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“The Blue Eye of the Desert God” by Altivo Overo
Today's story is “The Blue Eye of the Desert God” by friend-of-the-fireplace Altivo Overo, a Renaissance horse of many talents whose stories and art can be found on Fur Affinity, Weasyl, and Furry Amino as "Altivo," and on Amazon under Altivo Overo.
Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.
Transcript
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and today’s story is
Speaker:“The Blue Eye of the Desert God”
Speaker:by friend-of-the-fireplace Altivo Overo,
Speaker:a Renaissance horse of many talents whose stories and art can be found on Fur Affinity,
Speaker:Weasyl, and Furry Amino as "Altivo,"
Speaker:and on Amazon under Altivo Overo. Please enjoy:
Speaker:Please enjoy“The Blue Eye
Speaker:of the Desert God”
Speaker:by Altivo Overo The eye of blue sees all that’s true.
Speaker:Do thou no ill, for it watches you! –Hikáran Proverb They were young and just out of school when they made that trip to Chatton, to look at the tall ships and
Speaker:the other wonders of the port town,
Speaker:and to enjoy the midsummer festival with its huge fair.
Speaker:They had indeed looked at the ships,
Speaker:staring at the tall masts and furled sails,
Speaker:and watching the sailor furs working busily on deck or on the dock,
Speaker:loading and unloading cargo,
Speaker:or making repairs to the ships themselves.
Speaker:Fennec, a red fox and usually the more practical and realistic of the pair,
Speaker:found himself seized with the urge to sign aboard one of those wonderful ships
Speaker:and see the exotic and distant ports of call to which it would arrive.
Speaker:On the other paw,
Speaker:Argos, a white wolf
Speaker:and the dreamer of the two,
Speaker:felt uncomfortable at the idea of going out to sea,
Speaker:with only the stars and the sun to guide the ship safely on its travels.
Speaker:It was a strange and new kind of turnabout for both of them.
Speaker:“C’mon, Whitey,” Fennec coaxed his friend,
Speaker:“We can sign up together on the same vessel.
Speaker:I’ll take care of you and make sure you get home safely in the end.
Speaker:Think of the adventure,
Speaker:the strange sights and smells,
Speaker:a whole world beneath your footpaws.”
Speaker:Argos flattened his ears and let his tail droop.
Speaker:“An entire ocean beneath my footpaws you mean?
Speaker:I don’t think so, Red,”
Speaker:he answered. “I’m just not made for travel.
Speaker:I have roots, and can no more be cut away from them than can a tree and still remain alive.
Speaker:You go, but promise to come back and tell me all about it.
Speaker:I’ll stay here and
Speaker:weave my dreams from what you will tell.”
Speaker:Fennec in turn felt his ears collapse,
Speaker:an emotional response much less frequent for him
Speaker:than for his aesthete friend.
Speaker:“It wouldn’t be the same without you along,”
Speaker:he admitted, “I guess I’d better think about it some more.”
Speaker:They turned their muzzles away from the docks
Speaker:and toward the famous markets,
Speaker:almost a mile on a side
Speaker:and filled with everything imaginable as well as some things
Speaker:that beggared the imagination.
Speaker:They had saved coins for a year in anticipation of this trip,
Speaker:so each could afford to buy something memorable.
Speaker:It took time to choose,
Speaker:and much examination of the wares offered in the colorful tents and booths.
Speaker:Fennec eventually found that his heart’s desire had settled upon a fine wool vest,
Speaker:dyed to perfection in deep green
Speaker:and trimmed with silk bindings.
Speaker:The merchant assured him that it would fit him like a glove
Speaker:and that the color suited him well,
Speaker:as it set off the gold of his eyes and his own red coat.
Speaker:The price was dear, however.
Speaker:After much talk, he succeeded in getting the seller down to one silver and two coppers.
Speaker:The fox had budgeted himself the silver,
Speaker:and the coppers meant giving up a meal,
Speaker:but he impulsively handed over the coins while Argos looked on in disapproval.
Speaker:When he put on the vest, though,
Speaker:even his friend had to smile.
Speaker:The merchant had spoken truthfully,
Speaker:and it gave Fennec the air and appearance of a wealthy gentlefur.
Speaker:They continued their way among the more richly appointed dealers until they came to one with a banner reading “Farris
Speaker:and Wilton.” The sign did not need to proclaim the nature of the goods being offered,
Speaker:as it was obvious that these merchants provided the best in gold,
Speaker:silver, and precious stones
Speaker:to a wealthy clientele.
Speaker:Knowing that neither of them could afford such, they nonetheless entered the pavilion
Speaker:and walked along the carefully watched display tables
Speaker:with their paws clasped politely behind them.
Speaker:The artistry of the jewelry on display was unquestionable.
Speaker:There were rings and necklaces,
Speaker:bracelets and even drinking cups.
Speaker:No brass or copper was in evidence,
Speaker:only the finely-wrought precious metals.
Speaker:When they had reached the end of the semicircular display,
Speaker:Argos turned and padded back to a point near the center
Speaker:where he leaned longingly over
Speaker:to look once more at a silver bracelet.
Speaker:The metal was chased with a delicate tracery of knotwork,
Speaker:and it looked as if it might weigh more than three silver coins of itself.
Speaker:In the center there was a flat, polished disk
Speaker:of the most wonderful shade of blue.
Speaker:It looked like a summer sky and a winter sea at once,
Speaker:with tiny streaks of white
Speaker:that might be cloud or foam.
Speaker:The seller in charge of that particular table
Speaker:was an elderly raccoon, who never took her eyes from Argos
Speaker:as she spoke not to him
Speaker:but to Fennec. “Your handsome companion has an excellent eye for quality, young gentlefur,”
Speaker:she told him. “You could find no better gift for him, I promise.
Speaker:That band comes from the desert coast,
Speaker:five hundred miles south of here,
Speaker:and the stone is a fine Hikáran turquoise.”
Speaker:Fennec chuckled as the wolf straightened up,
Speaker:blushing. It was Argos who answered,
Speaker:“Ah, mistress, I’m sure it is worth both of us together,
Speaker:but I thank you merely for the pleasure of viewing such a treasure.”
Speaker:The raccoon smiled,
Speaker:her dark eyes sparkling as she stepped closer,
Speaker:lifting her lushly striped tail just enough to avoid dragging it through the dust beneath her footpaws.
Speaker:“You will be surprised,” she declared,
Speaker:as she plucked the bracelet from its place in her display.
Speaker:She held it next to Argos’ cheek first,
Speaker:and turned to Fennec.
Speaker:“See how it matches his handsome blue eyes.”
Speaker:Then she reached out to take the white wolf’s left paw in her own,
Speaker:and in a flash, had daringly slipped the bauble onto his wrist
Speaker:though she did not fasten the clasp.
Speaker:“And it sits so well against his spotless furcoat,”
Speaker:she added, with a flourish of the other paw.
Speaker:The bracelet was magically back in her own paw
Speaker:and settled back on the display table before they knew it.
Speaker:Ears perked hopefully
Speaker:and tail actually wagging slightly,
Speaker:Argos dared to ask,
Speaker:“How much?” The desire within him made his voice shake a bit.
Speaker:“For such fine gentlefurs as yourselves,
Speaker:only two silver and six coppers,”
Speaker:the raccoon said,
Speaker:with a graceful little bow to Fennec.
Speaker:Argos’ ears fell immediately
Speaker:and the light went out of his blue eyes, but Fennec didn’t even wince.
Speaker:He knew that his friend, like himself,
Speaker:had only budgeted a single silver coin to spend,
Speaker:but he couldn’t resist the clever sales pitch so easily.
Speaker:And he thought he saw a way,
Speaker:so he asked, “But that would appear to weigh at least as much as three silver coins alone.
Speaker:How can it sell for so little?”
Speaker:The raccoon winked at him.
Speaker:“The Hikáran artisans are clever.
Speaker:They know how to blend just enough copper with the silver to make it strong and heavy
Speaker:without dulling its luster,”
Speaker:she admitted. “And they sell their work cheaply because they see it as a duty to their gods to spread the blue skystone across the world.
Speaker:They say the turquoise is the eye of a god,
Speaker:that will always watch over its wearer.
Speaker:True or not, it is certainly a pretty legend.”
Speaker:Fennec nodded. “Indeed, a pretty tale,”
Speaker:he said, rubbing his muzzle thoughtfully with a paw.
Speaker:“Two silvers,” he offered abruptly,
Speaker:watching Argos open his mouth to protest.
Speaker:The raccoon nodded knowingly.
Speaker:“For you, young gentlefur,” she countered,
Speaker:“Two and two. I approve of love-tokens.”
Speaker:At this, Argos blushed deeply,
Speaker:the pink showing right through the short fur of his muzzle,
Speaker:and Fennec smiled. He reached for his purse,
Speaker:and drew out a silver and two coppers.
Speaker:The mistress gave him a puzzled look,
Speaker:but he winked at her and held a paw out to his companion.
Speaker:“Your silver, Argos?”
Speaker:he prompted. Numbly,
Speaker:Argos reached into his own purse
Speaker:and handed his silver coin to Fennec
Speaker:who passed it to the raccoon.
Speaker:She nodded, and with a bright smile, gave the bracelet to Fennec.
Speaker:“Yours to present,” she told him,
Speaker:with another wink,
Speaker:and watched expectantly.
Speaker:Fennec breathed upon the silver,
Speaker:and polished it with a corner of his new vest.
Speaker:Then, in a surprise gesture,
Speaker:he held it against his heart,
Speaker:pressing it firmly into his own fur.
Speaker:The cool metal had warmed when he took Argos’ left paw in his own
Speaker:and slipped the bracelet in place there.
Speaker:He worked the trick clasp to close it securely in place,
Speaker:saying “The warmth of my heart, dear friend.
Speaker:Keep it warm with your own heart’s pulse
Speaker:that our friendship
Speaker:may last for all time.”
Speaker:With that he pulled the white wolf into a brief embrace,
Speaker:nuzzling his ear.
Speaker:Fennec’s tail was wagging broadly
Speaker:as he released Argos from his embrace
Speaker:and watched him blink and blush again.
Speaker:The raccoon clapped her paws together
Speaker:and said “Bravo! Well spoken,
Speaker:and even better intended, young sir.
Speaker:That was worth the discount just to see and hear.”
Speaker:The fox made a little sketch of a theatrical bow in her direction,
Speaker:then took Argos by the paw and steered him,
Speaker:dazed, from the booth.
Speaker:When they had reached the edge of the marketplace,
Speaker:the wolf finally recovered himself well enough to speak.
Speaker:“That was a grand gesture,”
Speaker:he said, staring at the bracelet that now seemed to belong on his wrist,
Speaker:“But how will we pay for lodgings and supper?”
Speaker:Fennec just grinned at him.
Speaker:“We won’t,” he answered.
Speaker:“We’re going to sleep under the stars
Speaker:and let your desert god look after us.”
Speaker:They paused at a baker’s shop to spend their last coppers for bread,
Speaker:and turned their footpaws onto the road
Speaker:back to Westvale.
Speaker:Whether by the design of the desert god or not,
Speaker:the two friends spent a warm and comfortable night curled together on a dry bed
Speaker:of fern fronds. Argos slept peacefully in Fennec’s arms
Speaker:as the fox felt the wolf’s living breath
Speaker:against his own chest ruff,
Speaker:fully satisfied with the way the day had turned out.
Speaker:This was “The Blue Eye of the Desert God”
Speaker:by Altivo Overo,
Speaker:read for you by Khaki,
Speaker:your faithful fireside companion.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Voice of Dog
