When Glade gets home Brock opens the door before he gets to it. "Is she ok?"
"Yes. I got water for her but she had fallen asleep by the time I got back to her so I left her."
"You sure she's ok?"
"This is not the first time this has happened. My abilities must have stopped it the first time I met her. She broke out of a dream because she wanted me to take more than I needed."
"Fetishist?"
"I think not, only a want for some form of passion."
"Why not talk like everyone else?"
"Because I choose to speak like this."
"You're using a way of talking that was before even your time."
"Malise spoke this way, and so shall I."
"Whatever. How long have you known her?"
"About a week."
"It might all be a bit much for her."
"I let her choose when to meet me."
"Yeah, but some people don't know when something's no good for them."
"They seem to be drawn to things which are bad for them."
"Exactly."
"Who have you seen recently?"
"Ran into Sabre."
"Where?"
"Ninety miles away at Northampton and moving north. He always was more friendly with me, no idea why."
"He sees you as his grand-father."
"But he's not so friendly with you and you're my teacher. He's a fruit loop, and you know he needs to be stopped."
"It is because he is mad that we leave him, he can not be taught."
"And what happens when he decides he wants to kill a few people?"
"He has never done anything like that."
"There's a first time for everything. What if he does?"
"It is not down to me to decide, you know that."
"Then maybe it's time we started choosing leaders the human way."
"You can see what the human way has done to them, we can not afford to have that happen with us."
"Maybe not, but we do need something."
"We have something. In fourteen years I will be an elder, and I will decide matters for any who ask me."
"That's what I mean, we have so many elders and so many options, that there's no standardised system for anything. Younglings have changed others at as young as eight years old but others can't get permission for then to change someone at fourteen, we need something."
"I see what you mean."
"A standardised system, or at least a panel of elders instead of individuals. Just so we get fair judgement for everyone."
"Yes, but how would we choose?"
"Like humans."
"But their system is not that simple. To be leader, an elder needs to have at least a particular number of votes, that system failed this year and ended only when one left the battle."
"Then we would simplify it. Whoever gets the most wins."
"You would not have much say in what happens for another fifty two years."
"But I would have a better system to grow up in if this system was put in place."
"There would not be enough who would support it."
"No, I guess not. Oh well. It's nice to talk about it."
"Yes. It is nice to plan things and think about how it might work. Have you seen any others?"
"Not many, I've been sticking to the country most of the time. Saw Lana and Mako. Did you know they got captured?"
"No."
"They're fine, can't say much for poor old Aster. They de-clawed him with bolt cutters."
"Did he....."
"No, he found a mate when we got everyone else out and she knew a doctor who tidied up his hands for him. Don't know what he'll say happened to them. Probably say he got frostbite on them. Fulmine's got two young ones now too."
"Yes I knew that. Silly girl taking on two at a time. She's only just over the age to do it. Fleur and Oceano is it?"
"Yeah, she only did it because they ended up as mates."
"Yes I had heard that, but they want to go off on their own as soon as Fleur turns fifteen."
"I hope she's taught them well enough."
"I should think so, she was always a good learner when she was with you."
"She did have a short attention span though, always did even when she was human."
"But she learned everything well in the end."
"I'm worrying that she's going to have gotten bored every time she tried to teach them something."
"Yes, that might be a problem. You could always go visit them."
"No I can't. Oceano is aggressive toward me and he's not going to leave his mate just because I want to chat."
"Could you arrange for Fulmine to take him somewhere?"
"Possibly, but probably not without Fleur. Have you seen them yet?"
"I have."
"Have you seen Fleur's eyes?"
"No, I noticed that her eyes are green, but I have not seen her light."
"Shame, Fulmine said it's pink, but that's so rare I'm not sure to believe her."
"Rare, but not impossible. I don't think she would lie about it."
"It would make her the teacher of a rarity, so she might."
"I doubt it."
"You are the teacher of a rarity too, remember Raven's ability."
"Yeah, weird. I wonder where he got it from."
"Your natural ability is to block pain, am I right?"
"Yes, but I don't use it now. I much prefer to be the seducer type."
"I thought that it might be that his is just an extension of your ability."
"Abilities do seem to run in a family sometimes."
"I just had an idea. Do you think Oceano would be calmer with you there?"
"Possibly. Do you wish to try it?"
"Yes please, if you don't mind."
"No problem. Tonight?"
"Yeah. Worth a try and if e accepts me with you there he's more likely to accept me when you're not." Glade nods and they go.
Fulmine goes to investigate when they get into her territory and immediately recognises them.
F: "Hello."
B: "Hi."
G: "Hello."
F: "Did you need something?"
B: "Not really, I wondered how Fleur and Oceano are."
F: "They're fine."
G: "And you?"
F: "Thanks. I'm fine too."
B: "I thought if I came here with Glade, Oceano might not keep trying to kill me every time I saw him."
F: "Ok. They're hunting tonight, so if he can accept you tonight, he'll be fine in the future."
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