'Why are we watching this?' Ben asked. His grey fur looked paler than usual in the light of the
television as Clive increased the volume slightly.
  'Because Therese doesn't have the patience to.' Clive answered from beside him on the couch. 'I
figure one of us is gonna have to explain these new laws to her so she doesn't get arrested.'
  'Good point.' Ben nodded, sitting back and staring at the screen. An assembly of Parliament had
been called to discuss the coming changes to the Eastern Sovereign laws that would soon be
affecting all of the country's citizens as well as welcoming many new ones into the fold. It was
curious, almost amusing to see the gathering, primarily lions and some smaller felids such as
leopards, lynxes and wildcats, sharing the discussion with other smaller creatures.
  Many non-felid races were represented at the gathering. Dozens of representatives had been
assigned makeshift seating in the large central area of Parliament's Lower House. There were
weasels, otters, and various other mustelids. Squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, as well as rats and mice.
Some of the smaller were seated at desks atop desks, granting them equal height to the others on
the room at the expense of a comical appearance. Everyone was in a suit or some sort of formal
wear, even the mice which Clive found amusing.
  'This should be interesting.' Clive noted, pointing to the screen as it rested on a rabbit dignitary
looking poised but slightly uneasy at her proximity to so many larger carnivores. 'The rodents stand
to gain the most from this. They're the most likely ones to push for more than the House will give
them.'
  'True.' Ben nodded. 'We were so focused on mice, we didn't really think that we're potentially
asking the weasels and stoats to stop hunting as well.'
  'That's what worries me.' Clive narrowed his eyes. 'If the mice and rats push for an end to being
hunted, the middleweights won't accept felids being immune to those laws. The same laws will have
to apply to everyone or this whole thing will be... pointless. Looks like they're about to start.'
 
* * *
 
  The commotion in the enormous and lavishly decorated chamber died down as the Speaker
tapped his gavel several times. Everyone present turned their eyes to the old and regal lion as he
began, taking a deep breath before panning his gaze across everyone as he spoke. 'Ladies and
gentlemen, esteemed representatives of the Eastern Sovereignty and our honoured guests. It is my
pleasure to welcome you all to this summit, this attempt to put aside ancient enmities in the interest
of moving forward for all the cultures and sapient races of Vern.'
  A soft round of applause rang out as he finished his opening. A sense of anticipation built as the
Speaker reviewed several notes on his desk before lifting his gaze to meet one of the felids in the
stand to his right, a brown haired leopard woman wearing a well fitted formal suit and reading
glasses. 'Lady Prime Minister, I understand you wished to make an address?'
  'Yes, Mr. Tarun.' The leopard replied. She rose from her seat and walked gracefully but quickly to
the centre podium before the seated prey delegates. 'I would like to echo our House Speaker's
welcome and bid you all a pleasant stay here. I recognize many of you from earlier informal
meetings, but for those whom I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting, I am Prime Minister Keldra
Mayis, elected administrator of this country. In this time of rapidly changing social pressures and
values, I would like to advise everyone, felid, mustelid and rodent alike, that we must all be willing to
make concessions in the coming weeks if any accord is to be reached at all.'
  Another soft round of applause and many heads nodding in agreement was the initial response,
followed by a soft murmuring emanating primarily from the rodent end of the guest tables. Mayis
noticed it, but refrained from acknowledging anything she overheard until one of the squirrel
representatives put his hand forward and raised his eyes to the lion at the back of the room.
  'Yes.' The Speaker nodded, granting the floor to the delegate. Mayis took a small step backwards,
putting herself out of reach of the podium's microphone as a show of respect but did not return to
her seat just yet.
  The squirrel stood and approached the secondary smaller podium that had been supplied for the
small statured visitors. 'Before I say anything else...' He began, pausing as he weighed his next words
carefully. 'I would like to acknowledge and thank every felid in this room for taking the time to give
us an audience today. I understand that for many of you, looking to us as equals may be... somewhat
challenging. So to be here, it truly is nothing short of an honour and for many of us, a miracle. Both
of which I assure you, we are extremely grateful for.'
  'I can see you have concerns.' Mayis smiled. 'Ambassador Narrus, you are among friends here and
you are under State protection. You may speak freely.'
  'Thank you.' Narrus nodded, seeming to be put at ease. 'While we can appreciate the extended
hand of friendship from those larger than us, I feel I should point out that generations of both my
kind and our smaller cousins have been thought of as little more than food for... various felids, for as
long as even your history records. There are those among us who fear there may be some ulterior
motive to your gesture here. And others who unfortunately, fear that this endeavour is doomed to
failure.'
  'I understand your concerns.' Mayis nodded, looking to someone in the stands to her left briefly
before nodding with a sigh and continuing. 'In the interest of keeping this discussion open and
honest, I will confess that my youth consisted of semi-regular hunting parties on some weekends
and school vacations. I do not believe that I or any felid would ever deny that we do feel compelled
to hunt. Our society, technology and social values may have evolved, but each of us is, at our core,
still very much in touch with our predatory instincts.'
  'I mean no disrespect, Lady Prime Minister...' Narrus shook his head slightly. 'But it sounds like
you just admitted you cannot guarantee any of us our safety if we agree to this new treaty you have
proposed.'
  Another wave of murmurs went up, louder this time as predator and prey alike became restless at
the implications of what had just been said. A loud rapping of wood on wood spurred everyone back
to silence as the Speaker called for order before beckoning for Mayis or Narrus to continue.
  'Apologies.' Narrus said softly. 'I did not mean to be so disrespectful and I certainly had no intent
of levelling any accusation at this assembly.'
  'Your concerns are valid...' Mayis began. 'I only wished to convey that as leaders, we are charged
with addressing the concerns of all our citizens. I know it is an unfortunate position for many of you,
but that means the concerns of predators must be taken into account.'
  'O-of course.' Narrus conceded. 'I have no further statements to add.' He gave a short nod to the
Speaker, which the lion returned, before taking his seat.
  'Mr. Speaker.' Mayis turned to address the House Speaker directly, sparing a glance into the same
position as before as she turned. 'I would like to give the floor to Professor Rex Atla. I feel that he is
the better suited to convey the proposed law changes to our guests.'
  'Consider it done.' The lion nodded. 'Professor Atla? You have the floor.'
  'Oh?' Rex Atla responded. 'I wasn't prepared for this...' The felid stood, a brown furred lynx with
short cut silver hair and a suit that looked a size too big. He shuffled to the end of the row of seats
he occupied and made his way hurriedly to the podium. 'Well I would like to repeat what... has
already been said. Welcome, we all hope for the best here today, and... whatever the third thing
was.'
  A brief bout of soft laughter permeated the room, and Mayis smiled knowingly. She gave a small
nod to Atla which he returned awkwardly before turning back to address the guest delegates.
  'So, as our lovely Prime Minister inferred, I may be the best qualified to convey what I would call...
practical limitations, upon the laws we would extend to protect smaller citizens within our nation's
various cities and other communities.' He paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in before
he continued. 'So, first I need to make it clear. As Lady Mayis pointed out, we as felids are compelled
by a biological urge to hunt. If I may demonstrate...' He lifted his head and panned his gaze across
the assortment of felids seated around the chamber. 'Could I get a show of hands please? Anyone,
who has ever felt the compulsion to hunt at some point in their lives?'
  Without exception, every felid hand in the room was raised. Mayis looked slightly apologetic
towards Narrus as she raised her hand into the air. Tarun shrugged and smiled meekly as his hand
too was raised, his first show of emotion since the meeting had begun. After a few more moments,
the members of the Mustelid Delegation also raised their own hands, the various breeds of weasel,
stoat and otter echoing the confession of the larger predators around them.
  'Interesting.' Atla nodded, holding his own hand in the air. 'Now... How many of you have acted
upon those compulsions? Successfully, I might add?'
  Not a single hand was lowered.
  'As I thought.' Atla nodded. He lowered his hand, and the rest of those present did likewise. 'I
would like to say sorry for reminding our rodent and lagomorph guests that they are in fact
surrounded by those who on most other days may have eaten them by now. But I also believe that
this very reality is one that they must be willing to come to terms with.'
  A short burst of applause followed as he tapped his forehead, pondering how best to frame his
next words. As he thought, one of the rabbit delegates raised her hand to the Speaker, prompting
Tarun to nod and gesture her to step forward.
  'I am sorry to interrupt you, Professor.' The small woman began. 'But I would like to say that my
fellow rabbit and Rodentia delegates had considered this matter beforehand. We do realize that
asking for complete protection would be impractical and difficult to enforce. But at the same time,
we must point out that the members of our own colonies and communities are expecting a measure
of safety to result from this arrangement.'
  Atla clicked and grinned in response to her assertion. 'Hit the nail on the head. How do we protect
our tiny citizens, and still let predators be predators?'
  Another round of soft murmurs was silenced by another flurry of the gavel ringing through the
room.
  ;'Right.' Atla continued. 'My department has been conducting studies on the various mental
processes that felids undergo at various points in their lives. Mostly because we're psychologists and
that's generally... Well, that's what we do.'
  A few laughs came from some of the assembled ministers as Atla continued.
  'Anyway, what we've discovered most prevalent to this situation is that a felid's hunting instinct is
felt most strongly during the twilight hours, and most particularly in felids between the ages of
seven years old to thirty five. There are some variables of course, but the gist is evening, young and
youngish hunters out and about.'
  'You are proposing that there be protective measures in place at these times?' The rabbit asked.
  'No.' Atla shook his head. 'Miss...?'
  'Aurie.' The rabbit answered.
  'Miss Aurie.' The lynx continued. 'To deny predators their instincts when they are at their
strongest is folly. We found this in another study, very unpleasant outcome, but the point is we must
allow our predators to exercise their right to hunt as they always have... Just now within pre-defined
times and designated zones.'
  'I see.' Aurie nodded slowly, seeming disappointed but unable to provide a viable alternative.
After a moment more, she nodded to him before leaving the smaller podium and returning to her
seat.
  'Our cities are already segregated by size.' Atla informed the visitors. 'This is a necessity, because
frankly a lion like Mr. Tarun behind me there would never be able to move freely in, for example, my
house.'
  Another round of laughs accompanied Atla's vivid description as he illustrated the size differences
between the various felid breeds.
  'We will continue this tradition, with dedicated residential districts catered to each size of citizen.
From the larger mustelids like otters, who may even fit alongside our wildcat districts, to additional
districts scaled for our new smaller friends. These areas would be considered protected zones at all
times. Public areas however, would become fair hunting grounds once daylight hours are concluded.
These times, and in these public areas, would be the only acceptable and legal circumstances for one
citizen to hunt and consume another.' Atla concluded his explanation and stood still, watching as
each of the delegation groups exchanged lances and broke into small discussions with one another.
  He turned to look at Mayis. She only met his gaze with an equally trepidated stare as they waited
for one of the delegates to respond.
  After a few minutes, one of the weasel delegates raised her hand and was acknowledged by the
Speaker. Taking the podium, she glanced around the chamber before speaking. 'Your terms are an
interesting compromise, Professor. As those who would feel compelled to hunt, and be hunted by
others, I feel I can say with confidence that your terms are fair. Though we must adapt to new
restrictions upon our own hunts, the ability to call our homes truly safe is a welcome change.'
  'I am glad to hear that.' Atla nodded, smiling.
  The delegate turned back, meeting the gaze of her fellow weasels as well as the other mustelid
groups. As a group they gave her a small nod of approval before she turned and continued, 'On
behalf of my fellow weasels as well as all mustelid communities, we accept your proposal and look
forward to further negotiating the finer details of this new arrangement.'
  A round of applause sounded as the small weasel gave a curt wave of thanks before returning to
her seat. Atla noticed the group of rodents as well as the lagomorphs were still concluding their own
discussion, seeming to have reached a similar decision. After a few more moments it was Narrus
who stood and returned to the podium.
  'On behalf of Rodentia and Lagomorph colonies and clans, we also accept your proposal.' He
stated. The chamber seemed to be far more relaxed after this, a round of soft murmuring as Atla
expressed his thanks before relinquishing the podium and returning to his seat. Narrus did likewise,
the squirrel returning to his seat with a hasty gait. Though the terms had been accepted, it was clear
from his composure as well as others of the Rodentia group that they were not totally happy with
the outcome of the discussion...
 
* * *
 
  'Well that went more smoothly than I expected.' Clive commented. 'Seems apparent that the
rodents and bunnies are gonna try and push for more leeway, but it's definitely a promising start.'
  'And we'll still be allowed to hunt at night.' Ben remarked. 'This is gonna be confusing. What do I
do during my overnight shifts at the bar? Do I... serve the tiny customers? Or do I just...'
  'You serve them, and tip off the other customers.' Clive replied with a mocking grin. 'You aren't
allowed to hunt when you're on the clock. Why is a sushi bar even open at those hours?'
  Ben simply shrugged. 'You would be amazed how many times drunken idiots stumble in looking
for easy food.'
  'My sister is not...' Clive retorted, before trailing off and remembering that it was exactly that
scenario that had introduced Therese and Ben to each other. 'Yea, fair enough. You up for some
drinks?'