Angela was "watching" the festivities through her family's headsets. Then, during a moment when S'haar's attention was pulled away by some workers who had questions, she spoke up to Jack. "Why can't I come out and join in the party?"

With a rueful shake of his head, Jack responded. "You know the answer to that question."

Angela pouted, even though no one could see her. "I don't think it would cause all that much trouble. We put an end to all the cults worshiping me before they gained too much traction. They finally stopped leaving offerings at the mouth of the cave. I haven't even had a worker ask me to grant them or their children my blessing in almost an entire week!"

Jack closed his eye and chuckled before retorting. "But what about the kid?"

The AI didn't sound concerned. "Oh, he's got to get used to me eventually. Besides, this is my home! He's the guest, which means it shouldn't be me that has my movement restricted!"

Jack grinned as he retorted. "This whole world is their home. We're the guests and had best keep that in mind, but that's beside the point. While he might be an unwilling resident here at the Outpost, we're trying to educate and win him over, not traumatize the poor kid further. So we have to spread the surprises out at least a little bit, and you're one of the biggest surprises here!"

Angela was back to pouting. "Fine. I guess I'll just sit here in my cave...all alone."

Jack wasn't about to take the bait. "Yeah, you just got a whole new power source, so I'm not gonna feel too bad for you. Speaking of, how’s that looking, anyway?"

Angela sounded so excited, she'd already forgotten about her lamentations moments ago. "Oh, it's looking great! We can stop worrying about draining energy and start moving forward with this kind of power! I could begin really repairing the ship, although I don't know if that's much of a priority anymore, or we could look into setting up an actual communication network instead of using that mobile transceiver, or I could even work on putting a satellite up in orbit so we could really start making differences! Simply reading weather patterns and giving advance warnings of any cold fronts would make a massive difference to the survival rate of the argu'n!"

Jack raised an eyebrow at his sister's over-eager response. "All that from our little windmill?"

Angela sounded a little more subdued this time. "Well, no, not quite...but it's a start! We finally have an energy surplus for the first time since arriving on this planet! That's huge!"

Leaning back in his chair, Jack had to agree. "Yeah, it is. And you're right. It opens up all sorts of opportunities, but we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. Let's focus on stabilizing this place first, then we can further indulge in dreaming about the future."

Anglea sighed but relented. "Yeah, you're right. Speaking of the here and now, how's our guest doing at the moment?"

Jack looked out over the crowd before spotting the kid in question. "If Em'brel's headset is active, I think you'll know the answer to that question soon. It looks like they're about to run into each other."

When Em'brel saw her cousin, she froze. He'd been speaking to Lady Fea'en and looked as startled to see Em'brel as she felt looking at him. Why did she suddenly feel as if she was being confronted by another assassin?

Grim growled softly at her side, drawing To'brel's eyes shifted away from her own and toward the wolgen. Em'brel remembered Jack warning her and Sare'en that since Grim saw them as part of his pack, the wolgen would become protective toward them and respond to their feelings and emotions in times of stress.

Keeping this in mind, Em'brel started scratching Grim behind the ears and spoke softly to him. "Sit! Shhh, it's alright, boy. To'brel is ok. I was just a bit startled, is all. No need to get excited."

To'brel eyed the wolgen with concern before turning his gaze back to Em'brel. "How do you do it?"

The girl looked thoughtful. "Oh, I'm not the one who trained Grim. That was Jack and Sare'en. I'm just around him enough that he considered me part of the pack, is all."

Her cousin shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean, but that's part of it. How do you accept and fit in with all this madness so naturally? We grew up in the same place, with the same education, but you look like you're in your element here, while I feel like I'm drowning. This place is one insane idea after another, brilliant but insane. Yet there you stand, petting a wolgen, surrounded by dragons and humans, and if what I've been told is true, you've had a hand in designing almost every building, tower, wall, and well in this place! The latest of which is something so apparently marvelous that an impromptu celebration is thrown at its completion, even though no one here seems to really understand what it does, other than you!"

Em'brel looked confounded for a moment. "Well, it's a building that generates something called electricity, but that's a little hard to understand without a lot more explanation than we have time for right now, but it could also be used to pull water from the lake or grind grains into flour that's much easier to work with..."

To'brel threw up his hands in exasperation. "See, that's what I'm talking about. I'm struggling to understand how mud can be used to make walls, but you're talking about arcane ideas like drawing water from a distant lake like it's nothing! How have you learned so much of the human wizard's magic in such a short time? It's not fair!"

Em'brel's heart was suddenly thudding in her chest, and the rest of the party faded away. Her tendrils began shaking furiously as she rounded on the new threat in front of her. "'It's not fair?' 'IT'S NOT FAIR?' Let me tell you about not fair! Not fair is watching your father die and knowing that you'll spend the rest of your short life as someone's slave! Not fair is having your sleep stolen every night because you're terrified that every sound is another raider sneaking upon you, and every shadow hides another assassin! Not fair is watching as the people you care most about fight, bleed, and even die, all because of your existence!"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Em'brel hadn't even realized she was swinging her claws toward her cousin until she was stopped by an iron grip holding her wrist tightly enough that she couldn't move while another was wrapped around her midsection, pulling her back.

She started to panic when she heard Lon'thul's voice right in her ear. "Woah there, calm down! I'm not going to hurt you, but I'm also not letting you go until you calm down enough that you won't do something you regret. So take a moment and just breathe..."

At the same time, she became aware of Angela's voice speaking in her ear. "Em'brel, this is a stress reaction. You need to get ahold of yourself before you really go too far! Lon'thul's right! Take a breath!"

Suddenly Em'brel was aware of everything going on around her. The crowd had gone silent, aside from Sare'en frantically pulling back on Grim's leash and shouting commands. "Down, Grim! Sit! Heel!"

To'brel was on the ground, looking up at her with confused and frightened eyes, while the rest of the crowd seemed to suddenly find themselves busy looking for anything else to pay attention to.

All the tension left her limbs. Then, feeling the fight suddenly go out of her, Lon'thul carefully released Em'brel, who started babbling immediately. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean... I wasn't trying to..."

Em'brel's mind became a maelstrom as each thought only half-developed before giving way to the next. Not able to reason, she eventually gave way to a different instinct and fled. Immediately, Grim was back on his feet and tearing after her with Sare'en right behind.

Lon'thul took a moment to look over at S'haar, who'd just arrived to deal with the situation. "I'll go keep an eye on them while you sort things out here." Then he took off as well.

It only took a bit of shouting for S'haar to get things back on track. Despite the tension and confusion of moments ago, there was far too much good food to let go to waste. Soon the murmur of the crowd returned, though perhaps slightly more subdued than before, as everyone returned to the feast with a new topic of discussion circulating the area.

The looks directed at To'brel ranged from sympathetic to angry. Perhaps the worst was S'haar, who now looked at him as a problem to be dealt with. "What did you say to her?"

To'brel was sure the rest of his stay was about to be locked up in that room. The worst part was he didn't even know what he'd done to deserve it. Sure, maybe he'd let himself get so caught up in this place that he'd spoken without thinking, and perhaps the things the young noble said had been unintentionally painful to Em'brel, but he didn't think anything he'd said or done had deserved that kind of reaction.

With S'haar still staring at him, he felt compelled to speak, but his words came out as jumbled as his thoughts. "I didn't... I mean, I'm not sure... I don't even know what I did!"

S'haar looked like she was about to say something when a familiar short, cowled figure rested a hand upon her shoulder and spoke to her in his odd language. Eventually, S'haar turned back to To'brel, looking calmer than before. "Jack says that wasn't you. Or at least it wasn't all you. Whatever you said somehow hit on a point of trauma, and Em'brel's mind forced her to react as if she was in real danger."

To'brel tried to understand but only got more confused. How could Em'brel have felt she was in danger? Sure, that hadn't been his best moment, but he hadn't threatened her in any way he could think of...

S'haar let out a breath and looked around before turning her attention to To'brel. "Still, I think we've all had enough excitement for today. Let's grab a plate of some food and get you back to your room."

Em'brel was blindly running, not realizing where she was going until she burst into the billet she shared with her family. A part of her mind was screaming to go hide under the blanket of her bed to hide and hope this was all just some bad dream when she noticed someone waiting for her.

Em'brel launched herself at the unexpected guest and wrapped her arms around them, squeezing for everything she was worth. For her part, Angela simply reached down and returned Em'brel's hug. "It's gonna be alright. We're all here for ya. It's gonna be alright..."

It took a moment for Em'brel to realize something cold and damp was pressing into her back. Looking behind herself, she could see Grim with his nose pressed against her, whimpering. Not far behind him was a concerned-looking Sare'en, and a bit further back was Lon'thul, sitting there with that same grin he always had. Somehow, that stupid grin that seemed so out of place with everything going on got through to Em'brel, and she laughed a little before hiccuping and half sobbing. She stopped herself by covering her mouth with a hand and closing her eyes for a moment.

Em'brel turned back to Angela. "How can it be alright? After everything I just said and did, how am I ever going to show my face again?"

Lon'thul barked out a short laugh, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room before he shrugged. "Ah, I don't think it was all that bad. Something similar happened between the two of us the first time we met, and look at me; I'm still here! Sure, some of the workers might have something new to gossip about for a while, but it won't be long before Jack or Angela here does something crazy, and it'll be totally forgotten about! I'm sorry, but your little show back there isn't really big news around here."

Angela shook her head. A moment later, the familiar light projection Angela was standing on her own metallic shoulder. "Not quite how I would have worded it, but he's right. It's not the end of the world."

Em'brel looked up at her friend and tutor. "Are you sure? It feels like the end of the world right now... I just want to hide under a blanket and disappear..."

Angela pulled Em'brel into a hug again, gently patting her head, which almost sounded like some kind of odd clattering windchime as she did so. The AI chuckled. "I'm sure. You didn't do anything that bad. Sure, people will talk for a little bit, but I think an apology to your cousin is all that's really required to make amends."

Em'brel tucked her head down as if to hide in the hug. Her voice came out a little muffled from the embrace. "Do I have to apologize? I'd rather not face him now...or ever..."

Angela laughed a little. "You don't have to face him right now, but you should apologize soon. It'll be good for both of you. It's important to remember that what happened wasn't really your fault, but it wasn't his either. Right now, he's probably scared and confused, unsure of what really happened back there. So while I don't blame you for your reaction, I do expect you to do what you can to set things right."

Em'brel looked crestfallen, and Angela changed her tone to be more comforting. "But that can wait. Right now, everyone's emotions are still running high, and it would be best to just calm down and get a little rest. Sare'en, dear, can you start a fire and warm up some water for a bit of tea? Lon'thul, go grab Em'brel's blanket from her bed. Right now, I think she needs to be wrapped in a warm cocoon with snacks and drinks while I think of a story to take our mind off tonight's troubles."

As Em'brel settled in and everyone else found their places, Angela sat her body in the corner of the room and projected herself over the fire, winking at Em'brel. "Have I ever told you about the legendary land of the Amazons?"

Em'brel snorted in amusement, answering as Sare'en handed her a cup of tea and settled in next to her, with Grim on the floor. "I'm sure you know better than any of us what stories you've told us and which you haven't, but please, go on."

Angela smiled and nodded. "Maybe so! Anyway, this is a story from an ancient human culture, talking about a tribe of feared and powerful warrior women. So S'haar would have fit right in, and I'm sure Lon'thul would have had a crush on a few of them by the end of the day!"

Em'brel chuckled as Lon'thul sputtered in mock indignation while Angela began her story. The young female let her worries fall to the back of her mind. She knew she'd have to address them eventually, but the fire was warm, she was surrounded by friends, and that was enough for now.