“Perhaps it is time to renegotiate the agreements with our military forces.” Braun slid the reins through a metal loop in front of the driver’s cab. There really wasn’t much need to direct the the horses, there was only the one main road and the horses had trod that same path many times over, enough to do it blind if need be. He turned in his seat to face his two traveling companions.
“Our military continues to use up a large amount of civil resources without paying their own fair share. Oh sure, they provided a useful service once, when the natives were waging their little wars against our migrations, but now that we’ve come to a peaceful resolution, they serve little purpose except as leeches for the public coffers.”
“That’s a fairly narrow view,” Lowil countered, “but I expected nothing less from you really and please don’t take it personally. It’s just that you’ve been a public servant all of your short life and having grown up in a time when the wars are a merely a chapter from the history books. You were never given an opportunity to gain the context needed for this kind of debate.”
Kre could tell that Lowil hit a nerve. Braun hated to be wrong and he detested whenever there was something he did not know. Most of all though, he utterly loathed being pitied for his ignorance or shortcomings. Braun snarled something under his breath at the two of them and turned to face the horses once again.
Lowil shrugged and gestured up at the Magistrate’s back. “Kre, take a note here that one should never turn one’s back on an opportunity to learn.”
Kre nodded once to acknowledge his teacher’s words and then started to look around the wagon. They were most of the way through town now and a few folks had stopped their chores long enough to watch the wagon roll by. They offered smiles and waves and went back t their work as soon as the trio had rolled past. It seemed to Kre that everyone was trying to be hopeful that he would be returning soon and this trip wasn’t going to be a permanent one. He wasn’t sure he felt the same, but it was heartening nonetheless.
He waved in return and tried to offer his own hopeful and cheerful smiles. Lowil did the same but Braun refused to make eye contact with anyone. For Braun, it was more for emotional self-preservation than any desire to be unsociable. He didn’t think his fragile psyche could handle it if someone gave him an obscene gesture instead of a smile.
It didn’t take long for them to leave the town proper. From here on out it would be a few farmsteads spaced a healthy yelling distance from each other followed by large copses of trees. The road went on a relatively straight path and stayed fairly even for a good ways. The wagon ride was almost pleasant aside from the awkward gulf of silence between the cab and the bed.
The silence was broken as Lowil and Kre started to chat about what foods had been packed and what they should dig into first. Kre picked up the roasted chicken, which still had a slightly pinkish look to it. “Just so you know, Mrs. Embrai made this chicken.”
Lowil nodded sagely and made a gesture as if to indicate throwing the chicken over the side of the wagon. Kre shrugged, “Maybe we can recook it when we stop for the night? Speaking of which, any idea where we’ll be stopping?”