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Desperately n'Barit wanted to smack this child upside the head with his crutch, but he could just hear the tongue-lashing Emperial would give him if she were called upon to bail him out of an assault charge against a minor. Then he realized he had Kirkcaldy to worry about. It was in his best interest to avoid trouble. He wauld never again be free to experience the recklessness of his younger years when he had slain dragons and destroyed demons. N'Barit was almost shocked into silence by the realization that there was a downside to Kirkcaldy.

Almost.

"It's not the responsibility of the barrigater to show respect to common classes, it is your responsibility to show respect to me," said n'Barit pointedly, the words stinging him more than they ever could Aurelius. "Until you have done something worthy of earning my respect, I am not obliged to give it. So go away." He sniffed in disdain, hoping that would be the end of it.

Kirkcaldy quietly pouted. Just how long were these two going to go at it? She was beginning to think they should all just share a banana or two and relax. That was her solution to life's many problems: eat half a banana and give the other half to n'Barit. Usually it solved his problems, too.

"And why do you care? You're--" he almost said human, but would be wrong-- "not Yuul." As if a non-Yuul would be capable of understanding. N'Barit had tried to explain several times before to humans, but accepting the concept of a barrigater meant accepting self-subjugation, and human ego got in the way. Humans could understand the surface of the concept, but not the feeling. To be forceful and yet submissive... N'Barit winced and closed his eyes as if in pain. This was beyond the scope of a single banana, or even two.

"Not for you," said n'Barit, bizarrely, emphasis on the second word. The statement made some kind of sense to him, but must have gotten scrambled in biochip translation. Maybe some saying for which there was a literal meaning but no English correlation. Maybe some mistake on n'Barit's part in contextual application of an English phrasing.

"Mmmmda," groaned Kirkcaldy, and n'Barit sympathized, albeit for the wrong reason. He was thinking that if Aure would just go away they could go sit in the shade and have something to eat and do their normal routine of living. Kirkcaldy was thinking that grownups (and to her perspective Aure was a grownup) were boring when they were just standing around talking, an activity in which she could not yet fully participate. If they were thinking it would be better. Kirkcaldy was awfully good at thinking. It had not yet dawned on her that most people considered thinking to be a solitary diversion.

With a snort, n'Barit shifted Kirkcaldy in his arm and glared at Aure. "I'm bored. Why not go bore some other people? Or don't you have your own life?" He was determined to see Aure leave first. He would not give her the satisfaction of seeing him turn tail and leave. She was a kid by human standards, she probably had someone who looked after her and paid for her iPod and music downloads. That person would eventually come looking for her, or she would be forced to return home.

N'Barit, on the other hand, could wait here for-almost-ever. The only person he answered to was leaning on his shoulder. He also had the bananas. Aurelius would starve long before he did. It was simply a matter of waiting her out.

"Suit yourself," said n'Barit, gripping his crutch and Kirkcaldy with equal decisiveness. When he walked, there was a sound like a rusty swing or hinged gate. It was small, barely noticable, but perfectly in time with the swinging of his right foot.

N'Barit hobbled over to the nearest building wall and leaned against it, closing his eyes. If this girl thought she could out-wait him, she had another thing coming. He had trained extensively in meditation and could wait unmoving for days, transcending the needs of his physical body.

Kirkcaldy was not so trained, but she had little choice in the matter. She set her chin on n'Barit's shoulder and started making little "bff" noises for her own amusement, pressing her lips together and blowing in short bursts. She really wasn't ready for naptime. Thank goodness she had recently gone to the potty or n'Barit would have had a real problem on his hands.

In perfect mockery, n'Barit asked, "Hey, what's up with your ears? I don't think regular ears are supposed to look like that. Maybe if you washed once in a while you wouldn't have plants growing out." He had gone just a bit further than Aurelius, because like any good Yuul leader, when he committed to something, he did so wholeheartedly.

As terrible as all that was, n'Barit did not go crashing down. Far from it. He had a habit of not putting weight on his prosthetic if he could avoid it, so while his leg was knocked aside, it only upset his balance momentarily. Between the crutch and the wall he was well-supported. He did slide some inches to the side, scraping the scars on his back and leaving a pattern of dirt on the back of his shirt. The skin on his back was tough enough that this was merely a moment of discomfort and not a real injury.

But Kirkcaldy was jarred by the event and hiccupped in sudden surprise. N'Barit could have forgiven Aure if the attack had just been a strike on him, but that little hiccup was enough to condemn the older Illusionary.

It was Aurelius's turn to be unfortunate for four reasons.

1) In contrast to a few martial arts moves learned in gym class, n'Barit had twenty years of combat experience literally beaten into him.

2) N'Barit was never above retaliating, even against a girl.

3) As insulted as Aurelius was, it was nothing compared to the wrath of a parent who feels his child is threatened.

4) N'Barit's crutch had a much longer range than he himself did and he knew how to use it.

His reaction to the hiccup was instantaneous. In a smooth, practiced move, N'Barit pushed off the wall while sliding his hand down his crutch, swung his right leg out in a giant step towards Aurelius, and swung the crutch about as he did. All the while he held Kirkcaldy snug against his chest.

There was a really terrible yet brilliant retort in there about landing in the trash and Aure's arms being the same thing, but n'Barit was too preoccupied with his own situation to make it. The kick, the lunge-- his prosthetic leg was at its limit. N'Barit could feel it sliding and turning on his thigh. Even in the best of times it had a tendency to come loose and fall off after a day of walking. This was beyond its usual limits. He had just enough time to drop his crutch and catch himself with his one free arm to keep from falling completely over.

He landed on the ground with a jolt. His prosthetic completely twisted off and landed at a strange angle a few inches from where it should have been attached, giving him an oddly long and misshapen leg. Several inches of garish gold boot stuck out from the end of his trouser leg. N'Barit barely noticed. He was more concerned with making sure Kirkcaldy was alright.

Poor Kirkcaldy had no idea what to think. The ride from her perspective was smooth but mildly nauseating, a brief taste of amusement park excitement, even down to the bump of the landing as her "ride" came to a stop. She sat, stunned.