labels for themselves, and am not that good at thinking in alien psychology.

[mjkj.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he recognises himself there :) - and even acknowledges it...

I am glad he could solve that issue amicably with the farmers Furrow :)

...but what would happen if the First One is not anymore? Whoelse would have that authority?

I like it how he dealt with CP Greycoat... =D

mjkj

[chaypeta.livejournal.com]

So much to like in this update! I love the contrast of teri and Skylars levels of ability demonstrated subtly at the start...ei Skylar has to concentrate to even sense another ferin bion auras. Loved the interaction between Teri and the feral buck... he certainly does have some issues. Loved Terinu pointing out that HE was the one the vulpine were indebted to and the arguement spiralling out of control until Teri pulled his 'I win' card.

As for the farmer and greycoat... Teri's become quit the diplomat. You've got me wondering on the last line if we'll see the pink haired buck again and if he's going to either help or screw things up further.