"Do they learn about the same pace as humans?"

"Close to."

"Good to know, means we can have reasonable expectations about the spell development pace and so on. Of course, there are more of us."

"Yep. You'll have artifacts with which to kill uppity reds any year now."

"Lack of weaponry is not currently a constraint on that."

"I know."

"Maybe you'd get along with that fellow in Voa who tried to get them all to get the fuck over it."

"Maybe."

"Might have worked if Voa weren't such a major exporter. And if he'd been able to convince them not to countermand it for six months. And with a couple thousand casualties, but - I can see how that'd seen like a good tradeoff, facing down the apparent inevitability of a mass slaughter..."

"I'm teaching these kids everything they need to know to... If they see an elemental with red hair, or a confused one who landed all birdlike in a red neighborhood and then walked out, they'll be able to turn them into their micromanaged perfect slave so they will cut it out because obviously it's so horrible and they mustn't be allowed -"

Nod. "You should come to a family dinner sometime."

"Should I?"

"Yes."

"Sure, why not. Just me?"

"Anyone else who'd like to?"

"I could invite the elementals I hang out with most, I don't know if they'd want to."

"Well, they're welcome if they do."

"When?"

"I think there's one this weekend."

"Sure."

This weekend Afen's children and significant others and so on gather at his house.

Maurabel comes. No elementals accompany her.

He has one! He made friends with a Lightning and bought the adjoining lot to convert it into things more of interest to Lightnings and has learned So Many Languages. "Hi Maurabel!"

"Hi there! Hi Lightning."

"We should have invited you a long time ago! How's the magic school -"