[GrayGriffin]

Akse nodded. "Very well then, that is a compromise," she said, sitting down once more. Her middle claws remained clenched, but eventually unfolded.

"Good," said Huul. "They've reached a compromise. That means they don't need your help now, Ajor."

"Ah, good then. El-der Ser-vant is good at that then," replied Ajor.

"So...Neddy, you can come back now!" called Shawn. The Dalma stuck his head back into the door and whined. He was hungry, but they ahd just been so angry and yelling and scary...but his master was calling for him! That must mean it was alright. He slowly padded in.

"Uncover your eyes," Nosod muttered to Garrith. He did so, sighing with relief when he saw that everyone was fine.

"The stew is tasty without pepper anyways!" added Shawn, taking another gulp. Toxshae shook his head. It seemed his son had missed the main point.

"Ah, that's much better," added Rateg. "The tension has gone down much." Molly smiled at him.

"What kind of stupid creature has its wellbeing dependant on other people's emotions?" muttered Sasuke sarcastically. Molly gave him a look.

[85, 58, 16, 15, 15, 14, 13, 13, 12, 12, 8]

[Freezair]

Rupert turned back to his soup. In all that kerfuffle, it had gone cold. Not ice-cold, but lukewarm. The thick broth felt a little slimy now. He daren't upset Akse again, though! He stuffed it down and didn't complain. She was scary.

Kaimana kept a very careful eye on him and Akse. Who knew that, in this family, she was the one you had to look out for. He didn't speak either, and things were quiet. It was... awkward. Well, at least Rupert looked contented.

((Failpost. x.x Sorry, my muse is on Christmas break.))

[71]

[GrayGriffin]

Shawn swallowed another gulp of stew. It tasted slightly odd, since there had been that trouble with Rupert and Kaimana and Akse, but they were fine now! Everyone was happy together again! Neddy, sensing his master's happiness, rubbed against his legs and settled on his hind claws.

"I'm done!" chirped Nosod. Her and Garrith's portions were significantly smaller, but she had still gobbled it down fater than him. He was slowly nibbling at a slightly hotter bit of potato at the moment. Nosod looked at him, and sighed.

"You eat so slow."

"Most of us do," replied Molly, before Garrith could say anything.

"Yeah," agreed Rateg. "So shut up!"

"This stew is good," added Ajor, taking a large gulp.

"Don't gulp like that," warned Huul.

"Sor-ry, Huul," she replied.

[86, 59, 17, 16, 16, 15, 14, 14, 13, 13, 9]

[Freezair]

The room still felt quite uncomfortable. Rupert squirmed in his seat. His wings flared up and down awkwardly.

He stood up. "W-w-well... Um... Thank you for dinner! It was very nice, and, um... Thank you."  He looked at Kaimana. "Uhh... Won't the others be worried about us? Maybe we should..." He gulped. "Go... go home soon. That--that is, if we may be excused?"

Kaimana squinted suspiciously. "You seem... anxious.[/i What is it? Do you... do you [i]sense something...?"

[72]

[GrayGriffin]

"Why?" asked Shawn. "I...I still want to give you a tour of the place! It's huge!"

"My son speaks the truth," added Toxshae. "Our castle is indeed impressive."

"We should not keep vi-si-tors lon-ger than they want to stay," added Ajor softly, standing up. "If they want to go, we should let them go." Huul sighed with relief. At least this teaching had been useful to Ajor.

"Yeah, if you really want to leave, you can..." said Garrith, sounding nervous but relieved.

"Scared of being eaten?" taunted Nosod.

"Wha?-NO!"

"Heh," said Sasuke, glancing at Garrith. The little Wilson wilted and backed away quickly. Molly gave the Tricky a similar look, and he too backed away from her crystalline glare. Rateg snickered.

"We could give them a tour..." added Nosod. "I'd like to show off our pretty place! It's really quite nice once you get used to it, you know."

"Yeah! Everyone likes it! Don't you, Neddy?" added Shawn, looking down. The Dalma tilted his head to the side and whined, but it was a sound of agreement.

[87, 60, 18, 17, 17, 16, 15, 15, 14, 14, 10]

[Freezair]

"Hmmm... It is always good to get to know a new place... Very well. I will submit to this... 'tour' That is, if you do not find it too taxing, Rupert..."

"Not at all!" He sat up straight, wings folded. "I'd love to go on a tour! That... that is... Are there even more people here?" His eyes danced worriedly.

[GrayGriffin]

"Oh yeah! There's lots of other people around!" answered Shawn. "But some of them don't like to have visitors, so they stay in their rooms. We won't bother them!"

"Yes. They have their own reasons for wanting to be alone," agreed Toxshae. "And I would not interfere in the privacy of my...residents."

"Of course, some of them are just crazy," muttered Akse. "That Langlin...rarely coming out at all. And his stupid dihydrogen monoxide prank..." The last bit was said under her breath, so that the two visitors wouldn't hear. In case Langlin decided to test it on them after all, she didn't want to give them any clues.

"Doc-tor is smart," added Ajor. "He tea-ches me a lot. But Huul tea-ches me more."

"Y'know, they're not talking about that right now," said Huul.

"I was...shar-ing," she replied.

"You...don't exactly do it that way," added Garrith. "You're supposed to say something relevant to the topic."

"But...El-der Ser-vant talked a-bout Doc-tor...so I am tal-king a-bout Doc-tor," she replied, confused.

"Eh, don't mind it, Garrith," added Nosod.

Neddy, hearing the word "Doctor," whimpered. He didn't like doctors! Rateg's wings rustled. Doctors were a little too close to psychologists for him. Molly glanced at him, shaking her head.

[88, 61, 19, 18, 18, 17, 16, 16, 15, 15, 11]

[Freezair]

Rupert looked in awe at the architecture. "There are even more people here? Wow... that sounds crazy. Lunchtime must be impossible! How do you afford food and stuff for everyone? ...Oh... I'm sorry... I mean, I don't mean to be nosy..."

Kaimana stepped in to explain for him. "There are ways, I'm sure. There are always ways."

Rupert looked a bit skeptical. It seemed even he could occasionally loose patience with Kaimana's crypticness. "Uhh... If you say so, Kaimana."

Kai himself was drifting off on an entirely different mental tangent. "Hmm... a doctor, eh? Sounds promising. As far as recruitment goes, having someone like that on your side can never fail... Ahh, but it can. You have to be careful with intellectuals. They are not easily swayed. They tend to be more neutral... Oh, yes..."

Supportively, Rupert said to Ajor, "I fail to see how that wasn't relevant. I think Huul is just being a dip."

[74]

[GrayGriffin]

"Huul...knows. He knows how the world is. He...will teach me," said Ajor, with pauses. "You...can not say an-y-thing bad a-bout him. He is good."

"Thank you, Ajor," said Huul. He turned to Rupert, and spoke under his breath. "Ajor doesn't really understand conversation. If I didn't stop her, she'd have gone into excruciating detail about everything she's learned from him."

"As for food, some of it is homegrown," added Toxshae. "Our neighbors also pay taxes to us, and sometimes in the form of vegetables from their garden. Akse is a good cook, and perfectly capable of stretching it out to feed us all. If only more people would pay their taxes..."

Garrith flapped up to Rupert's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Actually, Dr. Langlin is one of the reasons we're not starving. Some of his potions have found a market, and he has some concoctions that can reduce hunger in small doses."

Nosod, flying up after him, added, "The reason we're not that rich is that he's a bit of a hoarder with the potions-doesn't like them to be released too widely. And he's afraid of being sued too."

"Yeah, he's trying to make an ELE variant, but he says it's only for practice. It's not going to be released," continued Garrith.

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Shawn, approaching the three with a curious look on his face.

"Oh, nothing!" the two exclaimed in tandem.

"Why do you consider neutrality bad?" asked Akse curiously, turning to Kaimana, ignoring the whispers and voices around her. "Isn't it good to know there will always be someone to tend your wounds, someone unaligned and unprejudiced?"

"Not always...there are corrupt doctors," muttered Rateg.

"They're not a majority," replied Molly.

"That's what they want you to think..."

"Never thought you had a phobia of all things medical," added Sasuke.

"Can you not talk about d-o-c-t-o-r-s? You're scaring Neddy!" exclaimed Shawn. Indeed, Neddy was crouched down, snarling slightly, prepared to lunge at anyone carrying anything vaguely resembling a carrying case.

[89, 62, 20, 19, 19, 18, 17, 17, 16, 16, 12]

[Freezair]

"Hmmmm... Taxes, eh. So I suppose you are what passes for a ruler around these parts. Tell me, then, to which kingdoms do you give your alliances? You are, I am certain, wisely allied with the Sounds. As any sane person would be, I assure you..." Kaimana's tone was coolly threatening.

Rupert, meanwhile, said, "Well, that sounds just like what conversation is to me! It rambles and changes. I don't think Ajor needs to worry about anything. Ajor, tell me about the things you've learned from the Doctor. It sounds interesting! ELE, you say? Would this one, maybe, be safe for humans without a pet form to consume? I've heard there's a pretty big market for that!"

Kaimana found his attention swapping from conversation to conversation. "If someone remains neutral, you cannot trust them to stay on your side... or not to work for your enemies. They're the ultimate double agents. ...People who refuse to pick a side sicken me."

[75]

[GrayGriffin]

"Well," said Toxshae. "Most of them are unwilling to pay taxes. I occasionally have to use...coercion. My domain...it extends far, and wide. I myself do not know of its full extent, but I have messengers who deliver news of my kingdom to me."

"Oh dear..." whispered Garrith. "He's got into the...the discussion! This is just great!"

"Great? What is great? Has Mas-ter done some-thing e-spe-shul-ly good?" asked Ajor, standing up to look at the Wilson. He shrank away from her, leading Nosod to roll her eyes.

"No...it was sarcasm," said Huul, walking to her side as well. "Remember? I explained it to you before."

"Oh!" exclaimed Shawn, noticing that several of the fellow diners were standing up now. "Are we going to start the tour already?"

"Really?" exclaimed Akse. "But...I'm sure most of our home has fallen into a state of disarray! I need time to prepare!" The flustered Radill swept out of the room, tail flicking quickly back and forth.

"Akse, honey-" called Molly, but the Radill was long gone. Molly sighed.

"That child will give herself a heart attack one of those days."

"Should you really refer to her as 'child'?" asked Rateg.

"I feel that she is a child to me...sometimes I feel you are all children," she added. Neddy, not hearing anything else about doctors, emerged.

"And on the subject of neutrality-it's the best," snarled Sasuke. "You don't have any obligations to tie you down at all."

[90, 63, 21, 20, 20, 19, 18, 18, 17, 17, 13]

[Freezair]

"I see," said Kaimana, looking rapt. "What methods, exactly? I could always use a few... pointers..."

Rupert shuffled nervously. "Oh, look at the time! We're so late to start on the tour! Come on, come on! Let's go! Time's a-wastin', we shouldn't just sit around--"

"Slow down," Kaimana said brusquely. "I am... interested. Do go on, Mr... Toxshae..."

[77]

[GrayGriffin]

Toxshae grinned, lifting up a foreleg and turning it to reveal his ankle blades. "These aren't just for show, my dear Paragon," he grinned.

"Daddy! Don't scare Kaimana," exclaimed Shawn.

"I don't think that's that scary," said Nosod, then turned to see a gibbering Garrith. "Eh, he doesn't count."

"Toxshae...you know you never actually hurt anyone."

"Yes, my blades have never tasted blood. But they can...and if someone is too slow, one day they will."

"Aroooo?" howled Neddy, somehow aware of how the temperature in the room seemed to be dropping.

Akse, panting, suddenly dashed into the kitchen, breaking Toxshae's near-hypnotic spell.

"I-am-done!" she panted.

"El-der Ser-vant is most skilled!" praised Ajor. Huul nodded.

"That...was pretty good," said Sasuke at last.

"Cleaning impresses you?" said Rateg sarcastically. "If only I'd known...we could have been saved many attacks from your bitter tongue."

"Actually, it doesn't. It's speedy cleaning that does."

[91, 64, 22, 21, 21, 20, 19, 19, 18, 18, 14]

[Freezair]

"Fascinating," Kaimana nodded. "Don't worry, dear halfling brother. I am not frightened. Quite the opposite, in fact. I find myself fascinated. I am a Paragon, yes, with many sharp claws and a crushing beak... but I lament my lack of blades. I was not born with a spiked or serrated tail, like others of my kind. I have been thinking... would it be possible to transform into a Lucain...?"

"I don't know," Rupert said. "I'm... curious, myself."

Then Akse came running in.

Rupert snuck off from the tour trail for a second to peak back into the formerly messy rooms. "Wow! She really did fix them up good," he remarked. "I don't know anyone who cleans that fast! Then again... in my family... I don't know anyone who cleans, period."

[77]

[GrayGriffin]

"Thank you," said Akse, bowing her head slightly. "You flatter me." Ajor, however, remained suspicious, her eyes still glaring at Rupert.

"Langlin?" called Toxshae, stopping at a door that seemed to lead down into the basement.

"I'm not coming out!" snapped a voice.

"Aw, can't you? My brother and his friend is here!" exclaimed Shawn, pushing forwards.

"No!"

"He really doesn't care much for the outside world...why don't we leave him alone?" suggested Garrith.

"Yes," agreed Rateg. "We don't need more bitterness."

"But...but some of his inventions are so cool!" pleadedShawn. "I want to show them to our visitors!"

"Yes, child," added Molly. "You do yourself no good."

"Do not call me child."

"But you are like a child. Sulking in your room, not willing to leave..."

"Heh, she's pretty good at delivering a burn," whispered Nosod.

"And the icing on the cake? She's doing to be nice!" added Sasuke. Neddy barked, and the Tricky stiffened, deciding to shut up.

"I'm still not coming out," added Langlin.

"Doc-tor needs lack of dis-tur-ban-ces," added Ajor. "We should go."

"Yeah, Ajor, that's right," added Huul.

[92, 65, 23, 22, 22, 21, 20, 20, 19, 19, 15]

[Oh, and Freezy, I just realized that your Halvard would probaby explode if he ever met Ajor and Huul, because it looks like he really does try to control her a lot.]