Slink

Urzites – telepathic animals of many species found ‎originally only on the southern island of Urz. ‎
Receptives - humans who are able to hear the ‎Urzites. Only about one person in eighty or ninety is a ‎Receptive. Most Receptives can only hear the animal ‎who has chosen to be their partner, although there have ‎been recorded instances of very rare people, ‎SuperReceptives, who can hear more than one Urzite. ‎
The Warden Corps – a government-sanctioned force ‎within which the Receptive-Urzite pairs function. The ‎Wardens and their Urzite partners are mostly used as ‎espionage agents and scouts in the ongoing war with the ‎neighbouring nation of Zeranda, although some are also ‎involved in search and rescue and also in recruitment and ‎the finding of new Receptives.‎

The next Urzite stepped forward. And the next. And ‎the next. I tell you, it doesn’t sound all that hard, just ‎standing there repeating that spell, but it was exhausting ‎work. Urzite followed Urzite followed Urzite, small ‎ones, big ones, young ones, old ones; cats, dogs, horses, ‎donkeys, birds, rats, lizards, monkeys. ‎
I stopped noticing them after a while. They just ‎became a blur. I do remember that I did Umbis, though, ‎and Sanpo, who was quite absurdly grateful, and, of all ‎Urzites, Madame Uritta’s Chym. I couldn’t help but ‎wonder what she’d think of all this.‎
By the time lunchtime was over I was so exhausted I ‎was about ready to fall off my wall and it was getting ‎really difficult to get the words of the spell in the right ‎places. However, I must have taught at least fifty Urzites ‎to read, possibly twice that many. The crowd in the ‎courtyard had thinned to just the last few hopefuls and ‎quite a number who’d stayed as spectators, and as I ‎looked about I saw all the remaining candidates step up ‎to one of the other spell-casters. ‎
Amazingly, everyone who had turned up had been ‎processed. I was quite proud of us, really. That was a ‎very good day’s work. I hopped down from my wall and ‎made my weary way over to where Naya stood talking ‎to Garina and Annana. Stumpy and Syana were already ‎there, and as I approached, Hoo swept in and took up ‎her usual place on Stumpy’s head. ‎
At first, I couldn’t see Mewla, but then Naya moved ‎and I spotted her in her accustomed place in her arms. It ‎seemed we were all here. Oh, hang on, where was ‎Thimni? Even as I looked around, there was a clatter of ‎hooves on cobbles and Thimni came bounding up, ‎looking disgustingly energetic. How could she possibly ‎gallop like that when I felt about as limp as a wrung-out ‎rag?‎
‎“That was fun, wasn’t it?” she said as she skidded to ‎a halt next to me. “It’s going to change things around ‎here now that every Urzite can read. I intend to ‎recommend that the first thing they all read is the Articles ‎of Incorporation. I read them last night, and they’re quite ‎an eye-opener. There’ll be no excuse for denying Urzites ‎their rights now.”‎
I rolled my eyes at Syana, who grinned. Trust Thimni ‎to make this an intellectual exercise. I swear, that goat is ‎the most intelligent person I know, and that includes all ‎the humans.‎

In ‘Naya’, Naya related how she became a Warden. ‎Now, join Slink the fox; a bit of a rascal, somewhat ‎greedy, rather highly-strung, and locked in an ongoing ‎battle with Mewla the cat, as he takes up the tale and ‎tells the next part of the story in his own words, as the ‎team begin their training and settle into life as Assigned ‎Urzites.