For some time, silence settled.<\/p>\n
When it broke, that silence gave way to a frustrated utterance of \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
The tiger leaned on the window sill, arms stiff, hands tense. \u201cWhy,\u201d he repeated, \u201cdo you have to do this? You could get hurt, Tazzer! You could get…\u201d The words choked off in his throat, and he sagged over the sill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,<\/em> Damin,\u201d the fox sighed. He reached for Damin’s shoulder, but the tiger tensed before he even made contact; his hand closed into a fist, then sank back down to his side. \u201cHeavens unending \u2013 I’ve thought<\/em> about that. I’m not making this decision lightly,<\/em> Damin!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen why?\u201d<\/em> Distress, dismay, and grief combined to make Damin’s voice shake, and his head sank until it pressed against the windowpane. Again he demanded, \u201cWhy do you have to do this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a job that needs doing,\u201d Tazzer objected. \u201cIt’s a good<\/em> job \u2013 a chance to do something positive in my life! I need<\/em> that, Damin! I don’t want to leave you, but that’s why I’m applying for the garrison \u2013 I’d still be able to see you…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut not while you’re in training,\u201d the tiger shot back. \u201cThree years, Tazzer!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot three solid<\/em> years!\u201d the fox cut in. \u201cI’ll be back here whenever there’s leave…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut what if something happens? Tazzer \u2013 if I lost you…\u201d Damin shuddered.<\/p>\n This time, when Tazzer moved in for an embrace, Damin did not resist; he leaned into his lover’s presence with a choked sob.<\/p>\n \u201cI know there’s a risk, Damin,\u201d Tazzer murmured. \u201cBut it’s not that<\/em> high. It’s too early to mourn me yet, love \u2013 odds are still better than not that I’ll turn in a few straightforward tours, and I’ll have my life on track…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere must be another way!\u201d Damin clung to Tazzer’s shoulders. \u201cThere must<\/em> be! You don’t need to put yourself in harm’s way with the Authority!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone has to,\u201d Tazzer insisted. \u201cWe don’t want that mess with the passenger liner to happen here.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet someone else do it,\u201d Damin pleaded. \u201cThere’s millions of someones in this city alone…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd most of them have someone who loves them,\u201d Tazzer sighed. \u201cParents, siblings, children… partners.\u201d He wrapped his arms around the tiger’s shoulders and squeezed close. \u201cI’m sorry, Damin. But I just wouldn’t feel right sitting idly by. The Authority’s stretched thin already \u2013 if everyone stands back and lets someone else step up, in the end nobody will, and we’ll be a lot worse off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDamn<\/em> it!\u201d Damin buried his snout against Tazzer’s shoulder, clinging tight, trembling. Tazzer held him, murmuring reassurances over his ears that were more sound than word, stroking his ears.<\/p>\n At length, he drew a ragged breath. \u201cI’ll miss you,\u201d he breathed.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ll miss you too,\u201d Tazzer murmured. \u201cThat’ll be the worst part of it, being apart from you. But I’ll come back as often as I can, and I’ll send messages, too. I’m not going to just disappear, <\/em>love.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPromise?\u201d Damin challenged; but after a moment, he sighed. \u201cDon’t answer that. You always were the brave one of us, Tazzer. Just be careful, please.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat,\u201d Tazzer assured him, \u201cI can swear to.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A couple faces friction when one of them resolves to join the Authority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-slash","tag-flash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}