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Taint
A Promptoberfest story
© 2023 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
tegerio
Prompt: pollution
“Hello, Mother.”
Alys had come into the palace’s common room after breakfast and was at first a little surprised to see her oldest son already there, looking out at the sea. He hadn’t turned his head to see her, or even twitched an ear, making it likely that he’d seen her reflection in the window. The leopardess asked, “Is something wrong, Vladmir?”
The twelve-year old Emperor of Terra gestured at the view, where Sol was struggling to cast some light through the pervasive cloud cover. The effect was to give the iron-gray sky a bloody tinge, and Alys was reminded of the saying, if you want a vision of Hell, watch the sunrise over New Melborn. “That,” Vladmir said. “Terra.”
Alys sat down on a couch, leaning forward slightly as her ears swiveled to focus on him. He and Farukh had been happy to come to Terra, despite having to wear filter masks whenever they left the government-controlled zones. “What about Terra?” she asked.
She could see his reflection as he frowned, trying to find the right words. He put his paws behind his back, a gesture that reminded her of his father as he replied, “It’s dirty.”
Her ears perked in surprise. “It’s where all Terrans come from,” she said. “You’d expect it to look – “
“No, I mean it’s dirty,” Vladmir said. “Maratha’s a pretty place. You can walk around and breathe without a filter, and you can swim in the sea or watch grass grow. Here, though . . . “ The young Emperor shook his head. “I should do something about it.”
“You?”
He turned to face her. “I’m the Emperor, aren’t I?”
“Of course you are.” She patted the couch beside her, and he walked over and sat down. She gently stroked his headfur between his ears. “What brought this on?” she asked.
“Well, I was at my lessons yesterday,” Vlad replied, “and it was the history of the Kashlani.”
“Yes?”
“The lesson said that their First Emperor wanted to make their home planet as beautiful as it had been when he was young.” He frowned. “It was really messed up after their wars, you see?” She nodded encouragingly, and he said, “So their Emperor went to the people who were making things worse, and told them to stop.”
Alys nodded. “And what happened?”
“They refused.”
“Oh.”
Vladmir’s tail swished. “So he had them all killed, and asked the ones who replaced them the same thing.” A smile tugged at his lips. “They said Yes, and cleaned up their home world.” He looked at her. “I want to do that.”
“What? Clean up Terra?” Alys asked.
“Sure, why not?” the twelve-year old asked.
Time for a lesson in certain realities, Alys thought. Her paw slipped down his back and her arm went around his shoulders, drawing him a little closer. “There are a lot of things going on, here on Terra and elsewhere, my dear.”
“What sort of things?”
“Well, hmm. How to put this? Cleaning up Terra has been suggested before.”
“Really?”
“Really. A lot of times.”
“Then why didn’t it happen?”
Alys sighed. “A lot of reasons. It cost too much, no one wanted to try, and fixing things would require moving everyone off Terra.” Her tail swished. “No one wanted to be seen abandoning Terra, not even for a little while.” She shrugged. “Politics.”
“Oh.” Vladmir sat there a moment in silence, and when he looked up at her again, he had the same little half-smile his father would have on his muzzle. “You serve Holy Terra?”
His mother’s eyes went wide as she froze.
How does he know? The Vicar asked herself. How could he – ‘M,’ that leaf-eating little . . . Her ears went down as she said, “That’s a secret, Vlad.”
“I know. But you serve Holy Terra.”
The word forced its way out of her. “Yes.”
Vladmir smiled. “When I get old enough, and become the actual Emperor, I want to make Terra holy again.”
It took an effort of will for Alys al-Sakai to keep her tail and hackles from betraying her. She had to warn the Hierarchy, and while she had often been worried about the safety of her children, she was honestly scared for her oldest son now.
An old saying, “So wise so young, they say, do never live long” drifted through her mind.
end
A Promptoberfest story
© 2023 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
tegerioPrompt: pollution
“Hello, Mother.”
Alys had come into the palace’s common room after breakfast and was at first a little surprised to see her oldest son already there, looking out at the sea. He hadn’t turned his head to see her, or even twitched an ear, making it likely that he’d seen her reflection in the window. The leopardess asked, “Is something wrong, Vladmir?”
The twelve-year old Emperor of Terra gestured at the view, where Sol was struggling to cast some light through the pervasive cloud cover. The effect was to give the iron-gray sky a bloody tinge, and Alys was reminded of the saying, if you want a vision of Hell, watch the sunrise over New Melborn. “That,” Vladmir said. “Terra.”
Alys sat down on a couch, leaning forward slightly as her ears swiveled to focus on him. He and Farukh had been happy to come to Terra, despite having to wear filter masks whenever they left the government-controlled zones. “What about Terra?” she asked.
She could see his reflection as he frowned, trying to find the right words. He put his paws behind his back, a gesture that reminded her of his father as he replied, “It’s dirty.”
Her ears perked in surprise. “It’s where all Terrans come from,” she said. “You’d expect it to look – “
“No, I mean it’s dirty,” Vladmir said. “Maratha’s a pretty place. You can walk around and breathe without a filter, and you can swim in the sea or watch grass grow. Here, though . . . “ The young Emperor shook his head. “I should do something about it.”
“You?”
He turned to face her. “I’m the Emperor, aren’t I?”
“Of course you are.” She patted the couch beside her, and he walked over and sat down. She gently stroked his headfur between his ears. “What brought this on?” she asked.
“Well, I was at my lessons yesterday,” Vlad replied, “and it was the history of the Kashlani.”
“Yes?”
“The lesson said that their First Emperor wanted to make their home planet as beautiful as it had been when he was young.” He frowned. “It was really messed up after their wars, you see?” She nodded encouragingly, and he said, “So their Emperor went to the people who were making things worse, and told them to stop.”
Alys nodded. “And what happened?”
“They refused.”
“Oh.”
Vladmir’s tail swished. “So he had them all killed, and asked the ones who replaced them the same thing.” A smile tugged at his lips. “They said Yes, and cleaned up their home world.” He looked at her. “I want to do that.”
“What? Clean up Terra?” Alys asked.
“Sure, why not?” the twelve-year old asked.
Time for a lesson in certain realities, Alys thought. Her paw slipped down his back and her arm went around his shoulders, drawing him a little closer. “There are a lot of things going on, here on Terra and elsewhere, my dear.”
“What sort of things?”
“Well, hmm. How to put this? Cleaning up Terra has been suggested before.”
“Really?”
“Really. A lot of times.”
“Then why didn’t it happen?”
Alys sighed. “A lot of reasons. It cost too much, no one wanted to try, and fixing things would require moving everyone off Terra.” Her tail swished. “No one wanted to be seen abandoning Terra, not even for a little while.” She shrugged. “Politics.”
“Oh.” Vladmir sat there a moment in silence, and when he looked up at her again, he had the same little half-smile his father would have on his muzzle. “You serve Holy Terra?”
His mother’s eyes went wide as she froze.
How does he know? The Vicar asked herself. How could he – ‘M,’ that leaf-eating little . . . Her ears went down as she said, “That’s a secret, Vlad.”
“I know. But you serve Holy Terra.”
The word forced its way out of her. “Yes.”
Vladmir smiled. “When I get old enough, and become the actual Emperor, I want to make Terra holy again.”
It took an effort of will for Alys al-Sakai to keep her tail and hackles from betraying her. She had to warn the Hierarchy, and while she had often been worried about the safety of her children, she was honestly scared for her oldest son now.
An old saying, “So wise so young, they say, do never live long” drifted through her mind.
end
Category Story / General Furry Art
Species Leopard
Size 78 x 120px
File Size 46.8 kB
The first paragraph totally caught me off guard. I had to rack my brains to remember that this Alys is the young Emperor's mother and not Ayyub's sister.
Then I read the story and caught off guard again by young Vlad's question. The only thing I could say is that if (when?) the Hierarchy try for him, that Moka'll defend him with his life.
Then I read the story and caught off guard again by young Vlad's question. The only thing I could say is that if (when?) the Hierarchy try for him, that Moka'll defend him with his life.
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