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From within the forest, four wild boars watch the group of students and their teacher leave. As the group disappears around a bend, the amber gilt nuzzles the ebony boar's neck, and he nuzzles back. After a few nuzzles and nips, they back away, perhaps regretfully, grunting and sighing, then turn and snort to the other pair, who hesitate, then approach and join in nuzzling.
Shortly, four Xhilrans stand in the shade of the forest.
Earth Prince grins. "Nuzzling is fun."
Water Princess smiles shyly, looking down at the grass. "But staying in that form would be dangerous. I'm not sure I'd be able to control my, uhm, natural instincts."
"We changed back too soon?"
"Mom!"
"Animals have different rules." She pauses, then ducks her head in apology. "But we aren't animals. Sorry."
"Yeah. Much as I like your mom's ideas, I do agree with you, Dŵr. No." Earth Prince chuckles, and the four join in. He continues, "Just as well it's not yet rutting season."
"I shouldn't tease, honey. But I do like your new prince."
Earth Prince clears his throat.
Water Princess squeezes his hand while reaching out to give her mother a hug.
"Maybe we should go see what we can copy from the monuments and markers," Water Princess's father suggests.
Earth Prince looks at the position of the sun. "I've still got an hour."
(A sixteenth of a day. You would call it an hour and a half.)
The four head back into the woods, retracing their steps.
"Well, I think we did a good job."
"Thanks Mom. We need to thank the real boars, too, if we can find their sounder."
Earth Prince holds branches out of the way as the others pass. "Yeah. I was a bit worried about the methods, but this avoided the appearance of magic. That would have caused problems in this particular case."
Water Princess's father holds branches in turn. "I think at least two of their group are thinking there was magic involved."
The two men stop and nod to each other, then move on.
"Professor Parry." Earth Prince's expression turns a bit pensive. "She was one of my favorite teachers when I started the upper forms. She reached out to the students who didn't fit in."
Water Princess nods. "That must be disappointing. But I don't think she's a bad person. Just confused."
"Yeah, I think you're right. But I think I need to visit her."
観 -- That is correct. You do.
"She needs some support. I'll go with you."
"If you need, we can too," Water Princess's mother suggests.
"Thanks." Earth Prince nods. "I'm not sure a crowd's a good idea, though."
使 -- Better not to have any parents on the first visit. And it will likely require more than one visit.
"Should I go alone the first time?"
助 -- Water Princess can help you.
"It's a date."
"But what if she calls me by name? Or asks yours?"
Water Princess pauses in her progress, and looks back to Earth Prince. "Maybe I'll have to give up a little more of my comfort zone ..." Her voice falters as she starts moving again.
They break through the underbrush, into the gravesite clearing.
"There's Professor Parry's dagger." Water Princess's father walks over and picks it up. He frowns as he examines it. "Definitely not just a re-purposed letter opener. Can't leave it lying around."
"She would keep that in her desk and use it as a letter opener. She knows how to throw it, too, and just the thought of her having it handy kept some of the rowdier boys in line."
"Rather unique professor, I'd say."
助 -- We can take care of that.
Water Princess's father thoughtfully hands the dagger, handle first, to the messenger. The messenger accepts it, removes her pack, pulls a long cravat from it, and proceeds to wrap the dagger. Once the blade is protected, she stores it in her pack.
助 -- When necessary, the blade can be returned to any of you four.
観 -- Water Princess, what are your opinions of the work you have just done?
"If I had been more prepared, I think I'd have just asked the boars to handle it, and we could have watched from the shadows without having to assume any different form."
観 -- Do you think you could have been sufficiently prepared?
"Good question. I was just following the ideas that came to me, in my heart."
使 -- Could you have done better?
Water Princess and Earth Prince look at each other. Earth Prince shakes his head slowly.
"It's always possible to do better." Water Princess purses her lips thoughtfully.
"Until the job is done. It was sufficient," Earth Prince says with a wry smile.
使 -- Earth Prince is right.
"And follow-up is always necessary, anyway." Water Princess nods in acceptance of her own words as she speaks.
助 -- To what object, the follow-up?
Water and Earth look at each other and nod, then speak in unison -- "To confirm Agnes's decision, and to try to help Professor Parry believe that magic is not the path she seeks."
助 -- Correct. You may now proceed with the business of the day.
"I have some questions."
観 -- Yes, Earth Prince?
"That was some pretty heavy-duty physics."
使 -- True.
I'm sure you share our amusement at Earth Prince's insight. Please be patient with him.
"Care to enlighten us how it was done? I mean, the one translation of matter forms is hard enough to understand being possible. It's way beyond simple alchemy--"
助 -- Very true.
"But, then, reversing it. Perfectly --"
観 -- You don't remember?
Earth Prince mulls this over. "Well, I remember bits and parts, but I was mostly leaving things up to my princess and hanging on for dear life. First time you know."
Water Princess blushes and looks aside. "It was my first time, too."
"I remember a kind of a bump when the entropy field turned sideways. Or was it we turned sideways in the field so we could have time to --" Earth Prince begins to turn pink around the base of his neck. "This feels just a little what it must feel like to have the family present on the wedding night."
使 -- So you could have time to what?
Water Princess's face turns bright red. Her parents smile patiently and nod.
Earth Prince swallows. "Scan all our grosser parts into storage in our finer matter memories."
観 -- Ah, those finer matter memories. Your scientists call it dark matter. How silly of them. All parts, as in?
"Everything from our backpacks and the clothes we are wearing to -- every part of our bodies, down to the cells and genetic material. Down to sub-atomic particles."
"I'm sorry, Ddaear."
"No one's to blame, Dŵr. It's not like we were looking at --" he pauses and they look into each other's eyes, "each other that way."
"Or like we'll be thinking that way about what we've seen."
There is an uncomfortable moment of silence.
"Should we keep not using each other's real names?"
"I still need the, uhm, safety zone, as long as we can keep it."
"Maybe I do, too."
観 -- Making babies may be one kind of intimacy, but not all intimacy is about making babies.
"That's a slippery slope." Earth Prince shakes his head. "I don't want to go there. Well, not today, not any more than we've been. It's hard enough knowing I've now seen more of my Princess than her doctor ever will."
"Me too," Water Princess mumbles.
"And your parents."
Water Princess's father clears his throat. "Well, speaking of relatives who were helping out, when you're handling so much of your own genetic material for the first time, it often helps to have close relatives who share the same genes helping you."
"Huh?"
助 -- 土母?
土母 -- Hi, hon.
"Mom?"
土父 -- Sorry we haven't able to be there the usual way, son. But we've been doing what we can from this side.
"Dad?"
Silence reigns in the forest, and after a few moments, Earth Prince raises his hand towards his father. His father takes his hand, and they embrace. Then Earth Prince embraces his mother. After another moment, Earth Prince pulls back.
"But, how? The second resurrection ...?"
土父 -- When you're called to a specific work, some exceptions may apply.
"Can I tell Ceri?"
土母 -- Not yet, sweetheart. But she knows in her heart, anyway. Don't worry about it.
We stand aside as Earth Prince re-acquaints himself with his parents.
"Should we tell our princess that her grandparents were also here to help?"
"I know, Mom. We found a moment to talk in between moving data around."
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[JMR2019: Backed up here:
https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/04/bk-we-0-13-70-debriefing.html
original back up here:
https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2019/03/bk-we-0-13-5-wild-boars.html
]
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