Bear Coast Page 4

  “Gerak,” said Sharlee simply in exasperation.

  Trex grimaced, the image of the Anthro lion Councillor, with his slicked-back black hair, narrow probing eyes and crooked satisfied smirk flashed through his head. Trex always thought that the councillor must have been related to a wild Liezon, a lizard like creature on the Anthro world. He was definitely as dangerous as one.

  “He came all the way out to Bridgehead just to cause trouble?”

  “Seems that way,” said Sharlee off hand.

  Trex was once again amazed at his aunt’s ability to always seem calm.

  “He really does hate this family… and in particularly poor Zea,” said Trex bitterly.

  “He pretty much said as much,” confirmed Trex’s aunt. “He called Zea an abomination.”

  “He did what!?” said Trex, getting angry.

  “That’s pretty much how Karthen reacted,” said Sharlee calmly.

  “I’m surprised Karthen wasn’t arrested for hitting that idiot between his beady eyes,” continued Trex bitterly.

  “He probably would have,” answered Sharlee, “if I hadn’t held on to his arm so tightly.”

  Trex suddenly remembered back to seeing his uncle just moments before, remembering a bruise on his uncle’s arm which now made more sense… Sharlee must have really had to restrain him.

  “So I take it that you were unable to enrol Zea again for the start of school next term?”

  Sharlee let out a sigh, finally showing that she too found the whole thing exasperating.

  “It’s like Councillor Gerak knew that we had that letter from Head councillor Tasch Huzzel,” the older female Anthro wolf said.

  It had been over a year since Sharlee and Karthen had started to try and enrol their daughter at the school in Bridgehead. At first they had been delayed by all kinds of bureaucracy as they were neither an Anthro lion nor wolf family. This had not been helped by the prejudice of some of the officials. The fact that Trex’s uncle Karthen had been stripped of his citizenship also did not help. It had dragged on until Head Councillor Tasch had been kind enough to write a kind, and stern, letter of reference.

  “So the letter didn’t help?” asked Trex, honestly surprised.

  Normally a letter from the Head Councillor was enough to get most bureaucracy fast tracked, particularly with Tasch’s knowledge of the law.

  “It would have,” replied Sharlee, “but Gerak has escalated the matter. He has formally demanded to hold an Open Forum in front of the full council to discuss the status of Zea. Which is his right as a Councillor, it seems.”

  “The status of Zea?” questioned Trex

  “Well, she isn’t a Wolf… and she isn’t a Lion.”

  “No duuu,” said Trex in exasperation.

  Sharlee smiled slightly at her nephew’s comment, feeling it summed up the situation correctly.

  “And so Zea apparently doesn’t have the rights of either.”

  “What a load of rubbish,” commented Trex.

  “I would have to agree,” said Sharlee, “unfortunately there are enough lions of influence back in RefugeCross that think the same way as the dear Councillor. And the wording of the law doesn’t help either.”

  “So he’s going to use wording to deny an Anthro the right to an education, the right to exist at all?”

  “He is a Councillor, and a qualified lawyer I understand, words, and twisting their meanings is his life.”

  “And what about justice?”

  Sharlee chuckled at the idea, the chuckling quickly developing into an ironic laugh.

  Trex gave his aunt a questioning look.

  “I’ve lived under the Wolf Kingdom and the Lion Empire, laws and government have nothing to do with justice.”

  Trex looked a little shocked at the scepticism of his aunt.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Karthen, coming in through the back door, obviously having heard his wife laughing while cleaning his bare feet.

  “Trex just wondered where the justice was,” said Sharlee with a smile.

  Karthen sniggered, obviously sharing the same opinion as his wife.

  “When you find it,” he said to Trex, “can you tell me were it is?”

  Trex looked between his two relatives with a noticeable level of scepticism.

  “What about Tasch. Katan, Felx or Councillor Emela?” retorted Trex, a little defensively.

  “Don’t get me wrong” said Sharlee calmly, giving the youth a disarming smile, “there are always a few good Anthros around. Otherwise nothing would work.”

  “The problem is,” continued Karthen, guessing the flow of the conversation, “the system is made up of many Anthros, all with their own personality, history and morality.”

  “And unfortunately, not many are as liberal as Tasch or the others,” said Sharlee, finishing of the sentence for her husband.

  Trex frowned.

  “Where’s Zea?” asked Sharlee to her husband.

  “I left her to feed the poultry and collect the eggs on her own,” replied Karthen. “No use both of us getting all dirty.”

  Sharlee gave him a look which clearly indicated that he had missed the point somewhere.

  “What?” said Karthen defensively, “I’ll give her a bath as soon as she gets back.”

  Sharlee smirked in anticipation.

  “So, what’s going to happen now?” interrupted Trex, “Start of term is only a few months away now.

  Karthen took hold of some of the documents strewn on the table, reading over them absentmindedly.

  “It looks like Zea has been Councillor Gerak’s personal hobby for a while. He has planned ahead,” said Karthen, not hiding the bitterness in his voice well “The Open Forum will be held in eight days.”

  “Didn’t you get a warning from Captain Felx about this?” asked Trex, a little surprised.

  “We got a letter some time ago about it… but we’re not told everything that goes on in the capital by Captain Farell,” said Sharlee referring to Captain Felx’s surname, an Anthro wolf habit.

  “I’m sure he’s trying his best, just like Councillor Tasch is,” said Karthen knowingly. “We’ll find out all about it when we head into RefugeCross next week for the Open Forum.”

  “I can’t wait to see Head Councillor Tasch take him apart in front of everyone,” said Trex confidently, his expression mischievous. The young Anthro lion male had every confidence in the noble older Head Councillor’s ability, both through observing her in meetings during some of his trespassing in the council chambers, as well as from stories that his friend Brekiz had told him about Brekiz’s grandmother.

  “I hope she does, but you might not get to see it yourself,” said Karthen waving a sheet of paper in front of him.

  “Why?” asked Trex.

  “Your final exam is scheduled on the same day.”

  “You got the authorisation?” said Trex happily, grabbing the piece of paper that would mark the start of his life as a free citizen of the Lion Empire.

  “But exams are always scheduled a few days before ‘old hermit’s day’?” Trex continued, referring to a public holiday held at the end of autumn.

  “Councillor Gerak again,” said Karthen with a sigh, “and another one of his Councillor’s privileges.”

  Trex read through the document quickly.

  “And you always complain that wolf officials have too much power,” commented Sharlee towards her husband as a side note.

  Karthen shrugged his shoulders good naturedly.

  “A test of honour?” said Trex in slight disbelief, “wait… that’s a… is that even still allowed?”

  A test of honour was a very old tradition which was very rarely used anymore. It was a mock battle for Anthro lions who wished to become citizens before the average age. It was created to supposedly test their ability to handle combat against wolves as part of their duty as a citizen reservist.

  “Apparently it is still allowed,” said Karthen, “and he is well within his rights to request
one apparently… if he is ‘worried’ about a youth’s ability to shoulder his citizenship duties.”

  “That arrogant ass,” said Trex bitterly.

  “It shouldn’t be a problem for you, not after your little adventure and all,” said Karthen, his tone and side glance indicating he still didn’t approve of Trex’s previous actions.

  “But still,” said Trex, ignoring his uncle’s glance, “why all the effort just to cause trouble for us?”

  “Who knows,” said Sharlee honestly.

  “At least we know he hates the whole family, and not just Zea,” said Karthen ironically.

  “Great,” said Trex.

  Trex couldn’t help but thinking that there was a whole level of hostility against his family that was far worse than just day to day prejudices. He was only starting to realise that this deeper and more dangerous hostility was more about what they stood for.

  Worry and doubt began to creep into his mind. How much had Sharlee and Karthen shielded him from this hostility when he was younger? And now that he was older, wasn’t it his responsibility to his family to share some of the burden?

  “I’m done,” came Zea’s chirpy voice from outside.

  Her return broke the line of conversation.

  Karthen slowly got up. Opening the back door, he found a girl covered from head to tow with mud and feathers. She was proudly holding a clean egg basket and feed bucket slightly away to each side.

  “Aaargh!” shouted Karthen in shock, realising what he now ahead of him.

  “What happened?!” he asked his muddy daughter, completely perplexed.

  Back at the kitchen table Trex blinked a few times in disbelief.

  Behind Trex, Sharlee leaned forward on her elbows, a mother’s ‘knowing smile’ on her face.

  - CHAPTER THREE -

  By the book

  (Meanwhile…)

  The athletic Anthro lion known as Lieutenant Millan could be seen striding confidently down a main road in one of the better quarters of RefugeCross.

  In this part of town, the impressive multi-story buildings were elegantly decorated with imposing stone features and delicate mosaics and painted elements. As was typical Anthro lion style, the buildings often had a small courtyard at their centre. Plants and flowers also featured heavily in the decoration, and for those who could afford it, flowing water, pools or fountains.

  Though wearing a simple soldier’s uniform, Lieutenant Millan seemed well within her element. Her elegant features and confident, piercing stare commanded respect, as well as admiration. The scars around her eye and on her body seemed only to contrast her obvious beauty even more, and hint at her true strength.

  The barely middle-aged Anthro had quickly stamped her reputation upon arriving in this distant outpost of the Lion Empire.

  Milan received another nod of respect from a passing lion citizen, which she courteously acknowledged as she always did.

  Soon afterwards, Millan found herself at her destination, a large and sumptuous trading house. The Trade Guild’s golden coat of arms shone brightly in the late afternoon sun.

  The female Anthro walked up to a couple of male guards at the door.

  “Lieutenant Millan,” greeted one of the two male lion guards, coming to attention in military style.

  “I have an appointment,” she said in her normal business like manner

  “We know ma’am, please, go on through,” he said in a polite but soldierly manner.

  As the two male lions were currently not on active reserve duty, and were technically civilians, there was no need to use the honorific Ma’am, or indeed to come to attention. The fact that most civilians who came into contact with Lieutenant Millan did this subconsciously, illustrated exactly how overwhelming her projection of military authority was.

  Millan nodded and then walked past the two into the entrance hall of the trading house.

  The ground floor of the spacious building had high ceilings with a lot of natural light and immaculately tiled floors. It was designed to impress guests, and it did not disappoint.

  Entering the large central courtyard, the Lieutenant walked past a decorative fountain then proceeded up a wide sweeping staircase. At the top, a well dressed young Anthro lion male sat behind an imposing timber desk. The room he was in was mostly opened to the elements, a necessity in the hot summers of the lower planes.

  “I am here to see Councillor Gerak,” said Millan.

  “He will be with you shortly,” replied the young beardless male Anthro lion, not looking up from his large ledger. “Please take a seat over there.”

  He indicated with his arm over to some elegant cane furniture which surrounded an expensive looking table.

  Millan walked over and took a seat, the young male taking the opportunity to take a quick glance at the older female. Guild members were not as quickly impressed as mere guards, but even they recognised an attractive lion when they walked past.

  The Lieutenant looked down into the courtyard, getting a feel for the layout of the building.

  Though Councillor Gerak was a lawyer by education, the only way to make real money was to join the trade guild, something the councillor’s family had done generations ago. The well educated Councillor split his time between his official office and his familie’s business, combining both fields of power to great effect it would appear.

  Near to the sitting Millan, a small house liezon scurried down the side of a nearby pillar.

  With a similar body shape to that of the much larger primary-predator versions in the wild, house liezons were about the size of a housecat on our world, and performed much to the same function on the Anthro world. It looked much like a large gecko, except with small point leathery ears and some bony protrusions on its head, back and tail. Like all liezons, this one could change the colour of its soft, smooth and dark scales.

  Pocking its head from around the pillar, light blue rippled over its skin as an indication of curiosity.

  Lieutenant Millan watched the creature impassively.

  Blinking its large eyes for a moment, the liezon scurried over to the Anthro lion. Running up the leg of her chair to perch its head on the armrest, it looked up at the female expectantly.

  The Lieutenant’s features softened ever so slightly and she moved her hand to stroke the animal behind the ear, eliciting some satisfactory murmurs from the small creature.

  Nearby, one of the small gold bells hanging from a board behind the clerk chimed.

  The clerk quickly got up, moving towards a doorway before turning back to Millan.

  “This way please,” he said kindly.

  Millan stood up immediately, walking over and through the doorway.

  The liezon watched her go, still murmuring.

  The Lieutenant entered Councillor Gerak’s office. The spacious room was richly and tastefully decorated. Large green plants flanked the Councillor’s heavy timber desk which sat in front of three dominating glassed windows. These windows were currently half open to allow a breeze to circulate through the room. Against the walls were large bookcases full of valuable looking volumes.

  On the high ceiling a large wood and canvass panel swung back and forth. It was powered by a pulley system which disappeared into the roof on either side. The moving surface no doubt provided a pleasant breeze in the height of summer.

  “Lieutenant Millan,” greeted the well dressed Councillor with a large smile, getting up from behind his desk.

  “Councillor,” replied the raven haired Lieutenant.

  The councillor moved over to meet the Lieutenant in the middle of the room.

  The two bowed respectfully with hand gestures before Gerak lead her over to two comfortable looking chairs to one side.

  “Please, take a seat,” he said.

  The two Anthro lions sat down.

  Unlike most Anthros, Councillor Gerak didn’t always go bare-foot.

  Though his non councillor clothing were loose fitting and sparse like all other Anthros, his cl
othing was clearly made of the finest material and were considerably more elaborate and delicate.

  This complemented his swepped-back black hair and the stylish goatee of longer black hair over the short orange fur that covered his face.

  “I’m so glad that you took my invitation to visit,” he said with a calm shrewd voice.

  “Naturally, it is important to meet the influential members of the community,” replied Millan, her tone neutral.

  Gerak smiled at the complement.

  As it had occasionally been rumoured, the Councillor had indeed had a hand in the Lieutenant’s posting to RefugeCross. But this had been through official channels, and upon the recommendations of some of his contacts back in the capital.

  Gerak didn’t actually know that much about the Lieutenant. And after allowing her enough time to work her way into her post at RefugeCross, he wanted to find out more about the Anthro lioness who had been so highly recommended to him.

  “I’m a little surprised that you agreed to our meeting under such public circumstances.”

  Millan gave him a questioning look. “I’m sorry?”

  “Some Anthros might read something into your visiting me separately like this, outside of official business,” Gerak suggested slyly.

  Millan frowned, knowing what the older male was insinuating.

  “My duties as a soldier of the Empire do not end when my watch is over,” Millan said coldly, indicating her position clearly enough.

  Gerak sat back into his chair. It was well known that most senior lion soldiers were highly loyal to the Empire and frustratingly honourable.

  Gerak always thought that this incorruptibility or misplaced sense of honour was partially due to the fact that most Anthros with a more complex mind were not drawn to the dangerous and less rewarding work of soldiering.

  As the Lion Empire military was to a large extent under the direct Authority of the local civilian administration, there was also no real power. The only power that the military had was what the civilian legislature back in the empire’s capital dictated as being against the law.