"We're going to head to the Market," said Robert. "We need to pick up some supplies, and I want to see what Livestock are up for Auction, especially the Ferals, or those marked Dangerous."
"Father, I know that those tend to be cheaper, but Livestock of the Forth Generation and Onwards are easier to manage," said James, as they got into the truck.
"True, but they aren't any fun to Control," said Robert. "There's something about taking a human that thinks it could take you, and Taming them to the point that, if you fell asleep near them, they won't try to kill you, even if a very convenient blade is nearby. Besides, it's part of the Legacy that Jessabelle Wolfe, your great-great-great-great-great grandmother, pioneered. She was skilled at Control - she could convince a Feral to crawl down her throat after just talking to them. No whips, no drugs, no threats - simply look them in the eye, and talk to them, was all she did. Well, that and some sexual foreplay, among other things. Her rules were rather simple -
Step 1 - Make them Utterly Helpless. A simple full course visit to the Vet will induce that in them, in a safe manner. Of course, picking up injured ones, or orphans, or others that are otherwise defenseless will do. That being said, never be the direct reason for causing them to be helpless.
Now, the following steps kind of all go together, and are done at the same time -
Step 2 - Treat them Kindly - Be nice to them, treat their injuries, be friendly, talk to them, and so on.
Step 3 - Look them in the Eyes - Maintain eye-contact whenever possible. Look right inside their body, and soul. Make them think that you know what they are thinking.
Step 4 - Never Get Aggressive at Them - They will fight if they think that they are in physical danger. If they are throwing a tantrum, simply wait them out. If they try to hit you, let them. Eventually, they will tire.
Step 5 - Give them Affection - they are a social creature. Make as if you are their friend, that you have no plans to cause them harm. Give them comfort when they are feeling depressed. In fact, if you find out about a mare being depressed, ask them if they want to have sex with you. A good mating can cheer them up.
End result, the Feral will be Safe to work with. Granted, it's not the same as Conditioning, but at least you can sleep in an open field, with a knife nearby, and not worry that the feral will try to stab you with it."
"You might have a point there," said James. "It does sound like fun to try to do."
Robert chuckled. "It's the reason that I can enjoy sleeping under my favorite tree with John sitting near me with that walking stick of his. He might talk a big game about how he's going to kill me one day, but he's unable to."
"Is there any issues with it?" James asked.
"Accidents can occur," said Robert. "Lost a couple of teeth when I accidently snuck up on John once - he spun around, and hit me in the jaw."
"Explains why you tell us to not try doing that to him," said James.
"But, the biggest thing is this - never get upset with them," said Robert. "Never try to hit them, or anything of that sort. It will break their Taming. Also, never outright lie to any of the livestock. There was a Livestock Uprising a few years back - farm had set up a Free Range Village - drugged five thousand of-age livestock about 25 years ago, so that they had no memory, all the females pregnant. Made them think that they were Free, with the werewolves and vampires seeming to be menial laborers. Fast-forward twenty years, almost time for harvest, and some Ferals showed up, and exposed everything. All the Marked Livestock pulled the biggest Decoy maneuver I've heard of - five thousand of them fighting the farmhands, owners, police, and military, using stolen tools, weapons, and so on. It was crushed of course, with the owners facing a huge fine, being forced out of business, the Livestock being reduced to Grades D and F, and the owner could no longer farm humans. But, here's the biggest thing - all the unmarked, underaged livestock, three thousand of them, were gone. Some say that the Ferals simply killed them and dumped the bodies. Others though, say that the Ferals shared them among the Wild Herds, raising them as their own. Either way, it's a good lesson to learn from."
"Yeah, like let them know that they would be Meals one day," said James. "Probably remind them occasionally too."
"Might be a good idea," said Robert. "All our livestock know this. Even John does, for all his claims about never allowing me to eat him."
"Speaking of John, I know he's Prime Grade and all, but why do you tolerate some of the things he does?" James asked. "I mean, he hit Uncle Fred with that stick of his!"
Robert sighed. "He's Protected by the Law. He saved my life."
"When?" James asked.
"The day I captured him," said Robert. "I was looking for a Prime Grade Buck. Armed with a tranquillizer gun, I went after a herd that was nearby, the Wrangler herd. I had a capture permit and everything. I was spotted. The herd decided to run, but I wasn't going to give up. That's when John made a choice - face me, to buy his herd time to escape, kill me if he could, or at least prevent me from giving chase at any rate. He was ready to die for his herd. Club in one hand, spear in the other, he faced me."
"What happened?" James asked.
"I wasn't the only one out hunting," said Robert. "A bear was in the area, and it was hungry. Took me by surprise, and messed up several of my ribs. That was when John made another choice - attack the bear. Bear put up a good fight, messing up John's leg pretty badly - he'll never run again - but John managed to kill it. That was when I made a choice - Claim John as mine, so that he could receive medical attention."
"Explains a few things," said James.
"There's more," said Robert. "Billy was born twelve months later. It doesn't take that long for a werewolf cub to develop."
James blinked as he recalled his biology lessons. "No, it doesn't. So, you own him for Billy."
Robert nodded. "Plus any sibling that you might have as a result of me in the future."
"Okay, so just what's the reason that we're looking at the For-Sale Livestock?" James asked.
"Because he saved me, John's blood relatives are also Protected," said Robert. "Also, we get first chance at owning them. John had a son that should be about yours and Hanna's age. He also had a mate, who would be about the same as mine and your mother's age. I placed a Blind Bid of $500,000 for any of them, the moment that I got John Registered, along with any of their relations."
"That's the average price of a B Minus," said James. "What if they turned out to be Ds. or Fs? That's Pet Food at best and Fertilizer at worst. Pretty pricy."
"I'd spend over a million dollars on an F-Grade for that buck," said Robert. "It's not easy to put a price on life."
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