{"sf1_id":886326,"sf2_id":null,"title":"A Night of Discussion","author":"StGeorgesHorse","words":5406,"posted_at":"2015-07-14T17:26:00.000Z","tags":["Human","Kludde","Plot Development","Relationships","Story Progression","Werewolf","Wolf","wings"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/886326-a-night-of-discussion","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/886326","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=886326\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#107 of The Moonrise Chronicles\n\nAnd so the story unfolds.","content":"Two hours later the pair was still\nat it. Maggie had been caught in a loop of ever changing forms, from werewolf\nto feral and then back to her winsome, pre-nubile self. Edward loved it all,\nknowing that despite all of the hardships and heartbreaks, he had to be one of\nthe luckiest men in the world.\nFor now he had money; he had power;\nand on top of that he had Maggie. Somewhere down the line they were going to\nhave to get married on paper, but it wasn't going to happen back home. He had a\nfeeling that the red tape involved in sorting their case out wasn't going to be\nworth it. They had her birth certificate and all that now, so they were going\nto have to slip through the legal cracks before anyone caught on. \nGetting married by the pope was\nonly going to be ceremonial at best, assuming they went through with it now. At\nthis stage of the game, it seemed a rather moot point.\nMaggie was under him now, they\nhaving switched places several times over the past couple of hours. The bed was\nin complete disarray. There wasn't a single pillow or sheet left on it. \n\"Husband?\"\nHe nuzzled her neck. \"Yes?\"\n\"What will become of us?\"\n\"What?\" He was startled by her\nquestion.\n\"I mean, sometimes I think like you\ndo and would rather just settle down, as in the idea you have for Wolf Creek.\nBut would you and I really be happy living in one place, doing only one thing?\"\n\"I don't know. There is something\nto be said for being on the move, and there is something to be said for being\nstaid in one place. I guess I would have to say that one is likely to follow\nthe other. At some point, we would find the need to settle back down.\"\n\"You know your old house?\"\n\"Yes, of course I do.\"\n\"Do you realize that now, you'll outlive\nanyone in your neighborhood probably by a few decades at the very least.\"\n\"So?\"\n\"So, I don't think we'll ever be\nable to go back. Mom had a house there too. Which made me wonder.\"\n\"About what?\"\n\"Why you and I lived so close and\nyet never met until we did.\"\n\"Hmmm. You have a point. But then,\nwhy would we? There are thousands of people in that town that I've never met.\"\n\"True. But the saying that like\ncalls to like keeps coming up. I mean, the deeper into The Kind we seem to be\ndrawn, the more unlikely I find it that our meeting was chance.\"\n\"Maybe. But then, what else could\nhave drawn us together?\"\n\"I don't know precisely, but I'm\nbeginning to think that this has been some sort of set up all along.\"\nHe considered her statement. \"Maybe.\nThere is something to be said for chance. Your mom was hiding out from your\nfather. Me, I have no idea why my parents moved there. I really haven't had the\ntime to reconnect with them with everything that has been happening.\"\n\"Admit it; you're still a little\nangry at them, aren't you?\"\nHe sighed. \"Maybe a little. Do we\nreally need to discuss that right now?\"\n\"No. But I know I was mad at my mom\nand grandma. I understand it all a little better now, but I think that I got a\nraw deal...unless this was a set up. Then\nwho can say?\"\n\"How could someone set us both up\nso effectively? I mean, that would take a lot of foreknowledge and...\"\n\"And?\"\n\"Nothing. I was just thinking that\nthe only way someone could do all that was to be able to see the future far\nmore effectively than I have been able to do.\"\n\"That doesn't sound like much of a\ntrick. You really suck at it.\"\nHe ignored her jibe and thrust into\nher with a solid push. She groaned a little but refused to fall back into their\npleasurable routine. He spoke a little tersely.\n\"Maybe I do. I see things, but they\neither don't go the way I see it, or else it becomes some blurry version of it.\nI wish I knew why.\"\n\"I think you said it before. Maybe\nyou can't see things you're going to affect. I mean, that seems pretty solid\nalong the lines of logic.\" \n\"I keep wondering that too. But why\nelse would seeing into the future be a useful talent if you can't do something\nabout the bad things you see?\"\n\"Yeah, you've got a point there.\nBut we have managed some pretty remarkable things, or do I have to keep\nreminding you?\"\n\"No, I understand that. I just wish\nI could see something solid. Everything seems so foreign and nebulous.\"\n\"Well, I for one am not nebulous. What\nsay we cut off thinking, which never does us much good, and return to more\npleasant dramas.\"\n\"Dramas? Like what?\"\n\"Oh, I don't know. Maybe just how\nfar inside you can reach with that organ of yours, or how many changes I can\nmake in an hour, or...\"\nAt that moment a clatter struck the\nbedroom window. Since this was the second floor, that meant someone or\nsomething was outside it. \nThat meant it needed investigating.\nMaggie was pissed. \"Who the hell\ndares to interrupt us?\"\nEdward kissed her before answering.\n\"I have a feeling it's the men from the bar. Reynard did mention that they were\ngoing to show me tonight what a Kludde was.\"\nAs they turned to stare out the\nwindow, a red pair of eyes became visible. They weren't motionless, but rather\nbobbed slightly up and down, and a little side to side. Whatever it was was not\nperched, but rather hovering just outside the window pane.\nMaggie smiled and looked up at\nEdward. \"Kludde?\"\n\"I guess so. I think we therefore need\nto get dressed and go out and see.\"\n\"Dressed?   We'll likely just be changing into one form\nor another. Clothing is just a drag then. We go down as we are.\"\nAnd they did. Out on the street,\nthe lights were out in the area surrounding the inn. It was obviously not an\naccidental thing. Overhead could be heard a distinct rustling. There were many\npairs of wings flapping, quiet but yet sounding very solid and real. Then, one\nby one the group vacated the airspace and landed in front of the pair. \nEach was a wolf; black as night.\nEach had a pair of bat-like wings erupting from their shoulders. Maggie felt\nsuddenly overcome with emotion. She ran to the nearest one and gave it a big\nhug. The face went from fierce defiance to confused humor. When she let go it\ntransformed into Reynard.\n\"Little lady, no one has ever\nhugged old Reynard while he was looking his scariest.\"\n\"Scary! You're beautiful!\"\nThe rest of the Kludde chuckled at\ntheir former leader's discomfiture. \"Beautiful? No one has ever called me that!\"\n\"Just look at you! You have wings!\nI wish I could use mine properly, but I couldn't get them back the way I\nshould.\"\n\"So you are one of the privileged\nones then?\"\n\"I guess. I used them once to save\nmy husband, but then I couldn't get them to go back into place.\"\n\"Terribilis Forisfacturam.\"\n\"What?\"\n\"Tis from the old Roman. It means\nthat in a moment of fear you gave up one thing for another. You will need to\nfind yourself before you can use all of what nature has given you.\"\n\"Find myself? I think I'm still\ndoing that. I had lost a part of me for a while that I'm still coming to grips\nwith.\"\n\"Yes, we all lose parts of\nourselves. Some of it is a good riddance. Other things you lose, if you don't remember\nthem, were they really important to begin with? Anything worthwhile has a habit\nof sticking with you.\"\n\"If you say so. It sounds more like\nyou're talking in riddles.\"\n\"Maybe. But what's they fun in\nbeing told everything? That would leave you nothing left to learn, and boredom\nhas killed more men than most wars.\"\n\"So, are you guys here to show me\nhow to use my wings?\"\n\"No! This group is for males only. No\noffense dear, but your husband has been placed in charge of the group, and as\nsuch, he must run with us tonight. We promise to bring him back before dawn.\"\nEdward was bemused. \"I don't have\nwings. What can I do for you that you can't do on your own?\"\n\"Lead. Wings are only a method of\nlocomotion. We have good minds, but we have used up our allotment of\nimagination. You are fresh blood and therefore a wellspring of innovations.\"\n\"And just what do you need\ninnovations for?\"\n\"The future. We live in the present\nand plan for the future.\"\n\"I see. Well, I am at your\ndisposal, for whatever good it will do you. So what do we do?\"\n\"We? This is for you alone. The girl\nis welcome to our clan, but she is not to be part of this group, at least not\nyet.\"\nMaggie rather figured she was going\nto have a long night waiting for them to get back. She was still a little horny\nand more than a bit perturbed that their late night intermission was going to\nbe permanent. Her reply was loaded with iciness.\n\"Go. I'll find something to do.\"\nOne by one the Kludde flew off,\nleaving Edward standing there alone. \"Are you sure you're ok with this?\"\nShe smiled. \"No, but I think that I'll\nget over it. Go and have fun. But you owe me for another few hours of fun when\nyou get back. You had better save some energy for me.\"\nHe kissed her. \"I'll do my best.\"\nWith that he morphed into his feral self and vanished into the dark.\nShe sighed and plunked down on the stone\nstreet, heedless of the cold pavers against her bare backside. She wasn't there\nmore than a few minutes when she heard wings again. The sound was a mere\nwhisper, but she knew it for what it was. Wings had seemed so special to her,\nand now it seemed like everyone had them!\nShe was expecting one of the guys\nto have returned on some errand. She was mildly surprised when the red eyes\napproached her. The wolf-like form ran and shifted into the semblance of the\nbarmaid from earlier.\n\"Hello.\"\nMaggie grinned. \"A female? I\nthought this whole Kludde thing was male only.\"\n\"Kludde? What's in a name dear? Some\nhumans are white, others black, others yellow, but they all can breed with one another,\nso they are all the same in that aspect.\"\n\"So then you're just like them?\"\n\"I am just like me, just as you are\njust like you. Quit worrying so much about defining everything. You can create\na category for everything without actually defining it. Sometimes it just\nbetter to be instead of attempting to fit in.\"\n\"You mean like them leaving without\nme?\"\n\"No, but I guess you can think of\nit that way. Let the men have their fun. I'm sure no harm will come of it. They\nhave reputations to uphold around here, so they'll not get into too much mischief.\"\n\"So what am I supposed to do in the\nmeantime?\"\n\"Well, if you don't mind my company,\nI thought maybe I could open the tavern and we could talk over a few drinks.\nThe men fail to understand the viewpoint of a female, one of the things that\nhas kept them tied down to their old habits. But who am I to argue with the\nlikes of them? They have wings and fierce teeth and old age behind them!\"\n\"Are they really that old?\"\n\"They are, but I think that doesn't\nsurprise you. Come on in and we can talk. I'll answer your questions as I best\nsee fit.\"\nThe door seemed to be already\nunlocked and Maggie had a creeping feeling that again, this was all foreseen.\nShe wished Edward hadn't run off. She could handle her own, but she felt more\ncomfortable knowing he had her back when necessary.\n\"What do you care for? Jenever is\npopular, but perhaps you would prefer something less traditional?\"\n\"The beer you were serving earlier\nis fine.\"\n\"As you wish.\" She drew two large\nmugs and sat down across from her. It didn't seem as odd as it should that they\nwere both naked. \"So young lady, tell me about yourself? It seems that your\nerrand is a fool's one.  I understand\nthat you seek the Lady Lily. Everyone knows the rule. No one seeks her; she\nseeks them.\"\n\"So I have been told more than once\nsince we've landed on this continent. But if she didn't want us to find her,\nthen why did she tell us to search her out?\"\n\"That is a good question. Have you\nany thoughts on that?\"\n\"No. I mean, if someone wants to\ntalk to you, you normally just call them on the phone or something like that.  While she did seem to save us from floating\naround on the sea, since then it has been a little odd.\"\n\"Odd? How so?\"\n\"Well, she did set us up to get\nhealed after everything we had been through.\"\n\"That doesn't sound so bad.\"\n\"Well no, it's not.\"\n\"So then, what happened next?\"\n\"We ended up here.\"\n\"And this place is so bad?\"\n\"I didn't say it was bad. But how\nis it that we ended up with a group of people a bit like us? I mean, there have\nto be hundreds of towns around here that aren't populated by members of The Kind.\"\n\"Kludde. The men have grown fond of\nthe old name. But I digress. Yes, it would seem impossible. So you didn't plan\non stopping?\"\n\"No. Honestly we didn't even know\nabout this place. I just wanted to talk with my husband. He has been a little\npreoccupied since we had our encounter.\"\n\"Yes, with the only true monster\namong us. If you truly killed him, then you did him and the rest of the world a\nfavor. His evil was very deep, even if he was occasionally able to turn his dark\nside to good works.\"\n\"You know about him then?\"\n\"Many of us do. The younger folks\ntend to dismiss the old lore, but Hyde, he was not so old to many of us. \"\n\"And no one tried to stop him?\"\n\"What was there to stop? Robert managed\nhis inner beast quite well. It was known that something would happen that would\ndraw it to a head. From there the result was difficult to predict. The future\ncan be funny at times.\"\nMaggie nodded. \"Like Edward. He\nsees things but they seem to have little meaning for him. We were just talking\nabout that.\"\n\"Foresight? Yes, it can be\ndifficult to manage from what I understand of it. The more you involve yourself\nwith what you see, the less it comes true.\"\n\"Can you see the future?\"\nThe woman shrugged. \"Better than\nsome I guess I would say. Men are often more apt to try and place their own interpretations\non it. It is far better to let it unfold.\"\n\"But what if you see something\nterrible?\"\n\"What if?\"\n\"Doesn't that mean you're committed\nto try and stop it?\"\n\"A moral question? The future flows\nlike a stream. There are times when the water is muddy and you cannot see what\nlies beneath the surface. Even when the stream is clear, you are best to peer\nover the side and see what you can see. The moment you enter the stream, you\ncreate eddies. The more you flounder, the more you disturb the flow, raising\nsediments and silt. Everything upstream from you remains intact, while the flow\ndownstream becomes cloudy and hard to penetrate. \"\n\"So you're saying what Edward was\nthinking. That the only way to see the future is to stay out of it?\"\n\"Stay out of it? You can't stay out\nof it. We are all part of it. But your point is that the more you try to\ninterfere, the more you mess things up?\"\n\"I guess that's what I mean.\"\n\"Then that is correct. So if you\nsee that someone is going to be killed by getting hit by an automobile, you\ncould save them, but what would the result be?\"\n\"I don't understand.\"\n\"I don't suppose you do. If you\nmanaged to distract the driver, and thus he somehow misses the person you saw\ngetting hit, what is to say your actions might then not precipitate a worse accident\ninvolving a busload of people? Would one life be worth twenty?\"\n\"Well...\"\n\"Your thought is; what if that one\nperson was important?\"\n\"I guess so.\"\n\"How do you weigh such a thing?\"\n\"I can't.\"\n\"Correct. This thing would happen\nregardless of your knowledge of it. But upon gaining that knowledge, you are\nthen stuck into the quandary of what to do with that information.\"\nMaggie was quiet. \"So why does\nEdward have that talent if it has no real use?\"\n\"Your husband isn't the only one.\nAs I said, it works better in the female side. We have more sense to begin with.\nSo the use of it is in what you do with your life. You should interfere in\nother's existences as little as possible unless they invite you.\"\n\"Sounds pretty useless to me. I\nmean, I know that using it for things like lottery numbers and such is sort of\nunethical, but it's like having a tool and being told you can't use it.\"\nThe woman drank a pull from her\nglass. \"Can you perform surgery?\"\n\"No.\"\n\"But there are those who can. The difference\nis not talent nor ability, but training and dedication. Your husband must learn\nto control himself. He has much to be feared in him. His power seems to me to\nbe great, and there are things about him that the men do not understand. I\nthink that he himself loathes what he might become.\"\n\"And you do understand?\"\nShe smiled over the rim of her\nglass. \"I am a woman. He is a man. It has always been that the female knows the\nman better than the man knows himself. Even you should know this.\"\n\"Are you trying to make a move on\nhim?\" Maggie felt her hackles rise.\n\"No! Such talk! As one girl to\nanother, I am telling you this. Follow your hunches like I think you used to\ndo. You have as much about yourself as he does to himself. You know this, and\nhe knows this, but you have yet to know it all. You both have youth. And before\nyou tell me how mature you are, I don't want to hear it. Age is relative. Experience\nis not. You must trust in each other explicitly, or not at all.\"\n\"Is that so? Do you have any idea\nof everything I've been through? That we've been through?\"\n\"I take it you're going to tell me.\"\nAnd she did. For the next few hours\nshe spilled it all out. She hadn't had a chance to unload to anyone since she\nhad met Edward. She was still trying to sort it all out, from her original\nmemories to her present partnering. She finally broke down crying.\nThe woman came around the table and\nsat down next to her. \"Life can be hard dear. You have been lucky to live\nthrough a few skirmishes. Try a fully fledged war. Or several. You have\ntroubles now because you have weathered through these things and come out alive.\nNot everyone does.  But these things are\nin the past. They have brought you here, but they do not dictate where you will\ngo. The future, seen or unseen, is not written until you write it.\"\nMaggie wiped her nose on the back\nof her hand in a childlike manner that made her feel more in tune with her\nfeelings. She had so much fear inside that she had no idea how much it had been\ndriving her. She maintained her immature form because she was afraid that Edward\nwould ignore her if she wasn't somehow a taboo item for his pleasures. She\nloved him, and she knew he loved her and though her act had once been real, now\nit was simply a holdover.\n\"I scared to grow up. It works for\nme being the little girl, even though I know I'm not.\"\n\"I was young once too you know. Men\nare not so different now than they have been all along. An individual may have\ndifferent tastes from his fellows, but they are all hardwired for the same\nthing. Your Edward needs you as much as you need him. You both know this and\nyet you still have uncertainties. In this you are acting human. At some point I\nwould suggest you find a place out of sight and spend time together as\nwerewolves. It is that portion of your being that makes you who you are.\"\n\"You mean, like just running wild?\"\n\"Yes, just like that. No rules to\nfollow, only your nose when it catches the scent of prey, or staying up to\nwatch a full moon and to feel its pull on your soul. To feel the raindrops on\nyour fur.  Things only the wild side can\ntruly appreciate.\"\nMaggie brightened. \"That does sound\nlike fun.\"\n\"It is. I've done it alone and I've\ndone it with a partner many times in my lifetime. There is a time for acting\nthe part of the hero and heroine, and then there is a time to live for\nyourself.\"\n\"Well, we were having some time to\nourselves when that crew broke it up.\"\n\"Sex? You're weres dear. You can\nhave sex whenever and wherever you wish. But have you thought to the future?\"\n\"How do you mean?\"\n\"You are old enough to look adult,\nbut you have a ways to go before you will be ready for breeding. Have you any\nidea what that encompasses?\"\nMaggie twisted up her lip in a\ngrin. \"Sadly, yes. Edward is presently the pending father to an undetermined\nnumber of children.\"\nThe woman nodded. \"Then you\nunderstand the urge to breed is very strong. Is this part of the reason you\nhave doubts? Because if he were to meet a female in heat that he might throw\nyou over to be with her?\"\n\"Maybe.\"\n\"He is young too. The separate sides\nof what you are still have some barriers in place. Time will erode them until\nhe is fully capable of understanding his actions in any of his forms.\"\n\"He did for one of them. He was\ngoing to marry her.\"\n\"Was he now? And what held his\nhand?\"\n\"Me I guess. And her. I don't think\nshe was really interested in marrying him. It was just her time and she had\nfound no other to mate with.\"\n\"That does happen. So in the end,\nare they both happy?\"\n\"I think Edward is. Verona has\nhooked up with my Uncle Alexei and he plans on caring for the baby as if it\nwere his own.\"\n\"He sounds like a good man.\"\n\"He is, for a mobster.\"\nThe woman let out a laugh. \"Never judge\na were by what they do in the real world. We have been placed in positions of\npower, and we have lived the lowliest lives there are. It is what they do to others\nof The Kind that really matters. We treat regular people no better or no worse\nthan they treat themselves.\"\n\"I guess so. So in the end, you're\ntrying to tell me what? To relax and go with the flow?\"\n\"Not exactly. You seem very bright\nand resourceful. That is inherent to who you are. There are dull people out\nthere, even among those we count as our own. There is as much variety and disparity\namong us as there is in the general population.\"\n\"I am beginning to see that. When I\nwas alone, I thought I was the only one. I did some terrible things, but I did\nthem to terrible people. I didn't like killing for...\"\nShe looked up to the woman. \"Do you\nknow anything about needing to kill and eat people?\"\n\"Ahhh, you had the curse?\"\n\"Curse?\"\n\"Oh, it's not a curse. A disease.\nAgain, never assume your abilities make you invulnerable. Silver is the big\none, but you have that ring. Your husband has one too.\"\nMaggie thought about mentioning the\nmass of it in his head, but felt that maybe she shouldn't. \"What sort of\ndisease?\"\n\"What else? An infection. It takes\nhold of you, but your system is too strong to be overrun, but not so complex as\nto be rid of it. It was very common hundreds of years ago, and was rather\nrestricted to our lands here in Europe.\"\n\"But how did I get it?\"\n\"From your parents dear, one or\nboth. Did Edward have it?\"\n\"No. But then he didn't do his transformation\nuntil late in his life. I sort of thought that might have protected him.\"\n\"It's possible. I can't say that I\nhave devoted a lot of thought or time to such matters. It's difficult to worry\nabout matters that don't directly affect you.\"\n\"I suppose not. But hasn't there\nbeen anyone who has investigated a disease that can affect us?\"\n\"You would have to find that old\nscribe they call Brother Carcharoth. They say he records everything he can get\nhis hands on.\"\nMaggie threw up her arms in dismay.\n\"But we just came from him!\"\n\"Then you either have to retrace\nyour steps or give up your inquiry until another time. That is often the way\nlife treats you. Your only means of fighting fate is to keep a hold of your\nneed to learn until such time as the opportunity presents itself. Then you must\nask the right questions to receive the proper answers.\"\nMaggie wrinkled her nose and sat\nsilent for a moment. \"What if you don't like the answers you get when you get\nthem?\"\n\"What then? One mustn't allow\npersonal feelings to cloud their judgment when it comes to learning the facts.\nLiving your life while turning away from the reality that surrounds us is very\ndangerous. Many people, ordinary or otherwise, die every day because they\nchoose improperly. I for one have lived my life on the edge more than once, but\nI did so with the full knowledge that I might not escape the predicament I\nplaced myself into. From what you have told me, you have used your wits wisely\nmore than once.\"\n\"Yeah, I guess so. I hated to do\nit, but it seemed that if people thought I was dead, then the problem might get\nsolved.\"\n\"A wise ploy, but not always the\nbest one. I think that at some point in time you will need to go back and face\nup to those matters that you have shunted to the side. Your father, for\nexample, might have had other plans for you, but the fact remains, he is your\nfather. But this is for you to decide at such a time as you see fit.\"\n\"And what of your parents? Did you\nhave problems with them when you were my age?\"\nThe woman found it was her turn to\npause. \"Yes, I suppose you could say that. But that is a story which requires\ntime to tell, and I think that today is all about you.\"\n\"If you say so. I just can't help\nfeeling a little uneasy about where we're heading.\"\n\"And where is that?\"\n\"I don't know.\"\n\"Then, like most people, you are\nliving your life one day at a time. You have no idea how tedious it would be if\nyou really did know everything ahead of time.\"\n\"I guess so. But it seems that each\nlittle adventure has been one step higher on the rung in regards to the level\nof danger we have to face.\"\n\"So, fear still has a grip on you,\njust as you said. What would you rather have? Unlimited confidence?\"\n\"I used to feel that way.\"\n\"Me too. Life does tend to temper\nyou. Fear is no bad thing. I believe your feelings on the matter are more\nrelated to your other half. \"\n\"Edward? I gave him my heart you\nknow.\"\n\"And he has given you his. What else\ndo you want? Assurances? Life doesn't give us any. I suppose if you still have\nthat question on your mind should you ever find the Lady Lily, you can ask her.\"\n\"And will she answer me?\"\n\"I guess time will tell. You have\nto find she-that -can't-be-found first.\"\nMaggie shook her head. \"Yeah. That.\nAll we have to go on is her words and a key.\"\n\"A key? To what?\"\n\"I wish I knew. She didn't say.\"\n\"Then don't fail to fit it in wherever\nyou might think it will work. If she gave it to you, it does something, I'm\nsure of that.\"\n\"I think so too. But these little\nmysteries are just part of some bigger enigma that we keep finding ourselves\ntangled in.\"\n\"Then maybe this will help you to\nfree yourselves from it. \"\n\"Hmph! I doubt it. This is just one\nbig conspiracy!\"\nThe woman laughed. \"So could be\nsaid for life in general. Everyone is throwing nets trying to catch themselves\nsome trophy or another, and then someone else does the same, taking it away\nfrom them. People are always scheming, and it is rare that their plans come to\nfruition. But what they have child, is a plan. You and your husband might want\nto consider figuring out what it is you seek, both from life and from each\nother. Set it in your heart like it is set in stone. Tie your fears to it. Then\nyou will be free.\"\n\"Sounds a little lame to me.\"\n\"Perhaps it does. But if you can\nfind another way, then by all means use it. I am talking from experience. And forgive\nme for being smug, but I think I have a few years over you.\"\nMaggie yawned. \"Yeah, I suppose you\ndo. And look, the sky is beginning to lighten up. Can we expect the boys back\nsoon?\"\n\"Very soon. They don't make an\nappearance in the sky when they can be seen by mortal eyes. And walking in the\nstreets naked is only acceptable on those occasions when they can blame it on a\nnight of heavy drinking. Your husband will return a bit wiser to their ways,\nand maybe you two will have a few things to discuss when he does. But don't be\ntoo hasty. Some things can't be forced. They need to be felt; they need to be\nlearned.\"\n\"Now that is something I already\nknow.\"\n\"Then you are off to a good start.\nBut as you say, it is getting light out. We had both better find our clothing,\nor else a place where our nakedness will draw no attention. Even here, where\nthe people tolerate a little oddity now and again, they might get up in arms\nabout a group of naturists springing up in their midst.\"\nMaggie giggled. \"I suppose you're\nright. I was going to jump him when he came back, but I'm feeling very tired\nright now.\"\n\"Then go and sleep. Even the\nstrongest among us need to sleep. We might seem unnatural to many people, but\nwe are as natural as the rest of the life on this planet. We're just different.\"\n\"That's an understatement.\"\n\"Is it? I think not. Never assume\nthat what you know is all there is to know about something. Always look deeper.\"\n\"I'll do that later. Right now I'm\nheading to bed.\"\nThe woman kissed her on the\nforehead. \"Rest well. I'll see you again.\"\nMaggie smiled and made her way to\nthe inn. The bed was still in disarray, but she didn't care. She could still\nsmell Edward's sweat and other scents on the sheets and snuggled up to wait for\nhim. She fell asleep soundly within minutes."}