“You gotta be kidding me?” Gizzy scoffed as the other elders stared at her, one empty seat where Gandalf used to sit, now occupied by a ceremonial wooden skull. “You think I killed his fat ass?” she finished.
“You wanted him dead, and you wanted him off the council.” Said the white elder.
“No shit Sherlock, I wanted him off the council, until I got him to see my point and side with me, now that doesn’t help me much, does it? Finally flip your opponent’s opinions after months of debates and then kill him before getting to use the majority vote? What kind of bullshit plan is that? And I wanted to kill him legally, in the pit, fair and square in front of thousands of Delmarians, but he didn’t have the furry gray balls to step up. Now I can’t even have that. I’m as pissed off as everyone else that he’s dead like this, now, in that kind of manner. What did I gain exactly? And half of you wanted him dead too, don’t act like you didn’t. He was well hated, and none of you geriatric chickenshits could take him in a fair fight in the pit. That’s why nobody ever challenged him. You were waiting till he got old and sickly, and apparently someone just got impatient and decided backstabbing was just easier. Don’t you dare blame this shit on me. You have no evidence because there is none, no motive because it’s flawed, and no right because when I kill someone, I look them in the face, not stab them in the back.” she roared.
“She was with me during the killing.” Said another council member. “3 of us were in the courthouse discussing important events when the murder transpired.”
“And normally that would be a viable alibi, but she is not Delmarian. This…amalgam of printed flesh and metal copies herself constantly. She could be anywhere, many places at once. That proves nothing, which is why Osirians have no place on our council.” Roared another one.
“I bought my way in just like you did, asshole. Bribes and royal lineage, the council agreed.”
“Disgraced royal lineage, exiled and executed for war crimes.”
“Technicality doesn’t matter.” Gizzy replied. “The discussion isn’t weather or not I’m worthy to be here, I AM here, and a council member was murdered, and I’m not the one who stabbed him in the back. So can we keep the discussion on the topic or do we all just grab a sword and start collecting heads?” she said, eyes glowing and canines extended.
“ENOUGH!” hollered a figure in black, sitting on the largest seat. “My word as honor, this is not the way Gizzy handles matters. I believe her, and I know her well enough to say that confidently.” He said, his eyes glowing red under the hood.
“Knowing her very well is what got her on this council, after all. She often handles her opponents lying down.” Snarled a female Delmarian.
“OBJECTION, IRRELEVANT POINT!” Gizzy barked back. The room went coldly silent. Everyone was now standing and ready to fight if necessary.
“We will deal with this in the old ways.” Said the red eyed cloak. “She is innocent until evidence is presented, not theory or accusation.”
“Innocent may not be the most accurate word for me in general, but regarding this specific matter, I had no involvement.” Gizzy said, stabbing the table with his dagger. “And whoever did this, will face me in the pit for it. I will be collecting a head from his death.” She growled.
“It is not permitted. The new laws state that an outsider cannot invoke the right of Fupar.”
“Then let's put that law to a vote again.” She barked.
“Without all 12 elders, the laws cannot be changed. A new elder will be selected, and the matter can be challenged then.” Said old white-fur.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Gizzy, calm down. Those are the laws, and we are not above them.” Reminded red-eyes from behind his cloak. “Not even you.” She grabbed the knife and turned her back.
“Then you all can finish your finger pointing and circle-jerking while I go and do some actual searching. Some of us took this very personal. Maybe if all of you did, and actually put forth some legwork out there, instead of just voting and going home, things would move a little faster. Fuck Y'all, I got shit to do.”
“Gizzy.” Said red-eyes, slowing down her pace. “Without a trial and conviction, murdering a Delmarian is still murder. Guilty or not, if you bring in a corpse in here with just a claim, you will be cast from this council. If you bring anyone here for judgment, they better be alive.” He said lowering his voice.
“I’ll do my best.” She said, throwing up the middle finger and storming out.
Nicole sat over the toilet seat, throwing up what may or may not have been a large portion of fish milkshake that looks virtually the same on the way out as going in. Silverback knocked and the door swung open.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Look, it’s not my place to bring up anything, but I’ve noticed you and Vinn lately seem a little…off. And I know Dee has a stunning way of finding just the right words to make your anxiety worse. I experience that myself. You know I almost proposed to her once, and I was so convinced she’d say no that I did the same thing you’re doing and threw up for half an hour. Her words can be pretty sharp, but she doesn’t mean them to be."
“Can Eridani and humans even get married?” Nicole asked.
Well technically I’m half Eridani, and the marriage laws for interspecies couples is so complicated they just passed a law saying anything Non Delmarian and uncategorized hybrids just falls under human rights. So medically I’m a mutt, but legally I’m human. It’s part of the integration program. They’re trying to get one unified system, but the big bunnies are stubborn and hard to get through to sometimes. You know what I mean? Sometimes you gotta meet halfway with them, sometimes you gotta stand your ground on a technicality.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m sayin you and Vinn make a great team, but you got married by technicality and didn’t have the years of getting to know each other first. There’s gonna be some times when you two can’t meet in the middle and sometimes when you can. Whatever tension you guys are going through, you gotta work together at it, not just exist in the same house and trade favors.”
“You can tell we’re having troubles? He can’t even tell we’re having troubles.”
"I’m old and wise and Vinn is young and blunt. There’s a reason we hired him as the forklift. He’s not the brightest crayon in the toolshed, but he means well and he has a big heart. You’re a tough girl, Nicole. You’ll hammer out the details.”
Gizzy sat at the dinner table, enjoying some wine with the wife and Menace. The phone rang and Gizzy considered ignoring it, but the ringtone was one she tended to pick up on.
“Excuse me honey, work related drama.” She said, stepping out to the 4th floor deck. "Jack, do you know how annoyed Vicki looks when I call you in the middle of dinner for a furnace job? Well, my wife has that same look right now, except with more tusk.”
“I need to ask you some questions, and some of them I won’t ask because I know not to.”
“Good start.” Gizzy yawned.
“I need to know if my family is in danger.”
“Jack, what the hell are you talking about?”
“I need to know if I’m about to be active, or if I should worry.” he asked.
“If this is about the Gandalf thing, there’s no political coup in play, I’m not planning to activate you. Are you planning to activate your own jobs, Jack?"
“Nicole has been cloned.”
“Well, that’s one of those things you didn’t wanna ask about.”
“And so has Kraken.” He added. Her expression became a bit more serious.
“Is this a confirmation or a theory.”
"He sent a video from orbit. The last part was apparently pretty graphic and Nicole deleted it for reasons you’ll understand, but the first part I’m sending to your work email. He’s alive and he’s planning something. I need to know if he’s working for you or if I need to sharpen my scalpels for a procedure.”
“Jack, I have no idea how…that son of a bitch.” Gizzy paused. “Actually, I think I may know who stabbed our dear friend Gandalf. Not a lot of people capable of getting a 900 pound Delmarian in a headlock and stabbing him in the back, except another similar sized one in better shape and younger, or... me. I’m sending you a briefcase. There will be 2 identical phones in it, monitored and recorded, keep one, give the other to Nicole, change her home number to that phone. If there is any further contact from him, I wanna know his location. And I stand corrected, consider yourself active. If you see him, don’t kill him. I want him alive, take out both his knees.”
"Gladly. Knee surgery has always been one of my favorite procedures.”
“Use the big scalpel, they have especially dense bones.” She said, hanging up.