Futuristic to whom does home belong?

[rainywrites]

jimcube27

They’d been hearing warnings for weeks. And sure, they got these messages from time to time. The government hated them, just like everybody else. The first rule of being a changeling was something every baby learned from the moment they were born in their animal form. Humans would never love you. Which meant the only people changelings had were each other, through and through. They bonded fiercely to themselves and to the land they were forced onto. Each reservation having its own way of life, although they all relied on the land for everything. There was a lake in Raven’s forest. They got fish from it, made lean-tos and Tepees from logs and twigs, mud and moss, and made clothing from pelts and whatever they could find. It was a simple life, cut off entirely from the world, but hey. The world hated them. And this land was their world. Everyone called everyone cousin, and they lived in quiet, unassuming peace.

then, a few weeks ago, the letters had started coming. Raven was amongst the many who hadn’t been taught to read, but she’d heard of their contents. Find another reserve or die. move or be moved. Yeah, right. The next reserve was hundreds of miles in any direction. They couldn’t impose on such a different way of life. and anyway, it wasn't like they could just pick up and travel somewhere else. they wouldn't be used to the weather, the area, or the traditions. they might not even speak the same dialect as the new tribe. they were only half-fluent in human as it was.

they'd laughed it off, deciding some eco friendly environmentalist humans would probably want to save the forest anyway. no need to worry, but stay away from the edges of their territory. the children, like Raven, had been told not to worry a thousand times. and Raven... she believed them. it was easy to believe that. she wanted to, and besides. their society had been in this forest for generations. not even the mean humans could make them move for anything. They stood tall like willows, unshakable in the breeze.

Raven had woke up early in the morning. the day was young, but something inside the small bird-girl knew that it was the next day. she'd woken up curled around her big sister-figure in their hut. Meadow was a great girl, but Raven knew at this point to never wake the bird-girl. she didn't like being woken up. some would say she was a night howler to Raven's early bird.

regardless, Raven knew to leave her alone.

she figured she could do something fun, something good for Meadow. she could pick berries as a surprise! Salmon berries were in season, weren't they? she knew they were, and those were just delicious. so she ran to the great patch, just a bit inward from the edge of their turf. she knew it was safe. after all, there were strict rules, twice the sightline from the edge of turf was the limits that children were allowed to go alone. there was no reason anyone would be here.

and besides, it might be a bit before dawn, sure. but this was the best salmonberries in the forest. and she was far too small to ever be considered a threat.

 

[jimcube27]

"... and the beastlings are using our tax dollars to do it!"

Trent shook his head as the radio presenter drove his point home. He had never understood why those freeloading changelings continued to get so much from the government. Life is tough for a white human in America, but do they get handouts? No, of course not.

Trent came from a long line of changeling enforcement officers, and was proud to continue the tradition of holding them to their lot.

"All Americans are equal, and right now we are not equal! You know what I think we should do? We should exercise our rights as Americans and march on..."

Trent took the final swig from his coffee cup and threw it out of the window of his jeep, making sure it landed within the reservation, as always.

"... and let's take a look at ourselves, we're not doing enough! No true American would allow this to continue!"

Trent stared at his radio. The presenter was right. Here he was, on his morning patrol, not doing his patriotic duty. He pulled his jeep on a hard right onto the reserve. He sped along the overgrown track intended for the occasional mandated visit of government officials to the reservation. He looked back and forth, hoping to sight a changeling. He didn't really know what he would do when he found one, but figured he'd think of something when he laid eyes on one.

He saw some movement out of the corner of his eye, and immediately swerved his jeep off the track towards it. A bush was shuffling as a changeling was picking fruit. Trent drove straight up to and on to the bush, crushing it with the weight of his vehicle. He threw the door open, and shouted.

"Stay right where you are! What do you think you're doing?"

 

[rainywrites]

she hadn't been doing anything wrong. not in the slightest. she'd just been picking berries, putting them in her basket. and in her mouth, admittedly, but mostly in the basket. she was 13, after all. she liked to eat the yellow berries very much. berries were her favorite food, after all, behind honey. those were the two sweetest things their forest had to offer.

and then... there was a rumble.

it was odd, because this rumble didn't come from the sky, like thunder. it came from the ground. or... not even the ground. rumbles from the ground were earthquakes, and she knew what those are. she didn't know what this was, so she cocked her ear to listen, for a moment. two. was it getting... louder?

she didn't have time to think about that for too long before the bush crashed in on itself and there was a large metal thing in front of her. there was smoke coming out of it. it didn't smell like the nice fires they made at home, though. it smelled forign, and dangerous, and like it would choke one. Raven was so glad she didnt have meadow's sense of smell, right now, because she was coughing just with what she could already smell.

she'd fallen to her knees at some point, although it remained unclear if the force of the bush falling had done that or if it was an effect of the bad smoke. but she looked up at the scary man, barking something in human. being only semi-fleuent in human made this hard. "I... huh?" her voice was a dignified squeak at best, and she looked up at him in complete fear.

 

[jimcube27]

Trent couldn't see anything over the bonnet of his jeep, but he heard some meek exclamation, so he climbed out of the vehicle. He made sure to land heavily on his military style boots, so as to seem as imposing as possible. He still didn't see anything until he slammed the door of the jeep, at which point he spotted her. She was tiny, probably barely out of childhood. He spat on the ground and murmured under his breath "damn beastling probably doesn't even understand yet what she's stealing from us".

He covered the distance between them in two long but deliberate steps, and rested his hand on the pistol-holster on his hip. The gun in there wasn't real, this reserve wasn't considered problematic, and due to budget cuts not all recruits were granted service weapons now. Instead he had an airsoft gun which looked real enough, and these things didn't know the difference anyway.

The changeling was cowering away from him. He drew himself up to his full height.

"Did I stutter? What is it that you think you're doing?"

 

[rainywrites]

he was frightening. deeply, honestly, utterly, frightening. he was everything a human had been said to be. big, imposing, with loud boots that mercilessly stamped out daisies underfoot. and he looked angry, grumbling on about beastlings. what? didn't he know that she was a changeling? she'd never even heard of a beastling before. maybe he'd just gotten the word wrong, she didn't know. but she also didn't have time to dwell on it.

she watched him take two big steps towards him, her eyes looking up to meet his. hers were as dinner plates. she could hear her heart racing in her chest, and she could feel her wings itching to extend. but she saw his hand go to a weapon on his side, and remembered what the storytellers had taught her. human weapons kill changelings in one strike. so she put her hands up, like she'd been taught, dropping the half-full basket of berries beside her. "I... I picking berries. salmonberries." she slowly reached into the basket and pulled one out to offer it to him. everybody loved berries. maybe he had such a mean attitude because he was hungry?

"what means... stutt-er?" she tried to replicate the word he'd just used, but honestly she didn't know much human. she was trying. "I not leaving reserve. I promise." she didn't want him to think she was bad. she'd heard of changelings who tried to leave for a bit and were caught, never coming back again. she wanted to go home...

 

[jimcube27]

They live in this country and they don't even speak the damn language.

"Are you talking back to me kid?"

The red mist had descended on Trent now. His whole life had been a struggle. He didn't even know who his father was, knowledge which had died with his mother, and alcoholic waste of space whose heart had given out a few months ago. That said, given the regularity with which she had male visitors to the apartment, he wasn't convinced that she could be sure who his father was either.

The never had any money. He was forced to go into school every day in the same clothes, whether they were clean or not. Some of the rícher kids bullied him for his body odour, and the stains that had developed around his armpits and neckline.

And here was some kid, not even speaking English properly, living off of his tax dollars, picking berries in the woods!

He was full on shouting at the girl now.

"Those berries are property of the United States of America. Drop them!"

 

[rainywrites]

she shook her head, lowering her eyes. she could feel the grass stains on her dress, and she knew that meadow would be angry about it. after all, she'd spent weeks working on this dress, not to mention the poor buck that they'd had to take to get the skin. but they'd used every bit of his body, he'd been put to good use and given a ceremony. that was the changeling way, after all. appreciate everything that the earth provided. deep connections to the earth abounded within them.

now, raven looked down at the earth, hoping it would save her.

he was screaming, and she tried to scoot back and haunch away, to make herself smaller. perhaps mother earth would simply swallow her up and send her back to the village. she just wanted to go home and nestle into her furs. she put the basket of berries on the ground, confused. what did he mean they were the property of the united states of america? what was the united states of america? if the berries belonged to somebody else, they wouldn't be allowed to pick there. the elders didn't want to hurt anybody. after all, that was a rule. never take what isn't yours. and appreciate what is yours to every degree. Raven didn't want to talk anything that belonged to anybody else. not ever. she started to cry, muttering appologies in her native language for taking away the berries that probably belonged to someone else. she hadn't known! she just liked their sweet taste.

 

[jimcube27]

As the girl tried to back away, Trent advanced on her. It had been a few years since he'd really lost it like this. He'd been suspended from school a couple of times for losing his temper. He'd almost got expelled once for kicking a cleaning lady's mop bucket over as he stormed out of a classroom.

This felt a bit like those days, but more intense. He'd heard the term red mist before, but didn't realise it could be literal. Right now, as he breathed heavily and the veins bulged in his temples.

"Don't you run kid! I'm the law here!"

He advanced on her, his heart pounding as he bent towards her and grabbed her. She was only small, so she was easy enough to lift. Sweat was pouring down his brow.

He stood up quickly, holding her, but as he did, his vision blurred, and then blackened, and Trent fell backwards. He was unconscious.

 

[rainywrites]

((check your dms, dude. i texted you awhile ago and i can;t reply until i get an answer))