Fic: The Summer Intern (cont.)
Mar. 12th, 2011 08:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalNo, I'm not going to stop being cruel to secondary characters...
The First One had loaned her a bright red hooded rain slicker from his wardrobe, which Nan wore to cover herself on the walk back through the woods to her quarters, making her think of tales of careless granddaughters and talking Morro Wolves. Nez was absent, but Nan was able to track her down back at the hospital just as she was finishing up her dinner.
"How are things going with that little doe?" Nan asked, sitting across from her roommate in the busy, twenty-six hour cafeteria. Nez was dressed in blue hospital scrubs with cartoony jumping pre-ferin printed on them, looking much better after nearly a day of rest.
Nez dug through her bowl of hummus and tahini, chewing as she talked, "She's a'righ' so far. She as'ed fer food, whish ish r'lly goo'." She swallowed and continued. "The nutritionist is trying to regulate her though, so she doesn't burst her stomach open after starving herself for so long. I heard the poor alpha buck in the ward has had to come down hard to keep everybody from slipping her treats on the side."
"It's a better problem to have than the alternative," Nan said.
"Still pretty serious. Gastric-intestinal ruptures are no joke. How are things going with you and the Big Grey Boss?"
"We're getting on. I'm supposed to start grading papers from the education centre students when he gets back from his interview." Nan decided to leave out the little incident with the pre-ferin and the ancient bathrobe. She liked Nez, but that wasn't exactly a story she wanted passed around.
"Beats dealing with a detached disc because somebody got their tail yanked too hard. Dr. Pouncer is going to try and tractor it back in pace for the poor fellow this evening, with me attending." Nez's chrono began to beep. She glanced down at it, grabbed her bowl to swallow down the remains of her hummus, then chased it with a cup of the vile concoction that wazagans called tea. "Gotta go. I'm back on call in five minutes."
"Righto. Any chance I'll see you before midnight?"
"Doubt it. I have to catch up after helping with the little doe's arrival last night."
"Okay. I won't wait up then." She said her goodbyes to Nez and headed back towards the First One's tree house, wondering when the abominable rain was ever going to stop. When she climbed back up to the landing, calling out for the First One, she received no answer. So she slipped inside and hung her slicker on a hook by the door and called up the lights. Nan then busied herself straitening up the kitchen, figuring that he had to be back soon if he hadn't been detained by some emergency. Better that she make herself useful until then, even if it was by playing housemaid.
The comconsole began to chime just as she was putting away the last of the dishes, and Nan turned towards it hesitantly. The screen noted that the call was coming from one of the interstellar communication companies, transmitted by notable expense live over the FTL comnet. Would it be better to let the comconsole take a recorded message? No, if it was was important enough that someone offworld was trying to get the First One directly, it would be best if she answered it herself, in case she needed to fetch him quickly, she decided.
Nan sat down in the comconsole's station chair, touched the receive button and said politely, "You've reached the First One's residence. Who is calling, please?"
Over the vid plate the image of an elderly human male appeared, sitting in an overstuffed reclining chair. He was tall, with a fringe of white hair around his bald head, blue eyes, skin pale enough to be nearly white and an oxygen tube clipped to his nose. He blinked at her in confusion. "Who are you, young lady? Where's Ter?" he said, his voice slightly nasal from the tube up his nostrl.
"Forgive me, sir. I'm Nan Clawstroke, the First One's intern. He isn't here right now." Ter?
"Ah, damn. I'm Matt, Matthew Townsend rather. I was hoping to talk to him."
Nan straightened up automatically in the comconsole's seat. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Townsend. He's off doing an interview right now." She took a deep breath. Really, it wasn't fair that she had to meet a historical figure when she didn't have her notepad with her.
Mr. Townsend smiled and let out a brief laugh that quickly turned to a cough. He caught his breath and said, "They put some damned nanobots in my lungs to suck up all the fluids in 'em. Feels like I've got ants crawling around inside me. Anyway, I saw the interview on the viddy. Figured I ought to call Ter and cheer him up. He's always in a bad mood after doing one of those."
"Yes, sir."
"How's he doing, by the way?"
"Um, well. He's all right. Healthy rather. He's been teaching me a lot."
Mr. Townsend nodded. "Good, good. Ter hasn't been riding you too hard, has he?"
She felt her face flush under her fur. "No, well, not too bad. Like I said I've been learning a lot, especially how the Autonomous Region works."
"Good. Don't let him get to you if he seems too harsh. The Freeman Scholarship was Lance and Leeza's idea, way back when. Supposed to promote understanding and healthy relations between humans and ferin." Mr. Townsend coughed again, then continued. "Ter wasn't keen on going along with it, but Leeza kept pushing it until she finally made it an order for him. The last one she ever gave to him before she passed away. He wasn't real happy about that. Tends to take it out on the poor youngsters they send him."
"Oh," Nan said. Well, that explained the rather unwelcoming welcome she'd received when she first arrived then. She frowned, a though occurring to her. "Wait, you said it was supposed to promote ferin and human relations? I though it was for vulpine students."
Mr. Townsend didn't reply at first, still trying to catch his breath after his last speech. He finally took a deep breath and said, "No, not originally. The program's review board changed the entry requirements after... a couple of incidents. Federation Intelligence trying to slip in ringers to gather intel about the Region. After that the scholarship board voted to alter the entry requirements to all species. Since then vulps are the only ones they actually let in."
"That's... really sad," Nan said, after moment.
Mr. Townsend nodded. "It's politics. Anyway, I didn't call about that. I wanted to tell Teri that I was all right. Told my granddaughter she shouldn't have sent that note to him. Knew it would just make him upset."
"Yes, he seemed pretty worried," she admitted.
He shook his head. "Knew it. Frell, I've been in and out of hospital so much the past ten years I ought t' just buy a timeshare there. It wasn't that big of a deal. I'll be up and about in a week or two." He smiled at her, then bent over into another coughing fit that lasted nearly a minute. When he rose again, he was breathing heavily, his head sinking into the chair's headrest.
"I'll tell him you called, sir," she said quickly, while he was still catching his breath.
"You do that," he gasped. "Tell him... Tell him I'm all right."
"Yes, Mr. Townsend." She cut the com before he tried to say anything more.
Nan leaned back into the comconsole's station chair, closing her eyes and rubbing her muzzle, trying to figure out what she was going to tell the First One when he came back. Hello, sir, your friend Mr. Townsend called to lie to you about his health, would probably be the most accurate thing, and the least likely to be appreciated.
"Maryanne is gonna be pissed at him when gets her com bill next month," she heard the First One say. Nan started and abruptly stood up from the station chair, turning around to see him standing right behind her, still dressed in his interview suit.
"Oh, sir! I'm sorry you missed him," she said.
"I didn't miss anything," the First One replied. "I came up to the porch just as the com chimed."
Nan frowned. "You did? Why didn't you come in and talk to him?"
"I heard everything I needed to hear."
"But... But I thought he was your friend."
"He's my best friend," the First One said, his drooping tail belying his carefully neutral expression.
"Then why didn't you...?"
The First One sighed. "If I had talked to him, he would have wanted to talk for a good long while, just t' prove t' me that he really wasn't that bad off. Maybe long enough t' get himself so worn out that he just sends himself back into hospital. He's done it before. I'll record a reply instead and send it off to him in a couple of hours."
"I guess that makes sense," Nan admitted. She drew up her courage and dared to ask, "How sick do you think he really is?"
The First One frowned. "He's dying, Vix. He's been dying for almost a decade now. I... doubt it'll be much longer though." He shook his head. "That's not your worry though. Sit down and I'll show you how to access the student files from the learning centre."
"Yes, First One," Nan replied. She sat back in the station chair and took notes as he opened up the files and told her about the centre's grading system.
He didn't speak about Mr. Townsend again.
TBC
The First One had loaned her a bright red hooded rain slicker from his wardrobe, which Nan wore to cover herself on the walk back through the woods to her quarters, making her think of tales of careless granddaughters and talking Morro Wolves. Nez was absent, but Nan was able to track her down back at the hospital just as she was finishing up her dinner.
"How are things going with that little doe?" Nan asked, sitting across from her roommate in the busy, twenty-six hour cafeteria. Nez was dressed in blue hospital scrubs with cartoony jumping pre-ferin printed on them, looking much better after nearly a day of rest.
Nez dug through her bowl of hummus and tahini, chewing as she talked, "She's a'righ' so far. She as'ed fer food, whish ish r'lly goo'." She swallowed and continued. "The nutritionist is trying to regulate her though, so she doesn't burst her stomach open after starving herself for so long. I heard the poor alpha buck in the ward has had to come down hard to keep everybody from slipping her treats on the side."
"It's a better problem to have than the alternative," Nan said.
"Still pretty serious. Gastric-intestinal ruptures are no joke. How are things going with you and the Big Grey Boss?"
"We're getting on. I'm supposed to start grading papers from the education centre students when he gets back from his interview." Nan decided to leave out the little incident with the pre-ferin and the ancient bathrobe. She liked Nez, but that wasn't exactly a story she wanted passed around.
"Beats dealing with a detached disc because somebody got their tail yanked too hard. Dr. Pouncer is going to try and tractor it back in pace for the poor fellow this evening, with me attending." Nez's chrono began to beep. She glanced down at it, grabbed her bowl to swallow down the remains of her hummus, then chased it with a cup of the vile concoction that wazagans called tea. "Gotta go. I'm back on call in five minutes."
"Righto. Any chance I'll see you before midnight?"
"Doubt it. I have to catch up after helping with the little doe's arrival last night."
"Okay. I won't wait up then." She said her goodbyes to Nez and headed back towards the First One's tree house, wondering when the abominable rain was ever going to stop. When she climbed back up to the landing, calling out for the First One, she received no answer. So she slipped inside and hung her slicker on a hook by the door and called up the lights. Nan then busied herself straitening up the kitchen, figuring that he had to be back soon if he hadn't been detained by some emergency. Better that she make herself useful until then, even if it was by playing housemaid.
The comconsole began to chime just as she was putting away the last of the dishes, and Nan turned towards it hesitantly. The screen noted that the call was coming from one of the interstellar communication companies, transmitted by notable expense live over the FTL comnet. Would it be better to let the comconsole take a recorded message? No, if it was was important enough that someone offworld was trying to get the First One directly, it would be best if she answered it herself, in case she needed to fetch him quickly, she decided.
Nan sat down in the comconsole's station chair, touched the receive button and said politely, "You've reached the First One's residence. Who is calling, please?"
Over the vid plate the image of an elderly human male appeared, sitting in an overstuffed reclining chair. He was tall, with a fringe of white hair around his bald head, blue eyes, skin pale enough to be nearly white and an oxygen tube clipped to his nose. He blinked at her in confusion. "Who are you, young lady? Where's Ter?" he said, his voice slightly nasal from the tube up his nostrl.
"Forgive me, sir. I'm Nan Clawstroke, the First One's intern. He isn't here right now." Ter?
"Ah, damn. I'm Matt, Matthew Townsend rather. I was hoping to talk to him."
Nan straightened up automatically in the comconsole's seat. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Townsend. He's off doing an interview right now." She took a deep breath. Really, it wasn't fair that she had to meet a historical figure when she didn't have her notepad with her.
Mr. Townsend smiled and let out a brief laugh that quickly turned to a cough. He caught his breath and said, "They put some damned nanobots in my lungs to suck up all the fluids in 'em. Feels like I've got ants crawling around inside me. Anyway, I saw the interview on the viddy. Figured I ought to call Ter and cheer him up. He's always in a bad mood after doing one of those."
"Yes, sir."
"How's he doing, by the way?"
"Um, well. He's all right. Healthy rather. He's been teaching me a lot."
Mr. Townsend nodded. "Good, good. Ter hasn't been riding you too hard, has he?"
She felt her face flush under her fur. "No, well, not too bad. Like I said I've been learning a lot, especially how the Autonomous Region works."
"Good. Don't let him get to you if he seems too harsh. The Freeman Scholarship was Lance and Leeza's idea, way back when. Supposed to promote understanding and healthy relations between humans and ferin." Mr. Townsend coughed again, then continued. "Ter wasn't keen on going along with it, but Leeza kept pushing it until she finally made it an order for him. The last one she ever gave to him before she passed away. He wasn't real happy about that. Tends to take it out on the poor youngsters they send him."
"Oh," Nan said. Well, that explained the rather unwelcoming welcome she'd received when she first arrived then. She frowned, a though occurring to her. "Wait, you said it was supposed to promote ferin and human relations? I though it was for vulpine students."
Mr. Townsend didn't reply at first, still trying to catch his breath after his last speech. He finally took a deep breath and said, "No, not originally. The program's review board changed the entry requirements after... a couple of incidents. Federation Intelligence trying to slip in ringers to gather intel about the Region. After that the scholarship board voted to alter the entry requirements to all species. Since then vulps are the only ones they actually let in."
"That's... really sad," Nan said, after moment.
Mr. Townsend nodded. "It's politics. Anyway, I didn't call about that. I wanted to tell Teri that I was all right. Told my granddaughter she shouldn't have sent that note to him. Knew it would just make him upset."
"Yes, he seemed pretty worried," she admitted.
He shook his head. "Knew it. Frell, I've been in and out of hospital so much the past ten years I ought t' just buy a timeshare there. It wasn't that big of a deal. I'll be up and about in a week or two." He smiled at her, then bent over into another coughing fit that lasted nearly a minute. When he rose again, he was breathing heavily, his head sinking into the chair's headrest.
"I'll tell him you called, sir," she said quickly, while he was still catching his breath.
"You do that," he gasped. "Tell him... Tell him I'm all right."
"Yes, Mr. Townsend." She cut the com before he tried to say anything more.
Nan leaned back into the comconsole's station chair, closing her eyes and rubbing her muzzle, trying to figure out what she was going to tell the First One when he came back. Hello, sir, your friend Mr. Townsend called to lie to you about his health, would probably be the most accurate thing, and the least likely to be appreciated.
"Maryanne is gonna be pissed at him when gets her com bill next month," she heard the First One say. Nan started and abruptly stood up from the station chair, turning around to see him standing right behind her, still dressed in his interview suit.
"Oh, sir! I'm sorry you missed him," she said.
"I didn't miss anything," the First One replied. "I came up to the porch just as the com chimed."
Nan frowned. "You did? Why didn't you come in and talk to him?"
"I heard everything I needed to hear."
"But... But I thought he was your friend."
"He's my best friend," the First One said, his drooping tail belying his carefully neutral expression.
"Then why didn't you...?"
The First One sighed. "If I had talked to him, he would have wanted to talk for a good long while, just t' prove t' me that he really wasn't that bad off. Maybe long enough t' get himself so worn out that he just sends himself back into hospital. He's done it before. I'll record a reply instead and send it off to him in a couple of hours."
"I guess that makes sense," Nan admitted. She drew up her courage and dared to ask, "How sick do you think he really is?"
The First One frowned. "He's dying, Vix. He's been dying for almost a decade now. I... doubt it'll be much longer though." He shook his head. "That's not your worry though. Sit down and I'll show you how to access the student files from the learning centre."
"Yes, First One," Nan replied. She sat back in the station chair and took notes as he opened up the files and told her about the centre's grading system.
He didn't speak about Mr. Townsend again.
TBC
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-14 10:48 am (UTC)Poor Matt :)
I bet Teri is glad he is still about, though. I wonder if they ever be able to talk to each other again...
mjkj