“You really don’t,” Teela agreed. “The perils of joining the force as a minor, even as a mascot.”
“We can drop the mascot bit anytime now.”
“Kids,” Moran said. “You can have the rest of that particular discussion in the hall. I’ve heard it enough to know there’s nothing new for an audience in it.” They remained silent, and she looked down at the desk, where the familiar was still expectantly perched. “This is irresponsible,” she continued.
“You don’t have to decide right now,” Kaylin told her. “But—come with me when you’re off shift? You can meet Helen. You can see where I live—and where everyone else lives, if they’re okay with that. You can decide then.”
“Fine. Fine, I’ll visit.”
Kaylin wanted to cheer. “Now?”
Moran sighed. “I suppose we might as well get it over with.”
*
“You’re expected at the library,” Teela reminded her quietly as they exited the infirmary.
“I know,” Kaylin replied.
“Kitling—”
“She’ll change her mind. If we don’t get her home, she’ll change her mind. I can talk to the Arkon tomorrow.”
“Your funeral.”
*
“You live in this neighborhood?” Moran asked as they walked toward Kaylin’s home. Trees—well-groomed and towering—covered the street as if they were nature’s fences.
“I know, right? But it’s where Helen was built.”
“I’m still having difficulty with that.”
“With what?”
“With thinking of a building as a person. It’s not that it has a name—buildings frequently do. So do rooms. They don’t generally have people names, though.”
“Or personalities,” Kaylin agreed. “You’ll understand it better when you meet her.”
Out of the corner of her mouth, Moran asked Teela, “Why did I think this was a good idea?”
“You didn’t, that I recall. You just weren’t willing to accept the cost of refusing to consider it.”
Moran glared at Kaylin. “Teela doesn’t live with you, correct?”
“No. Two of her friends do, and she’s coming with me to check up on them.”
“So...I’d be living with Barrani.”
“Not technically. You might hear them, but at least one of them has been practically invisible for weeks. They’re not like normal Barrani—I think you’d actually like them.”
Teela coughed, but Moran smiled. When the Aerian smiled, she looked vastly more vulnerable—maybe that was why she did it so seldom. “Is there anything else I should know?”
“Not really. Helen likes flowers.”
Moran blinked.
“...And I’m shutting up now. You’ll see.”
*
Helen was waiting in the foyer by the time Kaylin entered the house. Like Tara, Helen understood Kaylin’s visceral dislike of door wards; she even considered it sensible, as no one liked pain. She smiled brightly at the sight of Teela.
“I’m so glad you’ve come,” she told the Barrani. “I’m not certain I can talk any more sense into Annarion; he is very, very worried. Mandoran’s been trying, but Annarion has shut him out completely.”
“Yes, I’d heard,” Teela replied. “Are they in the basement?”
“Mandoran is in his room. Annarion is downstairs.”
“If it’s all right with you, I’ll go talk to Annarion.”
“Of course, dear. I’m very worried about that boy.” Teela walked past her, but Helen had already moved on—though Helen could accompany Teela and simultaneously greet a guest without even blinking.
“Helen, this is Moran. She’s a Hawk, and she’s in charge of the infirmary. As a sergeant. Moran, this is Helen.”
“If it’s easier,” Helen said, extending a hand, “think of me as a particularly concerned landlord.”
“Kaylin talks about you a lot in the office,” Moran replied, offering her the smile she seldom offered anyone in the Halls, except Caitlin. Her wings folded more naturally across her back, losing some of their height; her eyes settled into a comfortable dark gray. “This is a very impressive foyer.”
“Do the Aeries have foyers?”
“Not like this, but yes, there are areas that would serve the same function. The oldest of ours features more weaponry, though.” She seemed hesitant to elaborate further.
“I was hoping,” Kaylin said, rightly guessing the reason for the hesitation, “that Moran could stay with us. Her wings were injured when the Barrani ancestors came to visit, and she can’t fly properly, so she either has to take a leave of absence—”
“—or find a place to stay while she heals?” Helen was looking at Moran’s wings. Kaylin guessed that she was assessing them from a different vantage point—from the front, very little of the actual injuries could be examined.
“Yes, that. And at the moment, she’s living in the—”
Moran cleared her throat. Loudly.