Adventures in the TARDIS

Card Shark’s office is more reserved than I expected considering what I know about this “pony”. There is a lot of brown and dark brown wooden texture to the walls and furniture here. It seems pretty sophisticated. He only has one portrait of himself hung in this room. It depicts him staring towards the painter, his hat at a low angle just above the rim of his eyes, his face tilted down a bit, him wearing a slightly lighter blue coat with a handkerchief hanging from his left upper chest coat pocket, and him leaning heavily on his cane. He gives a piercing stare forward and a slight wicked crook to his smile.

Beyond that there is a lot of what I’d expect from a manager of this resort. A desk and three chairs, one of which is a swivel chair facing towards the others. A globe, a bookshelf full of books, a liquor cabinet, several drawers which are probably locked. A safe in the back corner.

All in all, pretty standard stuff, at least at first glance. There probably are some secrets in this room somewhere considering I am dealing with a fellow Time Lord and one who is a trained magician in this current regeneration cycle.

“Make yourself at home,” Card Shark tells me glumly as he circles his way to his desk seat and uses his cane to tap his desk as an indication I should sit down on the other side. Politely, I do so. Once he sits down, he gives a grand gesture around the room with both hooves, one of which still holds his cane, as he asks me, “What do you think of my resort? My grand Palace of Vices?”

“Seems pretty standard for a casino in our universe, but a touch out of place for ponies in Equestria,” I answer. “Overall, though, I’d say it fits you to a tee.”

“It does indeed!” Card Shark agrees as he leans forward and gives me a cunning predatory look before tilting his head and asking, “Care for a drink? I could use one myself.”

“My answer depends on what you have,” I answer as I give a cautious look at the liquor cabinet in the room. “Normally I might tell my host to surprise me,” I look back at him slyly, “but given our history, that might not be a wise idea on my part.”

“Oh come-come now, Doctor. Live a little! You’re the one who always tells me to drop all this conquest non-sense and just go off on your stupid little adventures. Well . . . that strongly implies taking a chance too. What example are you giving if you won’t follow your own advice?”

I smile at him coyly as I tell him, “In that case, I’ll have what you’re having.”

“That’s the spirit!” Card Shark cheers then rises from his seat to pour us a couple of glasses from a bottle at the liquor cabinet. While he does that, he asks me, “So what brings you here? More meddling, perhaps?”

“I guess you can say that,” I acknowledge. “Recruitement is a more apt term.”

Card Shark sighs then asks wearily, “This old shtick again?”

“Well . . . circumstances have changed a little since I last met you. You seem considerably more equine this time, for example,” I tease.

Card Shark passes me a shot glass full of brown liquid as he passes me then sits down in front of me with his cane, his own shot glass, and apparently the entire bottle he used to pour these things. Evidently he seems to think he’ll need to be smashed shortly in order to help him tolerate my presence.

“Don’t remind me!” Card Shark spat bitterly. “These colorful talking equines make me sick!”

I lift the shot glass offered to me just a bit as I pass him a shrewd look while saying, “Yes. I had a feeling these talking ponies wouldn’t be up to your tastes.”

After downing his shot, Card Shark stares at his empty glass and twists his as he outwardly reminisces, “You've been to many worlds and time periods, right? Have you ever come across another as strange and repulsive as this one before?”

“Stranger? Definitely. I could tell you plenty of stories about that,” I answer. “Repulsive? Certainly since I actually think this world, and universe, is pretty adorable.”

Card Shark passes me a dry look then pours himself another drink as he says in a tone of disgust, “You would.”

I sigh as I look at my own drink. While still staring at it, I say, “I’ve given a lot of thought about our history after our last encounter together.” My eyes shift back to him. “Especially considering what our people did to you. After all this time and everything we’ve been through, much of it was their fault.”

Card Shark downs another shot before leaning back in his seat and asks me chides, “Oh Doctor, Doctor, Doctor. After knowing our people as well as you do, can you really sit there and tell me that you’re all that surprised?”

“So much tragedy could have been avoided if they hadn’t done what they did. I’ve been wondering, ever since our last encounter together, if you still hear those same four drum beats in your head?”

Card Shark’s face assumes a more calm expression as he shakes his head and says, “No. Ever since I came to this repulsive universe, those drum beats have been mercifully silent. It’s about one of the few things I actually consider a blessing about coming here.”

“The only thing?” I ask skeptically as I raise an eyebrow. “What about your wife? What about your daughter? How did you do that anyway?”

Card Shark smiles with faint coyness as he tells me, “A good magician never gives up his secrets.”

“Normally I wouldn’t pry into personal family affairs, but this one is kind of a big deal. Geeze, man! Does she have two hearts?”

“No,” Card Shark says with a listless expression as he looks at his empty shot glass again. “No, she does not.” He looks back at me. “But there might be more energy pumping from her one heart than normal.”

“Do you mind if I examine her later?” I ask carefully. “I might discover something you missed. I am the ‘Doctor’ after all.”

Card Shark waves at me dismissively as he leans forward and pours himself another glass. While doing so he says casually, “Sure. Knock yourself out, or better yet . . . outright kill yourself so I don’t have to deal with this headache anymore.”

Finally I down my own shot after secretly examining it with my sonic screwdriver and verifying that there’s nothing in here overly toxic to our kind. Because of our two hearts, this drink will have less effect on us than it would for others.

“Admit it, you’d miss me if I died,” I tell him in a teasing voice at first but it shifts to a serious one when I add in disapproval, “And that’s a cold and dismissive attitude to have about your own daughter. I appreciate the permission to examine her, but damn, man! Would it kill you to give a damn about her?”

“She’s just a happy little accident,” he informs me coldly which chills my blood. “A means to an end, ultimately. It’s her mother that I was more interested in. Thanks to that, it gave me enough starting funds to eventually conquer this place.” He looks around again with wandering eyes. “Plus she had some ties and connections.” He smiles at me evilly. “Once she and I had a kid, she had even more reason to think I was loyal to her, and you know how women can be. All emotional and stuff.” He chuckles with evil glee then adds, “Honestly, I didn’t even have to mind bend her that much. All it took was just a little swagger and I had her wrapped around my fingers in short order.” He rolls his eyes. “Or hooves in this case, as it were.”

“You’re repulsive,” I say with a wince of disgust. “God damn you, man! That’s your family you’re talking about here.”

Card Shark is silent for a moment as he gives me a sharp, critical eye then leans back as he tells me, “I wonder if you noticed something by now. I am the sole proprietor of a casino resort in Las Pegasus, of all places, but that is it! I eventually plan to buy out a few more resorts to secure my holdings here and crush my competition, but this is a far cry from universe conquest, or galaxy, or the world, or even this damn colorful horse-land. I deliberately kept my ambitions to a minimum this time and you want to know why?” He jabs his cane to point at me. “I was hoping to avoid attracting you this time.”

“Well gee. Consider me flattered,” I say flatly.

“That, and I needed time to think,” Card Shark admits as he looks at and sighs over his desk. “After learning what our people did to me ever since I was a kid and messed with my head ever since, I needed some time for self reflection and evaluation.” He growls in anger and pounds the top of his desk as he says bitterly, “I hate, I hate, I . . . HAAAAAAATE . . . being a pawn in anyone’s schemes, but I have since come to realize that is all I ever was. Every scheme I’ve ever had and hair-brained idea, how much of that was really me and not some implanted suggestion in my head? Just who am I, really? Have I ever been the true Master of anything or anyone?”

“I certainly sympathize with your frustration with our people,” I acknowledge sympathetically. “For what it’s worth, you know that I wouldn’t have done such a thing in their place.”

“That’s true,” the Master agrees as he looks back at me with a gleam of fondness in his eyes for the first time. “You certainly do have higher moral standards. We may have butt heads against each other many times, but if there is one thing I can say about you in your favor, it’s that you have much higher integrity than the rest of our so-called former people.” He shakes his head. “It’s only fitting that they are all rotting in hell now, and good riddance, I say, to bad rubbish.”

“Hey! Not all of them were bad,” I argue.

The Master lifts a hoof as he complains, “Please don’t ruin the moment, Doctor. Why should any of them be worth any ounce of sympathy?”

“You can’t sort every apple in one basket,” I argue with a shake of my head. “That’s too reckless. Like any other society, there are good and bad mixes in all. I have often found, in my travels, it is unwise to assess an entire culture by the standards of their leaders alone. There can be a lot of dissonance between these two examples and our people are no exception. You remember our home, right? And the people who used to live there?”

I can actually see the bitterness and resentment in the Master’s eyes slowly give away to haunted nostalgia when I brought that up. I knew that was a perspective to this argument I couldn’t lose. Not if this is the same boy I once grew up with.

We share a quiet moment of rapport together as we both think back to the good old days. No matter how antagonistic we’ve been to each other ever since then, that shared history was the one thing connecting us throughout all this time. It’s also why I felt less alone ever since I learned he survived the Time War.

Speaking of which . . .

“Why are you doing this to me?” the Master asks me in misery with a sudden pained look in his eyes as he looks back at me. “I’ll never forget that those were good times and that’s what makes this all the more painful. Way to rub it in, Doctor.”

“I’m sorry for that. I truly am,” I tell him sympathetically. “But I had to because I need your help.”

“You need my help? Excuse me?!” he asks me incredulously then looks at me with sudden suspicion. “Are you really the same Doctor that I grew up with?”

“If I’m not, then I’m the closest thing you’re ever going to find here,” I acknowledge. “I suppose there isn’t really any way to know for sure considering how much variance and possibility there can be out there while universe-hopping, but I think we share enough history to solidify our emotions and intentions. As bad as our people had once been, there are some good apples in the bunch and they are worth saving.”

“This is useless conjecture,” the Master argues with a wince. “It doesn’t matter how nostalgic I feel about them. They are gone now, Doctor. Dead . . . every last one of them. You and I are the last of our entire race, and perhaps that is for the best.”

“That’s not true,” I counter. “A new universe has new rules, and in this one . . . the results of the Time War is not a fixed timeline yet.”

The Master widens his eyes at me in shock as he asks me, “You mean . . .?” He can’t even finish that question since he feels so stunned.

I nod emphatically as I confirm, “Indeed. In this universe . . . it may still be possible to save our people and our home.”

“Our home?” the Master asks me with a wince then shakes his head. “No, Doctor. This is not our home but rather a disgusting mockery of it. Make what you will about this repulsive pony universe. It cannot change one important fact, and that is that neither of us are native here. Even if you could save some approximation to our home, it isn’t really our home.”

“Granted,” I confirm with a nod. “Our true home and history might not ever be recovered. I’ll admit that, but think about it, man! You and I could be here for a very, very long time. In all that time, are you really content to be the last of our kind? Especially after I told you there is a chance to save some of our kind? Admit it, now that I’ve told you, you can’t help but wonder how far this could go if you follow my plan.”

The Master turns his face down at his desk but then lifts his gaze back up at me a second later. He looks bitter that I made a point he’s forced to acknowledge now.

“Imagine if we succeeded,” I coax. “We could be there again! To Gallifrey . . . our home . . . or at least as close to it as we’re going to get anymore.” I cut a hoof across the air. “For the longest time, I thought I would never gain even a close approximation of our home again. By that, I mean nothing at all. Not even you. I truly thought I was the last of the Time Lords. In a way I was until you awakened.”

“Maybe that would have been for the best,” the Master says sadly, which strongly suggests to me how haunted and depressed this man is deep down. He shakes his head. “I didn’t have the drum beats in my head when the majority of my consciousness was still in the Watch. I’ve kept wondering, ever since then, if that would have been for the better.”

The Master leans back in his seat again and wistfully looks at a wooden clock on the wall.

“I didn’t really think that seriously until I got here, but ever since I finally got a break from the drum beats when I came to this universe, I realized how empty my existence must have been all along. Hijacked.” He looks back at me and I’m taken aback to actually see a few tears in his eyes. “My life and destiny were stolen. The puppet who thought he was a puppet master. Dancing on a string for the amusement of our kind.”

“That was awful, but we’re here now!” I drive. I wipe my hoof across his desk and say, “Well I say screw what happened to us in our past! This is a new universe now and we have a chance to start over. We can redeem ourselves. We can claim our destiny again, and this time . . . we’ll truly be masters of our fate.”

“For what that is worth,” the Master says with a wince of disgust. “Ponies? Really? You think this is our destiny now?”

“It is if we claim it,” I quickly argue. “Our destiny is whatever we make of it. Here, ponies literally have stamps on their asses to signify their personal destiny. I’m sure you have one too.”

The Master gets an amused smirk as he says, “Yeah. I noticed yours is an hourglass. I have to say, that fits you to a tee.” He shrugs. “Of course I’ve seen a dozen others with that exact same mark. Is that a coincidence or are they your future incarnation too? If so, I have to say that you, Doctor, get pretty sexy in some of them.”

“I doubt the majority of those you’ve seen with a similar mark is-”

“Not just similar, Doctor, but exactly the same mark,” the Master insists. “It’s as if somebody copied and pasted the same mark on a dozen ponies as a cheap animation short-cut.”

I wave a hoof as I say, “Okay, maybe those marks are exactly the same, but I still doubt the majority of them are really me.” I wave a hoof at him. “But I can’t entirely write off that possibility because I actually have been granted extra regeneration cycles.”

The Master widens his eyes at me in shock and leans forward with sudden intense interest as he asks me eagerly, “Are you serious?! Do you really mean that?”

“A generous donation from our people, most likely, or the ponified equivalent at least,” I tell him. “I think it is because they knew I could save them but it would take a lot of time. Indeed, more time that I have to spare so they gave me extra cycles, possibly at their own expense. Because I have more, some of them have less. That energy had to come from somewhere, but it’s worth it if the alternative is their total extinction.”

The Master tilts his head at me as he asks me, “If I agree to help you, do you think they would grant me extra cycles too? Because I’m running pretty low as well.”

“I don’t see why not,” I say with a shrug. “And consider this; as bitter as you are about what our people did to you, these ponified equivalents might be innocent of. They didn’t do this to you. Those who did probably are truly gone, and even if they aren’t, they are a universe off and therefore out of our reach anyway . . . unless some copy of us lingers there still or replaced us.”

“Now there’s an interesting thought,” the Master muses. “That there is a version of me and you in the human universe that always recalled being pony Time Lords before.” He winces at me in confusion as he asks me, “Do you think the Horse Lords here have two hearts as well?”

I shake my head and chuckle before saying to him in amusement, “Horse Lords. I like that! I think I’ll use that one too to distinguish our home from this one.” I then shrug. “Anyway, my working theory so far is yes. The Horse Lords probably do have two hearts as well until proven otherwise.”

“Fair enough,” the Master accepts.

“I know for certain that we do,” I go on. “And I’d like to check on Trixie too.”

He gives me another dismissive wave and reminds me, “Like I said, have at it. If you actually do find something that I overlooked about her then I would like to know too.” He gives a sinister grin. “Maybe she can be more useful to me rather than just spare parts for me.”

“Dude, she’s your daughter! Please at least try to act like a proper father,” I request.

“Like you did?” he reminds me with a teasing grin. “Remind me,” he gestures back and forth between us, “which one of us left Gallifrey first in order to rush off into the Cosmos?”

“I had too!” I argue fiercely with an angry pound on the desk. “If I hadn’t, there would have been other consequences.”

“That’s just an excuse,” the Master dismisses with a wave at me. “You wanted to explore out there. I know because that’s what you’ve always told me ever since.”

“Just because I enjoy it doesn’t mean I wasn’t forced to leave,” I argue further. “I made the best of my situation, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt deep down.”

“Forced to?” the Master checks. “Time and time again I heard the Council complain about the theft of the TARDIS and what you’ve been doing with it.”

“There were other extenuating circumstances,” I admit solemnly. “And I’ll take that secret to my grave.”

The Master sighs then accepts, “Fine. Be that way. It’s not as if I don’t have secrets of my own.”

“Of course you do. What Time Lord, who existed for this long, wouldn’t?”

“Touché,” the Master accepts, then waves a hoof at me. “Now, I’m not saying I am committing to anything, but if I did join you on this crusade to return some approximation of our people, what would that . . .” He winces as he trails off then shakes his head. “Honestly, after everything they put the both of us through, why would this be worth it? Convince me of that point first before I agree to anything else.”

I set the shot glass on his desk then tell him, “Fair enough. While it is true we suffered some tragedy in our mutual past, we have a chance for a do-over here. A fresh start, and this time we can face it on our terms.”

The Master lifts an eyebrow a bit, feeling intrigued, and bids me, “Go on.”

“Let’s just say that I’m willing to meet you halfway on your ambitions if you meet me halfway on mine,” I compromise. “After all, exploration will likely be required to conquer a challenge this monumental. If you explore with me, we’ll find out, together, what our options are.” I wave a hoof at him. “Basically you can consider this reconnaissance and resource gathering.”

“To what end?” the Master prompts as he lifts his face with a hoof which he is leaning on, the elbow of which is on the arm of his chair now.

“To not only save our people, but to make changes to their laws as well,” I tell him.

“Ooo!” He suddenly looks very intrigued. “Now we’re talking!”

“I still don’t plan to rule anything, but changes would have to be made to ensure their society doesn’t collapse for the same reasons that it did before,” I explain.

“Of course,” he accepts but he looks a little bored now. “But when you say changes . . .”

“That’s among the reasons we need to explore,” I press. “That gives us time to strategize and plan. To find out what’s out there and give us new ideas.”

“So you wish to rebuild our people from the ground up?” the Master checks with me. “Basically like the forefathers of America did?”

“Essentially, yes,” I agree. “Because we have to. If no changes are made then the same results will occur again.”

The Master collects his hooves together and gives me a piercing and thoughtful stare over them.

“If you join me, not only might they give you extra regeneration cycles, but you’ll have a chance to be part of the new foundation,” I press. “That’s among what I mean when I say we have a chance for redemption here. We have been wronged before . . . but now we have a chance to make it right again. I know you’re bitter and angry about what they did to you and you have every right to be, but hypothetically speaking . . . if we had a chance for a do-over, what exactly would you change?” I lift a hoof. “You don’t have to answer that yet. We both have time to really think about the details of that answer.

“My point is, there is room for both of our goals here. A little bit of exploration over here and a little bit of conquest over there. A broken system has to be repaired if any of them are going to make it again so we have to address this issue anyway. Given all that, what say you?”

“I am intrigued, but I’m also concerned,” the Master answers. “Right now it’s just the two of us. Do you really think that is a problem?”

“For the longest time, I thought I was the last of the Time Lords,” I tell him. “That was essentially true. Consider this . . . what if I had died back then? There were plenty of chances for that. Plenty of times I was nearly taken out, and there will probably be many more to come. If that had happened or does happen, there will be no Time Lords at all. Imagine that. Our entire culture . . . gone. Forever!

“Now tell me,” I wave a hoof at him, “are you really more comfortable with that prospect instead?”

The Master looks annoyed that I asked him that question but he leans back in his seat and looks cornerwise up at the ceiling for a moment as he contemplates that. Eventually he winces and looks back at me and appears reluctant to admit, “No. I suppose not. As much as I hate them for the grievances they have given me, I have selfish pride in our culture too. We’re Time Lords, Doctor! We have innate authority to rule and I can’t help but feel there’s a lot of potential in that. We’re entitled to that destiny. Literally in this case. The sooner you accept that, the better off we’ll be.”

I’m not going to argue with him over that point again. I have a much larger agenda here.

He lifts a hoof as he says, “For the moment, let’s say I was aboard with your plan.” He pours himself another shot and lifts it to toast me as he asks me, “What is our largest obstacle in our way? Whom must I destroy?”

I gulp as I answer nervously, “The Time War. We have to tame that first before we have a serious shot at success with this mission.”

He almost downs his new shot while I was talking but then he freezes in shock then looks at me sideways with wide, suddenly red-cracked eyes. He then puts his shot glass back down on the desk then leans forward while pressing both of his hooves on his desk. He leans on it so much that his back muscles flex. He gives me an ominously looming expression as he menaces in a demanding tone, “You better be joking!”

I deflate a bit as I say, “Believe me, I wish I was.” I shake my head. “But the downfall of the Horse Lords here is the same as the Time Lords. We need to deal with the same obstacle if we are to-”

“No. No!” The Master cries out in alarm as he suddenly plugs both ears on top of his head.

“That’s why I need you!” I press insistently. “You know the Time Lords almost as well as I do and I can’t do this-”

“NOOOOOOOOOO!” the Master screams in extremely fearful denial.

“ADOMINOUS!” I scream out his true name in a desperate effort to cease his attention again.

Still screaming and shaking his head in denial, he eventually whirls about and smashes through several glass vases in a row that was on a shelf behind him. He does this with his cane.

After they shatter, though, there is sudden and deafening silence in the room. The tension in the air feels so thick that it actually hinders my ability to breathe.

I knew this was going to be the trickiest part in convincing him to join me, but he has to know how serious this issue is and why I can’t afford to ignore it. He also needs to know why I need his help despite our troubled history together. For my plans to succeed, I can’t be the only Time Lord onboard with this mission.

“SIR!” screechesa mare who bursts into the room. “Are you alright?”

Looking back at her, I notice this tan-yellow mare looking at me accusingly. Obviously she’s singling me out as a possible cause to her “Master’s” outcry.

The Master’s shoulders slump then he expresses tiredly, “Thank you for your concern, Mirage, but I got this hoofled.” He waves his right hoof over his right shoulder dismissively. “You may go now.”

“Are you sure, Sir?” Mirage double-checks with him as she continues giving me a piercing stink-eye.

“GO!” The Master roars demandingly as he half turns his head to the right at the speed of a snap. For just a moment his voice was monstrously multi-tonal, which is a clear signal that he is no ordinary pony.

Feeling startled, the mare leaves in a hurry after that and shuts the door to his office again.

Which once again leaves the office in oppressive silence. We could probably hear a pin drop at this point.

The Master stabs his cane in front of him and leans on it as heavily as he does in his portrait in this room except it is much more clear he is brooding.

The tense silence is sliced by him first after a while.

“Really, Doctor? Shouting my real name like that?” He glares back at me over his left shoulder and under the rim of his fedora hat. “I can do that about you too, you know, or would you rather I spread that news to the Equestrian Daily?”

“Sorry,” I say as I lift my forehooves in surrender. “I just needed your attention. Nothing more.”

The Master slowly looks forward again as he releases a breath, but it almost sounds like bile from the hateful gurgle.

“Look. I know you're traumatized by the Time War,” I tell him sympathetically. “I don’t know of a single soul who went through it and wasn’t. Not even the Daleks.”

“Don’t even mention their name!” the Master insists as he halfway lifts up a hoof to his side.

“Well regardless, they are involved too and they need to be dealt with,” I express resolutely. “But this time I plan to handle it on my own terms.”

“How?” he asks me as he turns his head only slightly to the left again but otherwise keeping his back to me.

“Recruiting you, for one,” I answer. “I think I have enough enemies and objectives on my plate considering what I have in mind. For once in our lives, I want us on the same page with this one because the end results here will affect us both.”

He turns his head forward again and resumes brooding.

“You’re not the only one as well,” I go on. “Unlike before, I don’t plan on stopping with my personal companions. To accomplish this monumental task, I’m going to need an army of my own. A good one.”

“An army, huh?” The Master scoffs as he finally turns to face me since what I said amused him enough to calm him back down a bit. “That’s unlike you, Doctor.” He then peers at me seriously. “In fact, there was only one other time when I heard you use language like that, and that was during the Time War.”

“Aye,” I agree as I give a solemn nod. “Except this time I plan to face the War as nothing but me. As the Doctor. Those I plan to recruit will have similar talents, too. As for you,” I nod at him, “we may not have seen eye to eye on many things, but you have always been my closest equal. Besides that, what is at stake here is something else we equally share. We have this connection together and I don’t think we’ll ever get another chance to get this close to getting our home back.

“When we do, though, it’ll go better than it did before because this time we are the authors of this story. Until then I’ll keep on fighting for a better tomorrow. Do I stand alone?”

I let the question hang in the air.

The Master very slowly makes his way around his desk. His expression mostly remains unreadable as he makes his way to me. I can’t dismiss the possibility he’s about to kill me when he arrives at my position and I find myself wishing Vision was here to give me the head’s up about this.

But in a way she is here, though. She’s the one who sent me on this mission in the first place, and I trust her.

He stands quietly beside me and faces past me at first, but then raises a hoof and applies it to my left shoulder.

“For old times sake, my ancient friend . . . I will join you on a trial basis,” the Master compromises. “And you’re right.” His hoof slides off my shoulder and rests at the end of his cane. “There are issues here that are very personal to me. I may not sound it, but I’m grateful that you at least offered to get me involved.”

He looks down with a chuckle as he realizes something else before saying, “You always have been the better diplomat.” He then gives me a cunning and dark look. “But what I do . . . is something you don’t specialize in. Like it or not, Doctor, us monsters do have our place in the universe. It’s a cruel place out there, after all, and sometimes one needs sharp claws and fangs of our own.”

Feeling too tired to argue right now and I don’t wish to push my luck now that I’m getting some success, I pat his back as I say, “I’ll take it.”