Well what if he shuts his doors and asks them to go away?

The second half of today is a me-day.

"Huh," she says once they're out of earshot.

"I don't think it means anything. Sometimes you just want to be alone."

"I know. Hey, anyone you want to pluck out of the herd?"

"A few people, kinda. My brother still doesn't want it though."

"I'm sorry about that. Still, any boys who are not your brother?"

"Hm... That's classified. You'll have to spy to figure it out."

"Will do!"

Of course, she plans on leaving false trails. "Let's go heckle the video-gamers back at the shelter, that's always fun."

"Their peace and happiness must be disturbed at all costs!"

"...And that's why using GPS tracking alone is not good enough for this. You need a backup system."

"This'll really save on mail-vampires."

"Not everything can be replaced by these drones, though."

"Yet."

If there was a camera, it would probably be slowly zooming into Danny's face right now while scary music plays.

"No. Not 'yet'. Let's not build Skynet, the humans won't like it."

He giggles. "Humans don't know what's good for em."

"While this is frequently true, it still won't do do completely disenfranchise them."

"Okay, okay, they can keep toiling."

"I think the upcoming fair is a good time for a learning experience with high voltage. So long as you promise to be careful..."

He grins and salutes. "Yes sir!" 

Well he has some test equipment over in this corner... Terence enjoys proper, advanced mentorship a lot more than leading the shelter's basic programming classes...

And Danny kind of enjoys having a sorta-but-not-really-but-that's-okay dad. 

Time marches on.

'Loner' kids have it tough - moving from place to place, hiding out. For everyone in an established shelter there are others who, for some reason, have gone it alone or who keep moving from base to base with a small group. There's even some strain in the distribution center when it's 'discovered' that quite a few children are 'hoarding'.

Tabby has had to break up a lot of fights. Somehow, kids aren't quick to accept a swirling, hyperactive embodiment of anarchy as an authority figure.

"We need a court to handle this or something. So it seems fair. Everyone's anxious, you know? ...The ice fair will be good for that, relieve some tension."