Against All Odds: Part 2 - A Sizeable Issue
#2 of Against All Odds Universe
As promised: here's part 2. I'll aim at getting a chapter posted around about once every week or two from here on in, until I catch up to where I currently am in the course of writing.
Thoughts/comments welcome as ever! :)
Part 2 - A Sizable Issue
"You're doing what!?" The words echoed loudly through the packed sandwich shop, causing a good number of its customers to glare towards their source. "Shaun, you wanna say that a bit louder?" Nathan grumbled through gritted teeth, sitting at a table along the back wall of the dining area. He tried to ignore the inquisitive stares being directed at him. "I don't think they heard you on the other side of the damn planet." "It ain't a joke," the red squirrel in the seat opposite replied, his voice now an angry whisper to match. "By the gods, you're talking about going to Velika. Are you insane!?" The other patrons gathered in the bright, sunlit city-centre eatery gradually went back to their own business, leaving the pair to continue their heated discussion in private. "No, I'm not insane, thanks," Nathan muttered. He turned his attentions to the plastic bowl of lean chicken and pasta salad in front of him, the displeasure for his figure still lingering from the night before. "I'm not going over there on some kinda whim, I'll be staying with Alexei. He invited me to stay last night." Shaun glared across the polished, wooden dining table with disapproving brown eyes. "Oh, well that's fine then. Alexei invited you, great." "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means..." the squirrel paused, restraining himself from raising his voice again. "It means, he's still a Velikan, yeah? He and everyone around him'll be ten times bigger than you!"
Nathan kept his focus downwards, silently poking at his lunch with a fork. "Well hey, thanks for your opinion. Kinda wish I hadn't bothered asking for it now." Despite his protestations, he knew Shaun had a point. While the continents of Velika and Polcia, and indeed the world as a whole, were inhabited by a civilisation of anthropomorphic animals, nothing could hide the fact that the Velikans were a race of giants. As much as he longed to meet Alexei in the flesh, he worried about just how his first ever encounter with these 'macros', as they were casually known here, would play out. "Not a big deal," Nathan muttered dismissively, peering up at Shaun from his food. "They're just people, right?" "Not... not a big...?" The red squirrel shook his head in disbelief, sending his shoulder-length, auburn head fur swaying. "Have you gone and completely lost your mind!?" "No, no. As I said, I'm quite sane and quite serious about this whole thing." His reply came with assertiveness this time. Shaun sighed, scooping up his steak and cheese sub in his paws, "I know you were raised up north, in the sticks, but I'd have thought they still taught 'Polcian History' back in school." "Oh, they did, don't you worry. My education didn't start when I came down here for University." "Great, so did they just gloss over that silly little war we had with them, or what?"
With a loud groan, Nathan dropped his fork to the table, the resulting clank momentarily drawing the attentions of a coyote couple sat at the next table. "No, they didn't, but I'm pretty sure Alex wasn't involved. I mean it did end what, fifty-something years ago?" "Your friend might not have been involved," Shaun replied, motioning his sandwich towards the canine as if to reinforce his point. A sauce-covered heap of mixed vegetables spilt out of it and splattered upon the tabletop, "but you can damn well bet some that were'll still be lurkin' about!" "Look, I--" "Gods damn, you act like all's been forgiven, forgotten!" the squirrel huffed, cutting Nathan off as if he hadn't spoken at all, "you bean-countin' finance workers might not have noticed, but half the stuff us researchers work on and develop end up used in self-defence systems." The husky shrugged. "Your point being?" "My point being, I'm not the only one that doesn't trust them not to try'n wipe us all out again!" Nathan retrieved his cutlery, proceeding to scarf down a large forkful of salad before following up on his friend's statement. "I don't think it's a case of mistrust, I think it's a case of being prepared. Nothing wrong with that." Shaun silently perked his ears, taking a bite of his sub and allowing Nathan to continue. "Fact of the matter is, we trade with them again now. Not only that, but for the last two decades or so, we've been able to communicate with them, fly there. Hell, some of us are even living there again now, just like the old days before the war." He took a breath, smiling, his thoughts shifting to the image of the grey wolf stored on his phone. "They're not our enemies any more. Times change."
Shaun finished chewing and swallowed, shaking his head slowly. "You really think Velikans have changed? We only just managed to beat them, drive them back in that war, and now they want our tech. Face it, that's the only reason they've started to trade with us again these last few years." The husky glared at his friend, watching him take another bite of his lunch. Another smattering of sauce and diced tomatoes dropped down into the already messy wrapper below. "It's not like we don't benefit." "What y'mean?" Shaun muffled past a mouthful of food. "I don't see you complaining when you're eating the food we make out of the tonnes of giant crops and slabs of meat they ship to us." "Yeah well, what's a bit of food when you're gettin' all our secrets in return, huh?" Nathan rolled his eyes, tutting. "Oh please, don't be so dramatic. You really think we'd leave ourselves vulnerable? Give them access to things they could use against us? With paranoid scientists like you about, that'd never happen in a million years." Shaun mumbled disinterestedly, focusing more on his food than on thinking up a suitable retort. The canine chose not to push for one, opting instead to scoop up another forkful of spiral pasta and shovel it into his mouth.
The lunch-hours that Nathan regularly spent with Shaun, an old housemate from his University days who now worked for an electronics research company close by, weren't usually this confrontational. He'd always had a brash, outspoken manner about him, but seldom did it lead to heated debates in the middle of a packed sandwich shop. A few more minutes passed by, with neither of the pair piping up to resume their conversation. They grazed silently on their food, until another friend of theirs approached. "Hey you two." "Hey, Tasha," they murmured in unison, glancing up to the lioness standing beside their table. "Oh, well nice to see you too!" she replied with a good measure of sarcasm, placing her wrapped sandwich on the tabletop and taking the empty seat that faced the wall, leaving Shaun to her left and Nathan to her right. "Bad day?" Tasha was a colleague of the canine's, and at twenty-five, just a couple of years older. She joined the company a little over two years ago, three months prior to Nathan, meaning the pair endured the awkward 'settling-in' period together. This shared experience, along with the numerous projects they'd worked on together since, allowed them to develop a friendship that grew to exist both inside and outside of work.
"Day's been okay enough, considering I got into the office at seven this morning," Nathan answered, motioning towards the squirrel, who himself had just finished eating. "The tension you're sensing is over a little debate us two've been having." "Debate?" Shaun scoffed, "I said you're damn crazy for even contemplating going to Velika. That's not a debate, it's a statement of fact." "Velika?" the lioness inquired, puzzled. "Why in the world are you wanting to go there?" The red-furred squirrel took it upon himself to bring Tasha up to speed, explaining that Nathan had a "gamer-friend" living there that he planned on visiting. He ensured his words included a generous helping of anti-macro sentiment.
"So now, he feels like payin' him a nice visit, and will no doubt end up getting attacked or worse by the first Polcian-hatin' giant he comes across. Nice, no?" "That's just ridiculous," the husky chided, "you talk like they're still dropping bombs us." "Look, just... all of this over some guy you play games with is just--" "Hey listen, he's not just some guy!" Nathan snarled, pounding his fist on the table. Any concern for being overheard by his fellow patrons had long since vanished, "He's... you know what, screw it, what's the damn use. You just. Don't. Get it." Tasha remained silent in her seat, the brow of her cream-furred face furrowed as the discussion appeared to be descending into full-blown argument. Her concerned expression lifted soon after to be replaced by a wry smile, as if Nathan's passionate response had caused something within her head to click. She didn't interject, casually unwrapping her sandwich while the debate continued.
"What's there to get? I..." Shaun trailed off, his friend's anger clearly taking him aback. He glanced down at his watch, standing up from his seat while ensuring his big, twitching tail didn't knock into anything. "Look, it's almost quarter to one. I gotta head back to work." Nathan grunted, staring pensively at the now vacated chair opposite as doubt and uncertainty invaded his mind. 'Will I be safe in Velika? Could me and Alexei...could we...?' "Hey listen, I got a bit carried away," the squirrel sighed, "I know I can't stop you. Hell, you're as hard-headed as they come, but I just... don't wanna see you get hurt, y'know?" The husky snapped back into the world, glancing up to see Shaun's calmer expression. "I hope you're right, I hope the world has changed. It'd be nice not to have those practice drills anymore, then we could stop shoving ourselves down into the emergency bunkers every month!" Shaun chuckled, drawing the hint of smile from Nathan. "Listen, if you go, just be careful, okay? Just because he likes ya don't mean they all will." "I will... Thanks." "Oh, one last thing." The squirrel looked over his shoulder as he turned to leave. "Don't forget to pick up a Normaliser. Computers and phones might tone their voices down automatically, but our ears don't. Don't wanna risk going deaf now, do ya?" "I'll see if I can pick one up this weekend." "Good... another thing to thank us 'paranoid scientists' for," Shaun muttered with a half-grin before pacing off towards the exit, leaving Nathan and Tasha behind. "Same time tomorrow, guys. See ya."
"Gods damn, I thought friends were supposed to help!?" the husky rumbled, rubbing his temples with a thumb and middle finger. "Maybe he's got a point though. Maybe it is too big a risk." "He was trying to help, in his own way at least," Tasha replied gently. "He just cares." "Yeah, I know, but he's got me worrying all over again." Nathan pushed his empty bowl away with a disgruntled paw. "Anyway, how's it going? How're Owen and the kids?" The two colleagues proceeded to make small talk, chatting about themselves, their families and their home lives. The lioness spoke about her husband and two cubs, the husky about his parents back in Alvestoft, his hometown. It didn't take long however for Tasha to bring things back to the discussion she'd walked in on between Nathan and Shaun. "So, Nate..." "Hmm?" The cat smiled warmly, clearing the rogue strands of her long, chestnut head fur from her face. "You like him, don't you? This Velikan." "Yeah... he's okay. We have fun together, have a lot in common." A feeling of unease sprouted from within Nathan's chest. He sensed his colleague's next words before she even drew breath. "No, I mean... you like him." Nathan's heart drummed faster, the shock that she'd seemingly deduced his emotions so easily had him grasping for his words, anxiously trying to throw together a response. "I... what?" "It's pretty clear, the way you spoke about him." Tasha winked, laughing softly. "I mean, you slammed the table pretty hard when Shaun referred to him as 'some guy'." Nathan looked away, blushing, unable to reply before the cream-furred lioness continued on with her questioning. "So, you've fallen for a Velikan?" "Well..." He swallowed hard, his brown ears half-lowered. The formerly-hostile relations between the two peoples, even though slowly improving, meant that 'inter-scale' relationships were still something of a taboo in most of the world. What's more, while he knew the strength of the feelings he held for Alexei within his heart, Nathan had no clue as to whether or not they were reciprocated. As a result, he had serious reservations about opening up to his friend. 'What else can you do though?' his conscience proposed, knowing any denial he could throw together would be as transparent as the shop's window-front that looked out onto the fast-paced city streets. "Yea... kinda."
"Aww, that's sweet." Tasha beamed, her words warm, genuine. "What's his name?" "...Alexei. Alex." Nathan's eyes widened, relieved and a little surprised at the apparent show of support. "I've got a picture, if you want to see him." "Sure!" He handed his colleague his phone, helping her to navigate the photo gallery until a familiar grey wolf appeared on-screen. "There, that's him." "Oh, he's a cutie!" Nathan chuckled gently, sporting a grin to match Tasha's. He couldn't believe her open-mindedness, approval even, towards the affection he held for Alexei. "So, you don't think it's wrong?" "It's... unconventional, but as long as it doesn't hurt anybody, who am I to judge?" Those words sent a new wave of relief washing over the husky, tension escaping his body through a heavy sigh. "I have to say, you're taking this a damn sight better than I'd have expected. Shaun'd freak if I told him the whole story!" The lioness handed the phone back before delicately picking up her tuna sandwich. "I don't have anything against Velikans. Besides, it sounds like you care a lot for him." "I do. He's a wonderful, sweet person. Not at all like the old propaganda from school would have you believe." "I'm sure he's not. I used to speak online to friends from there when I was younger, and they're basically... well, they're just bigger Polcians, in a sense." She took a small bite of her lunch, consuming it before concluding. "As for Shaun, of course he'd freak! He works in self-defence, it's pretty much a prerequisite for him not to trust them, even if the war is long over." "I suppose you're right." "I know I'm right."
Nathan checked his watch, its digital display reading '12:54'. "Gah, only five more minutes." "Never lasts long enough, does it?" "No," he sighed, thoughtfully rubbing the underside of his muzzle. "Tasha, can I ask...?" The cat looked back in acknowledgment, stopping herself from taking another bite of her lunch. "Do you think I should go?" the husky asked, wringing his paws. "I mean, do you think..." He trailed off, staring down to his handpaws with a grumble. "I think you should, yes." "Really?" "Why not? I assume you know how to go about getting there?" "Of course. I think that's the first thing I looked up after I first toyed with the idea. Never thought it'd ever happen though." "Then go for it!" Tasha smiled, nodding away. "If you care for Alexei as much as you seem to, then just do it. It could be the best thing you ever do." Nathan's face lit up. Finally finding the support he so desperately sought made the whole idea seem far less audacious.
"As Shaun said though, there'll be some sizeist Velikans who aren't as happy to see you as your wolf. If it's anything like here, some of the older people'll still have misgivings about you, us. Just be careful, okay?" "I will Tash," the canine stood up from the table, leaning down to give the lioness a quick, friendly hug. "Thanks." "You're welcome." "All that's left now is to arrange the time off work. After that, I can let Alex know I'll be coming to stay." His tail began to wag with intensity as soon as he mentioned the wolf's name. "I'll see ya back at the office." "See you in a bit." With that, Nathan began to leave, walking cheerfully towards the glass door that would take him out to the skyscraper-flanked, car-congested city streets.