Chapter III: The Key to the Future

The Key to the Future

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A bluish-green speckled egg sat in a nest in the middle of a sparsely decorated hut.  The egg shook as the chick inside fought to break free.

Kali watched with bated breath as her first chick hatched from its hard-shelled prison.

The village shaman acted as midwife for the chick.

The baby broke free with a resounding chirp followed by many more.

Tilo gathered the newly hatched blue jay chick and wiped the amniotic fluid from its bare, featherless body.  He performed his duty of checking the chick's slit.  He felt a bump and he nodded, "Congratulations, Kali.  You have a son now."

Kali gasped, "He's male."

The sparrow finished cleaning the chick then passed the chirping, squirming infant to his mother.

Kali held him, "Shh, hush little Justin..." She named him after his father, the mate who never returned home to hold his new boy.  She was sad, deeply sad that he could not be here.

Maureen sat in the hut with them nursing her own newborn kit.  She had also born a son.  She named him after her father, Iomer.  "He's beautiful, Kali."

 The widowed jay smiled sadly, "I know he is and I know you'll help me, right?"

The pine marten held paws with her avian lover, "As you've helped my baby, of course."

The new mother sobbed as Maureen embraced her, "Bless you, Maureen."

Caryn was there too with her newborn chick, Ruby.  "And you'll have me too, Kali."  She rubbed beaks with her friend as her daughter slept in her feathered arms.

...

Chief Nestor's son had also hatched.

The proud father sat in his hatchery cradling his pride and joy.

Vera had left him.  She stayed long enough for their egg to hatch, but then she was gone into the dense woods surrounding their village.  Heartbroken, betrayed, she no longer wished to compete for the affections of her cousin, not when he had used her then cast her aside for Feroz, his true love.

Of course, Feroz had stayed, as loyal as ever.  Shortly after her departure, Nestor had publicly proposed to Feroz, to make him his new mate under Rhia.  Feroz was sad for Vera, but his love for that young eagle he once trained outweighed his sympathy. The vulture was preparing food for his new son, Trantor.

Nestor always hated his own name, he did not feel it was the name deserving of a great and powerful chief like him.  He wanted his son to have a strong name, so he named him Trantor.  When Feroz was finished cooking the baby food for Trantor, Nestor passed his son to him.  "Care for him as if he were your own, dear Feroz."  He touched beaks unabashedly with his lover before he stepped away.

In his master bedroom, Nestor took off his eyepatch and left the garment in a basket.  He took out a small jar filled with a minty-smelling herbal cream.  He applied the cooling solution to his aching right eye socket; the eye he'd gouged out himself to achieve his place here as chief.  It reminded him of his past lectures by his father, his father's expressed distaste for Nestor's friendship with Feroz.  Now Gregor was dead and Nestor was chief and the eagle felt some remorse for what he'd done, but it had to be done.  His father's approach in the past at dealing with neighboring tribes, trade with those wolves to the north, Nestor never agreed.  There was no real fortune in trade.

The eagle remembered a day in his youth.

Nestor had just turned eighteen. He'd stumbled upon some fallen mammals on a dirt road.  Two were squirrels, bodyguards, each had been shot through the heart with arrows, then stripped of their clothing.  The one before them was a mouse in fancy clothes.  His throat had been slashed, clothes ripped and his anus was bleeding.  Nestor should have run back home but something spurred him forward.

He saw something shining on the ground.  He picked it up and it had been a gold coin.  He never saw anything so shiny, so pretty.  He looked around and saw more gold trailing further away from the village.  He followed it.

He followed until he came upon a camping ground where the murderous bandits had stopped to check their loot.

One of them, a wolf, wore the dead mouse's fancy cape while he sorted through their pilfered riches, "With this much gold, I could buy me a couple nights at the brothels in town."

The weasel beside him kicked the wolf playfully, "That's all you think about isn't it, Gerick?"

 The wolf named Gerick kicked back, "And I suppose you're only in this for charity, eh?"

The weasel sat up indignant, "Of course it's a charity, it's called Feed a Weasel." His pudgy belly growled at the mention of feeding.

Gerick kicked him in his rear, "Fat ass!  You tell me I think with my privates, then you let your gut do your thinking!"

The weasel stuck his tongue out, "So I'm a hypocrite, arrest me!  Put me on the gallows, my friend!"  He picked up the bag of gold he'd pilfered from that rich mouse they just killed.  "Mmm, that mousey did have a nice ass though.  I wish he hadn't died so quickly."  Then, he noticed the bag was lighter than when he'd picked it up before.  "Ey, what's this?"  He turned it and the bag had a tear in it.  "Fuck, I've lost some of my gold!"

The wolf scoffed, "So what?  We've still got plenty!"

The weasel stood up, "And what if someone sees that gold, Gerick?  If a ranger finds us, it's our necks!"

Young Nestor had listened to them and hadn't noticed some bigger furs moving up behind him.

A gloved hand came down on his shoulder and another held his beak to stop him from screaming.

A tall fox in chainmail armor shushed the young eagle, "Be still, child.  We won't hurt you."

The teen looked up and saw other canids standing around the fox.

The fox made a gesture to his fellow rangers.

Gerick stood, "So some forest ranger finds us, we could take him!"

The weasel shouted, "Except they never attack alone!"

The wolf growled, "You're just being paranoid!"

"Halt, criminals!"

And that was when three armored canines jumped out into the clearing with their swords drawn on the two bandits.

The weasel shouted, "Never call me paranoid again, Gerick!" before he threw his paws up and got down on his knees.

Gerick wasn't about to go so peacefully.  He unsheathed his dagger then lashed wildly at one of the rangers.  He then fell back in screaming agony when his dagger hand was lopped off in one clean cut.  He held his bleeding stump as two more rangers pushed him face first into the ground.

Both bandits were tied then gagged before the fox let Nestor go.

The forest ranger looked down at the two bandits, "In all my years working this forest, I've never met a pair of murderers more loudmouthed than you two.  And you!" He pointed a single condescending claw at the whimpering wolf before him.  "Was it really worth losing your limb over a simple thing like being arrested?  If you'd have come quietly I could at least argue insanity for you two to spare you a date with the gallows.  But if this is the way you'll behave then I won't even consider it!"  He nodded for his men to take them away.

The fox lingered when he saw that young eagle step into the clearing.  "You, young one!  You're one of the natives that live out here, yes?"

The eagle understood his dialect then nodded quietly.

The fox nodded, "Do you know your way home?"

Nestor nodded again, pointing in the general direction he'd come from.

The fox sheathed his sword, "Then don't linger any longer out here.  These woods are dangerous for a youth like you.  If those thieves had seen you, you'd have ended up their victim, or worse their plaything."  He turned to leave, "Go home!" he said before he departed.

Nestor didn't go right away.  He stayed behind to look at the gold the thieves left behind.  He played with the pretty metals, the jewels and that soft cape before he realized how late it was getting.

He ran back home thinking he could just come back later.

That night, his father whipped him ten times for wandering so far from the village.  He endured that pain, then the next day, he snuck away to find all that gold and riches had gone.  Someone had found it overnight and made off with all those precious metals.  But, he still had that coin, that first gold coin that he found.

From then on, Nestor vowed he would find more of it.

Now as an adult and as chief, Nestor still wished to become the most powerful chief that ever lived, not through force or through battles, but through wealth.  Years later, he kept that one gold coin.  Feroz had fashioned a necklace with the coin as its centerpiece.  It hung around Nestor's neck, directly over his heart.  Nestor rubbed it as he thought on how he could get more.

 ...

Meanwhile, in the northern territories, the roads had begun to clear up.

Two traveling companions stepped together, each dressed warmly for the cold weather.

One was a handsome thin blue jay with blue and black feathers and a narrow black beak.

The other was a cardinal with scarlet red feathers, a small black mask-like marking around his eyes and a short red beak.

Justin and Orion had long left the comfort of their winter companions.  They had enjoyed their company, they would not forget the kindness of these three strangers, but now they had to get home to their wives, to their families.

The two friends stuck mainly to the roads so they wouldn't get lost.  They camped together in the woods when they had to sleep and ate their rations when they were hungry.  But most of their time was filled with playful preening, flirty talking and the occasional rub beneath the other bird's upturned tailfeathers.

The nights when they slept together, they held one another tightly for warmth.  That usually ended in Justin rolling Orion on to his belly then mounting his friend.  They would fall asleep then after it was finished, Justin spooning Orion like he used to with Kali.

On one such night, following a particularly energetic session between the pair, Orion sighed dreamily in his friend's strong arms.

Justin ran his claws through the cardinal's scarlet plumage as he contemplated how his best friend had become his lover.

Orion laughed at the thought himself, "Do you wonder what our wives would think if they saw us now?"

Justin laughed while he continued to pet his friend's chest, "Well, I don't know about Caryn, but I know my Kali wouldn't mind.  In fact, I think she would encourage this."

Orion snickered, "Really?"

Justin nodded, "Yeah...  Kali has always been attracted to the other hens, I think that's why she accepted Maureen so eagerly when the three of us... you know."

Orion sat up so he could look at his friend, "Do you think your wife will have seduced mine?"

Justin chuckled, "I'd be surprised if she didn't."

Orion whistled, "Damn...  Kali's practically a male the way you describe her."

Justin nodded some more, "Yeah, she's my huntress..."

...

Later, as the two slept, Justin woke up suddenly to the subtle crunching of snow underpaw.  He pulled a knife from his travel bag as a defense measure.  When he thought something was right outside, the warrior threw open the flap to the tent and jumped out into the cold.

Orion woke up as soon as the cold air hit his naked body.  He looked out to see his equally as naked lover standing right outside, knife pointed at some unseen attacker.

"Grrr... Little bird, you think that little sticker's gonna defend ya from justice, you murderer?"

Justin was undeterred, "I don't know who you are, but I will defend myself if I have to."

The creature stepped out from the shadow, "You don't know a wolf when ya see one?  You killed my brethren quite easily before, traitor!  Our tribes had always been at peace, then you kill our prince and wage war on us!"

Justin was aghast, "Your prince was killed when he attacked our Prince Nestor when he came to your village!"

The wolf had a festering scar across his right cheek.  It made him even uglier when he growled, "Liar!  Our prince was shot in the back with your arrows, he wasn't attacking anyone."

Justin gagged when he saw the wolf; he recognized him.

That dreadful battle that started this, he had seen Orion about to be struck down by a particularly large wolf.

Justin slew the one he'd been fighting then ran to defend his friend.  He did the best thing he could think of.  He pulled out his bow and shot an arrow directly at the wolf's head.

The arrow ripped an ugly gash in the wolf's face and he fell down the side of the hill he'd stood on.  Justin assumed he had died but here he stood, the wolf he'd shot in the face with his arrow.

The wounded wolf nodded, "You remembered me.  You had to defend yer little mate there, I'll commend you for that.  That same fellow what healed you two offered to do the same for me.  But I refused to be in the same cabin with you traitorous birds, lest I lose control and slay you in your beds, which you cowards deserve for bringing this war on us!  I'd been tracking you two since you left; I've wanted so much to kill you right away but right now..." He lowered his sword and fell to his knees, "Right now I'm just tired."

Orion crawled out.  It took him very little effort to take the wolf's sword from him, "You look tired, come in, there's room for another."

Justin frowned, "Orion, what are you doing?"

The red bird became indignant, "I'm just being neighborly, is there a crime in that?"

Justin felt exasperated, "But he was going to kill us just now."

The wolf shook his head, "No... Too tired."  He let himself be led into the tent by Orion.

The cardinal directed the wolf to lay on the bedroll he'd been sharing with Justin.

The wolf snuffled from the strong bird smell.  It made his mouth water.

Orion saw this.  He fished out some dried meat from their rations.  He tore some then put it directly in the wolf's mouth.

The wolf grumbled happily as he chewed it, "Mmm, I didn't know ya birds ate meat."

Justin crawled in afterward, closing the flap behind him to shield the new trio from the winter elements.

Orion chuckled softly, "Sure, we may not be all big and muscle-y like you wolves, but we birds do what we can.  We mostly catch fish or some small mammals, but that Leona was nice enough to give us some of her preserved meats.  This stuff will last us well into the spring thaw."

Justin took some meat for himself.  As he ate it, he spoke with the wolf, "I smelled you."

The wolf continued to chew as he waited for the bird to continue.

"When we first left that cabin, I thought I'd smelled a wolf.  I'd smelled it again and again since we'd left there.  Only now you broke silence.  You had plenty of chances to kill us."

The wolf sighed, "Yes, but we wolves find it rather unsporting to kill sleeping prey.  More likely, I couldn't force myself to hate you two...  You only defended yourselves, you only fought this battle because you were told to.  You were soldiers, just like me, only following orders." He shed tears in shame before the birds.

Justin surprised himself when he smoothed the sobbing wolf's chest with his scaly paw.  He watched as Orion took out some of the medicine that Carlyle had given them.

The cardinal blushed when he realized what he had to do, "Consequently, how are you wolves about male to male contact?"

The wolf snickered, "Don't worry, I've seen you two, plenty enough."

Orion smeared some cream on his fingers, "So if a naked birdy like me were to straddle your chest right now, would you object?"

The wolf scoffed, "Come on!  We wolves are taught to love and honor our brothers, related or not.  So no, I don't object to birdy nuts on my chest."

Orion retorted, "Birds don't have nuts, at least not ones that hang so pretty like yours, friend." He playfully patted the wolf's groin before straddling him.  He then began to apply the healing cream to the wolf's damaged face.

The wolf hissed through his teeth.  The cream was cold and it stung his wound.  "Colmillo."  he said through gritted teeth.

Orion blinked, "I'm sorry?"

The wolf spoke more clearly, "My name is Colmillo."

"Coal-Mee-Yo?"

The wolf nodded, "Colmillo."

The cardinal smiled, "I'm Orion, my grumpy friend there is Justin."

The blue jay ruffled at the playful insult, "Hey, I'm not grumpy, I'm just concerned!"  He looked at the wolf, "Colmillo, what you said about your prince dying from our arrows is very strange.  Our Nestor came home to us, his right eye gouged out and his leg injured.  His cousin lost her hand, and his advisor lost his ability to speak.  All three of them were gravely injured."

Colmillo sighed, "And it never occurred to you birds that they might have done that themselves?"

Orion was puzzled by that, "That's hard to swallow.  Why would three people hurt themselves like that?  What could they possibly gain by that?"

Justin had a thought, "Sympathy, war, and our chief dead."  The blue jay cursed to himself, "Fuck... Nestor had wanted us to go to war with your tribe, he said so himself when our scout came back claiming you wolves had killed his companion while they stayed in your village."

Colmillo groaned as Orion continued to apply the cream, "I remember them, the magpies.  I remember because I was the one assigned to guard their tent.  I swear I saw no one come in or out of that tent.  Then, he comes out crying that his friend had been murdered."

Orion shook his head, "You don't think Nestor could have..."

Justin sighed, "I think Nestor wanted his father dead so he can become chief.  He wanted all of us dead too so we couldn't object.  I think he's going to bring more war on our tribes."

 Orion sighed, "Not our Nestor..."

...

That night, Chief Nestor stood before the whole village, surrounded by his council with Feroz at his side feeding his son.

The people all sat at the ready to hear their new chief's decree.

Nestor nodded, "From now on, things around here will be done a little different.  We will no longer trade with our neighbors, trade is not enough."  He took off his gold necklace among growing mutters.  He held out his shiny gold coin, "From now on, this will be our focus!  In this new day and age, it doesn't pay to seclude ourselves from the rest of the world.  We must evolve with the times, unlike my father who did all he could to keep us in the past!  I can lead us to a new and prosperous future and this gold is the key to that future."

As he spoke, one of the council elders, one Nestor had bought over with promises of the finest riches and females, stepped forth then threw gold at the feet of the villagers.

Many of the simple-minded birds were mesmerized by the flashy metals thrown before them.  They picked up the gold as if it were some magic thing.  The smarter of the fold found themselves drawn in too.

Kali, Caryn and Maureen stood at the back with their babies as Nestor showed off the riches he'd amassed himself over the years.

Maureen picked up some of the gold. "I recognize some of this.  The hobs would pay my father heavily with these for food, drinks and for jills to sleep with."  She blushed after mentioning the last part, "My father didn't run that kind of business but girls like that often hung around anywhere there would be lonely males with loose pockets."

Kali called out, "How are we to obtain this gold, Mighty Nestor?"

The eagle heard her snide tone and brushed it off, "We cannot make these riches ourselves.  It's the people out there in the towns, in the cities who have the gold and we must bring them here.  They will bring the gold and pay happily for our food, for our art, for sex!"

Just as there seemed to be an uproar at the suggestion of selling their sex for his precious gold, Nestor stepped forward and embraced a single female who had just reached adulthood.  He held her, "Just you imagine, little missy.  You, providing for your family.  With this gold, we can buy better clothes, better materials for building new homes.  The key to the future!" He straightened up, "All you lovely hens can provide for your families, for your husbands.  You men too, why only have the females work?  There are wealthy women who would throw themselves at the hands of you handsome fellows." He placed his hands on the shoulders of two young adult males, each who tented in their loincloths at the prospect of laying females for coin.