Meeting.

Yeah, I know, I heard the call too.

Fly there.

HELL no.

Fly.

Not right now jeez.

Promised.

And???....Okay yeah but not right nOW for Pete’s sake.

Zoom in like lightning.

Chico.

Zoooom.

Jeez.

Zap zap.

It was the first time in a long time I’d been able to get a good look at the entire herd in one shot; I moved around too much and at weird times to really get a number on every face that was in the border (not like I’d remember any of them anyway). The sheer size of the gathered crowd was enough to threaten claustrophobia; it was hard to war against my impulse to run, to fuck off somewhere or at least hide in the fringes.I swallowed it all down though, cuz I had to train myself and re-wire my head to convince me, once and for all, that I was a herd member now.

It’d been a full year.

The feeling of it curdled in my belly as I stood there, not too far from where Tembo and Queen Alysanne stood; Chico was hanging off my ass, heavy and sleepy and impish, and I didn’t know it but he had lazy goo-goo eyes for his Bwenny girl, up there with the King being all proud and hot. He didn’t even really react when Tembovu announced I’d been handed the position General--leaving me all by myself to fumble with that bomb.

General.

I was still as a statue, looking all hard and serious, all the while spilling all kinds of spaghetti in my head. General. Tembovu was still talking about other members, other ranks, and I was still wrapping my head around it. General. For...giving a fuck, I guess? I ain’t gonna front with false modesty; I mean, I had expected some kind of recognition from the higher-ups about kicking people’s asses into gear. But…General? Everyone’s boss?

Chico was throwing huge grins at Bwenny, completely and utterly oblivious to my flailing.

I looked around at those gathered around me, behind me, searching eyes and faces and waiting for someone to challenge Tembovu’s decree. Hoping someone would challenge it, to really test my ass and prove to me everyone whether I was really capable of the job or not.

What actually happened was some hUGE kid biting about being bored, about foals being wasted potential, about wanting to kick an ass one day. All I could think of was: Why hadn’t we BEEN doing that? But she was asking to fight and I realized super suddenly that she was technically asking me and there was a moment of panic like what do I do what do I do what do I do what do I say and I was desperate enough to open my mouth and--

“Come see me if you feel like kickin’ an ass,” I told her, and my voice boomed like there were no butterflies at all in my chest, “I’ll get that covered. And as for the rest of you,” I said, turning toward the rest of the herd members, because, somehow, I had more shit to say, “The Edge ain’t got enough warriors to cover all the positions needed. We need warriors and we need ‘em badly, so anyone interested who ain’t ranked yet come see me or Nyx to fill that part. In the meantime, until we get all our ducks in a row, I need volunteers from other ranks to fill a patrol or two so we ain’t totally defenseless, word?”

I waited, wondering if I was still crossing a line (even though it was my job--) or if someone would heed my warning of being fucked and step up to the plate.

Uncle Ros Wants You, Bitch.


"In ornare vitae leo eu volutpat."