Zeph moved his legs slightly apart, readying himself for battle. He ignored the stains the grass left on him like food coloring in different shades of blue. Behind him, the sound of a waterfall was heard as its colorful water poured into the river below. Once a beautiful clear color, now a liquid rainbow from toxic substances.
His eyes narrowed on his sparring partner, a recruit named Walren who wanted to become a Guardian. He was training him as a favor to an old friend, but honestly didn't believe in him. The man was too rough around the sides, and even though he had been groomed to have a fighting spirit, he was not gentle enough for the job. A Guardian's work was a fine balance between rough and chivalry. Guarding women required a touch of class and an emotional connection of friendship and understanding. A confidante one second, and a brute the next.
The man had too much brute in him, and he proved it as he attacked first. He wrapped Zeph's arm behind his back so fast, he almost broke it. Zeph wielded his tail like a weapon as he wrapped it around Walren's arm and pulled himself loose. Still holding onto the recruit with his tail, Zeph maneuvered behind him. His voice rougher than he should have been he asked, "Remember that your opponents will be innocent idiots. You don't break their limb as a warning." After almost having his arm ripped off, being gentle was out of the question. He'd rather be brushing up on his reading book Making Pheromones Work For You than working with someone who would not make the cut.
He dusted off the blue grass stains from his pants. It was imported for decoration, but so was the garden they were fighting in. He'd rather be outside the castle walls instead of the inner garden sanctum. Their native grass, Plumblu would be ideal. Plumblu was a symphony of green, purple and blues that never stained. A natural occurring grass that added to the beauty of the planet Pagnia. Pagnia when seen from outer space was supposed to resemble a huge colorful marble. From the water, grass, and even the mountains filled with their sacred illustrious green mineral. Inhibitor.
One would expect a beautiful planet would be a peaceful place to live. At one time in their history, it had been. His race didn't have a shred of fighting spirit unless they were groomed from a younger age. Like learning a language, without violence in their lives from an early age, a regular male would never strike another. They were thought so badly of, the other planets called them warno. A word that switched from language to language but kept its meaning the same. No war, no backbone, no reason to fight. The warnos however were proud of that fact, and used that word of hatred for their own use. They were peaceful by nature, and could always be trusted. However, nature allowed them one flaw.
Female warnos had powerful pheromones that could turn a geek into a fighting warrior. When pheromones raised to this level, they needed help. This was the original purpose of Guardians. Not to fight for their country or their planet, but to simply guard females. It was a trait often misunderstood by other aliens, but there was no shortcoming of things to laugh at. They even had huge furry tails which used to be naturally ringed with colors. Yes, when it came to respect, Zeph's race was at the bottom.
Zeph didn't let a little thing like his race's reputation change his ways though. A born fighter, he was an A class Guardian. So why the hell did he have to mess around with this pathetic upstart? Instead of getting physical, he would try a more intellectual approach. "Our tails grow back, but our arms don't. Now, guy shows up with flowers for your client. What do you do?"
Zeph watched Walren scratch his novice head. The recruit wore an unofficial green vest and pants, trying to look the part of a real Guardian. That would be the closest he would get if Zeph had any say in it. "Grab his arm?" Walren guessed. No, punch him out?"
"What?" Zeph gawked at the recruit. Was he serious? "Why so subtle?" He asked with thick sarcasm, "why not drag the guy out in the middle of the yard and beat the crap out of him?" He pinched the bridge of his nose as he heard the recruit's ingenious reply.
"Isn't that overzealous?"
The serene sound of the waterfall was interrupted with Zeph hitting his forehead in frustration. This couldn't be a future Guardian. How did the man even get this far, if he couldn't answer such a simple question right?
After unbuttoning his vest, Zeph scratched his turquoise shaded hair and wondered what to say. The new rules required Zeph to use positive reinforcement. He reached into his pants and jiggled some keys. Something positive. "Guys are scared shitless of Guardians, so you'll make more friends if you quit."
"Zeph." The voice of his old friend, Tug, was soft but serious.
Zeph turned his head and saw his comrade. He wore the usual green vest with pressed white shirt uniform. Zeph never wore his uniform unless he was on serious business. Especially today with all the grass stains he had already endured. "Tug, this isn't going to work," he reasoned with him. "You've dragged him out to the castle, away from his Academy, I've tested him three days but he's..." Zeph smiled brightly as he tapped on Walren's head. "Hollow."
"Every recruit who wants to make it, will make it. King's orders." Tug crossed his arms. "You're one of the best, you can do this."
Zeph rubbed the back of his ear and looked at Walren. In the past, this recruit never would have made it one day, let alone this far. Things had changed though, with the purpose and importance of Guardians becoming more important to the king. Zeph looped his arm around the trainee before parting some wise words. "You know, I like you, so I'm going to let you know something. If you decide to give up, you'll have it made." He gestured around with his other arm, showing him the finer things in life. "Find a great girl, show her you can fight, and you can go have kids and a family." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrapped piece of candy. "I'll even throw this in to sweeten the deal." He looked back at Tug as he heard his name in a scolded tone. "Okay, okay." He reached into his pocket and pulled out another piece of candy. "Two pieces." He was a smart ass, not greedy.
Zeph heard Tug's griping as he concentrated on getting some of the stain off his pants. It would be better for the kingdom if he didn't cut the recruit slack. His attention changed direction as he watched King Sheward pass by. King Sheward had disguised himself in a flowery bright shirt like a regular citizen, answering back to an alien. He was paranoid, with good reason, but did not want to stay locked up all day. Understandable, but not safe. Since Zeph was considered an A Class, and times were becoming more intense with their enemies, he was actually a Guardian of the king. Why was he out there with an alien, unguarded?
Zeph watched as Tug's hand appeared in his face.
"Don't you dare," Tug said. "Another Guardian will watch, the recruit needs help."
Gee, King Sheward or a wannabe? Zeph looked back at the recruit. He would nip this in the bud fast with a few simple words. "I'll introduce you to Darella Tyopic if you give up."
"You will?" The recruit flung off his jacket with excitement sparkling in his eyes like a little boy. "You know one of the hottest females around? Personally? I-I have-"
"Recruit," Tug shouted, "stop it. Guardians do not associate romantically with women."
"Romantically?" The recruit blinked, "Would I have a shot with her?"
Zeph rubbed his nose, the recruit was nowhere near her style of men. Darella was only one of several women he protected in the past, and she had class. He had none. Still, one never knew. Zeph patted Tug's back. "Tell you what, you work out whether this kid would rather meet a famous female or continue. I have to make sure the king doesn't get himself killed."
Zeph heard Tug call back for him once, but knew he was in the clear as he stepped off the stained grass onto an orange cement path. If Walren couldn't give up feminine wiles, he had no chance of making it. With that deal in front, Zeph would have that amateur out soon.
Walking behind King Sheward and the alien, Zeph feigned disinterest as he eavesdropped. Unlike females, he couldn't take charge when he did something wrong. The fact that King Sheward had reached out toward the specific alien 'human' made the actions more suspicious. Those humans wouldn't offer any assistance with his race's problem; all humans could do was trade.
The human was similar in appearance to Zeph except he had no tail. The alien's translation was off, but the Pagnian language wasn't easy to learn. By the sound of it, the human had been studying for years.
"I'm sorry," the human began to say to the king. "I is ambassador, but forces joined with alien are not what we do. Our population do not even believe in alien, and we isolation from others had always work well for us. I admit, your planet Pagnia beautiful and similar to we planet, but it is not our interest to join with serious treaty. Thank you for the leaving gifts for, another type of your tea roses can be accepted good nice on Earth."
As he craned his neck looking up, his brown eyes resilient, King Sheward muttered, "Regular trade then, no strings attached?"
"Oh yes, Earth has found good nice reason in your vegetable and plant swap. Our weather are not perfect, and your planet are fertile. Our animal are thriving at a much successful rate, so we had not stop trading you. I'm sorry, if we could, we would help more."
Ha, Zeph thought. If humans had power to help, they'd be teaming with the enemy. If Zeph's race were warlike, or more distant from their animal heritage, then they'd be treated with respect. They were intelligent, cunning, and naturally great fighters. It was the fact that they never joined in galactic wars that earned them their less than prestigious spot in the universe. That honor belonged with the bloodthirsty and merciless waryes. Rumors how it happened would vary, but waryes evolved from warno. They were not even considered the same race. Their battle wins and reputation for dropping in on any side during a battle won them many privileges over the warnos.
"Perhaps more trade?" King Sheward pushed the human further. "You have enjoyed our species of feline and canine? We have a domesticated animal. It is silver with a few white stripes, similar to a Tigyr or leopard. However, its nature is trusting, and it makes a great pet."
The human shook his head. "Too much population. Mercy killing. No more."
"Well, how about governing strategies?" King Sheward tried. "Have you tried monarchy? Many planets have seemed to-"
"Us has differences," the human interrupted. "Umm the...what's the word...king? Does work not as well."
"I see." The King sighed and placed his hands behind his back. "Our vehicle energy?"
Vehicle energy? Zeph's attention focused upon King Sheward. They hadn't shared that trade secret with any planet. It was their last desperate measure. Things must have been worse than he thought if the king were offering this to such an uninformative alien.
"Our vehicles work by battery," King Sheward said to the human. "For every minute spent at an energy station, our equivalent of your fossil fuel station, you gain three hours of driving. Price wise, your species will pay twenty cents of your doll...dollar? Yes, dollar. It is eighty percent cheaper."
The human's eyes rose and he licked his lips like he won a prize. "I discuss with mine planet."
"For safety only, we will reveal that secret," King Sheward insisted to the human. "Your location is 54145, correct?"
"One species. Human. Your tails..." The human seemed torn with indecision. "I discuss."
Zeph watched as the two nodded to each other and parted ways. He then noticed the king throw a glance his way. "Guardian Zephyr, come see me within the hour. We have matters to discuss."