"Yeah, I'm gonna play in the woods some. Just not like right in the middle of the shelter or this fair. Speaking of this fair, I think there's some food stalls I still haven't tried... So, bye for now!"

He curls up on an air vent and considers things.

The werewolf cubs leave soon in a huff. The rest of the evening goes quite well. Once everyone's left, Nick and Tabby have the ice rink to themselves, Zeke providing a soundtrack to their dance. Whether they like it or not.

"It's not a dance it's a contest! Which I'm winning!"

"Your awfully synchronised for people having a contest."

Somehow, he worked that into the rhythm.

This criticism has no effect on his Spirit! And Determination!

All this weaving about is great practise for the punker vs. punker clash a few days later. 

"This can all be settled peacefully!"

She's kind of hoping it can't be, but it seems like the sort of thing her mother would like to hear from her.

"Kevin get out! Kevin get out-" The punker chanting this is shut up by another punker slapping them.

"Kevin did nothing wrong!"

"E's cheating and hoarding loot! Why do we never get as much back huh?"

"You can't just decide he's evil! There's no proof!"

"You're only saying that 'cause you're on his payroll!"

(Kevin himself is, apparently, nowhere to be found.)

"Look, we'll need to have a trial or something before we do anything to Kevin."

"Kevin will just bribe the judge! Trial won't work, he cheats everyone who doesn't have a job that's not 'scavenger'!"

"There's not really many things he could bribe me with."

"So Tabby can be the judge! Neutral judge," the Kevin-supporter shouts. "And if she decides he didn't do anything wrong all you false accusers should get some kind of fee for making us do this silly trial. We're burning daylight here."

"No, that's stupid."

"Then you can get us more supplies for all the people who aren't doing anything useful right now?"

"Look, I'll try to--"

She is interrupted by a wolf cub loping into view.

Which immediately turns into Angie. 

"Wait, is this really the Queen of the Punkers?"

"She's more like Marie Antoinette than Elizabeth the Second lately!"

(This insult goes over almost everyone's heads and mostly just causes some confused looks.)

Angie ignores him.

"I thought she was meant to be wild? Powerful!"

"What are you doing here, Angie?"

She smiles. "Just trying to figure out why punkers would follow such a good little girl."

"She's right! We've gone too far from our punker roots! We're milk-drinking scavengers now, not fierce punkers!"

"Punkers aren't stealing murdering scum, we're civilized this way!"

"The old bonds of society are dead! The Bug burned them to a crisp! Punkers are a new way!"

"Would the old punkers have waited for a trial to kick someone who did them wrong's butt? Would the old punkers have listened to a girl who does whatever her mom tells her. Who gives nerdy little shopkeepers the blood of Lilith, immortality, and all that good stuff, but not her loyal subjects?"

No, the old punkers wouldn't have waited for a trial. They wouldn't have waited for a mom to tell them what to do.

They would have taken vampire blood. Or tried.

A lot of the rowdiest ones take this little speech as a cue to call for a trial by combat. Unless Tabby can beat anyone who challenges her, like Angie, she's not the punker queen!

"Guys, are we really going to do this? It's stupid."