Flinx Transcendent_ A Pip & Flinx Adventure - Alan Dean Foster [36]
“Nevertheless,” Flinx went on, “I feel that I have to move. As I said and for reasons you don't need to know, I can't leave Blasusarr yet. Maybe not for a number of days. It's looking more and more like I might have more trouble than I originally anticipated in departing without being detected.” Rising from where he had been sitting, he walked over to his host and squatted before him. This lowered him to eye level with the crouching youth.
“You've been a good friend, Kiijeem. Twice-truly. But if I'm going to be certain of leaving your world without being captured or shot down in the attempt, I feel—I fear—that I'm going to need the assistance of someone with more status than yourself.”
The young AAnn digested the softskin's words. A comparable, characteristically brash human youth might have taken offense at the implication underlying Flinx's words. An analytical young thranx would have readily agreed with the conclusion. A Largessian would not have cared one way or the other. Flinx was taking a risk describing his situation so candidly to his host. But if Kiijeem had not revealed the human's presence to the authorities by now, there was a good chance he would continue to keep it a secret despite his guest's just-confessed vulnerability.
Flinx ardently hoped he was reading the young nye's emotions correctly.
He was, but Kiijeem was not so ready to agree to the roundabout request that he give up exclusive access to his remarkable visitor.
“You have been forthright with me, Flinx-friend. Sso you will not take exception or raisse a challenge if I am likewisse with you.”
Flinx sat back, stretching out his legs as he relaxed from the squat. “Go ahead. It's to be expected you'd have questions.”
No less bold and direct for their youth, slitted pupils eyed him piercingly. “If you are going to leave, why sshould I not reveal your exisstence to the authoritiess and garner the sstatuss to be gained from ssuch a revelation?”
At this Pip raised her head and upper body to stare at the suddenly cool AAnn. At the moment, given her heavy burden of undigested food, it was all that she could do.
“I have become your friend.” Flinx stared unblinkingly back. “You have said so on more than one occasion.”
“There iss an old ssaying among my kind that you may know. ‘Where sstatuss sstandss tall, friendsship fallss.’”
Flinx tensed. He still felt that, if necessary, he could kill this intelligent young predator with his bare hands. “Do you adhere to that saying?”
“Truly I do,” Kiijeem replied candidly, “except—in thiss particular insstance. You are my friend. I have declared it to be sso. I will help you—but I would like to know why I sshould do sso. I need to know thiss not for mysself. Friendsship iss reasson enough to jusstify it on my part. But if I am to help you in ssecuring the assisstance of one greater than mysself, before doing sso that individual will demand a rationale ssuperior to jusst knowing that you are my friend.”
Though he was less than pleased with the AAnn's rejoinder, Flinx certainly understood it. He responded with a first-degree gesture of comprehension. “I appreciate the need you express, and I will provide such a rationale—to whomever you place me in contact with.”
Kiijeem persisted. “I would sshare it.”
His guest looked away. “With the best will in the world, Kiijeem, I say that such knowledge as I would share should not be for you.”
The AAnn's tail tip arced straight up behind his back. “You think me lacking the capacity to comprehend?”
Unexpectedly, Flinx found himself torn. Why should he care whether he spared his youthful host the revelation he intended to reserve for an older, wiser AAnn mind? Ideally a Class-A mind—except that he knew of only one such intellect. Himself. Was it just that he believed from experience that a more mature nye would be better able to deal with the revelations? No, there was no reason to spare the vulnerable, unworldly Kiijeem from the kernel