“So we have a Banikan wandering around here now?” Lysar grunted, sitting on the edge of the only balcony in Thre-Hertany. Being nothing more than a military base, surrounded by concrete walls and grassy fields, there was very little room for anything even remotely fancy. Most of the Rethans didn’t mind though, as they were happy to have new homes and places to sleep.
Today though, most of the town was rather quiet, as a third of the population had left the town gates to start converting the nearby grassy fields into farmland, ready to plant as many crops as possible, while another third worked on the still abandoned northern part of Thre-Hertany, going through unwanted belongings and salvaging what they could. The town had mostly been living off rice and charity donations, so many Rethans had leaped at the chance to start farming, now that the space had been officially cleared for agricultural use.
Lysar though wasn’t working. She had been working a lot lately. To the point that she hadn’t been eating. So she was under strict orders to sit down and rest for a few days. By her side was Tenuk, who had been keeping an eye on her, mostly because he was somehow the only vaguely doctor-related Rethan available currently.
“It’s just a Banikan…” was Tenuk’s response to Lysar’s statement. Pretty much everyone had been curious about the Banikan that had arrived, but no one had really actually talked about it. “It’s not that important.”
Lysar shrugged, kicking her legs. “Banikans are considered as big and dangerous. Now we have one living alongside us, sharing food with us and acting weirdly like a rather normal Rethavok. Well, aside from the fact that it spend this morning roaming around hunting and brought back… whatever it was it dropped.”
“The wild Alligorns?” Tenuk tutted. “They’re considered vermin. You cut them up and stick them on the barbecue, cover them in a honey sauce, they’re actually really fucking tasty.”
“Oh?” Lysar exclaimed. “Is that why Rethais had it all delivered to our cooks?”
“Yeah. Although don’t be surprised if that’s all we eat for the next week or so…” Tenuk trailed off, watching the patrols along the town walls. “You feeling any better, Lysar?”
Lysar glanced at Tenuk. “In what way?”
“In general, I guess.”
Lysar glanced off into the distance, sighing. “My partner is alive. My kids are alive. I am alive. We have a safe place to live and rebuild. Really, that is all I can ask for…” Lysar paused. “The Banikan is somewhat throwing me off though. It is big and scary and I have no idea how Elkay managed to… befriend such a beast!”
“Shouldn’t call it a beast. They’re sapient beings. Fucking smart ones too, just different. Basically unchanged for the last few thousand years!” Tenuk explained. “This entire planet was apparently theirs until the Temthans moved in. But if Atteh’Kus wants to be with us, why should we push him away?”
With an odd expression on her face, Lysar turned towards Tenuk. “You are being very defensive towards this Banikan. Is something wrong?”
“He’s a Banikan.”
“You seem insulted.”
Tenuk grunted. “You allow me to be here, you have no problems with Kohra, but Atteh’Kus, you..?”
“OH!” Lysar suddenly interrupted. “You think I am not accepting of him because he is a Banikan but I… I forgot for a moment that you and your sibling are also not Rethavok…”
“Oh…” Tenuk frowned. “What about me and Kohra?”
“Nothing!” Lysar smiled weakly. “I just find it… somewhat… hard to understand. Leaving your live behind to join another race… It must bother you…”
Tenuk closed his eyes, grunting. “Yeah, being considered a traitor by my fellow Spasts does bother me. It’s why I’m helping you all. Because you’re all stuck in the same position that I was. Okay, I ended up like this willingly, but it’s the same premise.”
“Do you ever consider going back?”
Tenuk sighed, shrugged, then sighed some more, before getting up, changing the subject. “No. Come on, let’s go inside. You need something to eat…”