“Did you like my poem? I only recited the opening lines. It’s a sonnet.”
“Your poem was … it was, well … Oh, Bandit, it was terrible.”
Bandit hung his tail.
“But it touched my heart. And the things you said about me afterward – no poet could have said those.”
“Thank you.”
“Look, you’ve got to get me out of here. Take me, where ere the heart wanders! Do you believe it? The panderer and his bawd are going to rent me to some Potentate who’s visiting the city? I’m supposed to appear on His Potency’s arm and look beautiful.”
“Don’t let him near your tail. Did they say what his name is?”
“He doesn’t have one. But he’s dreadfully important. Names don’t adhere to him because he creates stories about himself faster then children. I’m supposed to give him the delight of my company and keep my mouth shut.”
“I know who he is.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s all over the networks. He’s taken over the management of Creek Town from the Clan Mothers. He wants to extend his regime here.”
“I’m not very interested in politics.”
“Not if it involves your family?”
“Bandit, what does my family have to do with it?”
“He is … my father.”
“My uncle!”
Sensibel had turned white. Bandit felt storm clouds gather over her brow. There was going to be an explo …
“To think I am to be a public mating toy for my uncle! Shameful! Lock and Droop, together with Judge Ponderous who is orchestrating this pitiful scheme, are strictly lower drawer. They have no class at all. No sense of the propriety of family lineage.”
“That is true, but I have to explain …”
“Raccoon nature may be great in times of trial, yet it is weakness that appears in this stressful time. Impotence and impatience, not fortitude and endurance, rule the world. Oh, there is so little one can trust.”
“Didn’t I tell you that at your hiding tree?”
“Indeed, you did, Bandy. But I wanted to make a world for myself. And now I have discovered the world I am given to work with is full of trickery and deceit.”
“You said you loved trickery and deceit.”
“Yes, My own, not other people’s.”
Bandit was having an idea. He could feel it trying to get out of his fingers. He felt his mind reaching down to coax the sensation upward and welcome it into his brain.
“What is it, Bandit? Are you alright?”
“Do you think you could hold your tree limb against No Name, if you had to?”
“I could hold my own against any man, except my one true love.”
“Would you like to give yourself to the people instead of to your insane uncle? You could bring free love to the City. Freedom to love whomever one chooses. There are so many raccoons on the web seeking l’amour libre. So many going un-mated.”
“What would you have me do?”
“My idea is that you dally along with His Nothingness. Just play the game. But don’t get onto a limb you can’t back off of.”
“I always wanted to be a courtesan. But what are you getting me into?”
“No Name is taking over the city. I want to know his plan. Then maybe we can stop him. If we can’t, he’ll turn every raccoon relationship into a transaction. An item that can be bought and sold.”
“You were listening. Shame on you!” Sensibel laughed. “What shall I do? You want me to practice trickery and deceit, don’t you?”
“Just for one night, while you’re nose candy for No Name. You can find out about this Occasion he’s hosting for himself. Where it’s happening and when. There are people on the networks who want to wreck it once they know where it is. They call themselves Makers.”
“Ah! Artistes.” Sensibel paused. “Where will you be hiding? Among them …?”
“No, I don’t know where they are. But I’ll be hiding in plain sight. Your uncle’s secret agents think I’m one of them already.”
“Do you know? It occurs to me that I require a personal protector. He can be concealed among the City Honour Guard. I shall demand of His Worship that Il Signor Incognito serve me in that capacity. He must wear his mask. It makes him look mysterious and romantic. He can perform special missions for me, such as find out where the Makers are. What is a courtesan without mystery and romance?”
“Sensibel …”
“Yes. What is it, Bandit?
