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Subject: {ASSM} Marie's Solstice 08/14 Unicorn Flight (new) TBD
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Date: Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:10:07 -0400
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Marie's Solstice 08/14 Unicorn Flight (new)
---

This overlaps the end of 'Jessica: Part Two', then moves on.
---

Marie's Solstice part 05: Unicorn Flight
---


After she watched her girls and Jessica go into Jessica's room, Kay
breathed a soft sigh of relief before she went hunting for Tom and
Roberta.  As it turned out, all she had to do to find both of them,
was follow her nose to the upper deck.

She paused at the top of the stairs, then laughed when she realized
Tom had one of the portable grills set up, and he was acting as the
chef, while Roberta was settled in a lounge and apparently swapping
stories with any kids willing to slow down long enough.

She finished her trip, and waved a hand at the grill.  "Need any help
burning the food?"

Tom chuckled.  "Got plenty, thanks.  I've been letting the kids teach
me how to cook their favorite foods."

Her eyebrows went up slightly, and he shrugged before he stirred what
he was working on.  "They're still pretty shell shocked.  Figured this
would be a good way to ease them into things, while we wait for Chrys
to show up."

"And when will that be?"

"Merlin is still putting her back together.  Few hours, yet.  Plenty
of time for your girls and Jessica to start sorting out their lives."

"What about ours?"

"Yeah.  Ours, too.  I like that, 'The Big Guy'.  Obsessed SOB, if I
look at him the wrong way.  Still not sure what the Hell set him off
like that."

"You actually think you're going to have a chance to understand him?"

He gestured slightly, and she felt the shield go up.  "Yeah. 
Something we should have seen a long time ago."

"Oh?  Mind if I note that you're in an odd mood?"

"After we got married, Roberta and I spent a few years drifting in the
past."

"A few?"

"We lost track at about thirty, and decided it didn't matter any
more."

"You have an odd definition of 'a few', but that comes with
immortality."

"Yeah.  She's quite a woman."

"Most of us are, when we link up with a man who sees us as ourselves."

He chuckled.  "Your point.  Anyway, she came up with a concept about
the Big Guy, that...  Makes more sense than anything I've come up
with.  He's finally growing up and becoming an adult. So, naturally,
he's...  More family oriented than he's been."

Kay thought about it, and finally came over to sample some of the food
he was cooking.  "Interesting flavors.  Sounds like a pretty crude
analogy, since as far as we know, there's only one of him."

Tom laughed.  "Well...  That's just it.  Until recently, he's been in
a long distance relationship with his...  Significant other.  If we
think of Merlin and I as visible expressions of his 'male aspects',
and Chrys as the female aspect of Rabelaisia..."

Kay froze and stared at him.  "I think I see where you're headed.  Are
you thinking that essentially, *we*, collectively, are the basic
aspects of his personality, and if we want to have a better
understanding of *him*, we only need to understand ourselves?"

"Yes.  It's a stretch, but think of Chrys as a hormone that he needed,
to start the next stage of his maturation."

"Might be better, if we consider both Zeitgeists to be herms, and
they're cross fertilizing each other."

"True."

He waved his free hand at the kids who were scattered around the
deck.  "Not all sperm survive to fertilize an egg.  They don't look
like much, but those are some of the strongest 'sperm' on Earth, and
what Chrys is going to do later, is offer them a chance to move to a
new world, so they can have a chance to do what can't be done here."

"Survival of the fittest?"

"Yep.  It's not a one-sided exchange.  Solstice is when she's going to
announce that a group of normal Rabelaisian kids is going to finish
their education in Marie's school, as exchange students."

Kay sighed.  "As if we didn't have enough to worry about.  At least
things have quieted, about her announcing the limits on Paparazzi."

He snorted.  "That *was* exciting, wasn't it?"

"Excitement I could have done without.  I'm used to working with
smaller scale emergencies."

He sneezed his disgust.  "We all are.  Had to be done, but...  Anyway,
that should have told us that the rules have changed, and *he* has
changed, too.  I sure wasn't expecting him to go proactive on us,
after all these millenia."

She thought about it, then opted to get a plate of food before she
nibbled and watched the kids for awhile.

Eventually she sighed.  "I have the impression Roberta made the
connection before you and the grrls did?"

"Yes."

He waved at one of the girls and gestured for her to take over the
cooking chores.  "Ok, Indrakshi.  You adjust the heat with these
knobs.  If you need something, just ask Mahika or Sandra, and they'll
get it for you.  Got it?"

"Yes...  Haashim.  Thank you very much."

His eyebrows went up, then he smiled and bent his head slightly. 
"You're welcome.  I hope I am able to do my new name much honor, as
you live up to yours, young lady."

She ducked her head, then turned to the portable grill and started
preparing the next batch of food, once he and Kay moved to settle on
one of the lounges.

Kay got comfortable between his legs, then leaned against his chest
and went back to eating.

Once she finished, and motioned Sandra over to collect her plate and
utensils, she stayed silent for a few minutes, while Tom wrapped her
in a hug.

Finally she sighed.  "Over thirty years?"

"Yeah.  We decided we should make sure we had plenty of time to get
past the problems, so we could keep that stuff from fucking up Jessica
more than she already is."

"Must have been quite a surprise, to find yourself in a long term
relationship with a relatively normal woman."

"Definitely.  She's probably the most proactive of all of us.  Might
be due to being the western world's best investigative reporter.  Want
to know the funniest part of what happened?"

"Since you're dying to tell me, yes, even though I should say no."

He laughed.  "Good thing you're lying down.  We never shape shifted,
and it was just the two of us, except for the brother and sister we
'adopted', shortly after we hit San Francisco."

"Was she afraid to shift?"

"No.  We talked it over, and decided to be, as best we could, a normal
husband and wife, while we had the chance to slow down and savor
life.  We might do it again, but next time, she'd like to do the time
travel as a family."

"Family outings?"

"More or less."

"Let's see how things work out between my girls and Jessica.  Cathy
said they offered to take her somewhen so she could take the time to
recover, and she turned them down.  Said it would be like running
away.  She's got a good point, since not many survivors will get the
chance to do that."

He sighed.  "She's one tough young woman.  Going to be rare enough,
that this batch will have the chance to go to Rabelaisia and start
over."

Kay touched his hands and sighed.  "Do you have the feeling that
suddenly, both worlds have become the other's new frontier?"

"Yes.  Not going to be easy, sending these guys off, while I know that
a lot of them are going to wind up having their memories taken away
from them."

"Better than the alternatives they face here, if things don't work out
for them."

"I know."

He waved Roberta over, and after she bent so they could share a
lingering kiss, he smiled at her.  "May I spoil the two of you, some
more?  The ramp is still down, and that beach was made for lovers to
walk on."

Roberta straightened and studied the kids, then moved so she could
study Kay, before she smiled faintly.  "Lady Kay?  Do you think the
three of us will be able to take a break from all this, and spend some
linear time for ourselves, before we dive back in?"

Kay laughed.  "He's already admitted Vel is due in a few hours, so we
have at least that long.  Perhaps...  If you can handle riding
bareback, I can shift to my flying unicorn, then you can snuggle into
Tom's arms while I fly us to somewhere more private."

Roberta studied Kay, then shook her head.  "How...  Ordinary.  Since
none of us are that, instead of running away and hiding, I think I
want to find out what it's like to be a little girl again.  Are you
willing to reprise yesterday's performance?"

Kay laughed.  "I'd love to.  I'm tired of being a recluse, and this
will give Hubert and Vel some more time for themselves, after she... 
Changes local reality, for these kids."

* * *

Kay shifted, which got her instant attention from the kids that were
present, then Tom said his goodbyes to Mahika and Sandra before he
mounted Kay.

Once he was settled, he reached down and helped Roberta get up, then,
after she settled, he wrapped her in a hug.  "You want this to be
sedate, or...  Brisk?"

"What do you folks call brisk?"

Kay turned her head so she could watch Roberta.  "Brisk is when Tom
handles the shielding and staying on me, while I focus on the flying
and...  Stunt work.  Since we have limited space available, I'd brace,
rear, and launch almost vertically, before I climb and hit my cruising
altitude as quickly as I can."

Roberta thought about it, then nodded.  "And sedate?"

"Mahika and Sandra clear us a runway from the front to the back, then
I gallop it until I run out of space.  At that point I start flying,
and we ease up to cruising altitude before I cruise the coastline and
do the fancy flying."

Roberta laughed.  "Sounds a lot like a carrier launch versus a normal
take off.  Been in both.  Let's do this briskly."

Kay laughed.  "Tom?"

"Ready when you are."

"We're gone!"

Kay reared, then stroked powerfully as she pushed off.  In a matter of
seconds she was at five hundred feet and leveling out.

Then, without warning them, she did a barrel roll, before she started
beating her wings strongly and driving for speed.

Within minutes they were moving at a speed that had Roberta laughing. 
"Whoooeeee!  Go, girl!"

Tom hugged her a little tighter and laughed with her.  "In case you're
wondering, she's loafing along at about 350 mph."

"Loafing?!"

Kay giggled.  "Of course.  People get upset when I go supersonic at
this altitude."

Roberta stiffened, then let herself giggle hysterically.  "A
supersonic unicorn?!  That's sooo... Crazy!"

Tom laughed harder.  "Drives the controllers and pilots nuts, when she
links up with an international flight at sea, then stays with it until
they both land at Heathrow.  Her call sign is 'Unicorn One', when she
has to be official."

Kay laughed.  "He's being mendacious."

"Oh?"

"Yes.  At least *I* have wings.  Can you imagine the consternation
when a pack of three wolves paces me, and they're running in mid air,
at over 30,000 feet?"

"Oh, Lord!"

Her laughter doubled her over.

Eventually she straightened and regained her breath.  "Jessica's story
should have been a big hint, that you aren't the sober folks most
people think you are."

Tom sighed.  "Generally, we're sober enough, when we're working. 
Sure, we know how to relax in those odd moments that any job gives a
person, but eventually, we have to just let go and get the stress out
of our systems.  I and the grrls do it a lot more than Kay and her
people do, of course."

"Girls, with a growl?"

"Yes.  It's a habit I started decades ago."

"Oh.  I should have remembered that, from the few stories of yours I
read, and you using it during our honeymoon.  It's apt, isn't it?"

"Very."

"This is...  An odd experience.  We're sitting on a mythological
beast, bareback, and cruising at a speed most folks would find
terrifying, because we have no visible protection."

"But?"

"There is that, isn't there?  Maybe some of Kay's serenity is rubbing
off on me, because all I feel is safe, and loved.  Because of that, I
can sit here and relax enough to enjoy the experience."

Kay tipped her ears back at Roberta.  "Thank you.  Tom mentioned that
you two spent a large chunk of time in the past.  I think the two of
you had more than enough time to learn to trust each other with your
lives, as well as your hearts."

Roberta leaned and touched Kay's neck.  "And you're the Mother of The
World.  I don't have to be a sensitive to know how much you love all
of us.  That helps the most."

"Are you ok with us being co-wives?"

"Oh, yes.  I think the Big Guy had something to do with that, because
until Lady Chrystal married us according to Rabelaisia custom, I
always felt that I would prefer to be monogamous.  I can now... 
Appreciate the advantages of vows that are inclusive of all sexes,
shapes, species and numbers of partners."

Tom sighed.  "That's a good thing."

Roberta sobered.  "I know.  The links make it pretty obvious that
Jessica and Kay's girls are a solid trio."

"Marriage vows or not, they're life-mated, and I'm certain they all
know it by now.  It was also obvious, last night, that Jessica is far
more comfortable with dogs, than she is people."

"Bitches, Honey.  She mentioned going to sleep with her head on
Liberty's side, after Liberty changed to being a bitch."

Kay spoke up thoughtfully.  "I don't think it matters, as long as one
of the people with her isn't human in shape."

Roberta touched Tom's hands and sighed.  "Dogs and horses.  Well,
mares, so far.  Oh, probably wolves, but we'd better move slowly on
that, in private."

Kay twitched an ear.  "Let's not forget that she wants to learn how to
be a flying unicorn."

"She...  Does?"

"Yes.  I have a feeling she wants to keep the promise she made to
Jim."

"Been a lot happening in her life, so I'll forgive her for not
mentioning that dream.  Doesn't surprise me.  Seems like when you get
most girls next to horses, they either fall in love with them, wish
they could fly, or both."

Tom chortled.  "And you?"

"City girl, and woman, in spite of those years in non linear time. 
Done some recreational riding, so I know the basics, but that's it as
far as muscle memory is concerned.  Most of my adventures have been
technological.  Did a documentary on a fighter squadron, and got
myself adopted as their mascot, because I was able to convince them I
had bigger balls than most of them."

"Ah.  I never pay much attention to the news, so to me, you were just
another talking head, until you tangled with Marie, then Kay set me up
for the kill by asking Jess if she wanted me to be her father."

Roberta laughed.  "She described that encounter.  She...  Said meeting
you was like having her dream father come to life."

"Really?  All I did was treat her the same way I was treating Kay."

"Being mendacious, again?  She told me that Kay said you were showing
off."

"I suppose I was.  She mostly kept up, too.  Been there, so I know how
hard that can be."

She sighed.  "I know.  Someday, I'd like to get Mahika off for a
private chat, so I can get her side of that story.  I have yours, and
what's on the net, but I think..."

"You think?"

"I think I'd like to know how the two of you managed to survive what
happened, from her point of view."

He shuddered, then bent and kissed the back of her neck.  "She did
something an elemental isn't supposed to be able to do."

"Oh?"

"She fell in love with a mortal.  Don't forget to ask her about what
happened at Stonehenge, after we met Kay."

Kay turned her head slightly.  "Been a long time since I've felt you
shiver like that. Is this something I can know about, finally?"

"It's simple to say.  I gave Mahika her freedom, then she took off to
go find us some food, after she *sent* me back to deal with you,
instead of going with her, like we'd planned.  Essentially, until
then, she was my slave, and neither one of us had realized it.  The
shackles had rusted away a long time before that, but it took my open
acknowledgment of that fact to let us be...  Equals."

Roberta turned her head and studied his face.  "I know I missed
something."

"The true test of love is being able to let the other person be able
to walk away, so they can come back, someday.  As I once ordered her
to leave my life, and she did, briefly, I told her she could order me
to leave, and I wouldn't fight her decision.  So, she told me to leave
her, and return to Kay, because she knew Kay needed me more than she
did, and I couldn't treat *that* relationship like it was one of my
stories, that I could set aside, then resume it later, as if there had
never been a break."

Tom sighed.   "Kay had been abused, and the most important thing a
person who wants to help, must do, is mean it when they say they'll be
there, always."

Kay shivered slightly, and Roberta focused on her.  "What is it?"

"Memories, mostly.  I think it was the second day I was with them, and
I was just learning how to see and feel power.  Tom fascinated me, and
when he came back without Mahika, he was...  Blank.  If you think of a
person's primary points as fires that generate light, I could see his,
and the way the light from them reached in all our directions. 
Anyway, he came back, and I was terrified, because when I looked with
my inner vision, there was nothing there.  I could see Wolf's centers,
and I could see my own, even though the one for my heart was very
dim."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing.  It was like something in him had died."

"Tom?"

"Back then, I couldn't see auras, only feel them.  Kay's vision was
new to us.  I was numb from the experience of having Mahika order me
away from her, so I shut my emotions off.  It's a legacy of my youth,
when I learned to meditate.  When I let myself feel again, to Kay it
was if I'd been dead, then brought myself back to life by my own
efforts."

Kay snorted.  "Let yourself feel again.  Roberta, the surge blinded
me.  When he said how much he loved me, and proved it, I think that
was when I fell in love with him.  Only problem was, I'd been so hurt,
about a week earlier, I couldn't make my own light reach out to him."

"Huh!  He's an easy man to love, isn't he?  Speaking of that, I know
he spent a lot of time with you when you were very young, and that the
three of them were your tutors in the ways of power.  Doesn't take
much thinking to figure out that twist in time is something you want
to keep secret as long as you can."

Kay bobbed her head.  "True.  I'd put it up there with you hiding your
ability to handle power."

"How did you figure that out?"

"Control affects your basic aura.  Better you are, the more...  Stable
and sharply defined your aura is, when you're relaxed.  Most folks
call it serenity, but it's far more than that.  There's a lot of
self-confidence involved, which is natural, if you've spent a long
time butting your head against the world, and winning. Most of it was
when you mentioned the links amongst Jessica and my girls, and what
they meant."

Tom chuckled.  "Unintended consequences, Lora."

"You did warn me.  So, Kay...  Do you have a destination in mind, or
are you willing to listen to suggestions?"

"I'm a mare right now.  I don't need a destination, as long as I'm
running."

"Runner's high?  Tom got me hooked on jogging, after we got ourselves
settled.  Don't know if I want to try using power to keep myself
going, here, but back when, we had this long beach, that was made for
lovers."

"Let me guess.  You want to go see what it looks like, now?"

"Yes.  It's somewhere on the coast, in Oregon.  I'm pretty certain one
of us will be able to spot where we built our cabin, even though we
never saw it from the air."

Kay laughed.  "You know how it works, right?"

"Picture it for you?"

"Look to your right, and see if I nailed it."

"You tap my deep memories?"

"No.  I cheated, and followed the links you and Tom have to it."

"You...  Care to explain that?  Yes, that's it.  I guess someone else
liked the location, too.  Shall we go see if the beach is public, or
private?"

"Good!  Those are some nice waves.  Made for surfing.

"I used your image and my links to Tom, to find you folks when you
were living here, then I came forward, until just before I hit linear
time. After that, all I had to do was make sure I had a good mental
picture of it before I returned fully, and place slid us in."

Kay slowed her flight, turned around, then did her usual running
landing on the waves, before she folded her wings and ambled across
the water and into the crowd of gawkers.

Finally Tom spoke easily.  "Could someone tell us if this beach is
public or private, and if it's private, where we need to go, to rent a
room, so we have access?"

The lifeguard sighed.  "It's a private beach, and this is a members
only resort.  You can't just buy your way in."

Kay snorted.  "Well, young man, maybe you should use that radio you're
carrying, and call in.  We're the Galahalts, and we've been members
for years, even though we've never been here before today."

"The Galahalts?  Have some ID with you?"

"Tom?  Hand the tedious man our passports."

Tom reached into the air, then offered the man what he held.  "Don't
mind her.  She gets cranky when one of her employees refuses to
recognize her after she's been gone for more than a few years.  Most
women keep track of time better, but she's been distracted by recent
events, and coming here was done impulsively."

He took them, studied them, then handed them back.  "Sorry, Sir."

He focused on Kay,  "Sorry, Ma'am, but you...  Don't look anything
like you do in the picture they have in the investor's portfolio."

She bobbed her head.  "Forgiven, and you still have a job."

"Thank you, Ma'am.  Enjoy your stay.  Should I call ahead and have one
of the investor's suites prepared for you?"

"Not this time.  We'll wander the grounds and beach for awhile, then
be on our way."

"Very good."

Kay ambled away and along the beach.  After they'd left the crowd
behind, Roberta started laughing.  "Tom mentioned that you only time
travel at great need.  May I assume that man's officiousness helped
you make the decision to buy in?"

"You may.  As far as that young man is concerned, he will get a raise
for doing his job properly, and passing my surprise test. 
Fortunately, Kay Galahalt is known to be...  An eccentric.  She is
also impeccably courteous, in spite of her sometimes poor contact with
the reality most people accept as normal."

"Right.  Uh huh...  You a majority partner?"

"Forty-five percent.  I have enough problems, without needing to run a
resort chain for elitists.  And...  I hope the two of you appreciate
the delayed wedding gift."

Roberta laughed.  "We do.  Did you make sure they preserved the
remains of our cabin?"

"Pioneer heritage monument.  It's restored, and a museum, now."

"Evil woman.   Well, there's always the back door, to let us into our
mountain hide-away."

Kay laughed.  "Once one of you unlocks all the spells that hide it,
yes.  Speaking of evil women, who was it who had the common sense to
apply her justice equally, to the innocent and guilty, if they could
hear her?"

"Guilty, your honor.  Someone figured out the hook?"

"A sizable chunk of the world did.   Some folks are claiming you
arbitrarily applied Western values to the world, but that isn't flying
well, because in those cultures that treat fairly with their child
brides, people who are technically guilty of pedophilia, are now
wearing the white flame of truth, as most people are calling it."

Roberta laughed.  "It's going to get worse, if it hasn't already."

"Oh?"

"Yes.  The flames are colored based on the cultural values of the
area, and a few other intangibles, such as inner intent, consent, and
a few other variables.  If a US citizen goes to another country, and
the action is consensual and legal in that country, the flame will be
white, even if someone has pictures and can prove the person is a
pedo.  It's all...  Deliberately murky, because pedophilia as a crime
isn't one size fits all, and nobody has the right to force their
values on the rest of the world, not even myself.  Then, too, there is
the Rabelaisian system to deal with.  What I'm hoping for is an
awareness that as as long as it's a victimless crime for all involved,
it should be ignored as nobody's business but the participants'."

Kay snorted.  "And you limited yourself to the perps, and not the
kids.  I've seen a few of your interviews, and you were never that
twisted in your thinking, that I recall."

Roberta smiled smugly.  "In a good marriage, isn't it said that the
partners tend to resemble one another in their thinking?"

"The Zeitgeist has always encouraged that, especially when his Avatars
are concerned.  I concede.  You aren't as flawed a tool as I am.  I'm
glad of it, too."

"Flawed?"

"Of course I am.  For starters, I never knew what it was like to live
a 'normal' life, before I was selected to be an Avatar.  For all that
Wolf is my spiritual mother, she is still a bitch, and lacks the
innate understanding of what it is, to be fully human.  She did the
best she could, and so did Tom and Mahika, but nobody is going to be
able to convince me that Tom wasn't flawed in his way, and Mahika, of
course, isn't human, either.  We've all learned, and done the best we
can, to overcome our flaws, but except for Merlin, none of us started
as 'normal', or close to it, for the time we first came to power.

"Plus, for all of us, it is our nature to stand to the side and
observe, more than we get involved.  You, on the other hand, were
never abused, and you have the self confidence of someone who has been
a doer, all her life, and that is the type of personality that is
needed in this day."

Roberta touched Tom's hands, then sighed.  "It sounds like you're
saying Marie, Jessica, and I, are being groomed as your replacements."

"Perhaps you are.  More likely, is that we are general purpose tools,
while you folks are more specialized, and can be seen as later
versions who have been created to handle a more specific set of
conditions."

"You think the Big Guy has been learning from his mistakes with you
folks, and is...  Mature enough to be a little more subtle than he has
been?"

"I think he's grown up some, yes, and he's like any other person who
has decided to learn a craft.  Over time, you become more sure in your
actions, and aren't afraid to use the right tool for a job, instead of
making do with what you already have."

"So...  He's more skilled, and has the self confidence created by
experience.  Works for me, even though I can't say I'm extremely happy
to be one of the tools he decided to wield so  adroitly."

"Get in his face about it.  Ask Jessica about that, if she doesn't
decide to update you when you tuck her in for the night.  Cathy was
linked to Becky during the 'revelation', and Jessica was...  Intensely
pissed with him.  She wasn't afraid to say so, before she cooled off
and accepted the situation."

"Vocal?"

"Very.  She was...  Honest, while dealing with the kids, too.  One
young man called us 'two cunts and a talking dog', and why should he
pay attention to us?  Her response to that was ordering me to show him
Excalibur."

"Ordered you?!"

"Of course.  We're all part of a team, and the one in charge has the
duty to use the rest of us as they think we should be used."

"Sounds like things can get pretty brutal."

"You weren't, on the pier?"

"I did what I had to do, and you know it."

"That's what Jessica did.  That's what Hubert and I did with Arthur. 
Becky did what she knew she had to do, when she told Jessica she and
Cathy could tell they were life-mated to her.  It's all part of who we
are, and the jobs we're being paid to do.  When the Big Guy tells us
to jump, we ask how high, on the way up, and don't come down until he
says we can.  I'm sure Tom pointed out that usually we are able to
work at a much slower pace."

"He did.  He mentioned tempering, and testing almost to destruction,
so you know the limits of the tool you've made.  Not going to say I've
enjoyed all of what's happened, but I have to admit that overall, I
like who I am, a lot better than I did."

Kay laughed.  "There is that.  And looking forward to a life with Tom
at your side, to help you deal with it, is pretty attractive.  I
enjoyed our centuries together, before I had to walk my path without
him at my side."

"Speaking of that, if I *ever* get stupid enough to ask you to see my
future for me, ignore me."

"I seldom see for family, or myself, so ignoring you will be an easy
thing to do, unless I'm forced to do it."

"Forced?"

Tom sighed.  "Sometimes something will send her into a trance and she
doesn't know she did anything until it's over, and she's figured out
there's a blank in her memory.  When she does it of her own will, she
remembers what she sees."

"Oh.  Sounds a lot like those stories about oracles."

"Maybe.  No.  Not maybe.  It's very likely that some of those people
were true seers.  We've never thought we're the only ones that have
been tapped, just the only ones we know about, and as far as we know,
we're the only ones given immortality."

"Any ideas?"

"Blame it on me."

"You?!  You did say you have an ego, but that's pretty extreme."

"As far as we can tell, I'm the first human who treated an elemental
as an equal, and the most recent series of events was triggered by me
treating another non-human, Wolf, as if *she* was my equal.  Mahika
did the deed, but I was the one who suggested it."

He shivered, then hugged Roberta.  "When I bother to look at my past,
I wonder 'why me?'  The only answer that makes sense, is 'why not?'. 
There were a lot of other people like me at the time, but I was the
one who...  Survived the winnowing process and became the one who was
chosen for all the rest of it."

Kay stopped and turned her head so she could study him.  "Jessica felt
the same way, when she was trying to decide what to do about the Big
Guy wanting to use her.  I find the implications...  Interesting."

He nodded his head.  "So do I.  Let's do what we can, to make sure she
and Roberta aren't flawed in the ways we know we are, eh?"

"Just like Vel has made Marie her 'spiritual daughter'?"

"Exactly."

Roberta stiffened.  "Whoa, you two!  You just took off and left me at
the starting gate.  Where are your heads at?"

Kay shook her head, then studied Roberta.  "When the time comes, I
wish we could go along."

"What?"

"We've had some experience at figuring out what we're supposed to be
doing, based on extremely limited clues."

"So?  Other than it must involve me, Jessica and Marie, somehow, I'm
lost."

"When your jobs here are done, or you've passed them on to your
successors, we think you'll have passed the final test, and the three
of you will be made immortal, so you can go do what your *real* job
will be."

"That is?"

"You three. at least, are going to be Terra's chosen Avatars on
Rabelaisia, because for all intents, you will be our clones, and able
to speak for Terra, as if we were there."

"That's...  Too crazy to be unbelievable, Kay.  Tom, Honey?  Do you
agree with her madness?"

"I do."

Roberta leaned back and stared at the sky for a long time before she
spoke without any heat in her voice.  "You sonofabitch.  I'll do it,
if that's what you expect me to do, but I'd better be able to live a
full life here, first, just like Lady Chrystal did on Rabelaisia. 
Plus, there'd better be a man who is at *least* as good a man as Tom,
waiting for me when I get there.  If you can't send Ted...  Hold it! 
It's not Marie, is it?!  It's going to be Liberty, and whoever becomes
*her* life-mate!

"Anyway, Becky and Cathy have waited long enough, for their life-mate,
and they'll be standing in for Mahika and Wolf, won't they?"

She slumped.  "Damnit.  Someday, someone is going to teach you some
manners, and make the lesson stick.  I hope I'm there to see it
happen..."

She broke off when the wind came up and it started to cloud over
rapidly.

"What the Hell is going on?!"

They were in the darkness of a sudden overcast, briefly, then the
clouds opened and the three of them were in a beam of sunlight while
everywhere else was in shadow.

Kay lifted her head and spoke easily.  "Finally figuring out that the
carrot works better than the stick?  You still need to work on the
initial seduction, though.  Not everyone is able to take the rough
stuff, but it's a hard job, so I understand some of the reasons you do
things the way you do.  'Tough Love', and we agree with it."

The beam of light narrowed until only her horn was highlighted for a
few seconds, then it winked out and a gentle rain started falling.

Tom spoke softly.  "You know, I think he just agreed with Roberta,
then he apologized to Kay for what he's made her live through, while
making sure she knows she's still his favorite, of all of us."

Roberta leaned against Tom again and bent her head back so the rain
could touch her face, before she lowered it and leaned forward to
lightly stroke Kay's neck.  "Now, I know what it's like, to know the
reason I am.  More than ever, I think my concept has some truth in
it."

"That we are, in some ways, manifestations of his awareness?"

"Or he, of ours.  Tom does favor grand gestures."

"Hubert favors them, too, when he's feeling particularly pleased with
himself."

"Yes.  I noticed that, when he tossed the Medallion of Truth in the
trash."

"Now what?  Do we stay here and get wet, or head for shelter?"

Roberta sighed.  "This place is the past, Kay, and it will always be
here, waiting.  Let's go home, and see about working on our future."

"Home is now the Sam Cee, for you?"

"Yes."

"Briskly, or slowly?"

"Place slide.  I find myself lonely for the sounds of young voices,
and we should be there, when our daughter needs us."

"Tom?"

"Ready."

"Gone."

When she reappeared she was hovering over the center of the helipad. 
Mahika was the first to notice them, and she shouted at the kids to
give Kay some room.

They did, Kay landed, then she stood there and the three of them took
the time to study everything.

Mahika and Sandy joined them, looked them over, then Sandra spoke
softly.  "Mahika felt it happen, of course.  It's an elegant solution
to a difficult problem."

Roberta stretched and laughed.  "As much as I enjoy the feel of your
arms around me, Thomas, let go, so we may dismount, and Kay can return
to her natural form."

He chuckled, said nothing, and after she slid down, he dismounted and
walked around Kay until he could give her a head hug.

Once it was over, Kay looked up and bobbed her head.  "If any of you
are brave enough, I will be giving rides, tomorrow, at the earliest. 
I've had a busy day, and would like some private time with my first
husband, and my newest co-wife."

She shifted back to her usual body, then she and Roberta linked arms
with Tom, before they headed for the stairs and slowly vanished from
sight as they went down the steps.

Sandra turned her attention to Mahika.  "You look insufferably pleased
with yourself."

"I am."

"I suppose I look like...  I'm so happy my tail would be wagging
madly, if I had one?"

"Yes."

"Handy thing, to be a Muse.  Doesn't make me yearn for the job,
though.  Bad enough, I'm Beta to Kay's Alpha, and responsible for the
three of us when things so south."

"Don't bother trying to convince me you hate protecting Tom."

"And my spiritual daughter, when there's need."

"Daughters, now."

"True.  I'm going to enjoy living with an almost normal human for
awhile."

"Taking over from the twins?"

"Of course.  Going to be interesting, when they go to school with
Jessica.  What about you?"

Mahika waved a hand at the kids who were visible.  "Looks like I'm
left to take care of the new pack."

"Better you, than me."

"Hah!  I give you a year, until you start begging me to give you a
break."

"Optimist.  Six months before I call you in, to watch one, while I
watch the other.

"Call Merlin, first.  In six months, he's going to lose his
rediscovered infatuation for Chrys, and want to spend some time with
Kay."

"His mistake, if he thinks that will let him relax."

"So?"

"True.  You ready to extend the deck, and show these kids how we play
with a Frisbee?"

Mahika grinned, made a Frisbee appear in her hand, then tossed it as
hard as she could, out to sea.  "Fetch!"

Sandra shifted and took off at a dead run.  Some of the kids screamed
when she went off the edge, but she kept running in mid air, until she
could leap and snag the Frisbee.  She halted, then flipped it straight
up before she shouted 'Go, grrl!'

Mahika changed into a wolfess, then ran almost straight up.

Their game went on for a few more tosses, then they started including
the kids, who made up for their lack of skill, with their enthusiasm.

The game was still in progress when a vixen appeared and she 'stole'
the Frisbee before Mahika could get to it.

She flipped it into a group of the kids, then landed and changed
forms, before she walked over to the food and helped herself.

She ate a few bites, then smiled.  "You'd do well, Indrakshi, as a
cook for a way station."

"Thank you, Ambassador."

"Vix, will do.  If you wish to go join your companions, I will make
sure the food is kept available for those who want any."

"Thank you!"

She started to run away, then she spun back.  "What's a way station?"

"Worry about it later.  Mostly, it's a place where travelers can stop
to relax  Many of them are like a bed and breakfast inn.  Good cooks
are treasured, and paid accordingly."

"Oh!  Thank you, again!"

Vix spent the next hour putting together a full meal for everyone,
then, after she had one end of the deck set up with tables and chairs,
she conjured a dinner triangle and rang it a few times before she
shouted.  "All rescued children on deck for a special announcement!"

Eventually they were all present, and she gestured at the food, then
the chairs.  "If you want something, get it, then, as soon as all of
you are settled, we can talk about the options you have, for your
futures."

One of the boys opened his mouth, she perked her ears at him and he
froze, then shook his head and kept quiet.

She nodded slightly.  "The basic rules are simple.  Give your word to
me, and I *will* expect you to keep it, as best you can.  Break it
once, and I will give you the benefit of the doubt, then give you
another chance.  Break it again, and I will be done with you.  What
the rest of your rescuers do, will be up to them, but let's be honest
with each other, and admit that if you aren't willing to help
yourselves, and work for your future, we're not that interested in
taking the time to take care of you.  We all have our own lives and
responsibilities, that will be more important to us than taking care
of someone who refuses to do anything for themself, so our support
would be...  Minimal, at times"

She pointed at the boy who had been ready to confront her.  "Cop an
attitude with me, young man, and I'll have one back.  I don't think
you want that to happen, so hear me out, before you complain about how
unfair life is."

He looked down and whispered.  "Yes, Ma'am."

"Thank you.  Right now, you kids are in a sort of limbo, as far as
what happens next.  You can spend the rest of your lives on the Sam
Cee, and while nobody is going to make you earn your keep, if you want
to, ways can be found to help you gain an education, and let you keep
your self respect by learning ways to contribute.

"That's a solution, and if any of you want to use it, you will be
allowed to.

"Another solution, would be for any of you who want to live in
America, or any other country, to decide if you want to do so as
adults, or as children.  As children, you'd get put into the adoption
system, and would be expected to live by those rules while you wait
for someone to adopt you, or until you're old enough to be legal
adults, at which point, you'd be sent out to do the best you could, on
your own."

She studied them, then sighed.  "I must be getting soft in my old
age.  If any of you opt to live on your own, as adults, immediately,
I'll see that you have food, and enough money to survive for a year. 
After that, if you want to, you can contact me, and we'll talk about
possible futures, again."

She sighed again, then grinned.  "If any, or all of you, want to
*really* start over, you'd be welcome on Rabelaisia, as immigrants,
and full citizens, who would be expected to learn our ways, and live
by them, as growing children, until you've earned the right to be
treated like adults."

Now, finally, the boy glared at her and spoke sarcastically.  "Yeah,
right.  Nothing can be that simple.  What's the catch?"

"Once you're adults, you get one chance to break your word, and more
or less get away with it.  Do it a second time, and your mind is
wiped, so you are like a newborn, and then your body will be raised by
a family willing to treat you as their own child.  We are a pragmatic
people, and if the person you become that time still refuses to live
by the code of personal responsibility, you will be killed."

She studied him, then sighed.  "Not all of you will survive on
Rabelaisia, if you choose to go there.  The odds are pretty good that
at least your bodies will, and eventually you will build successful
lives.

"So...  That's it?  If I wanted to go, I'd be guaranteed a family, and
a chance to  be whoever I wanted to be?"

"As long as you lived by Rabelaisian customs and laws, yes.  Children
are precious to us, and we don't have orphanages.  You'd be adopted
into one of our clans, and they would see to your needs while you are
growing up.  After that..."

She shook her head slightly, and smiled at him.  "Few people are
capable of living their entire lives, without finding a way to earn
their keep.  If you want to spend your entire life taking and giving
nothing back, you may.  Nobody would condemn you for it, and you would
not be deprived of a place to stay, and food to eat."

"I don't get it.  You're saying I could just wander around, and
whenever I decided to eat I could get food without paying for it, and
people would find me a place to sleep?"

"Yes.  You could even openly continue with your habit of questioning
everything, and acting as if you don't trust anyone you meet.  That
alone, would be considered enough payment for anything you are given."

"Why us?"

"Why not?  You are seeking a new, and better life.  We treasure people
who are driven to do the best they can, to become whoever they think
they should be, and we don't care who that is, as long as they let the
people around them be who they can be, too."

She grinned.  "You'll also be held responsible for your actions.  Our
justice system is...  Swift, and applied equally, to all."

He looked around, then held out his hand.  "I'll do it.  I can't go
back, and Jessica said I probably wouldn't make it in America, like I
thought I could, so...  I don't care where I go, now."

Vix took his hand and shook it.  "The next ship leaves in two weeks. 
You can change your mind at any time, until then.  Once you leave,
you'll have about two years, before you can change your mind again and
come back.  You're only getting one chance at this, so if you come
back, you'll never be allowed on Rabelaisia again, even though you
will have the option of keeping your dual citizenship.  Keep it, and
you will, of course, still be subject to Rabelaisian laws and customs,
in addition to Terran laws, as agreed in our treaties."

All but a few of the kids were pretty sure they would go to
Rabelaisia, but Indrakshi, who had gone back to overseeing the
cooking, just shook her head and spoke softly.  "No.    How long would
it take if I went along, but came back immediately?"

Vix's ears perked slightly.  "About two months."

"Could I do that?"

"Go, see what it looks like, then come back on the next scheduled
trip?"

"Yes."

"I can authorize that, if I feel the reasons are good enough."

"You've made us a lot of promises, just like Kelas and the others
did.  If all of us go, and never come back, how would anyone here know
you were telling the truth?  I think someone should be able to go,
then come back and let people know you aren't more slavers, who did a
better job of conning us than the ones you killed, did."

"Anything else?"

"Are you planning on letting others go?  If you are, maybe I could
someday go back to where I'm from, and let people know that if they
want to work hard, someone will give them a new home, for free,
and..."

She looked down, then raised her head proudly.  "A lot of people knew
what happened to me, Vix.  I'm not the only kid who had her leg broken
so it could heal wrong, to keep her from running away.  When the
others find out they can be healed, for free, and they won't have to
be whores to pay for the operation, they'll go, too."

"Not all of them will survive as themselves, Indrakshi."

"So what?  It's a better chance than any of us have had.  They were
already talking about how much money they could make if they let
someone kill me."

"Then you may go, and come back to whatever life you wish to try and
build."

"Thank you, Vix."

She walked over and leaned on the railing.  "Do you think I could be
adopted into your clan, and stay here?  I am only a girl, but I think
many of the boys wouldn't argue as much if *I* was the one to tell
them they should quit thinking with what's between their legs."

She glanced at the boy who'd been the most outspoken.  "Just because
someone is silent, it doesn't mean they don't have doubts.  If you are
patient, you can sometimes choose what happens to you, instead of
always having someone else decide what your life will be like.  I
choose...  To stay, and help others like us, if you will allow it."

"We will.  Go, as a member of the Seaside Harbor fox clan, and when
you get back, you will always have a place with us."

"Fox clan?  I wasn't talking about that.  I meant adopted by all of
you, so I could stay on the Sam Cee."

"Perhaps you should become an employee."

"No, Vix.  Employees can be fired for no reason, and I...  I want a
family again."

"I see.  As a member of my clan, you'll have a family on both of our
worlds.  You can still be adopted, but while I can suggest, Tom and
the rest of his family will have to decide if they will adopt you."

"Maybe Jessica would like to have a sister.  I miss my family."

"Homesick?"

"Yes."

"Well, since you want it to be your home, the Sam Cee is.  I can't
promise you that Tom and his group will adopt you, but I will promise
that if they don't, someone who lives on the Sam Cee will.  Is that
good enough?"

"Yes.  Is everyone on the Sam Cee, clan members?"

"They are members of Tom's clan, not mine."

"Ok.  Are you done with us, right now?"

"I am."

"Good!  I need to go find the head cook..."

Indrakshi drifted away, and after she was out of sight, Vix studied
the remaining children, then settled on the deck.  "If any of you care
to listen, or touch link with me, I have some stories about
Rabelaisia, that I am willing to share.  Perhaps some of you have
stories you'd be willing to share with me?"

She tilted her head slightly, then smiled.  "Since we are on the sea,
I will start us off briskly, with a sea chanty."

She launched into a translation of one of her favorites, and nodded
her head at each child who settled in front of her.

* * *

Tom was snuggled between Roberta and Kay when he stiffened.  "Crap."

Robeta waited, and when he sighed she gently turned his head so she
could watch his eyes.  "What's wrong?"

"Merlin wasn't enough.  Chrys needs me."

"Go."

He vanished.

Roberta sighed, then studied Kay.  "You've been...  Silent too long."

"Wait for it."

"Wait?..."

The walls shook and Kay sighed.  "For that."

"Do I get to know?"

"Vel needed...  Her past, and Hubert's link with her isn't good enough
to give it to her."

"So she called Tom to her?"

"No.  He felt her need, and..."

Kay shook her head.  "They've both tried to explain it to us, but
we...  Fail to understand, every time it happens, how he *knows*
exactly what she needs."

"Kay, if I'm going to someday think a little bit like you, it would be
nice if you weren't so damn terse you sound like you're feeling some
sort of pain that's so deep you can't let go of it."

"Exactly."

She got up and opened the door, then smiled when Roberta winced as the
sound overwhelmed them briefly.  "Usually, they go somewhere else."

Roberta gazed at her, then sighed.  "That can't be Tom.  I've heard
him sing, and he's definitely a tenor, not...  Someone who makes a
basso profundo sound high pitched."

Kay laughed.  "That's not Tom, as you know him.  He's...  I don't know
how he does it.  He's using his skills and her memories, to be... 
Nikki."

"Nikki?...  Wait...  That name.  I should know it...  Nikkolai?!  Tom
has somehow become the wolfhound Rabelaisians consider their greatest
Bard?!"

"Yes."

Roberta grabbed her robe, put it on, then left at a run.

Kay took the time to get dressed, then followed at a sedate walk.

* * *

Most of the children gasped when Tom appeared behind Lady Chrystal,
and she smiled at them.

"I need some help, and since he knows the words, Tom has agreed to
sing the male parts for the next few songs.  However, since we should
be 'in costume', he's going to shape shift before he joins me."

She stood, then Tom shifted and there were more gasps when they
realized his new form towered over Lady Chrystal.

He nodded his head slightly, and spoke easily.  "When you are ready,
Love."

He put his hands on her hips and she touched them before she gazed at
each of the children.  Eventually she nodded.  "We will sing the
chanty I started with, as it was meant to be sung.  We will also make
sure the volume you hear, is not the true volume, which would be... 
Painful, for most humans."

She started, and when Tom joined his voice to hers, most of the kids
winced or covered their ears until Vix got their volume low enough.

* * *

Roberta arrived before they finished the first chanty, and she paused
to watch them until they finished.

By then Kay, the twins, and Jessica, had joined her.

Once Tom and Lady Chrystal were doing their next song, Kay motioned
towards a point away from the show.  "They'll be awhile, and they
won't mind if we isolate ourselves so we can talk."

They moved, then Jessica studied Tom.  "Mom?  I've heard about dad
doing that at the mall, but nobody ever said the place shook when he
sang.  I thought it was an earthquake or something, until Cathy said
it was Dad, singing.  He always change his voice, too?"

Roberta and Kay looked at each other and Roberta shook her head. 
"It's news to me, too."

Kay sighed.  "Usually, he doesn't change his voice."

"Yeah?  So...  Why now?"

Kay sighed.  "For Vel.  She needed her past."

"Bad, huh?  Someone gonna tell me what happened?"

Roberta sighed and walked over to stand behind Jessica, then she
pulled her backwards and against her body.

"Mom?  You're shivering."

"I know.  If Lady Chrystal hadn't been an Avatar, and immortal, she
would be dead.  She...  She and Merlin were still healing her body
when she time sliced so she could order Kelas executed."

"Shit!  You mean she was all fucked up when we heard her?"

"Yes."

"Oh.  Hey, that shit about Dad and those kids, last night.  Whatever
it was, it happened at Sharkie's, right?"

"Yes."

"So that means...  No wonder he was so pissed and ready to go after
people.  I could have been one of the kids who didn't live."

"You're too fast, Jessica.  We hoped we could tell you later.  Yes,
your parents were linked to Sharkie's, and Sharkie's boat was used to
take delivery of new kids..."

Jessica sighed.  "And get rid of old ones, right?"

"Exactly."

"So... Damn.  All those times they took me there, it must have been so
I wouldn't get suspicious when they decided to kill me."

"There's a good chance of that, yes.  Three of the cops who worked the
pier were in on it.  Jim wasn't one of them.  I...  Didn't hurt
anyone, but I made sure the good people knew who the bad ones were."

"Hey...  Sounds like the Big Guy really fucked us both, didn't he? 
He'd better learn some manners, or I'm going to keep getting in his
face about how fucking stupid he is, when it comes to dealing with
women."

Roberta laughed a little.  "He's already apologized to me, so relax."

"Yeah?  You kinda squeezed that time.  You get a chance to tell him
off like I did?"

"You did?"

"Uh huh.  It was when Becky told me about him arranging it so the
three of us would eventually get married to each other.  I felt just
like I did when my old parents told me I'd have to let someone fuck
me, no matter how I felt about it.  Rape, is rape, ya know?"

"Not in the way you know it, but I agree.  If it makes you feel
better, he's been a kid until recently, and he's...  Just noticed
girls, and realized they have feelings, too.  He promised us he'd try
and learn how to be gentler."

"That's...  Weird.  So...  You gonna tell me why dad was so... 
Intent, when he gave those orders?"

"Well, Kelas used sympathetic magic to try and kill Lady Chrystal. 
When he was in range, he...  Used his powers to link a young girl to
her, then he tortured the girl the way he's always wanted to kill Lady
Chrystal.  She felt it all, of course, and once he checked his link,
Tom felt it, too."

"Oh.  Shit.  So he's like...  Being that huge dog so he can give her
some therapy that nobody else can give her?"

"Yes."

"Umm...  Mom?"

"What, Dear?"

"Don't hate me for this, but I gotta go over there without you guys. 
I can tell Kay doesn't know what to do, but I do, 'cause...  Just
because."

Roberta let go.  "I don't know what to do, either, Jessica."

Jessica bent her head back and looked up.  "Sure you do, but you and
Kay are going to have to do it to Dad, later."

"For Tom?"

"Sure.  He's linked with her, right?  That means he must have felt it,
whatever it was, just as much as she did.  They're both hurtin' real
bad, and I know...  More than I want to about that stuff, ya know? 
I'll be back..."

She brought her head down, then sighed and walked over until she stood
in front of Lady Chrystal, then waited until they finished the song.

Jessica looked at Lady Chrystal, then Tom, before she took Lady
Chrystal's paw, put it on her forehead, and spoke not to Lady Chrystal
and Tom, but to the kids.

"Get your butts over here, and touch my forehead, then you can all
tell these two how much you appreciate them saving your sorry asses,
even though Kelas almost killed the Ambassador so he could smuggle you
in without getting caught."

Then she focused on Tom.  "So you're both fucked up in your heads
right now.  Show these guys what really happened, to both of you, and
maybe they'll wise up and get serious about believing you, when you
keep saying you love them all, no matter what happens."

Then she looked up and sighed.  "And *you*, you fucked up excuse for
whatever you are, you'd better learn to take better care of your
tools, and treat them like they mean something to you, instead of just
tossing them aside when the job is over.  You understand me?  If they
don't know *you* know how to love, how you gonna expect them to
convince everyone else to love their neighbors?  Right?"

Roberta, Kay, and the twins looked at each other, and Becky smiled. 
"Well, it's certainly in character for her."

Kay smiled.  "Oh, I agree.  She learns fast, too.  Tom told her that
if a leader acts confident, the people around her will pick up on
that, and convince themselves she knows what she's doing."

Then she studied Roberta, and nodded slightly.  "Perhaps, Roberta, you
should tell my girls about what you learned, when you saw your
future."

"I saw?  You figured it out before I did."

"I was guessing.  You were the one who corrected my guesses and told
him she'd do it, if that was what he really wanted done."

"Is that all it is?  We're not...  Passively accepting things?"

"Seems so.  Isn't part of growing up, working through your problems,
instead of solving them by fiat?"

"I...  See, and now, something about all this makes sense."

"Oh?"

Roberta ignored Kay and focused on the twins.  "Don't make any long
term plans, that you can't finish in about one hundred years."

Cathy tilted her head slightly, then shrugged.  "I'll bite, since it
sounds like Kay just called you a seer.  Got a good reason for that
admonition?"

"The Big Guy and his SO decided that since the system works so well
here, he'd create a duplicate set of Avatars and ship them off to
Rabelaisia, to act on his behalf, there, in exchange for Rabelaisia
sending him Lady Chrystal."

"That's...  Mom?"

"He confirmed it to all our satisfaction, before we came back from a
trip spent searching for some relaxation while you kids were sorting
out some of your problems.  Roberta will be my Spiritual Daughter. 
Jessica is Tom's.  You two will be equivalent to Mahika and Wolf.
 Liberty, and whoever becomes her mate, will replace Lady Chrystal,
finally.  Roberta declared her terms, and there will be, when all of
you get to Rabelaisia, after her living a full life here, a man at
least as good as Tom, waiting for her."

Cathy thought about it, then shook her head slightly.  "What about
Merlin?"

"Roberta's new husband, of course."

"Oh.  Right.  So...  No plans that take more than about one hundred
years to complete.  Got it.  One more question."

"Oh?  Ask."

"Who gets to tell Jessica?"

Kay laughed.  "She's already touch linked to those two, and ordered
them to tell all.  I imagine she'll do something obvious when she
finds out.  She is, after all, Tom's Spiritual Daughter, and he does
favor grand gestures."

Becky sneezed.  "As long as I'm out of her line of fire, I'll enjoy
watching her reaction.  You, Sister?"

"Oh, I agree.  Maybe she'll ask us for some help when she tells the
Big Guy off, again, even though she doesn't need it."

Cathy changed into her hound form, looked up, and bared her teeth in a
grin.  "The more we know about how you react to stress, the better the
job we're going to do, when we act in your stead at your
girlfriend's.  Sounds like you've got a problem, if you want us to
give a good impression, considering how well Lady Chrystal has done,
here."

Her head came down and she gunsighted her sister with her nose. 
"Ready for some fun?"

Becky sighed.  "You know, I'm not sure.  But..."

She shifted and sneezed her disgust.  "Let's go sit on the sidelines
and do some cheering for our side."

They grinned at each other, then padded off to go settle where they
could watch what was still going on while they waited for the... 
Anticipated explosion.

Eventually Tom and Lady Chrystal settled on the deck, to be surrounded
by kids who were quietly touching them and speaking softly.

Jessica stood where she had been for a long time, then she sighed and
looked up for a few minutes.

Her head came down, and she looked around before she sighed again and
walked over to lean on the railing while she stared at...  Something.

Becky and Cathy flanked her, then settled on their haunches to wait.

It was getting dark when Jessica spoke softly.  "So, I'm gonna live
forever, as long as I agree to move.  What's it like there, Beck?"

"That's it?  No explosion?  Lots of room to run.  Maybe a little too
sober, most of them, but they eventually join you and know how to have
fun when they relax."

"Maybe later.  Which of you is gonna be Wolf, and which, Mahika?"

They studied each other, then Becky sighed.  "That's a tall order,
but, since I tend to lead the two of us, I guess I get to be our
Alpha, eventually."

"Yeah.  That makes sense, since you told me what was going on.  Shit,
guys.  I wish I'd remembered that 'Bard's Promise' stuff when I told
them to open up.  Both of them did, and it...  Well, it was fucked."

"We haven't found out the details, yet."

"Do me a favor?  Don't bother, yet.  I got enough to know that most of
those guys are headed to Rabelaisia on the next ship, and once they
get there, I bet someone is going to be seriously pissed off with the
way her SO treats his tools.  Not that she's any better, considering
how she used to treat Lady Chrystal.  Having Vix's entire clan
assassinated wasn't the brightest move she could have made, but...

"Oh, well.  That reminds me.  It looks like you guys are gonna feel at
home when we get there."

"Oh?"

"Yeah.  These guys are Herms, and...  Eventually, Rabelaisia is going
to get pregnant and have a kid, just like our guy did, already."

"A child?"

"Sure, Beck.  That colony.  Our guy sort of did himself, so he's
really like you guys, ya know?"

"Oh.  So..."

She sneezed her disgust again.

"What was that for?"

"They didn't have any say about them getting married.  They've known
it was going to happen, all their lives."

"You're kidding!"

"Nope.  Had to know, because Tom and the grrls live in non linear
time, and our guy can 'read' them to find out what they know.  Then,
once we get to Rabelaisia, and start traveling in time, She'll read us
and know about it."

"I get it.  So he treats us the way he does, because he knows he has
to, not because he wants to. Well, my therapist says if people work at
it, they can break the cycle."

Cathy sighed.  "Pretty tall order."

"All we have to do is be ourselves."

"Oh?"

"That was the deal I made with him.  I'll be whoever I want to be, and
he'll make it work out."

"You made a deal like that?"

"Sure!  Oh...  Yeah.  You guys have never tried talking things over
with him, have you?  You don't get in his face when you think he's
wrong, you just do it, *then* tell him he should have done it
differently, and he listens, then changes the way he does things, the
next time."

This time Cathy sneezed before she looked at her sister.  "Are you
thinking this is familiar?"

Becky looked up, then sighed.  "Kay was blind, until we showed up. 
Now, we find out we've had a blind spot in our thinking, until Jessica
showed up and made us see it.  Makes me wonder what Jessica's blind
spot is, and when someone is going to point it out to her."

Jessica glared at them.  "I'm right here.  You going to let me in on
it?"

Becky stood, shook herself and then turned so she could look at the
sea.  "As strange as it sounds, even though Tom and the grrls spent
centuries teaching Kay about power, and they all shape shifted, Kay
never figured out that the others had deliberately avoided making love
as humans with animals.  So, she spent thousands of years thinking
that if a human mated with an animal, they'd probably 'lose their
humanity'."

"Really?!"

"Yes.  She didn't realize she had the blind spot, until just after
Merlin rescued us.  We...  Were the ones who made her realize that
she'd been the reason Tom, Mahika, and Wolf had spent hundreds of
years denying their love for each other, so *she* would be the person
she had to be when Merlin rescued us."

"You going to explain that?"

"We needed to confirm that we could trust Merlin, and the only way we
could do that was...  
As dogs.  Merlin had agreed to let us test him that way, and all of us
assumed we would be bitches while he stayed human, if we decided to
test him.  He knew we were unable to trust him, so he summoned Kay to
come and take us in, until we could relax around men again.

"She...  Angered us, and we decided to test Merlin, as dogs instead of
bitches.  She reacted by hoping he wouldn't lose his humanity, and her
distaste was so great she started to raise her hand to discipline us
for our presumption.  Bluntly, she made us fear her, because she was
so willing to destroy us because of her own blindness."

"Wow.  That sucks."

"Yes.  Our point is that Kay had a blind spot until we came along and
made her realize it.  Now, you've come along and made all of us
realize we've had a serious blind spot in our thinking."

"Yeah?  What was it?"

"Until you made your deal, none of us have realized we could have been
making our own deals when we didn't like what we were being asked to
do. We've always accepted that as tools, we didn't have any say in how
we were used."

"Oh.  So what you're saying is that we still have our heads up our
asses about other stuff and someday, we'll meet someone who makes us
realize it?"

"It's more than that.  The most important thing about growing up, is
learning to communicate, no matter how painful it is, so you can work
out your differences.  Maybe, finally, the Big Guy will be able to ask
us, instead of tell us, and if we don't like what we're hearing, we
can talk it over until all of us get what we want, in a way we can
live with it."

"So he's been forced to do the shitty stuff, because he's known it
happened that way, and if he changed it, we probably wouldn't be the
people we have to be, which means he wouldn't be who he's supposed to
be..."

She looked at the sky for a long time, then shook her head sadly. 
"You know something?  I feel sorry for the guy.  They say shit rolls
down hill, and I think we're on the bottom, because we're stuck with
all the shit jobs, but did you ever stop and wonder if maybe he's
doing what he can, to keep all of the shit from landing on us when it
hits him?  Makes me wonder if someone is out there and fucking him
over.  Does it keep going like that, and it only changes when whoever
is fucking up *his* life, gets a clue and grows up a little?"

"I don't think we'll ever know the truth."

"Yeah.  All we're doing is trying to make it so we can live with it. 
Want to know something?  It sucks big time, that nobody can be an
Avatar, unless they are a survivor of some sort."

Cathy studied her, then spoke softly.  "Merlin and Roberta aren't
survivors."

"Bullshit.  Humans didn't fuck them up, so the Big Guy fucked them
over after he made them Avatars.  Or do you guys call it normal when
someone makes you work for them, and then tries to buy your
cooperation with some perks, so you'll stick around for the rest of
it, no matter what you have to do?  Don't they keep saying a lot of
abuse victims stick with their abusers?  Isn't *that* what I'm
supposed to be convincing kids to do?  Leave the people who are
fucking them over?"

Cathy and Becky both sneezed their disgust before they looked up and
Becky spoke.  "Can we all go back to our rooms so we can comfort each
other and get our heads straight, so we quit thinking like that, and
figure out how we *should* be thinking?"

Jessica studied everyone else and sighed.  "Sorry I fucked it up for
you guys, too.  Mood swing, I guess, and all I can think of is how
fucked it is, not how there's all the good stuff I know will
eventually happen.  Yeah.  let's go, and before we get there, you can
take me on the tour I was supposed to get today."

* * *

Roberta intercepted them before they got to the stairs.

"Not so fast, you three.  Whatever it is, I think you'd better tell
me, before a little problem becomes a big one, which it will, if you
run away, hide, and brood about it by yourselves, instead of getting
it in the open so we can *all* help you fix whatever your problem is."

Jessica looked at her, then at the stairs.  "Don't we get a say?"

Roberta sighed and stepped out of their way.  "Growing up, and being
married, means you need to get used to dealing with problems as soon
as you know they are there, no matter how inconvenient and painful
they are.  Am I going to be your mother, and get to help you get over
your hurts, or...  Are you going to be a wife, and turn to your
husbands first, as you should?"

Becky studied her, then sighed.  "You're not upset, that you went to
work for the Big Guy, and one of the first things he did was mess with
your head?"

"Excuse me?  Oh.  I see.  You're already so close that all of you are
caught in the negative part of one of Jessica's mood swings, and
aren't seeing things as clearly as you usually do."

"We are?"

"Of course you are.  If you'd been yourselves, you would have already
been letting your canine aspects loose so you could jolly Jessica past
this, instead of...  Looking for a place to hide, without seeking
help."

"Oh.  Maybe you're...  Right."

Roberta nodded slightly.  "As for being abused by the Big Guy, I
haven't been.  I'm an adult, and I decided to work for him after I was
told enough to know that there would be times when the job wouldn't be
easy.  I could have refused the Medallion of Truth, but I didn't. 
Instead, when I found out I was married to the man who created it, we
discussed things, and he made changes so it would fit me better.  I
never doubted that someday I would have to use it, so I did what I
could, to give myself some options before I found myself needing
them."

They studied each other, then Becky nodded slightly.  "We've already
decided that I should be our Alpha."

"And?"

"Has Tom explained that an Alpha's main purpose it to set the context
her pack lives by?"

"Yes."

"We need a new context, Alpha of the new pack."

Roberta stiffened slightly, then smiled.  "I see.  My thinking hadn't
taken me that far, yet.  Thank you."

"You're welcome.  The context?"

"I really shouldn't be doing this, but...  I'll deal with the
consequences if they happen."

She pointed at Jessica.  "It's time for you to forget about the
serious stuff in life, and learn how to be a child, finally.  To help
you..."

Jessica shimmered, and suddenly a young bitch was standing where
Jessica had been.

"Go play with your guests, who I'm sure will enjoy helping you learn
how to walk, then run and jump.  The twins can help you figure out how
to speak so you are understood.  And...  When you make mistakes,
Jessica, laugh at them, don't brood about them, because a child is
*supposed* to make mistakes while they are learning who they are."

Jessica shivered, started to move and stumbled slightly, so she froze
in place and shivered some more.

Becky and Cathy flanked her, then pressed their bodies against her
before Becky spoke gently.  "Don't think about the details, or the
fact you are a human.  Think 'I want to go there', then let yourself
move in that direction.  When you stumble, we will hold you up,
and..."

She laughed softly.  "Think of the reward when you get there. 
Petting, being hand fed, and all you will have to do is lie there
until you want to try moving again.  Oh, groans of contentment work
well, to encourage people to keep spoiling you."

Jessica shifted her head and perked her ears.  She moved slightly, and
the twins moved with her.

By the time they reached the kids, her head and tail were up, and her
tail was moving from side to side in a hesitant wag.

Roberta was smiling when the kids started hugging Jessica and talking
to her.  "Now,"  she whispered, "isn't that a lot better than hiding
somewhere and brooding about how unfair life is?"

Becky, who had her own group of kids surrounding her, laughed in her
mind.  {{Lots!"}}

Roberta laughed, then opened herself to Tom and Lady Chrystal. 
{{Plenty of kids to go around, so a dog and vixen could get enough
attention to satiate them, I bet.}}

They shifted, then Tom focused on her.  {{Maybe a certain adult female
should come over and add her hands to the collection, since she hasn't
yet had a chance to give her dog the kind of attention he deserves?}}

Roberta laughed again, then walked over to look down at Tom, who was
sprawled on his back and being petted already.  "Somebody give me some
room, so I can help."

She settled, petted Tom a little, then looked up and found Mahika and
Sandra.  "Be nice if someone kept up a steady supply of dog and vixen
treats, right?"

Mahika giggled.  "Kay has already taken over the galley and co opted
Indrakshi as her assistant.  As soon as the first batch of treats is
ready, we'll deliver them.""

"Good!  What about the two of you?"

"We had our fun earlier, while the three of you were...  Busy.  We
spent the time teaching them how to play Frisbee with us."

Roberta smiled.  "I see.  Thank you."

"You're welcome, and...  I'll quit distracting you, so you can get the
full effect of Tom's imploring eyes."

"I'm looking forward to it happening, again."

Roberta turned back to doing more of what to her, was the most
important thing in her life, telling her husband how much she loved
him, with her actions instead of her words.

Eventually she leaned back and gazed at Tom fondly.  {{I know it had
to happen, but maybe, now that the rules have changed, you folks can
change, too.}}

{{Oh?}}

{{Sure.  We're going to fix one of your collective, and major, flaws
in your thinking.}}

{{Which is?}}

{{Instead of helping people, then hiding, you're going to work on
letting the people you've helped, know you've helped them, then you're
going to do more of what you're doing now, which is stick around to
let them thank you.  Don't be telling me about the possible problems
with people who don't agree with what you've done.  Think of this like
a good marriage, and the love from the people who understand, will
help you deal with the hate from those who would rather bitch instead
of contribute.}}

{{Oof!  Talk about a blind spot!}}

{{Tom?  Quit obsessing over the potential problems until you run away
and hide, and treat it just like you do a situation when the Big Guy
puts you to work.  Do what you know has to be done, and worry about
the unintended consequences, if they happen.}}

{{What about some contingency planning?}}

{{As long as you don't let it make you lose focus on the main job,
keep it reasonable.  Say...  No more than the planning you did before
you killed those six men, and were stupid enough to leave enough clues
to make it obvious you and the grrls were involved.}}

{{Relax.  Every one of those women appears to be catatonic.  They
aren't, but medically, all the evidence says they are.  It's a
reasonable reaction, probably driven by guilt for actively aiding
their husbands.}}

{{What about the warnings you gave to people?}}

{{Moot, since they were watching the news and heard your invocation of
the Medallion.  Right now, they are holed up and trying to figure out
how to get their lives back, without revealing they are hardcore and
abusive pedos.}}

{{You ducked, but I'll let you get away with it, as long as you're
reasonably certain those warnings can't be linked to you.}}

{{I am.  We've been doing this sort of stuff for a long time, Lora.}}

{{Hmmph!  Just as long as I don't have to confront you and invoke the
Medallion!}}

{{You done obsessing?}}

{{Cruel man.  Yes.}}

{{Good.  If you want something more immediate to worry about, think
about what your hand has been doing while you've been distracted, and
hope none of the kids decide it's more than not having anywhere else
convenient, to pet me.}}

{{What?!  Oh!  Am I blushing?}}

{{Yes, but...  We're husband and wife, and none of these kids are
innocent.  Considering one young man's focus, he's either latent, or
wishing it was his hand working me, and not yours.}}

{{May I assume there's a shield of some sort in place already?}}

{{Yes.  Same one that's been up since I agreed to let you relax here
so you could count on getting some privacy.}}

{{Thanks.}}

She turned her head and spoke gently.  "Wishing my hand was yours?"

"Yes."

"Nobody who isn't here, will know what happens..  There's a spell of
concealment in place, and...  There's a privacy spell, too, that makes
in impossible for any of us to tell someone who wasn't here, about
what we see or do, unless everyone involved agrees, first."

"But...  Are you sure it's ok?"

"Ask Tom, not me."

He studied her, then sighed and spoke without looking at Tom.  "Tom? 
You won't get upset?"

"No, as long as you don't deliberately try to hurt me."

"Oh!  No!  I'd never do that!"

"Do you have any experience, or will you be exploring?"

"Umm...  Lots of experience."

"I see.  Well, I'm pretty big, but if I'm too big, tell me, and I can
change my size until you're comfortable."

The boy smiled.  "What if I tell you that you're too small?"

"We call a person who likes his dicks big, a size queen.  I can become
as large as you can safely take, and I will know if your... 
Enthusiasm causes me to hurt you, and I will heal you."

"Really?!  Oh..."

He looked at his companions and grinned.  "See?  I told you nobody
here would get upset because I liked dogs better than I do people."

Roberta laughed.  "Let's swap places, so you can stop talking about
it, and do it."

"Yeah!"

He quickly straddled Tom and unsheathed him into himself, then he
moved his hips until Tom was fully swollen.  His eyes widened, he
blushed, then he whispered.  "Uhh...  A little shorter?"

"Tell me when to stop.  I suppose you'll want to see how big I am,
later?"

"Yessss...  Oh, wow..."

Everyone went back to petting Tom while they waited for him to soften.

When it was over, the boy raised himself carefully, then sighed after
he resettled so he could stare at Tom's sheath.  "How long, before I
can find out?"

"Now, if you wish."

He reached, eased Tom into the air, then held him until he was fully
swollen again.  He let go and lightly stroked a few times, then shook
his head.  "I took ALL of that?"

"Yes."

"Thanks."  He looked around, then sighed again.  "I wish...  I'm
tired.  See you guys tomorrow."

He left, and Roberta shook her head before she looked at the others. 
"Maybe someone can remind him that Rabelaisia is a world filled with
shape shifters, and he'll be there in a few weeks."

Most of them grinned back without saying anything, then all of them
got up and left.

Eventually all the kids had gone to bed and it was silent again.

Roberta changed Jessica back while everyone else did their own
shifting, then she spoke gently.  "Well?  Feel better?"

Jessica giggled.  "Lots!  I bet Tom feels better, though.  I didn't
think he'd go all the way like that!"

Tom laughed.  "Different cultural values, and since we're on the Sam
Cee, I could do what was right for him, and not what others think
should be right."

"Yeah.  I gotta get used to thinking like that.  How are you and Vix
doing?  You guys better, now?"

Tom nodded.  "We are.  Thank you, Jessica, for realizing what would
help us recover."

"You're welcome.  I hope someone had a good reason for letting that
shit happen, ya know?  Maybe, next time he'll get a clue and call
everybody in earlier, instead of waiting like he usually does."

Tom sighed.  "We can hope, but...  We're the people who get called in
when nobody else can fix things."

"Yeah, Dad.  I know.  Still, there's nothing stopping us from doing
stuff on our own, right?"

"No, there isn't."

"Ok.  I know if we do too much we'll just make it all worse somehow,
so..."

She stood and looked at Roberta, then Kay, before she went over and
held out her hands to the twins.  "That was fun, and I'd love to stay
here, but I'm exhausted.  You guys ready to help my mothers tuck me in
for the night?"

Cathy smiled.  "Want us to shift and sleep on the bed with you?"

Jessica blushed...  "Umm...  Let's talk about that after they leave,
ya know?"

Cathy nodded, then let Jessica help her up.

Becky stood, stretched, then the three of them held hands while they
left, with Kay and Roberta following them.

* * *

Lady Chrystal sighed, then moved so she could hug Tom.  "Thanks, Old
Wolf.  I'd stick around, but..."

He held her briefly, then let go.  "Go, Love.  The emergency is over,
and you need Merlin's love, not mine, now."

She nodded slightly.  "And you need your grrls."

She vanished.

* * *

Tom  walked over and leaned on the front railing for a time, then he
spoke without turning to face his companions.  "It's a lover's beach,
with moonlight and gentle waves.  Anyone interested in walking it with
me?"

Mahika and Sandy studied each other, then shifted before Mahika made a
glowing Frisbee appear in her jaws.  {{Wouldn't you rather run?}}

She jerked her head sideways and sent the Frisbee towards the beach. 
"Fetch!"

Tom laughed, became a wolf, and then leapt over the railing when he
started chasing the Frisbee.

A white wolfess and a golden retriever followed him.
---

End: Marie's Solstice 08/14 Unicorn Flight (new)

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