I don't just mean the hair color. You think a little differently, you move differently. But still! I can breathe underwater and she can't and that's not as big a difference to our social roles as caste!

That seems more like an ability than like a purpose.

Then I don't understand castes. Maybe it's just how Amentans are. It's not like all kinds of people are supposed to be a certain way.

Castes had to be invented, volunteers the yellow who's chaperoning River.

Headtilt. ...Elders and Moots and Tradition had to be invented too. And that doesn't make them fake. Interesting!

Yup. They're not like needing to breathe air, but they're real.

So how do you change castes if you want to?

- you don't.

...Really? You can make yourself an Elder if you want to. If you're good enough. There's not an - unbreakable rule - that I can never call a Moot or change Tradition. You can't decide to be blue if you're... Blue enough?

No, you need to be born blue. Maybe you can fudge it if you're half-caste and move.

Invisible chains. Freedom is important to Draak and that sounds kind of horrible. But we're aliens.

I wonder sometimes, would it be better to have no law, no Elders, no Tradition, for more freedom? My answer is 'probably not'. After all, I could just ignore all that and do what I want. There's nothing controlling my mind. I would just have to accept the consequences - someone would kill me if I tried to live like there was no law. But I could.

I don't think out of caste violations are usually capital crimes. Maybe if you defrauded people for enough money.

Oh, right, philosophy is green. That's so weird to think about! Sports are grey, right? He asks the one who was explaining boats to her. I wonder if there's any sport I could play even slightly fairly.

Sports are grey. You probably couldn't do the kind of sports that have that as a concept fairly, but you could do some competitive obstacle courses or something?

I'm bigger but Amentans have much better hands. Obstacle courses sound fun. I bet I'm pretty good at them. I'm the best person I know at running away from things.

That's kind of like an obstacle course, if you pretend something's chasing you.

Yeah, that's why I think I'd be good at it. Covering ground really fast can be thrilling - you want to see a running-away memory?

Is that a lot different from just talking?

I don't think it's fundamentally different? It's probably more intense? I have to think at you a particular way to make the thoughts come in almost-words like this and you're not getting things that another Draak would be getting, I think?

Well, I'll try it if she's got the conn all right - yeah, she's on it.

-And clamber over the boulder feeling heat on your back and squeeze through that narrow passage and scramble up to this ledge and sprint down this straight section hearing a roar behind you and hit the wall to kill your speed and fall into the stream below and swim for the cave entrance and run through the forest dodging trees and brush as fast as possible and an open clearing spread your wings and freedom, fly away, crowing in triumph!-

Fun, right?

It's got a heck of an adrenaline rush quality to it!

Adrenaline?

That's not why I go into people's territory, I do that because I'm curious, the running away is intense and fun but I wouldn't provoke people just to successfully run away.

Yeah, but the part you showed me was the running away.

Flying must be great.

It is! It's pretty exhausting though.

I wonder if I can carry someone? I'm not sure how much Amentans weigh. And my back claws would be - a very bad way to carry something I don't want to hurt so you would need to hold on somehow?