The Seat of the Patriarch

[Cmdr JFarrington 0]

The Seat of the Patriarch

 

The crotch of one large branch in the forest canopy had served Kree’s family for generations. It was called “The Seat of the Patriarch” only because the patriarch of the family claimed it, not because there were any particular honors that came with being the patriarch. Patriarchs were those who had lived the longest – nothing more. Yet, it felt like an honor to Kree to sit where his father, his grandfather, and his great grandfather had sat. No doubt he who came after would feel the same way. It was his place to rest, work, ponder the fate of the universe, and sleep if he so desired.

 

Unless his mate, Vai, got there first, as she had this time.

 

Kree grunted. “I see dinner is ready.” Vai seemed to take no notice of his reproof. She handed him a leaf-lined wooden bowl filled with legumes and brightly-colored berries then made room for him to sit beside her. Generations of occupants had worn the main trunk that formed the back of their chair into a comfortable curvature. Vai kept the area snugly packed with fresh mosses and fragrant herbs gathered from the forest floor. Kree nestled himself close to her and began to eat.

 

“I hear the travelers have camped at Vesi. They’ve killed a hirrr. They are carnivorous,” said Vai, sorting the pieces in her bowl. She chose one fat, elongated bean and bit into it, savoring its juice.

 

Right to the point, thought Kree as he picked through the bowl looking for his favorite berry. “News travels quickly, I see.”

 

Vai shrugged while reaching her long, slender fingers into a basket, overlooking a tuber for more legumes. “The watchers told the council, the council passed the word. It is good they cook their kill. The travelers will need their fires tonight, to keep away the lintu-saal. It’s their time to hunt, or close to it. Where have you been?”

 

“Securing the laboratory.” The facility’s crystal chamber served as an energy barrier better than any artificially-powered shield. The facility was safe enough. In reality, Kree had been watching the travelers as well, testing their hearing, listening carefully to their conversations through a translator that attached easily to his downy chest. He’d forgotten to remove it before ascending the tree.

 

Vai leaned forward to eye the translator and grunted before settling back. “You did that before they landed. It’s secure enough. Tell me of the travelers.”

 

Kree gave a sigh and relaxed into the tree’s curved trunk, letting the moss cool and sooth his weariness. “They are peaceful.”

 

“The Arcarians seemed so. Only later did they show their true colors.” Vai bit into a berry then tossed the stem over the edge.

 

“Yes. But I sense this group is truly lost, and that they only hope to return to their home world. They have no plans to make a permanent settlement. And there is a lot of fear.”

 

“And what do they know of us?”

 

Kree stopped to stare at her for several minutes. She was normally inquisitive, but she seemed to have more questions than usual. Was she concerned that what happened with the Arcarians would happen again? “They believe there are no sentient beings on Qin-a,” he told her. “That could be a good thing – or bad.”

 

Vai gave a sage nod. “They are hunters.”

 

“We must take care that we do not become the hunted.”

 

“Yes. Great care.”