When they get back Rachel sits down with a book and Glade draws. After a few minutes he looks up because he can hear Rachel breathing differently. She's fallen asleep. He smiles and puts down his drawing, and gently takes the book. Then he finds a blanket to put over her, and leaves her to sleep. She wakes up about an hour later when someone slams a car door. "I'm so sorry, I should have stayed home"
"Do not worry yourself about it. I should have said something about you always coming to find me. I may not need to sleep often, but you do."
"Sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. Stay for as long as you like, but I would prefer it for your own health that you stay home tomorrow night to sleep."
"I will. What you drawing now?"
"Fleur and Oceano." She wanders round to look at it.
"It's good. Like a photo."
"It almost is a photograph. We remember things brightly, so with any ability to draw, we produce images like this."
"I've seen your other pictures, but not one like this."
"Most of my pictures are for my interest. This one is to produce something which shows a true likeness to what I saw." He gets up and digs out some coloured pencils to finish his picture properly. "He looks happy."
"Yes. I told them that they have permission to find their own territory, which means Oceano can now relax and become the man Fleur knew two years ago."
"Why would he have changed?"
"When we are young we do not worry about others. At around two years old we start to become protective of the territory we live in."
"Makes sense. Young children don't seem to have any sense of fear for a couple of years."
"It is similar. When we change, it is not all at once. Some things take a while. Most can not learn a new ability before they are six months old."
"How does that work?"
"Some compare it to tuning a radio. Others compare it to learning how to cook something new."
"What can you do?"
"Learning many abilities does not interest me, but I know how to stop pain. It is useful at times. There are at least seven identified abilities with variations between them. Some have two which are used together. Some have something which is close to two so it is hard to identify what it is."
"What are those seven then?"
"Dream caster creates a dream but is not controlled. Dream weaver, like me, which means I control the dreams I create and I can see what will be more effective because your mind thinks through all possibilities. Sleep caster induces sleep and it can be awkward while reducing it gently. Seducer is an awkward one to use because it depends on what the target likes. A perfect target is no good if they do not like us. Incubus or succubus are a stronger form. Hypnose will make a target not care about what happens, or not remember. Memory manipulation is not considered a hunting ability so it is not counted but it is like hypnose in a way. Pain blocker is the most useful because it can be used for any pain, not just hunting."
"Is it strong enough to do an operation on someone?"
"Yes. It is. Brock did just that for Raven's friend to heal his shoulder. He had been stabbed and Brock did not have time to heal him properly, so only healed the skin."
"Yuck." Glade smiles, then goes back to his picture. Rachel looks at the pictures on the walls again and finds a drawing of a different couple. The woman has silver eyes, and the man has blue. "Who are they?" Glade looks round and answers while finishing his picture.
"They are Lana and Mako."
"Mako being the man?"
"Yes. I have not seen them for a long time. I wonder if they could some here, or if I should go to them."
"I think it's more polite if you invite them here."
"Yes. Though if I can visit Raine I can go to see her, then go to Lana and Mako."
"Why not stay with Raine?"
"She would kill me. She has such strong territorial instincts that she would try to kill any who invaded her territory. She can not even keep her own younglings near her for more than twelve years."
"Tell me when they come over and I'll stay home."
"Thank you. You will rest tomorrow night won't you?"
"Of course I will."
"I think you should stay home more often."
"I don't. I might like going out at night."
"But you are more tired than is good for you."
"How can you not sleep? Everything sleeps."
"We are different. We do something which is like sleep but we are aware of what happens around us. When we need or want to do something we simply open our eyes."
"Cool. I think I'll go home now."
"You should not drive while this tired."
"How else is my car going to get home?"
"I can drive."
"How long since you drove?"
"Not long."
"You're over a hundred years old, how long is not long?"
"Fourteen years."
"Too long."
"Please do not crash."
"I won't."
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