Chapter 201: Stupid in many words.
Sienna looked at the coins, and looked at her mother-in-law. Her eyes turned to elders of the fox council who were standing around like mindless zombies. "And you....all of you. Are you planning to toss me a few coins like a beggar?"
They did not rush to respond, but they didn’t deny it either. Every second of their silence caused anger to bubble in Sienna’s heart.
"They can pay for themselves." Vinira finally said. "They have jobs and salaries. Even if they left behind their clothes, they all carried their phones and have access to their bank accounts. They can reach out and have money delivered by flying drones. Be it food, shoes, blankets, they can pay for all of it themselves. Why must we cover the bill?"
Lady Cadelaria’s lips lifted slightly with smug satisfaction that she could not even hide. Every obstacle Sienna was met with, was good news in her books. It would teach her to go back to minding her business.
Suddenly, a cold aura scattered through the air. Sienna’s fury was volcanic, the kind that made the council elders tremble as though Elias was standing right there.
Her jaw tightened, her hands curled into fists, and her eyes burned with indignation. She reached into her bag, grabbed a few coins and threw them at her mother-in-law. Her voice was sharp as she barked, "A few coins! You think I cannot afford these measly coins? This is your grand gesture? This is your contribution to the foxes you once ruled? The foxes you still want to rule as head of the office of women and cubs?"
The elders shifted uncomfortably, their tails flicking nervously. Some avoided her gaze others stared at the coins as if they might multiply magically.
Sienna sneered, "Stupid! Idiots! Morons! Imbeciles! Dolts! Blockheads! Nincompoops!" She spat every synonym for stupid that she could summons. Each word was sharper than the last. "I could fill a whole page with your foolishness, and it still wouldn’t capture the depth of your uselessness!"
The elders gasped. Elder Grace’s ears flattened. Elder Tomlin coughed nervously, and Lady Cadelaria tried to interject, but Sienna’s fury was unstoppable.
"Of course I know they have their own money, which is why we are only providing the basics. We are presenting a unified tribal front. We are letting all our people know that we stand with them and we will provide and care for them in the face of every disaster.
You all stand here, fattened on privilege and taxes of the fox tribe, tails curled in comfort, while the people you claim to serve are starving and scared. You don’t want them in the city...the city which is their home! You, the former matriarch claim to love and understand foxes more than me, the human, and yet you dare to toss coins like scraps to beggars. I expected more from you. I expected you to lead the charge, emptying your coffers, rallying your kin, and standing beside me!"
Sienna’s voice rose until it could be heard many feet away. "I am not even a fox, yet I am willing to bleed myself dry to protect your people. I am risking my life here, the life of my cub who is sick by the way, my mother...my human mother and my falcon aunt have been right with me. Timothy and these guards are risking their lives too. Elias’s reputation is also at stake, depending on how we handle this. And you, his mother, still sneer and contribute less than a street peddler!"
Lady Cadelaria’s smirk faltered. "You--you are exaggerating."
"Exaggerating?" Sienna barked a laugh, bitter and sharp. "Exaggeration is what you do when you are fake fainting to get out of homework or an invitation to a function you don’t desire to attend. Exaggeration is you...Cadelaria, always inflating your self importance in every situation." She pointed to the coins on the ground. "Where is your financial exaggeration when your tribe needs you? This is pathetic. This is a disgrace. This is stupidity incarnate!"
The elders murmured, tails twitching.
Elder Grace tried to clam her, "Sienna, perhaps we should."
"Shush!" She roared. "You are all complicit. You stand here, debating financial support to these people, not even realizing that after they get the vaccine, things are going to get even trickier. They can’t return to HoundFang until the water and soil has been purified completely. My guess, it will take a month or two. If its a serious situation, it could take half a year. What is your plan for these people? As long as they sit at home...unemployed, they will become a problem."
Timothy snorted. "You are thinking so far, my Lady. The doctor’s have reported that three cubs that returned have all the symptoms and may not survive, even if the vaccine comes."
Sienna shot glares at the elders. "You argue over money while mothers prepare to bury their cubs. You are supposed to be leaders, yet you are cowards hiding behind traditions. Traditions don’t defend the tribe, they don’t cure plagues and they sure as well don’t provide jobs or feed the hungry. People do!"
She took a deep breath. "My God, you are a council of fools. A parliament of dunces. A gathering of nitwits. A symposium of simpletons. A conclave of clowns."
Timothy touched Sienna’s shoulder. "I think they get it."
The words hit like arrows, angering and embarrassing the elders.
"I think I prefer Elias." Elder Suriq whispered to Elder Grace.
Sienna looked at Lady Cadelaria, "You..Miss miser, I expect nothing less than five hundred thousand beast coins from you."
Lady Cadelaria’s face flushed crimson. "What? One hundred thousand! You are trying to rob me clean."
Sienna shrugged. "Call it what you want, as long as it is used to save the lives of the people who hold you in reverence. If you fail to give me that money, I promise that I will do something that will embarrass you so much that you will never dare to leave your house." She patted her chest, careful not to hit Ali’s head. "Then again, you are already making an embarrassment of yourself right now. You are becoming a stain on your family’s legacy. Sooner or later, someone will wipe you if you keep this up."
She pointed to the elders, "And the rest of you, if you dare not to help, I will sue you before the king and see to it that you lose your positions. You have all become muddled with old age, it seems. Don’t mess with me right now, I will drag you by the tails if I have to, and force you to step up."
Mrs. Miller’s lips sharpened as she looked away. Was this her daughter? Wasn’t she a little too brave?
