A Half-Baked Life 5 (Tamberlane Webcomic, Human!SI)
Treehollow has a school. And a government - two governments actually.
I had learned a few things since I wounded up in this place, mostly through the books that the old wolf Oakewood was willing to give me.
From my understanding, some matters were deemed 'forbidden' by laws, thus I started to establish a rather simplistic view of my predicament: Tree Hollow- no, actually it was the entire region of Silver Sage, was led by a pseudo-dictatorial government.
There was no genuine dictator, but this 'Parliament' ruled in a manner akin to a national despot where its major rules, similar to the US Bill of Rights, were quite 'unbreakable'.
While that may sound good by comparison since many would easily think the main laws of the US as 'generally good', the truth was that the things that were enshrined in constitution through these 'Edicts' was far from good-willed at heart. Not when punishments resorted less on imprisonment and more into 'banishment and pit fights'.
This was a reminder that, despite its intellectually high culture, this civilization seemed to have a history in preserving this sort of animalistic traditions- the concept of 'removing the filth' seemed to be a long-standing phenomenon, yet the latest event that involved banishment unfolding many years ago.
There were some specific laws that could be 'bend' as of recently due to the local council's current mindset, yet the 'Edicts' were a step-up from local politics. It wasn't the sort of business the village could be 'quiet' about due to a mixture of genuine fear of the 'unknown' and a fear-induced obedience for this 'Parliament'.
Truth be told, not many knew much of the difference between Edicts and village's laws and this created a large majority of creatures that were reasonably unable to distinguish one from the other, to know which one was really meant to be a scary bunch of unavoidable laws and which not.
Hence why, when it came down to my decision to find a job at the local school, I was introduced to someone that was just as lovable as she was... well, a bit of a 'sheep' with the way she entertained some legal topics.
"Nice to meet you, John. I am Callie, Callie Teacher."
Callie was a year younger than me, a mixture of a lizard and a dolphin with dark-orange scales/skin and pretty green eyes.
She was lovable in her manners, no doubt in my mind at the time and even beyond that she was indeed a good person... But she was also the kind of good person that was truly afraid of potential illegal blunders.
As we were discussing my chances of becoming a teacher, a rather interesting question came up- even more interesting her reaction in processing it.
"So... you are not from A- I mean, from the 'forbidden place'?"
I never saw someone 'paling' in this place, but the sight truly reminded me of what it meant to be in this 'loving village': the lingering presence of a looming judgment from an upper non-democratic body's rules and regulations.
"I am not from Abroad. And I will not discuss it with the students."
Rule 'N1': Do not discuss 'Abroad'.
Abroad is a term used to indicate a specific 'off-map' area that has been described by many as a no-no place. There were 'treatises' and even 'fairy tales' meant to dissuade anyone from even uttering its name. Albeit the secrecy sounded like a suspicious thing that may indicate something good being shrouded as something really bad...
The truth is that I actually believe it is a bad place.
One thing that thematically stood out from any medium narrating what little info could be discussed of 'Abroad' is... the 'Taint'. The description was limited, but the point is that many tended to check Abroad since it is known it has 'means to heal incurable sicknesses'.
At first glance, this sounded very perplexing as medicine was reasonably limited considering the technological pace of Silver Sage, but the more I looked into it with the expectation of this 'cure' being a sign of goodness being hidden away... the more I realized it wasn't the case.
The Taint was not a magical sickness as many locals had labelled it. The way it was mentioned or displayed was enough to give me an idea or two on what it could really be: either there was indeed a technologically-advanced culture beyond the sea but it had gone rogue to the point of corrupting living beings or... the Taint was actually radiation.
Either way, Abroad sounded too dangerous to even approach with a thought, and while I disagreed with the panicky mindset adopted to revise punishments and laws to prevent dialogue on the matter, I could tell this caused more allure to the matter. It wasn't too long ago that some creatures did take boats to try and 'fight a sickness' by seeking Abroad.
The Parliament literally banished their locals in there in case they were too 'dangerous'.
Thus, my response was clean and easy to accept.
"I am not from there, and I do not seek to broach on the topic. For good reasons."
Callie accepted this, and she smiled nervously while also sounding apologetic for bringing the subject up.
After that first bump, I had a full week to test out the job while Belfry adapted to her chores at Oakewood's library and worked on 'successfully' getting Tamberlane to walk. The baby girl was tough, but she was rather self-conscious over the fact that she was 'behind' her own peers in Treehollow.
She would be given the means to then join school once she could walk and speak in a more sufficient manner... giving me the opportunity to see what it was all about to be a teacher in Treehollow.
The kids were... a mixed bag. I recognized a few, heard of others, and learned to slightly dislike some of those. I couldn't hate any of them, but some were really quick to annoy me. Three in particular being Kira, Jonas and Cur.
These three were outrageous pests at time, with the first being quite the enabler, the second being more of the cocky nerd, and the third being... I wouldn't say he was 'begging' for trouble, but he really was starving for attention since his parents were the last locals in Treehollow to be banished to Abroad when he was very young.
The kid was trouble, but I was sure he could be mellowed with enough attention and the right kind of care.
Still, the most interesting aspect of my new job was... the reaction of a certain bat after a few days of doing it.
At first, Belfry appeared quite supportive, but I was swift in noticing that her good mood would slip away the more I talked about Callie. I wouldn't say I was fawning over her, but she was a reliable individual- hell, I would go as far to say that she had unconsciously shifted into the role of 'assistant' when we were in the same classroom.
Not much in terms of submission, but rather admiration as she had experience in teaching but I had experience in many things that could be taught. So, in the long run I was of the mindset that it could create a wonderful job experience.
That's when I was given a rather 'face-first' experience by Belfry that she may not be that 'happy' about the way I talked about my co-worker.
"Are you thinking about her?" The bat asked and... it was a bit of an awkward circumstance.
We were in bed, again, with Tamberlane happily snoring between us, and I was reading a nice book about the ships of Treehollow and Silver Sage. I wasn't exactly into the topic, but I was still dealing with the 'research the current technological advances' here.
I had been thrown in a loop when I realized that Silver Sage didn't work on money but on exchanges of resources. So I was looking at how differently things worked in other sectors. And when Belfry voiced this question, I was left confused.
"Hm? Her?"
"You... You know who."
...
Do I?
"Who?"
She huffed, grumbling and even pouting as she looked away. "Callie."
...
"No?"
Her eyes turned at me with a hint of irritation. "Are you?"
I frowned. "No...? I was reading about ships."
Her mouth opened, then closed, and then she looked away. "Hm."
...
"Belfry, is... are you okay?"
She tensed up a bit, but didn't say a word.
"Did I say something wrong or-"
"Do you like her?" The bat inquired, turning and the annoyance was replaced by a bit of hurt.
"As a coworker, yes."
Wait, is she thinking that Callie and I- but... that doesn't make much sense!
Hell, I hardly talked about Callie unless it was job-related.
"So you are not looking at her as a potential mate or-"
"I am not looking for mates. Well, not as I am too focused on Tamberlane and being a good parent," I reasoned honestly, and her rebuttal vanished. I gave her a genuine look of determination, but as I stared at her a bit more, I also noticed the sleep bags under her eyes.
I had been quite stressed myself, but I always found a way to unwind after work... Belfry didn't seem to be of that mindset. I wouldn't say she had a lesser burden to mine- not when she had to work and also keep an eye on Tamberlane, but my concern lied over her own ability to find a pause during both responsibilities.
And as I thought about it, I leaned back in bed. "Say, Bel."
She perked up at the nickname, frowning at me. "Hm?"
"Tomorrow and the day after that I am free. We could... hang out with Tamberlane. Maybe Oakewood will not mind you taking a day off so we can have a bit of a lovely weekend together."
Her blue eyes widened in surprise. "You mean like..." A smile appeared. "A picnic?"
I offered a nod. "Got enough 'Food Bills' to afford some nice stuff. And you deserve it a lot since you have been on the thread for a while, huh?"
Shuddering, Belfry snorted. "Trying to sweetening me?"
"Maybe. You're stressed, I am giving you a way to let out the frustration. I'll be monitoring Tamberlane the most those two days but you can jump in whenever you feel like it."
I was not snatching her role, I was slowly coercing her to take a break while also giving her the choice to go back at it if she felt like it. And while it was clear that a smart bat such as Belfry could notice what I was doing, that didn't stop her from nodding and smiling.
"I suppose that would be nice and... John?"
I blinked, surprised when I found a pair of lips slamming on my cheek for a brief moment.
"That- That was nice. Thank you and... sorry for being such a dork."
I snorted, trying to shrug off the sudden kiss I got from the usually tame bat.
"With all due respect, Bel, I think that you would have a better chance with Callie," I argued playfully, getting a confused look out of her. "She may swing both ways, but she has a softer spot for girls like you."
Her jaw dropped at hearing this, a red hue spreading beyond her pink fur over her cheeks.
"Y-You mean she is not- not interested in-"
"Nope. Just curious and friendly, but I have seen her look at you and-"
"S-Stop."
I chuckled, giving her a bright smile. "Then stop being a worrywart. We are doing fine."
The game was over as it was time to bed, but I could tell that little chit-chat did more than just a few days of 'not talking over it' had done. A small bump was expectable, but I didn't expect for things to change in a month into my new life.
After all, nothing had prepared me to be stuck with babysitting a few rowdy brats after school.