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Alys is not on the council, but she is her line representative as of fifty years ago. She hears about the news.
She wonders whether Piro is likely to have contacted his son, even about this.
She decides that it is worth checking, and calls her brother-in-law.
"Hello, Avar. Have you heard the news?"
"A small group of offworlders recently appeared with a verified miracle."
on-my-word
Avar can be heard very quietly muttering, "That withered old lizard—!"
At a more conversational volume, he says, "Thank you for letting me know. What else can you tell me?"
"All the infant shrens and everyone resident to a house has already been handled, as far as anyone knows. There doesn't seem to be any miracle supply shortage and the offworlders are working on finding everyone else who would benefit from their attention. I took the liberty of putting down your address."
"You're welcome, of course. I'll let you go tell Mial and Finnah now."
Finnah, for her part, is dozing in the backyard on a picnic blanket in the sun.
"Depends, did I win a million aaberik?"
on-my-word
"No. I just got a call from Alys. A group of offworlders has appeared and started handing out miracles to every shren in sight. They've done all the houses and all the babies and they're working on the stragglers. Alys gave them our address, but she didn't say how soon they might come by."
Finnah sits up.
"No shit?"
"No shit?"
"I guess not. I - wow. Wow."
"Last I saw him he was fussing with his scoot."
shrennaki
A few degrees later, Mial comes out and flops down next to Finnah's picnic blanket.
"So. Miracles," he says, sounding bizarrely glum about it.
"Hell yeah, miracles, don't you say that the same way you say 'canceled scoot race'."
shrennaki
"Okay, yes," he acknowledges, half-smiling, "miracles, miracles are awesome. I am happy for everybody who's been happily miracled and downright ecstatic for the babies. I just... look, you have to have some inkling by now of how I feel about being a shren, right?"
"Complicated as fuck," diagnoses Finnah.
shrennaki
"That's one way of putting it. I just."
He takes a breath.
"...I don't know if I'm going to want one."
He takes a breath.
"...I don't know if I'm going to want one."
"...what, really? You are aware you can make rude metaphorical gestures at draconic superiority and so on without having to actually be a shren right at the moment you're doing it?"