Taterskin & The Eco Defenders: Book 2, Chapter 36
Book 2 ("Tell It to Future Generations"), Chapter 36 of 56
CHAPTER 36
“Keep your shirt on, Terri! Who made you the boss, the head woman, the top Dog, the big cheese, the head honcho, the ramrod of this outfit?” Alexis demanded to know.
“What!?!” the Pterodactyl replied, “Besides the fact that I’m not even wearing a shirt, I’m here to remind you that I’m the Queen of the Skies! And now I’m the Queen of the Forest, too! I’m bigger than the only other two of you who can fly (which is, it goes without saying, the most important skill and ability to have)! And I’ve got seniority, too: I’m millions of years old!”
“I don’t think that word means what you think it means,” I said.
“What are you talking about? Which word?” Terri questioned.
“‘Seniority’.” In this context, it’s not about how old you are — that is, how long ago your life began — but how long you’ve been a member of the Eco Defenders. Albert and I share that honor — we were the originators and charter members of that august tribe,” I said.
Albert nodded his head in agreement, but Terri kept prattling on, and even started to threaten us, pointing out not only her size (even though the CM are larger), but also her speed (which she called “swiftness”) and flying ability (which, even Alexis admitted, exceeded that of a Parrot). She did not omit the fact that she has a sharp beak and scratchy claws.
“You’re getting a little too big for your britches, Terri,” Albert said.
“Am I some kind of Circus Animal?!?” Terri screeched. “I’m not wearing britches, and I wouldn’t don suchlike garb even if I was offered brand new Lederhosen. You know I could snatch you all bald-headed if I wanted to! And I will do it, too, if you force my hand — I mean my beak.”
Ravelle, who felt a great loyalty toward Albert, brooked no attempts at usurpation of his leadership. The freedman surreptitiously grabbed the Compressor/Decompressor wand, which had already been used to decompress the larger animals back to their natural size, set it back to Compress (shrink) mode, snuck up behind the Pterodactyl, and made several quick passes over Terri, reducing her first from 12 feet tall to six, then to three, and finally to a mere 18 inches — more or less the size of a Hawk.
Alexis flew off of Albert’s shoulder and lit in front of Terri.
“Well, Grandma, who’s the biggest here now?” Alexis asked.
“I’m not your Grandma, you ... you ...”
Terri couldn’t think of anything further to say.
“I hope you’ve learned your lesson” — Alexis started to say before she was interrupted by Terri.
“I remember what I was going to say now: I’m not your grandma, you silly Bird! I’m a flying Reptile, not a walnut-sized-brain Bird!”
The derogatory comment about Birds drew the local Macaws and Toucans onto the scene. They were totally impressive, in both size and sartorial splendor: Green-billed Toucans, Hyacinth Macaws, Scarlet Macaws, Blue and Yellow Macaws ... even Terri had to admit (to herself, and begrudgingly) that these local Birds were stunningly spectacular. She stepped away from the center of the group and took up a position on the fringes.
“Terri, if you behave yourself, you can be returned to your natural size — in time,” Albert said. “I want you all to know that I consider us all to be equals. Every group, such as The Eco Defenders, needs organizers, or managers, to accomplish as much as possible as reasonably efficiently as possible, but that does not make me, or Taterskin, or Alexis, or anyone else, any more important than the rest.
“It’s not size — although I love the CM — that makes us leaders. We are all large in heart, and that’s the only largeness that counts. It’s not ‘seniority,’ either; and it’s not even intelligence. We are all full-fledged members of The Eco Defenders; it is of little import when we became members.
“Simply put, we do what we can with the abilities and opportunities we have. Let us be united in our purpose and not think about rank or titles or any such things.”
This was another speech by Albert that has gone down in history as a pivotal one in the annals of the Eco Defenders, and is sometimes referred to as “The Amazon Address.”
Albert, Ravelle, Chapawee, Alexis, and I discussed our plan of action. We decided it would be best to get some locals involved, who knew the lay of the land.
We asked the Dolphins, Manatees, Macaws, and Toucans about where they thought a good place would be for The Eco Defenders to train new volunteers, and what was the best way to go about recruiting them.
Hugh of the Manatees and Boto of the Dolphins said they personally were physiologically limited to the rivers, so they could tell those that lived in their watery habitat what was to be done, but that they needed someone to stay behind with them to first instruct them. Then they could swim up and down the river, training others, including training them to, in turn, train still others. In this way, the denizens of the entire Amazon River and its 1,100 tributaries could be utilized.
“Rinky is the man ... I mean Duck-billed Platypus for the job,” Albert said. He can serve as head trainer and fill Hugh and Boto in on what they would need to relay to the others. These to be trained will include not only other Manatees and Dolphins, but also Stingrays, Piranhas, Water Monkeys, Caimans, Arapaima fish, and others who live in the rivers.
“As for the rest of us,” I asked Hugh and Boto, “that is to say, the Mammals and Birds, where would you recommend we meet for training? What is a well-known landmark that offers plenty of space for training?”
“We wouldn’t know,” Hugh said, speaking for himself and Boto and their fellow creatures of the rivers. “Maybe the Birds would know — they get around some, and can see far distances because of how high they can jump.”
“We don’t jump, we fly,” Scarlet the Scarlet Macaw corrected Hugh. “But you’re right, we do know the country fairly well, although we individually normally stick to a somewhat circumscribed area. You might want to talk to” — and she looked past us, pointed with her wing, and said, “Him!”
We turned around and saw a Jaguar stealthily creeping directly toward us, his head low to the ground, his eyes staring at us hungrily — or so it appeared to us.
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