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“Yeehaw!” Rover vaulted onto the pole, spiraling downward and giving an exuberant whoop as his bare feet hit the ground floor.. This was the big day! The biggest day ever...like branding day. Cowboys were big on branding day. He had been cooped up in the Jssfloon medical facility for...well he couldn’t remember exactly how long but it felt like FOREVER. And even after he came home with Soorn he had been told to ‘take it easy’. He’d been getting cabin fever something fierce. So he had a metal plate in his head and a new arm. Big deal. It wasn’t like he could remember not having them. Besides, he felt fine now and he was ready to meet the world and everything beyond.

“Good morning.” The sweet smell of dune fruit wafted in from the kitchen along with Soorn’s cheerful greeting. The human phrase was particularly accurate today.

Rover scarfed down breakfast, barely stopping to chew. As much as he loved food he was too excited to bother with it today.

The Jssfloon leaned his chin on an upper hand and raised an eyebrow at the human’s eating habits. “Your stomach did a lot of protesting the last time you ate like that.”

Rover looked up, his cheeks full of dunefruit. He swallowed his bite and grinned. “Done!” He announce and tossed his plate in the cleaner. Without even a pause he scooped up his bag and bounded toward the door.

Soorn followed him, the fingers of his lower hands tapping against each other nervously. “Do you have your padd?”

Rover held up the flat electronic device. “Yep.”

“Your lunch?”

He grabbed a couple of dunefruit that stood in a bowl by the door and shoved them in his pouch. “Yep.”

“We’ve only walked there once, do you remember the way?”

With a cocky grin Rover glanced behind him at his guardian. “I have an infallible sense of direction. I could get there with my eyes closed.” As if to scold him for such arrogance his foot caught on a fold of the rug and he toppled forward, smacking face first into the doorframe.

Purple spots under Soorn’s eyes flushed in concern. “Are you alright?!”

“Just dandy.” Rover wiggled his nose, making sure it was still firmly attatched. It was. Satisfied that he hadn’t given himself another bloody nose he touched the plate on the wall and the door swished open for him. This was it! By himself, all day, meeting new people, learning new things, there was a world of adventure out there to be roped and ridden. So why, as he stared out the door at the bright sunny morning, did he suddenly feel like someone had dropped a rock in his stomach? A rock that had suddenly burst into a swarm of fluttering ooflits that churned his insides?   He swallowed hard. Maybe he really had eaten too fast.

“I think you had better keep your eyes open.” Soorn smiled at his young charge, who was now just standing, petrified in the doorway. Odd. Perhaps it was a human thing. “Now I know Jssfloon customs are still new to you, but please try to be polite.”

Without any warning Rover turned on his heel and began marching toward the living room. “I decided I’m not going.”

Soorn blinked in confusion. “What?" He grabbed Rover's arm to keep him from waltzing away and put his upper hands on the boy's shoulders. “Now...what’s wrong.”

Rover gave a nanchalant shrug, avoiding Soorn's yellow eyes. “Don’t think they got anything to teach me, is all.”

With his lower hands on his hips Soorn raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Now how will you know if you don’t go?”

“Well, it ain’t like they got a class on bronco bustin’, or lasso throwin’. Jssfloon ain't into things a human has to learn. Besides I got me more important things to do than sitting in some dumb classroom and listening to a fellah jaw at me all day." He gently pulled away and wandered back toward the kitchen and fidgeted with the bowl of dunefruit.

Soorn followed him, nodding slowly as he plucked the fruit Rover had been fingering out of the bowl. "I see."

Rover's green eyes looked up with a tint of defiance in his green eyes, expecting to be ordered out the door. "I ain't goin'." He said again.

"It's alright." Soorn shrugged both sets of shoulders. "It's a new challenge for you. You haven't had much experience being out on your own. I understand if you are afraid. I will inform your teacher of your decision." He started for the living room where his communicator was.

“Hey, I ain’t afraid of nothin’!” Rover barked back, hooking a mechanical thumb at his chest.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Soorn picked up the little round device in his lower hand and tapped it's flat surface. "I'm sure your teacher and you classmates will understand your trepidition."

"I said I ain't afraid!" Rover shoved his chin forward and puffed out his chest.

Soorn looked mildly down at him, a skeptical look on his blue face. "If you insist. But how can they think anything different if you are absent? It's a logical assumption."

Rover's face scrunched up. "What are we standing here yackkin' for?" He said as if Soorn had been holding him up. "I gotta get to school!" He threw his bag over his shoulder and bolted out the door.

Soorn leaned against the doorframe, watching his young ward sprint across the fields. His brushy tail flicked once and he smiled.

Description

“Yeehaw!” Rover vaulted onto the pole, spiraling downward and giving an exuberant whoop as his bare feet hit the ground floor.. This was the big day! The biggest day ever...like branding day. Cowboys were big on branding day. He had been cooped up in the Jssfloon medical facility for...well he couldn’t remember exactly how long but it felt like FOREVER. And even after he came home with Soorn he had been told to ‘take it easy’. He’d been getting cabin fever something fierce. So he had a metal plate in his head and a new arm. Big deal. It wasn’t like he could remember not having them. Besides, he felt fine now and he was ready to meet the world and everything beyond.

“Good morning.” The sweet smell of dune fruit wafted in from the kitchen along with Soorn’s cheerful greeting. The human phrase was particularly accurate today.

Rover scarfed down breakfast, barely stopping to chew. As much as he loved food he was too excited to bother with it today.

The Jssfloon leaned his chin on an upper hand and raised an eyebrow at the human’s eating habits. “Your stomach did a lot of protesting the last time you ate like that.”

Rover looked up, his cheeks full of dunefruit. He swallowed his bite and grinned. “Done!” He announce and tossed his plate in the cleaner. Without even a pause he scooped up his bag and bounded toward the door.

Soorn followed him, the fingers of his lower hands tapping against each other nervously. “Do you have your padd?”

Rover held up the flat electronic device. “Yep.”

“Your lunch?”

He grabbed a couple of dunefruit that stood in a bowl by the door and shoved them in his pouch. “Yep.”

“We’ve only walked there once, do you remember the way?”

With a cocky grin Rover glanced behind him at his guardian. “I have an infallible sense of direction. I could get there with my eyes closed.” As if to scold him for such arrogance his foot caught on a fold of the rug and he toppled forward, smacking face first into the doorframe.

Purple spots under Soorn’s eyes flushed in concern. “Are you alright?!”

“Just dandy.” Rover wiggled his nose, making sure it was still firmly attatched. It was. Satisfied that he hadn’t given himself another bloody nose he touched the plate on the wall and the door swished open for him. This was it! By himself, all day, meeting new people, learning new things, there was a world of adventure out there to be roped and ridden. So why, as he stared out the door at the bright sunny morning, did he suddenly feel like someone had dropped a rock in his stomach? A rock that had suddenly burst into a swarm of fluttering ooflits that churned his insides?   He swallowed hard. Maybe he really had eaten too fast.

“I think you had better keep your eyes open.” Soorn smiled at his young charge, who was now just standing, petrified in the doorway. Odd. Perhaps it was a human thing. “Now I know Jssfloon customs are still new to you, but please try to be polite.”

Without any warning Rover turned on his heel and began marching toward the living room. “I decided I’m not going.”

Soorn blinked in confusion. “What?" He grabbed Rover's arm to keep him from waltzing away and put his upper hands on the boy's shoulders. “Now...what’s wrong.”

Rover gave a nanchalant shrug, avoiding Soorn's yellow eyes. “Don’t think they got anything to teach me, is all.”

With his lower hands on his hips Soorn raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Now how will you know if you don’t go?”

“Well, it ain’t like they got a class on bronco bustin’, or lasso throwin’. Jssfloon ain't into things a human has to learn. Besides I got me more important things to do than sitting in some dumb classroom and listening to a fellah jaw at me all day." He gently pulled away and wandered back toward the kitchen and fidgeted with the bowl of dunefruit.

Soorn followed him, nodding slowly as he plucked the fruit Rover had been fingering out of the bowl. "I see."

Rover's green eyes looked up with a tint of defiance in his green eyes, expecting to be ordered out the door. "I ain't goin'." He said again.

"It's alright." Soorn shrugged both sets of shoulders. "It's a new challenge for you. You haven't had much experience being out on your own. I understand if you are afraid. I will inform your teacher of your decision." He started for the living room where his communicator was.

“Hey, I ain’t afraid of nothin’!” Rover barked back, hooking a mechanical thumb at his chest.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Soorn picked up the little round device in his lower hand and tapped it's flat surface. "I'm sure your teacher and you classmates will understand your trepidition."

"I said I ain't afraid!" Rover shoved his chin forward and puffed out his chest.

Soorn looked mildly down at him, a skeptical look on his blue face. "If you insist. But how can they think anything different if you are absent? It's a logical assumption."

Rover's face scrunched up. "What are we standing here yackkin' for?" He said as if Soorn had been holding him up. "I gotta get to school!" He threw his bag over his shoulder and bolted out the door.

Soorn leaned against the doorframe, watching his young ward sprint across the fields. His brushy tail flicked once and he smiled.