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• lightly patted him on the shoulder, like he was a grieving she-wolf widow at her husband's pyre. It was all Banno could do to keep himself from bursting into gales of laughter. He'd almost lost it back there with his little speech, talking about all the woes that had befallen him. Somehow he managed to turn it into a crying fit, but it was a close call. He could still feel it bubbling up on the inside, threatening to ruin everything. His stomach muscles were getting sore under the strain of keeping it all in. Somehow, through sheer immeasurable force of will, Banno put on a brave, yet sad little smile and said, "Thanks, James. That means a lot."

"I promise you, nothing like this will ever happen again. I'll make sure of it."

By the Cora, this Fox was so nauseatingly sincere about the whole thing. And those tears... those sweet, salty tears... the smell of them was enough to make his mouth water. It reminded him of Taberah's tears, so wonderfully devastated. It was like he was breathing in a small part of him with every inhale... A giggle nearly bubbled out of Banno's mouth and he quickly had to disguise it with a sniffle. "Just, do one thing for me, please? I know I'm not any position to ask favours after you've already taken such good care of me..."

"Nonsense!" James said. "Whatever you need, I'll make sure you get it."

"Please, don't be too hard on the boy." Banno shot a quick glance at the Luke Fox, and his expression was exactly as he had predicted. An instant of surprise, followed by anger. Yes, not relief, not gratitude, not shame (although there was quite a bit of that earlier on, he could tell), but anger.

That's right, you nosy little son of a bitch. You tried to keep me out, and now look at you. All you can do is stand there and watch as I push my way deeper and deeper into your lives.

"Back home, his actions would be met with... well, pain. And a lot of it. But the reason behind his actions would have earned him nothing but praise for his bravery. You are the father of this family, the Chieftain of this house, so the decision lies with you, but I am the one he wronged, and therefore I believe I should get a say in what becomes of him. I beg of you, please don't be too cruel to him."

No... just a few lashings should do. Just enough to rip a few strips of hide from his back. Maybe a strike to the face. Maybe twist his tail so he doesn't wave it around so damn jovially all the time... And when you do, I'll be right there to offer my sympathies, both to you for having to perform such a painful fatherly duty, and to your son, for receiving it. You'll be grateful for my ear, and your son will be grateful to me for reducing his punishment. Whether it be a simple whipping or the severing of a finger, no one will know how bad it would have been without my interference, not even you, the one who gives it.

James slowly shook his head, his face muddled and his eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Banno, I don't even know what to say to that. Even after everything that's happened to you, you can still be such a kind Soul about it. You truly humble me."

Banno smiled. "I'd just like us all to get on with our lives." Now it's your turn, James. Your little runt tried to kill me last night. A fitting punishment would be to give him a bit of a stab with that knife you got on the table over there, but I'll settle for a coal on his tongue, anything to shut him up for a little while. Go ahead, James. I'm eager to hear how the Foxes keep their little ones in check.

"Luke..."

Ooh, here it comes!

"... I want you to give Banno an apology. A real one. Apologise like you've never apologised before."

Starting off with a punishment of the mind? A bit unorthodox, but okay. Could be delightfully degrading.

The brat gave him a weird look edgewise, like someone trying to peek at the sun.

Go ahead, you little milksop. Be a good boy and do as your daddy says. Apologise to me. Get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness. Beyond the Cora you would have been executed for such a crime, so be thankful to me, be thankful for my mercy, be thankful for your life! It belongs to me, it has always_belonged to me, but now you know it, too..._

"I am sorry, Banno," the brat said, and by the Cora, balled his hands into fists just like Ander always did. It was sickening. "I am truly, truly sorry. I... understand that what I did was wrong. Worse than wrong. Terrible. I believed you to be something you're not, and for that I hope I can find your forgiveness."

Oh, that's not enough, boy. That's not nearly enough. What kind of apology is that when you're standing up on your two good feet while I lie on my back? An apology needs to come from down below, so get down on your belly and crawl like the snake you -

"Thank you, Luke," James said, cutting off Banno's pleasant fantasy as if with a knife. "That was very heartfelt of you."

What!? You're just going to let that slide by as a proper apology!? Your son tried to kill me, James! What kind of a father are you!? Hell, even Kadai could give a better apology than that, and he's a Chieftain!

Banno almost growled out loud, but managed to keep it back at the last second and cleared his throat instead. "Of course I forgive you, Luke. No harm done." Not yet, anyway.

"Okay then..." James planted his hands on his knees and slowly rose from his chair.

Finally! Here it comes! Smack the runt! Make him bleed! Knock out a tooth! Rip out some of his fur! The kid deserves much worse for what he tried to do!

"Luke, go up to your room. I'll deal with you in just a bit."

"Yes, Dad."

WHAT!?

Banno sat there, his back resting against the headboard, his mind a total blank. He couldn't have heard what he just thought he heard. There's no way James just told his son to go up to his room, not when Hezzi used to get beaten half to death for something as stupid as spilling Mother's medicine. Wolves and Foxes were different, he could accept that. No, he could do more than that, he could _embrace_it! But as different as this? No, not when it comes to something that should be the same the world over. Or maybe he was just being impatient. Maybe the real punishment would come later. But dammit! He wanted it to happen right here, where he could see it!

Banno was still thinking this as the urchin turned around and simply walked out the door. His tail was dragging along the floor, but that was just an act. The little runt was jubilant on the inside, he could tell. He might as well have _sauntered_out that door, he might as well have skipped! Oh no... no no no... This will not stand. This will not stand at all!!

"What are you going to do to him?" Banno asked, hoping to sound concerned. It was a tone of voice he's never really had to imitate before, but it sounded okay to his own ears. Close enough, anyway.

"I... I don't..." he said, then started to -

No no NO! Don't sit back down! Don't -

He plopped back down into his chair like a sack of dead meat and rubbed his forehead, moaning softly. "I don't know what I'm going to do. The worst thing those boys have ever done was skip their chores, and now this... I just... I knew they were scared of you, and I knew they wanted you gone, but I never thought they'd resort to something so... grisly. I just don't know what to do..."

Banno wanted to jump up, grab this pathetic excuse for a father by the shirt, pull him in close and yell: Go after your son, you moron! Beat the living hell out of him! Punish him! Make him cry! Make him bleed! Make him do something other than just going up to his room, for crying out loud! I want to feel him feel pain!

Couldn't do that, though. Not after making himself out like some kind of holy divinity. Nope... Nope, nope, nope...

"You have to make sure something like this doesn't happen again, James. I don't want to spend my time here sleeping with one eye open. I know I'm an inconvenience, and I'm trying to heal as fast as I can so I can get out of your hair, but that boy of yours... You might not want to hear it, but he's dangerous."

"You don't know him," James said, slowly turning into an oozing puddle in that chair, one hand covering his eyes while the other hung limply at his side. It looked like he was about to die of the plague, or something. "Please don't speak about him as if you do."

"Oh, but I know a fair deal about him, James. I know he is capable of murder. And I'm not saying that out of anger or spite. It's simply a fact. Your son tried to kill me. That is bad behaviour. Very, very bad behaviour. The worst. And as his father, it is your duty to... modify that behaviour. If you understand what I'm saying."

He peeked out from underneath his hand. "Modify his behaviour?"

Banno nodded, his smile finally returning, but on the inside, where no one could see it. "Yes, James. Make it so that he will never try anything like that again. My life might depend on it."

The stupid Fox sat up straight, a slight frown on his face, and Banno could have sworn there was smoke rising from the top of his head.

Don't blow out your brain, now, he thought, silently urging him to finally come to the right conclusion.

"I think I understand what you're saying," James said with a little nod. "Make it so that he'll never try anything like that again. Make it so that he won't even _want_to."

"Yes, that's exactly right." Finally you get it, you stupid Fox!

"You think you owe us for saving your life, Banno. Well, I say to you, you've already repaid that debt a hundred fold. If anything, I am in your debt."

"Oh, not at all." Go deal with your son, dammit!

He got up, (Praise the Cora, he finally got up!) gathered the knife and candle and started for the door. He paused with his hand on the knob and looked back over his shoulder. "I am deeply sorry for what my sons... almost did."

"It's all in the past, James. Tarry on it no longer."

James nodded, stepped out into the hallway and eased the door shut with a faint click.

Banno waited until the sounds of his footfalls faded away, then threw his hands in the air, contorted his face in pure frustration and sucked in a huge lungful of air he knew he wouldn't be able to use for the scream he so desperately wanted to let loose in this crazy hell hole.

Instead, he just blew it out like he was trying to blow out a candle, his rage bouncing around inside of him, desperately looking for an outlet.

What the hell just happened!? What the hell did I just witness!? What the hell is wrong with that miserable Fox!? Punish your son here, dammit! Here where I can see it! Dammit piece of filth you bastard crock of rot you festering pus dammit bastard dammit!!

Banno pricked his ears, listening very carefully for any sounds that might penetrate that door. At first there was nothing, but then James started whispering to what he could only assume must be the apparition of his dead wife, because there sure as hell wasn't anybody else out there.

"What would you have done, Emily? I try my best, but you've always been so much better at this than me. I just..."

There was a long, drawn out sigh, and then Banno heard more footsteps, very muffled because of all the wood it had to travel through now, but they were going... up? Yes, definitely up. What was he going to do to the brat? It better be something good and loud.

Banno held his breath to cancel out as much background noise as he could, but he couldn't hear anything anymore. How far away was the brat's room? He wasn't sure, but this place couldn't be that big. Surely James must have reached it by now. Where were the screams? Where was the pleading for mercy? Where was the smell of blood? He knew he asked James to go light on the boy, but apparently his idea of 'light' was the same as the Fox idea of 'nothing'. What the hell were they doing up there?

He sniffed, but the lingering traces of their sweat and tears prevented him from gaining any new information from beyond that closed door, so maddeningly close, yet so far away, taunting him with its very presence. He bet he could hear so much better if he just...

No, that's too risky. Or maybe... What if he opened it just a crack and quickly got back in bed? Just for a little listen? The Foxes open and close those things all the time, so it's not like they'll remember exactly how they left each one, right? Especially an emotional wreck like James. He could have easily forgotten to shut the door all the way. Yes... that's exactly what happened. All Banno needed to do was...

He threw the blankets back, feeling a kind of excitement he hadn't felt in ages, not since he snuck out of the village to chase after Ander and his bitch, the knowledge that he would soon taste their deaths making his stomach do somersaults.

But his stump was right there at the end of his leg, of course, taunting him even worse than that closed door, reminding him of how disastrously it all ended up.

Well hello there, Banno, my good old friend. Haven't forgotten about me, have you? Oh my, it's been ages! How've you been? Me? I've just been festering away beneath this blanket. Being ignored. By you. Don't like looking at me, do you? Well, you'd better get used to me, friend, because I'll be here with you forever and ever and ever and ever...

"I hate you!" Banno spat at his own leg and swung it over the side.