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The New Deal

A few things need to be kept in mind when learning about the Lacertans.

For one, they are not merely one species. They are made up of several reptilian species of varying physical sizes and intellectual capabilities. Some are more massive than even the largest Regulian while others are thinner and smaller than the tiniest of Vulpeculans.

And yet, they are all able to interbreed and create fertile offspring. Experiments with captured soldiers has shown this. It was one thing, finding two species such as the Sirian and Lupiads who are able to interbreed, but for the Lacertans to have so many as they do and all on one planet, without any of them being bred out or worse, exterminated in a conflict? It's impossible to imagine!

If this is all the making of their Unseen Emperor, he is truly a formidable foe.

-“Mysteries of the Lacertans," Page 10.

The bars slammed shut behind me. I sobbed. The lion shook the cell door, creating a booming rattle. He laughed and left.

It was dark. No light. Whispers and cries all around me. I could not see them.

Beside me, a girl, smaller than me, was huddled on the ground. Long black hair. Bright blue eyes.

I was crying, but I put my hand on her shoulder. I tried to make her feel better.

Then we were both crying.

I jumped out of my seat, tossing Rit off me and to the side of the Hauler. It was still dark out, but I could make out her red form leaning against the door, growling lightly in irritation.

“What the hell, Pawel!?"

Gasping, I stuck my hands back under the blanket, warming them from the morning chill.

“Bad dream. I'm sorry," I explained, breathing in and out slowly, “It happens to people on Planet."

She snorted, flicking her tail sharply, “I've had nothing but the best sleep in my life since coming here!"

“Maybe it's different for us prisoners," I yawned, kicking the seat back up from its reclined position, “I don't think I can get back to bed now, how about you?"

“Since you threw me across the vehicle? No, I'm wide awake now."

“Right," I said, coaxing the truck awake. The engine rumbled to a start and I flicked on the lights, revealing the thick cover of trees we camped behind. I couldn't help but look to the left. It was too dark to see, but over there was a soft patch of dirt where Neilan laid under. The same spot he was shot and fell onto. We buried him according to Equuleian custom and followed up with Planet custom; firing six shots into the sky in salute, “I'm sorry."

There was no point in tears now. Neilan was gone. He picked the Planet and I picked the escape.

But was it right? I knew Neilan longer than this Vulpeculan Princess. This arrogant vixen...

Regret is a pointless emotion. I made my choice and it was my choice alone. I should not and could not blame her.

But I needed information.

As I weaved the Hauler through the trees, I interrogated Yaleen, “There's a bounty out on you. Off-planet. Who put it out?"

“My Uncle Dar, most likely. Or some other family member, but my money is on him. There's a few of them who would wish Aldor would not return."

“Aldor?"

“My brother."

“You never told me his name."

“I must have."

We rumbled off the ledge and back onto the trail, bouncing us in our seats. Fool's Field was only a short drive to the south.

“This complicates things."

“It's all part of the plan."

“Is it?" I barked, casting a glare at her. She did not react, except by opening her thin muzzle in a yawn.

“I counted on someone putting a bounty out on me. Only question is, was it dead or alive?"

“Alive and unharmed."

“Just as planned then."

The truck jumped as the tires ran over a rock. The morning sun peeked over the eastern mountains, revealing the short, canvas tents of Neilan's camp on a hill to the west, surrounded by the glittering rocks of Fool's Field.

“Sounds like you have an escape plan for yourself."

“I intend to take you along with me, don't you worry," she sighed, probing a claw with her finger.

“I'm trusting you."

I stopped the truck at the base of the hill. There was a good chance that Neilan had left some sentries behind to guard their haul. At the very least, the Equuleian with the white stripe on his muzzle and the broken leg would be here, assuming he hadn't gotten himself killed. Still, with the noise we just made driving up here, we should have been intercepted by one by now. If there were guards, they were bad at their job.

“Wait here," I whispered, prompting Yaleen to grab the rifle from the back of the truck and readied it.

Grabbing my shotgun, I squatted, slowly climbing the hill. I listened closely for the sound of any hoof-steps, but heard nothing. Equuleians were strong, but with all that muscle, they had no chance at stepping silently. If I didn't hear anything, it was likely empty, or at least, they were all asleep.

Once I got inside the camp proper, I stood up and shouldered my shotgun. Creeping forward quietly, I passed through, looking for blind-spots and cover. I peeked past tent corners and checked behind boxes, but they were all vacant.

Neilan's tent loomed in front of me. I felt a tinge of guilt over seeing it, knowing that just yesterday we were there together, but it quickly faded. There was no point in regret.

I nearly fired my gun when I pushed open the flap and entered the tent. Lying on the ground, right where Neilan and I had made love, was White Stripe, staring directly at me with his chocolate brown eyes.

But he didn't react. He continued laying there, his chest heaving slowly. I waved my hand at him and he did nothing. He was asleep, but his eyes were open. I had heard of people doing this, but never seen it. It was eerie.

Of course, with the make-shift splint doing a poor job of binding his leg, he was probably unconscious from pain. Whatever the case, it made my job easier.

The floor of the camper's tent crinkled as I stepped towards a backpack in the corner. My gun was trained on the Equuleian, ready to shoot just in case he woke up. If I had known no one else was there, I would have considered shooting him in his sleep, but even then, it was a hard thing to do, kill a man in his sleep.

I reached into the pack, carefully sifting through the contents. I pulled out several MREs, packages of cigarettes, a bottle of rye whisky (Which I slipped into my own backpack), an empty canteen.

My fingers touched a sheet of paper. This was it. I felt it. Even before I saw it, I knew this was the map.

Sliding it out, I was greeted by a crudely drawn map with rough, messy instructions that were, on top of that, written with the sharp lines and rotund circles of the Lacertan alphabet. Of course it would be in Lacertan, the Equuleians having made up for their own lack of a proper alphabet by adopting their master's.

There was a mess of gray and brown squares in the bottom left of the map. Buildings? If so, it looked like Rust. There was a dotted line leading from it through several marked locations, eventually ending at circle.

I'd need someone who could speak Lacertan. I was also running out of time on my next payment on the Hauler and would have to beg for an extension, especially if I was going off on this quest. I might as well kill two birds with one stone.

A series of plink-plink-plinks woke me from my thoughts. Sunlight seeped in through tiny holes in the tent walls and more were popping up. I wasted no time firing a round back, the buckshot shredding a hole in the wall.

Standing just to the right of the hole was a solid gray Lupiad with an equally gray needler pointed at the tent I was in. Heavy, blood-stained bandages covered up the right side of his face and eye, while the remaining amber eye locked onto me, its pupil dilating in response.

“YOU!" He screamed, raising the needler at me, “I FUCK YOU!"

This is why it was always good to make sure that when you kill someone, that they're actually dead. Otherwise you end up meeting them again and always at the worst possible time. And Wolfy was likely a little pissed that I shot him in the face.

I unloaded the second shell and leaped out of the tent, just in time to avoid White Stripe's hand from catching my ankle. The plinking of needles did not stop, there was no time to reload the shotgun. Holding the shotgun in my left hand, I pulled my pistol from the holster and sprinted away from the tent, firing behind me blindly as darts fell into the earth.

“FUCK YOU! I FUCK YOU!"

Reaching the outskirts of the camp, I spotted the Hauler and the glint of the rifle scope.

“Start the truck! Now!" I shouted, taking a tumble and rolling down the hill. The shotgun slipped from my grasp and landed at the base, next to me.

Peering up at the hill, I spotted a gray figure and immediately fired two rounds back at it, causing it to fall to the ground, out of sight. I almost thought he was down for good, but then he informed me otherwise.

“I KILL YOU!"

I snatched the shotgun and leaped into the driver's seat. The engine was already rumbling and I kicked it into reverse, peeling out and shifting once more, sped away.

A single needle planted itself into the center of the steering wheel, causing the horn to scream. Yaleen dropped the rifle and held down her ears, wincing in pain from the noise. I was too busy enjoying the miracle of that shot missing.

None of Wolfy's other shots rang true and we had a Hauler and he was probably still trying to repair his, so we were soon far away from him.

Sirth's bar was in the middle of prime real-estate and it stood out like a sore thumb. Plastered together from cut stone and standing three feet high, it dominated the landscape of the ramshackle huts and shelters that lined the dirt roads of Haven. Square windows lined the outer walls and bright, un-flickering beams of light leaked out. It was testament to Sirth's power that he had the ability to not only get a stone building built on Planet, but manage to rig up a solution to get consistent electricity.

And Sirth, kind and just that he is, allows anyone to enter his bar to have a drink or two, provided they're a Lacertan or willing to degrade themselves before the bouncer. Not that many other aliens develop a craving for Lacertan food and drink, as most of it is lethally poisonous to mammals like me.

But I had business here. I dropped Yaleen off at the hideout for her protection as Sirth already made his intentions clear that he wanted her working on the second floor for him, the only place a non-Lacertan gets into for free, and not by choice. A light rain started to fall as I hushed the engine of the Hauler. The bouncer stood on guard. Though he was a head taller than me, he was scrawny and his face was narrow and long, an unusual choice of guard.

Tucking the map into my inside pocket, I got out of the truck and stepped towards the bouncer. His orange scales gleamed slightly from the rays of the setting sun. Eyes narrowing at the sight of me, he crossed his arms.

“Back entrance," he hissed. His voice was slightly squeaky compared to Sirth's breathy growl, but at least this one was not using a Procyonid to talk to lesser species.

“What?"

“Second floor applicants use the back entrance," he motioned to the corner of the building, “They'll put you to work."

“No, I'm here to see Sirth," I said, motioning back towards the three green scales painted on my Hauler, “I have dealings with him."

“Nice paint job."

I did not expect this reaction. Did Sirth give him orders to not let me in? I had a feeling that Sirth didn't expect me to pay off his loan, perhaps even wanting to collect the collateral, but I didn't expect him to actually bar me from paying it off.

Or perhaps it was just this one bouncer having a bad day. I had never dealt with this one before. Ironically, the brown one that was built like a T-Rex didn't give me any trouble while this gangly gecko was laying down the law.

I inhaled slowly. Even if he was scrawny, he was still taller than me and there were rumors of some Lacertan castes having poisonous venom. Besides, he was still one of Sirth's men and pissing him off could mean him tattling to Sirth and that was the last thing I needed.

“This is Sirth's decal. He's loaning me one of his vehicles and I need to see him about the payment."

“Here to beg for an extension, are you?" He spat, “Not going to happen. You can work it off on the second floor. Sirth would say the same thing and in the time you'd waste talking to him, you could be one cock sucked closer to paying to off."

This was true, I was asking for an extension and chances are, Sirth had no inclination towards letting me have one. But if I were to pitch the map and be creative with the truth about it, I'd get enough time to head there, find Yaleen's brother, and perhaps find a good haul. And this prick had no reason to stop me from trying.

“Look, I've got a proposal for him that would be mutually..."

“And I have a duty to stop people like you from seeing him!"

“Fine! Alright, I'll just go on in and buy a drink."

I walked towards the steps leading to the door, but the bouncer blocked the way, pointing a claw at my face.

“No, you're not getting in, human. Not unless you're working on the second floor."

“And I'm telling you, I have a proposal for Sirth," I made a mistake, I let myself get angry. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the map, all but shoving it in the bouncer's face, “It's a map to the Catacombs and I'm willing to give him a share of..."

He snatched the map from my hand, nearly poking his snout into the paper as he scanned it. He could read the writing on it, of course. And now he had me at a disadvantage. His eyes widened like saucers and paused, locked onto one section, before he folded up the map.

“Thank you, human," he said, about to put the map away into his pant pocket, “I'll deliver this to him and we'll get back to..."

I threw my first at his snout with all my might, connecting and sending him flying against the stone walls of the bar with a thud. Seconds later, my hand exploded with pain and I screamed, tearing off my glove and freeing tiny pools of blood welling on my knuckles. Weak muzzle or not, I had just punched hard scales and I was lucky that none of my fingers were broken. I quickly snapped up the map from the Lacertan before he had a chance to recover and put it back in my pocket.

The door flung open and two Lacertans, far beefier than the one I knocked over, burst out. Before I could react they had kicked me off my feet and I was dragged up the steps and into the bar. I caught stares from a wide collection of Lacertans, large and small, enjoying their drinks, smoking redweed, and basking in the bright, burning electric lights of the bar while relaxing on the stone furniture. A few pointed at the dumb human being pulled around; one, a wiry one with green scales, pulled out a carton of cigarettes and motioned for the server, motioning at me with a free claw.

The two goons pushed me into a small room with a spiraling staircase, one I had climbed many times before to pay my dues personally; there was no electronic bill payments on Planet. It was difficult to force a person up the towering stairs, but they managed. As we passed the door leading to the second floor, I caught a glimpse of a handsome, white Vulpeculan peeking out of a room, probably waiting to see if he had a new co-worker. One of the men leading me hissed a curse at him, and he withdrew back into his room, but I saw the black tip of his tail swish out shortly after, showing he was still observing.

We went up to the third floor, the very top and where Sirth resided. One way or another, I'd finally be meeting him, but I had a gut feeling he wouldn't be too happy to see me under these circumstance.

Sirth's receiving room was about the closest one could get to a throne room on Planet, at least for Lacertan standards with ornate, stone benches lining the sides of the room and rows of hot, electric lamps hanging from the ceiling. I felt like I was getting a sunburn just standing there.

A gray, tall chair stood on the far end of the room where Sirth would normally sit atop when receiving guests. However, being that I was an uninvited guest, he was laying face down on a flat, stone bench in the middle of the room, bathing in the rays from a particularly large lamp hanging above him. Chik was standing above him, completely naked and baking from the heat due to his coat of gray fur, running his raccoon-like hands over the green scales of his master's back.

“Kneel!" One of the guards ordered in Regulian, before robbing me of the choice and throwing me to the ground. I tried to lift myself from the ground, but once again my choice was taken and I was lifted by the back of my shirt and forced to look at Sirth's massive face, the round tip of his muzzle lifting, almost grinning, and revealing his gigantic, razor-sharp fangs. His eyes, as jade as his scales, flickered with cruel thoughts.

Something metal poked my throat and I peered down, only able to see a brown-scaled fist wrapped around a dagger hilt. I could make the connection and chose wisely not to resist. If they wanted to kill me, they'd kill me, but if I made a scene I'd be dead for sure.

From behind me, one of the guards hissed something in Lacertan. Sirth opened his maw, sticking out his tongue for a second in a gesture I didn't quite understand.

Chik removed his paws from his master's back and, peering down at me across his muzzle, spoke, “My master's men are requesting permission to slit your throat, human. Can you give us any reason not..."

“No, Chik," Sirth suddenly spoke, his growl being a little startling to hear in Regulian; pushing his Procyonid slave lightly to the side. He crossed his arms underneath his muzzle, staring directly at me, “Guards, leave us alone."

One of the guards raised an objection.

Sirth coolly replied, “Take his clothes. Surely a naked human is no threat."

The guards yanked away my jacket and pulled off my undershirt.

“Wait, there's something in my jacket pocket I wanted to show…"

“What is it?"

“A map, a piece of paper, just..."

“Find it."

I heard the rustling of paper and the map was dropped in front of me, fluttering to the ground. I slapped my hand on it, pulling it towards me.

My boots were pulled away, along with my socks, and soon my pants and underwear followed and I was completely naked. I hid my cock between my thighs, hoping to save some of my dignity, no matter what happened.

Claws scraped on stone, and the door closed behind me. I was along with Sirth and Chik.

“Pawel, Pawel," Sirth sighed as Chik resumed massaging his back, “You've been so much trouble for me."

“Sirth, if I can just..."

“Explain? I think I've given you enough chances."

“I wanted to see you and discuss an opportunity with you, but your bouncer..."

“Yes, I'm well aware of him denying you entry which, I admit, could have obstructed your payments. He has had such an ill-temper ever since his boy-toy ran off with an Equuleian. But you've still hurt one of my men and you have come here without any payment and don't even think that you can get in my good graces by handing over that Vulpeculan slut you've been hanging around, I no longer want her. I've heard about the bounty and that makes her nothing but trouble," Sirth raised one of his hands and made a motion with two claws, spreading them apart, “Spread your legs."

Gulping, I spread my legs, letting my limp penis hang loose.

“Do you see that, Chik?" Sirth whispered.

“Yes, I do, master."

“It seems, Pawel, that your people were born for a specific role. Do you know what that is?"

I shook my head. I didn't like where this was going.

“My people were born to live in hot environments," Sirth pointed towards the lamp hanging above him. He then pointed to Chik, “His people evolved from tree-climbing omnivores and he is still made to thrive in forests, which there are so few of on our planets, so we take care of his people, don't we?"

“Yes master."

“You humans, you have no sheathe and your cocks hang freely. What is such a creature made for?" Sirth beckoned me towards him, “Come here."

Shaking, I snatched up the map in my hands, “Only if you read this map. I got it from Neilan, the leader of the Horde. It's of a new tunnel in the Catacombs and if you let me go there, I can promise you..."

“The Catacombs!?" He boomed, narrowing his eyes, “I've commissioned three expeditions there. The first returned with a wealth of tech and goods, while the second returned with only a few, and the third returned with nothing but dirt. They're tapped out! It's nothing but a sinkhole for bandits to kill each other over. No, I know what I want," he lowered his voice, once more waving me over with his claw.

“Please have a look. If you don't find it promising..."

I nearly choked on those words. I hated being like this, groveling at someone's feet. But there was nothing I could do, Sirth had everything on me and the means to find me even if I tried to escape. Not to mention what he wanted to do to me.

“I will have a look. Now come here, slave."

Sweating, I scooted over on my knees. No matter how close I inched, Sirth kept on beckoning me forward until I was inches away from his face. His slitted nostrils flared, shooting hot air in my face, and I could smell the humid scent of jungle air floating around him. His jade eyes stared at me, unblinking, and almost entering my soul.

“Here's the..." I began to speak before my check was slapped by Sirth's long, wet tongue. I shuddered as the slimy appendage ran across my face, soaking everything from my chin to my forehead in his saliva.

Retracting his tongue, my vision was once again dominated by Sirth's massive, green face. Only then did I have the realization that his maw was large enough to fit my head and his teeth were surely sharp enough to sever my neck.

“Damn. You humans taste as good as you look. Chik, have a try, why don't you?" Sirth snatched the map from me. Chik came to my side, grabbed my head and pressed his wet nose against my cheek, taking a quick lick.

“I'm afraid, master, that your scent has gotten on him."

“Well, at least everyone will know who he belongs to."

“Indeed, master."

Sirth's claw lightly scraped my face, “Pawel, I could use a massage."

I nodded and got to my feet. Stepping towards Sirth, whose eyes never left my dangling package, I stopped at the side of his bench. The light was scorching and I began to sweat heavily as I gazed down at his thick back lined with hexagonal green scales. They ranged in color from light to emerald green and if we were under better circumstances, I'd probably have been somewhat attracted to him, but these were not the right circumstances and I'd be lucky to ever leave this building right now.

His scales were warm to the touch, but not hot. They were as hard as they looked and I had no idea how to give a Lacertan a good massage. It was one thing with mammals, but a reptile? Where was I to start? The top of his back? The center? The bottom near the base of his thick tail? I pushed as hard as I could…

“Shit!" I screamed as my right hand shrieked in pain. Clutching at it with my left hand, I saw that it was dark and heavily bruised. I wouldn't be massaging Sirth with this hand.

Sirth craned his head to stare back at me. Chik was also looking at me with surprise from his new position, lounging on a stone bench lining the wall.

“I'm sorry, I hurt my right hand when..."

“Punching my man, yes, I would imagine," Sirth groaned, turning his snout to face Chik, “And I thought your people were weak, Chik."

“Yes master."

“Continue, Pawel."

“Master, if I may," Chik interjected to which Sirth waved his approval, “A back massage with only one good hand would not be enjoyable to you. Yes, it would show the human his new place, but it would be a dull experience for you. I suggest a foot massage instead."

“Chik, this is why I love having you around," Sirth said, turning back to me, “Do it, Pawel."

Silently, I stepped to the back of the bench where Sirth's feet hung off the edge. He had four toes with thick, curling claws extending from them. Three of the toes were pointed forwards while the fourth was pointed back, in the center of the foot. His scales on the soles of his feet were lighter, almost down to a dull yellow. I still didn't know what to do, but perhaps if I was bad enough at giving him a massage he'd let me go, at least I hoped.

Sirth, for his part, actually began to read the map, or at least, he had it floating in front of his face and appeared to be scanning it. Might as well do my part while he did his.

His scales on the soles were softer to the touch than his back. I gently braced my right forearm against the top of his foot, the rougher scales on the top brushing against me, and began to rub at his sole with my left hand.

Sirth let a deep groan loose, “Yes, there."

I pressed my thumb into the spot where his back toe met with the foot, prompting him to nearly shudder. It was strange seeing someone so powerful letting his guard down, it was almost cute if he weren't a vicious gang leader.

I continued massaging his foot, eventually lowering my hand to rub at the base of his claws. They were as strong as the looked and I nearly cut my hand on the tip of one.

“Stop!" Sirth shouted.

Halting, I looked up, worried that I had done something wrong, but I found Sirth staring at the map. He wasn't facing me and Lacertans were notorious for lacking facial expressions that humans were familiar with, but I could sense the shock running off him.

“Chik? Come here. Please tell me I'm not hallucinating."

The Procyonid got up from his seat, ringed tail swishing from side to side as he stepped beside his master. Sirth pointed to one of the Lacertan instructions and Chik examined it.

“Solid metal?" Chik spoke, confusion reeking from his tongue.

“Yes!" Sirth peered back at me, “Slave! How did this Neilan learn about this? Where is he now?"

“He's dead," I said solemnly.

“I'm sorry," Sirth said blankly, “Does anyone else know about this tunnel?"

“No," I said. As far as I knew that was true. Perhaps White Stripe had looked at it, perhaps he was friends with Wolfy and showed him, but neither of them were willing to talk to me except in the form of broken English curses and threats of rape and murder. But there was no point in telling Sirth the whole truth because it would sour the deal, “We killed him and his gang. He learned about it from his time working near Rust but got betrayed up there, never got a chance to explore it. He told me that none of the people who betrayed him got the map."

“And do you believe him?"

“Yes."

Sirth sighed and motioned for me to come closer. I edged towards him and he passed the map to me. I snatched it with my good hand.

“The tunnels of the Catacombs are dirt for the most part, lined with the occasional piece of machinery. We've always suspected that that was a core to it, but people have been unable to reach it," Sirth paused, “This map describes a tunnel that is made from solid metal and has exposed wires. If this is true, it could be a gold mine."

“I could lead an expedition, Sirth. I'm good at what I do and I'll give you half of the goods I find."

“Seventy-five percent, no less. I'm giving you an extension and unparalleled freedom. Do not press your luck."

“Agr..."

“No," Sirth interrupted, “I'm going to send one of my men along with you to keep an eye on you. And if it turns out that the lead is a bust or for whatever reason you fail, he'll bring you back willing or not. And when that happens, I want you to take off your clothes, walk up to me, give me a kiss like you humans do and then bend over. And I don't want to hear an objection until the day you die, understand?"

“I'll do more than that," I spun around to his front and knelt, placing my face in front of his. His eyes widened in surprise and I cupped his strong chin in my palm. His fangs stuck out from his lips as I did this and I slowly leaned forward. I took in his scent, the smell of tropical wood and the humid jungles, and most contradictory, of the smell of dry sand on stone. My lips met the end of his snout and I ran my tongue across his scales, of the taste of copper, and my lips began to feel numb. His nostrils exhaled sharply and I felt his hand grab my shaved head and his claws wrap around the back of it.

It was all a ruse, and one I didn't want to do in the slightest; just to let him know that if he gave me a bit of freedom and I failed, I'd come back more affectionate than eber, but it seemed to work. Lacertans were not the most expressive, but he seemed to soften as I kissed him as best as I could for a species with no lips.

His grip weakened and I pulled back, “If I fail, I'll be yours."

Sirth's mouth parted, revealing his fangs, “I know."

“We have an agreement then?"

“Yes," Sirth mumbled, waving me away, “Chik will take you downstairs and introduce you to your escort. You'll get your clothes back as well."

Chik's black hand wrapped around my wrist and gently led me towards the door. We left without saying any further words to Sirth.

I sighed heavily as the door closed behind me. I had just dodged a bullet and had another chance at freedom.

“Well played, human," Chik muttered snidely, his hand still wrapped around my wrist as we stood atop the staircase.

“What are you talking about?"

“I said, well played, human," he snorted, “You've bought yourself a reprieve."

“It'll be everything I need."

“Hah!" He laughed, showing off his needle-like fangs and jagged molars, “I can't wait to see you bowing again. He has wanted a human for so long, you're so good with the heat, aren't you?"

“We sweat. I guess that helps."

“Try not to get in an accident. Sirth would be so disappointed if you were to get hurt."

“I'll try not to."