[Mkguild] Roman story part 5

[cokane8116 at aol.com]

 Here is the next part! A short one

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    Bitt was assigned a top bunk along with alumpy, straw filled mattress and an equally lumpy pillow. The rest scattered totheir bunks and soon fell asleep. The room got quiet and Bitt was left alonewith his thoughts.    He had thought long and hard before decidingto join the legion. Bitt had wanted to see the world and he had obligations.Back then it seemed the right thing to do. Now two months and a thousand milesaway he wasn’t so sure. The fox was sharing a tiny space with seven otherpeople, none of whom was his own species.    Everything here was different; from thesearing heat to the food and drink and even the smells. He didn’t evenrecognize most of the species here. It had been a month since he had seen ortalked to a real, red fox.    That fact bothered him the most. He missedseeing fellow foxes. Bitt had honestly never expected to be in a place wherethere were no foxes. He missed their smells most of all. It was a comfortingsmell that told him he was safe with family and clan. But now it was gone. Bittrealized that he might be the only red fox in the entire region!    Bitt was a long way from home, the heat wasoppressive, and he was surrounded by strangers.e     But if it was all strange it was also newand exciting. Everything was different from the food and languages to thelandscape itself even the smells were different. So many species he had neverseen or even dreamt of. There was so much to see, so much to experience and somuch to learn. He had no idea what lay ahead. Long he pondered what the future mightbring before sleep finally came to him.   ****************     Morning came early. Very early. Bitt waswoken up by someone banging harshly on the side of his bed. Still sleepy hestumbled out of bed forgetting he was in the top bunk. He dropped the five feetto the floor. He did have the reflexes to land on his paws.    “Nice trick!” the hyena commented sarcasticallyas he clapped.    “Watch that first step Bitt,” Kegan joked.The badger shook his head. “That first step is a big one.”    Bitt stood there for a moment trying toregain his composure. “I miss my own bed. It’s soft and at ground level.” Helooked at the window and saw only the darkness of predawn. “It can’t be morningalready.”

   Eteiwi handed the fox a small pottery cup.“This is the legion. We start before sunrise and work till after dark. Nowdrink. It will get you going.”    "Bean soup?" He asked whilelooking at the cup that was filled with a warm, brown liquid.    "Trust me, this stuff will keep yougoing through the night,” the lion explained.    Bitt looked at the cup of dark brown soupdubiously. “What’s this called?”    “Coffee. Now try it!” The lion insisted.    “Coffee?” The fox looked at the brownishliquid for a moment.  He took a sip andfound the liquid had a strong, bitter flavor but he could taste other flavorsmixed in.    Breakfast was a porridge made of wheat mixedwith large slices of what he hoped was pork and chicken. A small selection offresh fruit most of which Bitt didn’t recognize was there in a bowl. Breadfresh from the oven was a welcome food. It tasted good but it wasn’t like thebread from back home. 

*******************     The morning of their second day there startedearly for the Tiros. Before dawn they were taken on a run all the way aroundthe fortress. Twice. Then a little exercise that consisted of lifting andcarrying stones of various sizes for an hour or three.    After that they were taken to an open fieldcovered with sand. This was the training field and over the coming months thefox would see it a lot. One side of the field was lined with posts. The tall,wooden posts were bleached by the sun and were battered and scared by countlessstrikes. They were not given real swords. Instead they found themselves holdingwooden copies of a gladius. In the other hand was a large shield made ofwicker. A fake weapon and shield. The type of thing a young todd would firsttrain with.    Their Armatura or Trainer was an olderleopard by the name of Comitus Tiberi Sardius, Thefeline’s arms bore the scars of battle and he wore his armor with the ease oflong use. He carried the vine stick of a centurion in his right hand. When hespoke it was in a calm voice.    “I am supposed to make you sorry lot intoLegionnaires,” He shook his head slowly. “Well. I’ll do the best I can.” Theleopard walked along the line of tiros. “Now that you are warmed up we’ll getdown to the real work!”  ************** 
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