Quoted By:
"I'll keep them in mind. Thank you, sheriff."
You sat yourself up a little straighter. "You mentioned, earlier, how I was insisting that these newcomers were not a threat."
An eager nod from the sheriff interrupted your opener. You continued.
"And I stand by that. Unless you attack them first, I don't think there's much reason t' fear these creatures."
The sheriff sat up as straight as you had, immediately moving to correct you. "We didn' do anythin' to those birds, Buchanan."
You kept your posture. "I saw the gunshots, sheriff. You may not have hit them, but you most cert'nly caught their attention."
Your eyes drifted to the sheep pacing around your chair, seemingly looking for some kind of threat. "I didn't provoke this little blue fella, and he did nothin' to me. In fact, he understood my intentions well enough t' seemingly bond t' me, and I've had some trouble shakin' him off since." Another quiet chuckle escaped you. It was funny to think that you were even trying to rid yourself of its company. "These new arrivals are certainly smarter than your average sheep or bird. They understand kindness and know what we mean by 'em."
"I think, if ah can do it an' come out unscathed, there's nothing stopping you and your town from holdin' off on the pistols and provokin' fights until one of them's already made an aggressive move." You kept your tone steady and your voice quiet.
The sheriff seemed to take slight offense to your implications, but he didn't respond until he'd seemingly cooled down a little. "I assure you, boy, that our town has no problems with this sorts'a stuff until our folks are provoked. We're already takin' your advice."
"I'm glad to hear that." You hoped the sheriff was being genuine and that what you'd witnessed earlier was just a fluke. "...though, I figure it'd be irresponsible of me not to let you know of the metal-eaters."
"The met'l eaters?"
"You've already had a close encounter with 'em, if my memory's got things right." You jabbed a finger at the messy hallway that led to the jail cells. Or, what remained of it.
"...right. Those devils."
