THE STRONGEST IN THE FOREST
By Jayde Holmes
Part 3: The Duel
Just before dawn, Mentor and Shepherd both showed Strongest their views of the river filter. Mentor was possessing his biped, standing by the riverbank amongst the animal-people. It was too early for rain, so he had left behind the umbrella and bought a foldout chair. From his vantage point, he could see the top of Alpha’s head over the rusted railing of the tower. He was more focused on the animal-people around him, who had remained standing.
(They think this will be a quick fight) He told her.
(They are right) Strongest told.
Shepherd was already possessing a sky-dominator. He had landed on one of the steel towers of the Disputed Valley and had a clear view of the top of the filter tower. He showed her Alpha, looking over the railings. Her raincoat had been replaced by a thick bamboo-reed coat that Shepherd suspected had armor within it. She carried a long, curved blade in one hand, and a smaller knife was sheathed on her belt.
(I’m worried about that weapon) Shepherd told, focusing on the curved blade. (Even if she blindly swings it while escaping, it will rip the wing membranes. You won’t have much room to dodge.)
(I understand) Strongest told. She was currently in the sky-dominator cave stretching the injured sky-dominator’s wings. It may have been a blunder to arrange the duel on top of the tower. Former and Shepherd both pointed out that her ability to quickly push Alpha over the railing didn’t outweigh the danger of close combat with massive wing membranes and sharp blades. The drop also discouraged Alpha from fleeing. She had treated the duel like a power display between Forests and was at risk of being punished by aspects of animal psychology she hadn’t considered.
(This fight will be decided by the entrance I make) Strongest told Shepherd. (I can make this sky-dominator terrifying.)
She made the sky-dominator examine itself one more time. Its claws were sharp, and the arrow wound on its wing was just a ring of bruising around a tiny puncture. It would have healed perfectly if she had allowed Shepherd to rest the animal. She examined the rest of the wing membranes, hyper-aware of what big targets they were. She went back to focusing on the claws, and the spikes sticking out of the wing strut. Once she was mentally prepared, she reached out to Mentor and told him to tell the animal-people she was on her way.
By the time he had announced her imminent arrival she was already in the air. It took only seconds to reach the filter. She could hear the animal-people’s screams as she soared over the trees. She dived towards the tower and saw Alpha staring up at her with terror widened eyes. Already she was backing away.
She landed the sky-dominator with a blood curdling roar. Her back claws crushed the railing, while her front claw slashed at the floor, ripping up a layer of rusted metal. Alpha was backed up against the railing with her knees weak. She looked down and screamed, whilst her hand touched a rope she had tied to the rails. Satisfaction oozed out of Strongest’s roots.
(Alpha believes it is unfair for you to be a sky-dominator) Mentor told.
(Tell her this is my weapon of choice) Strongest told. (She’s free to climb down if it upsets her.)
Strongest waited until she heard Elder’s shout reach their ears before lashing out with her wing strut. She whacked Alpha in the shoulder so hard that she tumbled over the railing with a grunt of pain. At the last moment Alpha lodged her sword between the two rows of bars. The whole structure came loose, and Alpha was dangling over a fatal drop. Strongest waited for her to fall, but instead she climbed through the bars, dragging herself back onto the tower.
Alpha stood up, her legs shaking and her breath a series of heavy gasps. She gazed up at the sky-dominator with wide eyes like cornered prey. Strongest felt victorious.
Until Alpha lifted her sword over her head and charged at Strongest with a wild scream. It took barely two seconds for Alpha to clear the gap, and Strongest jumped back instinctively. She gripped the rails with her front claws, hoping this side was in better shape. Her back claws plunged into the wall of the tower, and once secure she threw the sky-dominator head back and roared while flaring out her wings. Through the roots she could feel others react to her frustration. She’d have to kill Alpha after all.
(Thank you for being so cautious) Shepherd told her. (That weapon is scary.)
(Thank you, but I needed to take the risk) Strongest told. She watched Alpha back away, this time without any shakes. Her grip on the blade was steady and her feet were spaced wide. (I shouldn’t have shown any fear. I may have emboldened her. She won’t run; I’m sorry for failing you.)
(Just keep being cautious please) Shepherd told.
(Let me see the fight from your vantage) Strongest asked. (She’ll charge again; I want to retreat while stunning her with the tail.)
Strongest turned around and climbed down the tower, whipping the sky dominator’s tail towards Alpha as she did so. Thanks to Shepherd’s view, she was able to see Alpha swing her blade at the tail with just enough time to jerk it away. Despite this, Alpha’s blade connected. The cut was shallow, but Shepherd saw it and sent his anguish to her.
Strongest clung to the tower, scurrying around the sides looking to surprise Alpha. Her movements shook the tower and excited the animal-people below.
Every time Strongest lunged up Alpha was facing her, charging her. They were caught in a dance of lunges and retreats that dragged on. The tension grew so much that the flowers and synapse bulbs poking out of Strongest’s tree curled up.
Strongest came up again and caught Alpha facing the wrong way. Strongest didn’t ask how, she just dived forward, slashing at her back with killer claws. She felt the sky-dominator’s claws sink into the coat, connecting with something hard sewn within it. Armor after all, but not impenetrable. As she pulled the claws out she heard flesh rip and a gusher of blood followed. Alpha screamed and fell to the ground, dropping her weapon and falling like a corpse from the sky-dominator’s claws.
Her armor and undershirt had been ripped off, revealing three bloody puncture holes in her skin. All had missed the spine and were not as deep as they should have been. Strongest looked at the sky-dominator’s paw. Two of the claws were lodged in resin plates that were poking through the torn seams of the coat. The armor coat was trailing from her claws, stuck tight.
Alpha looked up at the sky-dominator with tears in her eyes. She was naked from the waist up save a torn breast support garment hanging around her neck. Her blade was out of reach. She was defeated. Strongest advanced but almost tripped over the armor. She stopped the sky dominator just out of Alpha’s reach and began pulling its claws out of the garment.
(Is that triumph you are feeling?) Former asked. (Is this over?)
(Don’t interrupt she isn’t dead yet) Strongest told, showing Former the scene with pride.
As she freed the sky-dominator from the armor, she noticed Alpha staring at its wings. Staring at the arrow wound in the left-wing membrane. The leaves of Strongest’s tree curled. Alpha wasn’t defeated. She would have to bite her head off.
Strongest lunged at Alpha, mouth wide and claws ready to pin down any resistance. At the last second, Alpha rolled towards her blade, screaming as her back touched the jagged rust and shrapnel floor. She grabbed her blade, swung it up and slashed through the sky-dominator’s wing membrane. The sky-dominator shrieked in agony, its pain shocking Strongest so much she pulled in all the sensory organisms on her tree and shied away from the thoughts of her Forest. Through the sky-dominator’s ears she heard Shepherd’s sky-dominator roar. She forced her mind back into the roots to order him not to interfere.
(You hurt it) Shepherd accused. (This beautiful beast, you let it get hurt.)
(What happened?) Former asked. (Are you losing? You can’t. Kill the animal.)
(You need to retreat so we can mend the wing) Shepherd told.
Strongest backed the cowering sky-dominator into a corner. Alpha stood up, her whole body shaking. Seeing how unsteady her legs were, Strongest went in for another attack, but a glare and a flick of Alpha’s sword hand sent the Sky-dominator cowering before Strongest could even think.
(I need advice) Strongest reached out to Mentor. (I’m losing. Former and Shepherd – )
(Do not think about them) Mentor told. (Only you are up there. Only you can determine the correct action. You cannot afford an argument in your head. Squeeze that wing and do what you need to do.)
(I don’t know what to do) Strongest told. (What is the – )
(Do not think of me either) Mentor told. (Just do your best, and please, do not withdraw like Highest.)
He pulled his attention away from her.
Alpha stepped forward but was driven back by a snap of the sky-dominator’s teeth. They began circling each other, both breathing heavy and walking unsteadily. Both exchanging feints and counterattacks, both building up then losing their nerve, both oozing blood on the floor. She could feel the conflicting desires of Shepherd and Former and shut them out.
Two dead animals circling each other. Both their wounds were fatal if not treated soon. Yet they kept testing each other, looking for a chance to strike. Alpha was shaking, but her eyes were fixed on the sky-dominator and her mouth set in a manic grin.
Then Alpha slipped on a puddle of sky-dominator blood. She lost her footing for barely a second, but it was enough. Strongest pounced. She didn’t stop to think; didn’t second guess herself. She closed the gap in an instant. Alpha raised her sword and Strongest turned her head out of the way and bit her arm. Alpha’s bones shattered between the sky-dominator’s teeth with a wicked crunch. She could just make out the sound of the blade hitting the ground as Alpha screamed.
Strongest ground the sky-dominator’s teeth, the inside of the creature’s mouth stinging as it filled with toxic blood. All the remaining sky-dominator instincts screamed to spit out the poisoned meat, but Strongest held on tighter. She didn’t think Alpha would lay down and die anymore, but she’d still bleed out soon enough.
Strongest felt something tap against the sky-dominator’s neck. Then a second tap, followed by a third. The fourth tap found a gap between two scales and turned into a hot piercing pain.
That was when Strongest remembered the dagger hanging from Alpha’s belt.
As the knife plunged deeper into the sky-dominator’s neck, she felt the creature grow colder. The sky-dominator let go of Alpha’s twisted arm. Alpha fell to the ground in a heap, leaving the dagger in the sky-dominator’s neck. The sky-dominator coughed up blood; Strongest couldn’t tell how much was Alpha’s. Its mouth was numb and every breath was agony. The sky-dominator’s vision fogged, and she could feel it swaying.
To avoid her universe shrinking down to this dying creature, she focused on the organisms on her tree. They were still tucked into the crevices of her bark, so all she could see were streaks of light creeping through her cracks.
(It is over) Shepherd told, showing her his view of the tower. The sky-dominator stood swaying, blood flowing from wing membrane and neck. Alpha was crouched below it, covered in blood and vomiting.
(The sky-dominator is doomed. You should pull out before you suffer too much shock.)
She felt the pain in his thoughts. Pain at losing such a beautiful sky-dominator in such a violent way combined with worry for her. He was more worried about her than the sky-dominatior. That surprised her. Shepherd deserved a better friend than her.
(I’ll stay until the end) She told. (I’ll spare the sky-dominator this pain. Besides, if I can throw her off the tower before the sky-dominator succumbs, I’ll win. She’s mortally wounded too.)
(People who experience an animal death never handle it well) Shepherd told.
(I’ll be fine. Keep showing me your view; if I don’t focus on the sky-dominator’s senses, it won’t be too bad.)
Watching the fight relayed through Shepherd made it easier to ignore the sky-dominator’s pain, but there was a delay between when events happened and when they reached her. The swipes she took at Alpha failed to connect, and when Alpha dragged herself semi-upright and thrust the blade into the roof of the sky-dominator’s mouth with her good arm, Strongest felt the steel pierce her brain before Shepherd could even show her Alpha standing up.
Her awareness was forced back into the sky-dominator, but she had no control over it. The beast stumbled backwards, convulsing as its brain fired randomly for those last few desperate seconds of life. She saw sky-dominator memories. She was soaring over treetops she had never seen, roosting in caves far away from her Forest. She could sense nothing from around her tree, nor could she feel the rest of her Forest. Only the background hum of the communal subconscious remained, beckoning her, promising a respite from the trauma she was experiencing. Promising life in the face of death.
Isolation with Highest.
Her last clear vision was the sky-dominator’s view of Alpha collapsed before her, trying to pick herself up. Then the sky-dominator stumbled into the loosened railing. The railing snaped, and the sky-dominator fell from the tower. It closed its eyes for the last time. Strongest felt herself slipping away, leaking from the dying mind back into her tree.
(My Strongest) Mentor’s thoughts pieced through the haze. (Focus. Feel the Forest. Be with us; not in the sky-dominator, not in your own mind.)
(I am with you) She told. (Save Alpha. I need to learn to be like her.)
The sky-dominator was dead before it hit the river. Strongest retreated completely within her own mind. She had no conscious thoughts, except the vision of the dying animal-person atop the tower.
It took time for Strongest to come back to herself. She was curled up in pain, but the concern of her friends and acquaintances beckoned her back to the roots. Her memories and identity returned, and she rejoined her Forest.
As well as Mentor and Shepherd, she also felt Highest’s thoughts when she returned to herself. Her old friend briefly broke her solitude to offer sympathy for her trauma and congratulate her on getting the animal-people to settle peacefully alongside their Forest.
Highest retreated within her mind before Strongest could respond, but so great was Highest’s influence that everyone knew Highest had reached out and validated her actions. It was for this alone that she was still thought of as the Strongest, rather than the failure that Former viewed her as.
Of course, Former now saw himself as Strongest, as did a fair amount of his friends and followers. She still felt like the Strongest, and was recognized as such, but her identity was fragile.
(I am so glad you are back) Mentor told her. (You had me worried.)
(I’m sorry) Strongest told. (How bad did the fight go? Are the animal-people in the Forest yet?)
(They have sent a few scouts in, but they didn’t enjoy being stung by our plants and insects) Mentor told. (Both sides will honor the terms of the duel.)
(We will?) Strongest told. (You’re letting them venture into the Forest? How did you convince The Rival Strongest to agree to that?)
(Don’t put yourself down; you are still my Strongest; not him. I believe you primed Former to abide by the conditions of your loss with your concerns about the Keepers. He now thinks we need new ways of thinking to deal with them. The two of us exerted a great influence over him.)
(Do you think I made the right choice? Not just in the fight, but at any time since the animal-people appeared?)
(You kept making the best choices for the Forest, for the animal-people, and for yourself) Mentor told.
(The animal-people have agreed to build the nucleus of their settlement further downriver. It will take them an hour to walk from there to the edge of the Forest.)
(We’ll have warning if they attack) Strongest told.
(It also helps them avoid stray Forest life) Mentor told. (We can never know exactly what they plan, but for now this duel performance and the trust it causes seems to be working. Shepherd and I are already using this insight on non-telepathic trust in our attempts to smooth things over with the Forest to the East.)
Mentor showed her the anger their far-thinkers had received when the Forest to the East found out about the dead sky-dominator. Fortunately, the Highest of that Forest seemed to like Shepherd and was willing to accept his apology.
The reminder of Shepherd made Strongest hyper aware of his absence in her head. He had been there reaching out to her, but now that she was returned he had pulled back. She reached deep into the roots, looking for Shepherd’s mind. She touched him and felt his relief at her reawakening combined with anger at what she had done to the sky-dominator.
(I’m glad you’re awake) he told her. (But I still think about what happened to the sky-dominator every day. Please leave me alone until the pain eases.)
(I understand) Strongest told. (Thank you for being there for me despite your grief. Mentor told me about the dealings you have been having with the Forest to the East. I am proud of you.)
(Thank you. I saved the Alpha. I bought her down from the tower and Mentor made the vets stitch her up and disinfect her wounds. She survived, but the situation is complicated -) he showed her Alpha with her arm missing and her people ignoring her (- It appears that these animal-people kill their injured. She lives because she wishes to speak to you before dying.)
(Do these beasts have no self-preservation instincts?) Strongest asked. (Where is she now?)
(You haven’t looked outside your tree yet?) Shepherd asked, and in his confusion, she saw the answer to her question. She cut the connection with Shepherd and refocused on Mentor.
(Why is Alpha at my tree?) Strongest asked.
(You see her already?) Mentor replied.
(I haven’t connected to my tree organisms yet. I see nothing.)
(You should look if you can. She wants to speak with you. She wants to die for some reason, but not without speaking to you about the duel.)
(These people are so stupid) Strongest told. She followed Mentor’s advice and connected with the organisms on her tree. She was surprised at how hard it was, as even this simple connection triggered memories of the sky-dominator’s death. Once she was connected, concentrating on the sights and sounds she received was difficult. She couldn’t shake the fear that any second, she would be overcome with second-hand pain.
She saw a drab tent about fifty meters from her tree, just beyond the line between the worlds. She could see a figure that she assumed to be Alpha sitting in front of the structure, but she was too far away for Strongest to see in much detail.
(Alpha does realize that with my recovery and then the difficulties we have communicating, she could be waiting a long time to speak with me?)
(She already has) Mentor told. (Their lifespan isn’t that much greater than bipeds, so these past two years have been long for her. She told me she has nothing better to do for the rest of her life.)
(What stupid people) Strongest told. (Don’t ever let me get too much like them.)
_____________________________________________________________
It took five full lunar-cycle before she was able to seize control of her biped. It was afternoon and despite the approaching dry season, rain was pouring down. Her biped had been gnawing on a bone whilst sheltering in her house. She examined the bone, then twisted it between the biped’s fingers, proud that she had finally captured it again.
(I sense triumph from you) Former – who despite Mentor’s assurances she now saw as Rival Strongest – reached out to her. (Has Smartest replied to your message?)
(Not yet) Strongest told. (I possessed my biped.)
(Oh. Well done) Rival Strongest told. (Are you going to deal with the animal-person now?)
(May as well) Strongest told, pushing his thoughts away. He sent through one more reminder of the friends he’d lost to the Keeper experiment before letting their connection drop.
Strongest dressed the biped in the same outfit it had worn when she had first met Alpha. The memory of their second encounter made the biped shudder. She reached out to Mentor, telling him she was ready to talk to Alpha. He had apparently learnt the words Alpha used within a lunacycle of the battle. She still couldn’t understand the logic behind sentence structure. By the time Mentor walked his biped to her tree, the rain had come to a pause. They walked towards the tent. There was no movement, no sound, and no hint that Alpha lived there, but Strongest had seen her playing with the biped this morning.
She threw open the flap of the tent without warning. Alpha sat naked on her sleeping mat holding a set of crumpled papers in her remaining hand. Shepherd’s vet had amputated Alpha’s arm just below the shoulder and the scars on her back would never fade, but the rest of her injuries had healed. Despite that, she looked defeated. Her bones poked through grimy sweat-soaked skin and her hair hung limp and knotted to her waist. She looked up with blood-shot eyes rimmed in black and red. Her lips moved, starting to form the name she had given the biped. She stopped when she realized the bipeds were dressed. Her mouth hung open, revealing cracked lips and neglected teeth.
(Congratulate her on her victory) Strongest told Mentor. (Then ask her why she looks as if she lost?)
(I have done that) Mentor told.
(I want her to tell me) Strongest told.
Mentor asked her questions, and Alpha replied with a minute of cold laughter. Tears rolled down her face as she waved her stump and spoke.
(She says we denied her the validation that comes with victory by saving her) Mentor told. (Her pack have no respect for individuals with physical shortcomings.)
(Tell her that her pack are stupid then) Strongest told. (There is immeasurable value in someone who can kill prey like a sky-dominator.)
Another wave of the stump and a defiant sentence from Alpha, which Mentor translated as “I am not that person anymore.” As Strongest thought on her reply, Alpha stood up, rummaged through the pile of clutter filling the space, and recovered her sword. She held it to Strongest, who backed into the wall of the tent as Alpha spoke.
(She tells us that her life has no worth now that her arm is gone) Mentor told. (She feels that her quality of life is unbearable and that she has no value to her peers.)
(Ridiculous) Strongest told. She had felt the same way the first time Mentor had explained Alpha’s position but hearing it from Alpha’s mouth added another layer of absurdity.
(She feels that she cannot contribute to her pack or provide for herself) Mentor continued.
(Her living by herself here for over two years disproves that) Strongest told.
(She feels that she should have died happy and satisfied with the respect of her pack after defeating you. She feels that if you were to kill her now and show her severed head to her pack, her suffering and shame will be over. Her pack will see her having been killed by a mighty opponent and remember her for the battle, not the pathetic life she has lived since then. She is asking you to kill her, and I recommend you do it. These are strange alien creatures, and we don’t want to cause any extra suffering because we could only see them with our view of the world.)
(I could use that different view angle here) Strongest told. (Tell her that I do not understand why I must kill her. If she wants me to do it, she’ll need to teach me enough about how her people think for me to understand why.)
She knew as soon as Mentor spoke that her words had backfired. Alpha held the blade to her throat and started shouting.
(She says she has waited long enough for death) Mentor told. (If you do not grant her honorable death, she will end her life herself.)
(This is stupid) Strongest told. She grabbed the sword; both hands wresting the hilt from Alpha’s shaking hand and her foot kicking her in the stomach, pushing her backwards. Mentor continued speaking, telling her that he was translating her thoughts even though she had directed it towards only him. She threw the sword out the tent flap behind her and stepped closer to Alpha. She was looming over the warrior who had destroyed her and seeing only a weak, hopeless creature.
(Remind her that she did not kill me with her arm or her weapon) Strongest told. (There are beasts in the Forest with deadlier weapons than hers that would have jumped to their deaths as soon as they saw the sky-dominator. The willpower and the intellect that defeated me isn’t gone.)
(She is an animal) Mentor told her. (She is her body; we cannot imagine what losing an arm has done to her.)
(Just translate my message. Perhaps we are not the only ones who could benefit from new ways of thinking. We shouldn’t be the only ones who take on new ways of thinking. If we cannot influence animal-person ideas the way they influence us, we won’t have an equal relationship.)
Strongest watched Alpha look up as Mentor spoke, her eyes filled with tears. She remained silent after Mentor was done.
(Tell her that I want to learn to be brave and trustworthy like her) Strongest told. (I ordered her saved because I need her. She is too valuable to die.)
After Mentor’s translation there was a long silence, but Alpha didn’t look away. Eventually she asked what Strongest wanted her to do.
(I don’t actually know where to start) Strongest told Mentor.
(Maybe you’ll have better luck picking up language from interacting with her?) Mentor told.
(Tell her to follow me) Strongest told. (I want to decorate some flowerpots; she can help me and teach me her words.)
Strongest stormed out of the tent as Mentor spoke. Through the organisms on her tree she watched herself walk the biped back to the house. She saw Alpha stumble out of the tent wrapped in a blanket. She stopped before the sword, stared at it for a few seconds, and then continued following the biped. Mentor followed her and gave a reassuring nudge as she reached the line between their two worlds.
(I am amazed you got her to follow you) Mentor told. (Are you sure you’re ready to make the biped socialize?)
(Tell her if the biped acts like an animal I lost my hold. Until then, she can paint whatever she likes. You won’t be there; she can teach me words the way she’d teach another animal-person.)
Strongest bought the biped into the house and set up her paints and pots. Mentor and Alpha were right next to her tree, so she watched them talk for a while before Alpha joined her in the room. It was crowded with two bodies, but Strongest found herself relaxing as she got to work. She’d missed the creative abilities that came with biped hands. She started painting, whilst Alpha picked up a brush and stared at her pot.
(My Strongest) her Far-Thinker friend reached out to her. (I have received a reply to your message to the Smartest of the Keepers.)
(Is it from Smartest?) Strongest asked.
(I believe so) The Far-Thinker told. (She wants to know why she should make a deal with you when the Other Strongest has been making threats.)
Alpha started painting, the brush shaking in her hand. She didn’t seem to have any idea what she was painting.
(Tell Smartest she’ll enjoy dealing with me more than My Rival) Strongest told. (I am willing to negotiate, he is looking for vengeance. I have something – knowledge gained from an alien intelligence – to offer if she is willing to meet my demands.)
(I cannot tell what your demands or our benefits are) Far-Thinker told.
(That is intentional) Strongest said. (Make her think of what we could gain from the animal-people, and how much she can gain from what we learn.)
(I get the feeling you don’t really know what those benefits are) Far-Thinker asked.
(Try not to let that get to Smartest) Strongest told. (Though even if you do, the Keepers are curious about everything. Even if we learn nothing from the animal-people, Smartest will be interested for at least a century.)
Far-Thinker sent her amusement before shutting down. It would take her hours of concentration to direct her message through the wind to the Keeper Forest. As Strongest began thinking about possible replies from Keeper, they noticed that Alpha had put down her brush and pointed to it. She was looking at the biped and repeating the same sound.
Strongest pointed to the brush and tilted her head in a confused gesture bipeds used with each other. Alpha groaned and repeated the sounds. She then started pointing at other objects and making different sounds. It was only when Alpha pointed a finger at the biped and then flicked her thumb to the host-tree while saying ‘Drid’ did Strongest realize she was teaching her words.
“Drid!” Strongest said, pointing at both the biped and the host-tree with a smile. She then pointed to the brush and tilted her head again. Alpha smiled and said the word for brush again. This time Strongest replicated the sounds.
Strongest lost track of time as she learnt words with Alpha. Soon she had a word for every object in her house. It was easy to remember the words, if not to say them. Certainly, this process seemed easier than the way Mentor had described learning language. The lesson continued until Alpha tried to introduce names for the different colors of paint, which seemed to be based on completely arbitrary distinctions. Strongest got frustrated and went back to painting her pot.
Far-Thinker got back to her faster than expected. Smartest must have sent her reply instantly.
(Smartest wants to know your demands) Far-Thinker told. (She is desperate to learn about the animal-people; she couldn’t hide it from me.)
(Perfect) Strongest told. (I’ll get back to her soon.)
Strongest hadn’t yet settled on what her first demands to the Keeper Forest should be. She thought that would worry her, but she felt calm. The biped smiled. She had managed first contact with the animal-people, even if things hadn’t go to plan. She could handle Smartest of the Keepers. And her Rival.
Alpha was drawing simple animal-person pictures on the pot. A few were done in grey rather than orange and had lines added at the bottom of the head, like biped telepathy nubs. Strongest kept smiling and watched her new acquaintance work. Alpha was already getting better at painting one handed.
THE END
Jayde Holmes 