CHAPTER 12: LIR SEY'LES

Bothawui

19.1 BBY (16:1:6 GrS)

Like many would-be future leaders, Lir Sey'les found herself challenged by a dramatic fall from grace. Nearly two years prior, Sey'les was dishonorably discharged from the Republic Navy in the middle of the Clone Wars and extradited to Bothawui—where she had a particularly nasty run-in with Reaper, the Spynet unit whose sole purpose was to eliminate disloyal operatives who threatened Bothan security. It was only by an inexplicable set of strange circumstances, involving a mysterious purple Savrit Cat, that she survived an execution attempt. Thereafter, she was exiled to her own hometown of Ashnenvisk within Bothawui's polar circle and forbidden from ever leaving.

Now, it was spring. The week before, the sun had risen above freezing the day before for the first time all season and Sey'les was busy on her fifth day of work, completely unaware of the turmoil plaguing the Galaxy and the Force itself.

Along the two-lane permacrete road, covered in wet slush, a line of speeders faced Sey'les, eager to zip on by to the mining town of Thun. A mix of slush and rain fell miserably from the sky, raining onto the top of Sey'les's orange wide-brimmed construction hat. She scowled, holding up a stop-slow sign. The bilingual side facing the traffic read "Гин-сіса!/STOP!" The side facing to Sey'les's back towards the empty lane of traffic read "Гин-помонта риск!/DRIVE SLOWLY!"

At the front of the line of traffic, a grey speeder inched forward impatiently.

Sey'les curled up her lips, flashing her canines. She held the "STOP!" side higher. Kriff it! There's a mining truck down this road. Do you want to get into a head on collision?

["Lir, you there? Can you hear me?"] a staticky voice growled from Lir's wrist-comm.

"Lir here," Sey'les replied, "I hear you loud and clear, over."

["We have a Code 44. The mining rig is stuck. We are going to have redirect traffic over the snow. I am sending Korol and Nutan over to aid you."]

Sey'les looked towards the line of speeders, sensing an impatient energy from the hundreds of beings waiting to pass. "Copy that." As she looked down, a strong gust blew through her fur, blowing the rain and slush sideways and nearly blowing off hat. She closed her eyes defensively, squinting while powdery snow scattered from the top of the snowdrift onto the road.

Sensing something had happened, Sey'les looked towards the snowdrift, sniffing the air curiously. Abruptly, the gust stopped. I wonder if—

—The speeder at the front of the line honked.

Sey'les waved her stop sign angrily, then pointed up at it. "What the kriff is wrong with you?! The sign says stop!"

The familiar melodious voice of Veryk suddenly echoed in her mind. {"Lir Sey of Clan Ales."}

"Veryk?" Sey'les gasped, turning back towards the snowdrift. "Where are you? Have I done something wrong? Is it... Is it the Dark Lord Garmr?"

Veryk's voice suddenly had an odd quality to it, as if he were shivering. {"No, Garmr died days ago and has no role to play in this… Well in these sets of circumstances. However, I am in need of your assistance. I am—I am stuck!"}

Dropping her stop-slow sign, Sey'les ran through the snow, sinking ankle-deep as she plodded along. She did not know quite where to go, but she sensed Veryk's presence growing nearer. Eventually, she could smell—

—A pained yelp erupted from beneath Sey'les's boot. {"YOU'RE STEPPING ON ME!"}

Sey'les yelped back, fur flat in fear as she dug her gloves into the snow around Veryk, freeing the Viverrid. "I stepped on a Prophet! Oh Veryk, I am so sorry—I am so… HOLY SHTAK!"

Veryk was half-frozen with icicles on his whiskers. His purple fur was stiff, like it had been wet and then froze solid. He stood atop the snow, shivering as he whimpered.

"Veryk!" Sey'les picked the Viverrid up, thinking aloud. "Okay, so Prophets can get cold. They can get cold and one needs my help." Remembering the acronym taught to all recruits at the Judicial Academy, she yelped "MORCLO! Move out of the cold, remove wet clothing—you're not wearing any," she stammered to herself.

Squeezed in Sey'les's arms, Veryk looked up to the sky. {"Morai, I can't activate the portal… I feel too weak. You'll have to open the portal."}

"Veryk, it's Sey'les! I don't know who Morai is... Stay with me."

Lower jaw trembling, the Viverrid blinked. {"Morai? Morai I can hear you but I can't see you. I can't—"}

—Sey'les and Veryk both yelped as a green blur fell from the sky, squawking miserably. Sey'les looked down and saw a green Convor, laying on the snow, wings frozen solid.

"What in the Force is going on?" Sey'les gasped. "Is he another prophet?"

{"She,"} Veryk corrected. {"Morai is… Well, we can go with that I suppose. Yes, I suppose she counts as a Prophet for you, technically. That being said, I should point out that Morai is a mere Celestial."}

Sey'les had no idea what a Celestial was, but she picked up Morai nonetheless, lifting the frozen owl in her other arm. With one time-traveling critter in each arm, she trudged back along towards the road, panicking as she looked to the sky. The spiritual significance of this event was deeply troubling. Are more Prophets going to fall? What does this mean?! What is the Force trying to say?

A construction speeder with a yellow flashing light pulled up to the road's shoulder.

Nutan leapt out of the speeder truck. "Lir? Why aren't you directing—LIR! WHAT IS IN YOUR ARM?!"

"You can see them?!" Sey'les asked in a surprised tone. The last time Veryk had appeared to her, no one could see Veryk but herself.

"HOLY SHTAK!" Korol yelped, putting both hands on top of his head as his eyes went wide. "Lir! You caught… Is that a Savrit Cat?!"

"AND AN OWL!" Nutan yipped, doubling over with laughter. "Crazy shrew caught an owl!"

"I did not catch them!" Sey'les snarled, setting the two critters down on the speeder's warm hood.

["What's the commotion over there?"] snarled a voice from Sey'les's wristcomm.

"I am sorry for abandoning my post sir," Sey'les stammered. "It's a developing situation. You'll never believe this sir, but—"

—Korol grabbed Sey'les's wrist, bringing the comm close to his snout. "LIR CAUGHT A SAVRIT CAT AND AN OWL!"

The voices on the other end of the radio began guffawing, roaring with laughter.

["HAHAHA! WHAT?!"]

["AN OWL?!"]

["Did anyone tell her she should keep her eyes on the road?"]

["Shtak! Put the wildlife back where you found it!"]

Sey'les turned to the Savrit Cat. "Veryk, they can see you. Can you speak to them?"

Morai hooted, as if in answer, but Sey'les could not understand what the owl wanted.

{"Yes,"} Veryk answered, shaking his head no at Morai. {"But I do not think that would be wise. In our weakened state, we would be unable to defend ourselves should they turn us over to some scientists. Ask them if you can take us home to warm up."}

Sey'les gulped. "Sir, I request to take my leave today early. I don't ask for much, I haven't taken a day off—"

["—You've only been working for five days! This may cut it in the Grand Army of the Republic, but this is—this is ridiculous! An owl?!"]

"Yes, an owl. I think I need to take them to a veterinary clinic." She turned to Nutan and Kolor, looking at them pleadingly. "I am sorry guys but do you think just the two of you could handle the traffic reroute?"

"Yeah," Nutan sighed, smiling as tapped Sey'les's hat. "Crazy little shrew."

["Fine, you can have the rest of the day off. Just bring the animals you caught by. I have to see this for myself!"]

o.o.o.o.o

Morai and Veryk shared the passenger seat. With the heater in Sey'les's two-seater landspeeder blasting at max, the two Prophets seemed to be thawing out.

Veryk had refused to speak up for her; refused to reveal himself to the other construction laborers. If anyone else in the Galaxy had embarrassed Sey'les like that—made her look like a complete nutcase, she would have been furious. Yet, as she drove Morai and Veryk home, she felt no anger or frustration at them.

"Are you two feeling warmer?" Sey'les asked, quickly giving the passenger seat a sideways glance. The windshield wipers were working, brushing the sleet as it pounded the window.

Morai chirped, chittering away about something.

{"Yes we are,"} Veryk answered. {"Thank you Sey'les."}

"It was nothing," Sey'les growled, then shuddered at how casual that sounded. It was nothing? You are speaking with a kriffing Prophet! "It was the—It was the least I could do. You saved my life. Even though I am stuck in… Well yeah."

{"Speaking of that, we need you to come with us—once our strength returns."}

"Uh… Veryk, I don't mean to sound—it's just…" Sey'les fur swirled with nervousness. "I am not allowed to go anywhere."

{"Garmr is dead. Even as we speak, the entire Spynet is imploding."}

Morai hooted about something.

Sey'les's ears perked up reflexively, even though all of Veryk's communications to her were unspoken thoughts.

{"All right, not the entire Spynet,"} Veryk agreed. {"But the danger to Sey'les is vastly diminished and, even if she were still in danger, that is is irrelevant where we are going."}

Morai squawked angrily, flapping her wings.

{"That was in our old timeline! We have no idea what changes will happen now. Sey'les..."} Veryk paused for a moment, then turned to the Bothan. {"It is difficult to describe the calamity we are in. The Galaxy is on the precipice. It really is—we are just one catastrophe away from Sheev Palpatine, the Dark Lord of the Sith that is, taking over time itself."}

"Wait…" Sey'les blinked in surprise, then nearly hit a tree as she lost her focus on the terrain in front of her. "Palpatine is… Chancellor Palpatine!"

{"It's a long story, but yes. Palpatine is going to soon take over the Galaxy after enacting—"}

—Morai chirped loudly, then began hooting.

{"I don't see the relevance of the Rule of Two!"} Veryk snapped. {"And yes, I was going to tell Sey'les about her destiny. Sey'les, we have a problem."}

"Are more Prophets going to fall?" Sey'les asked. She looked through the front window, foot hovering over her airbrake, worried that at any moment another one of her Clan's Prophets might drop from the sky.

{"No, don't worry about that. The problem is well… It's hard to explain. You see, in the future, you become the Governor of Bothawui."}

"Veryk, there is no Governor of Bothawui," Sey'les cautioned, worried for a moment that hypothermia might be messing with the Prophet's mind. "Are you feeling okay?"

The viverrid sighed despondently. {"There will be a Governor of Bothawui. After the first Galactic Empire conquers the system, that is."}

If any other being besides a Prophet had told her she would ascend into a position of government that did not even exist, the Bothan would have been very skeptical to say the least. Well if the Prophet of springtime and fertility says I am to be the Governor, it must be so. "All right," Sey'les said in as serene a tone as she could muster. "That's the problem then? You want me to not become Governor?"

{"Oh Force no!"} Veryk answered. Purring, he stood up on the console between the driver's seat and passenger seat, and put one of his paws on Sey'les's shoulder. {"All things considered, you are the best the Bothans could ever hope for! No, that's the problem."}

Sey'les's fur danced with pride as a tear formed in her right eye. "Really?"

{"Yes really!"}

Morai warbled uneasily, shaking her head no.

{"I am not interested in your opinion, and neither is Sey'les,"} Veryk huffed, hissing has he plopped back down beside the Convor. {"You see Lir Sey of Clan Ales, the problem is that in the distant future, a Jedi Morai is responsible for visited you."}

A Jedi… Sey'les pondered over how that might have gone down. Her last experience at the Temple was most unpleasant. The only Jedi she had a good opinion of was Stass Allie, all things considered. "And this Jedi… He hurt me?"

{"No, she—Ahsoka Tano—met you, and you gave her the location of a temple."}

Sey'les frowned. "Veryk, why is that a problem? Don't Jedi live in Jedi Temples?"

{"The Temple was a portal through time. After you gave her the Temple, she used Bothan technology to send her consciousness back in time, and change the past!"}

Sey'les gasped. "Who did she override?"

{"Herself, but that's not the problem either."}

Sey'les turned the steering wheel, slowly hovering into the parking strip outside of her sister's house. Unable to find full-time work, Sey'les had moved back in with her sister. "Veryk… What's the problem?"

Morai chirped then began hooting calmly, as if explaining something.

{"You're right. Context is necessary,"} Veryk agreed. {"Sey'les, things go badly for the Galaxy in the future. Remember how I said Sheev Palpatine is a Sith Lord? In less than 200 days, he will exact the Sith's grand plan, kill the Jedi, enslave the Wookiees—"}

"—Enslave the Wookiees!" Sey'les snarled in outrage. "The Chancellor will enslave the Wookiees?! How can anyone enslave a Wookiee?" Running through her mind were vivid images of Wookiees ripping battle droids in half with their bare hands, of Woshyrryagh—Senator Yarua's 204-year old chief of staff's 2.2 meter tall, hunky, muscular—

{"Technically, he calls himself the Emperor at that point,"} Veryk explained, interrupting Sey'les's train of thoughts. "But yes, Palpatine will enslave the Wookiees. At first, he uses various war machines and the army of Clones equipped with state of the art weaponry. Then, he implants the Wookiees with chips that... Wait... Now… Where was I?"}

Morai chirped, nodding her head towards the side window.

{"Oh yes, he also bombs Botha'ahir from orbit, allows Tarkin to massacre Antar 4…}

Morai hooted solemnly.

{"How could I have forgotten?!"} Veryk exclaimed. {"The Empire also blew up Alderaan, hurled the Accresker Jail into Tiferep Major, and exterminated the Geonosians. By the end of his reign, the Galaxy was worse off than during the Clone Wars."}

All of this sounded overwhelming to Sey'les. She opened her snout, holding up a finger. "Veryk, I am trying to follow along, but I think you need to explain this slower. How am I expected to know what to—"

A knock on the window of her speeder made Sey'les jump. Standing outside, flashing her teeth, was Sey'les's older sister Safyan.

"Safyan!" Sey'les gasped, opening the door. "I was about to come inside—"

"Lir, Nyresk said you caught some animals and then took the day off early!"

Sey'les frowned. In her younger years, she had regarded her own Clan's spiritual beliefs as nothing more than myths. Her older sister on the other hand, had always been extremely preachy and devout, criticizing Sey'les for leaving home, joining the military, and even worse—adopting the heretical Bothan Way.

Yet, in spite of Safyan's devout faith, she did not recognize Veryk, the Prophet of Fertility, sitting on Sey'les's passenger seat.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself? Lir, we let you live in our home. You have been without work for hundreds of days. Do you know how many strings Baroshk pulled to get you that job? With your criminal record… Lir, I hate to say it but—"

"—Look," Sey'les interrupted. "This is all a big misunderstanding. I had to help them, they were cold and…" She winced, cringing as Veryk clambered onto her shoulder, grasping her mane with his little Savrit Cat paws.

{"Curious,"} Veryk's voice spoke into Sey'les's mind. {"Your sister is quite the strange creature. Of course, I don't want you to tell her about me. At least not yet."}

Safyan snickered, holding up a datapad. "Okay this… This is going on the KapatidNet, Lir."

Still seated in the driver's seat, Sey'les's fur swirled with embarrassment. Safyan snapped a holophoto of a purple Viverrid clambering through Sey'les's mane, with a green Convor in the background.

"You can't possibly be thinking of keeping them," Safyan growled worriedly. "They might have rabies!"

Are you really worried about them having rabies when one is on my shoulder? "Uh no," Sey'les grunted, scowling as she turned her head, staring into Veryk's eyes. "They would be too much of a handful. I'm thinking of dropping them off when the shelter opens tomorrow. Could I keep them in a box in my room tonight?"

{"A shelter!"} Veryk's voice came through in a panic. {"Lir Sey of Clan Ales, in our state a shelter would be—oh… You are anticipating Morai and I will have recovered by then. Good thinking!"}

Definitely not omniscient, Sey'les thought, fur swirling with suspicion as she stared into Veryk's eyes. He can get cold, get hurt when I step on him, and he's not omniscient.

o.o.o.o.o

"Oh the Force! Blast it Lir what the—AHH!" yelped Safyan's husband Baroshk. His stuttering panic quickly devolved into a shriek of terror.

Safyan held the door open for Sey'les. "Baroshk, calm down, you'll scare the kids."

"Thank you," Sey'les growled, holding Morai with two hands while Veryk stood atop her mane like a crown.

"This is not normal!" Baroshk hissed. "Safyan, those are wild animals. Lir, what in the heavens are you thinking?"

Lir slowly approached her brother-in-law. "Safyan said I could—"

"—GET THOSE INFERNAL CREATURES AWAY FROM ME!" Baroshk yelped, jumping behind the couch.

"Look Baroshk, if they were gonna hurt anyone, they would have attacked Lir already," Safyan snorted. She reached into Sey'les's arms, ruffling Morai's feathers. "See?"

Sey'les's fur relaxed. Good, Safyan is on my side. This is weird… Safyan is on my side. "Be careful Safyan, I you might pull some of Morai's feathers."

"You've named them?" Safyan guffawed, yipping with laughter, as if that were the funniest and strangest thing about this whole situation.

Suddenly, Safyan and Baroshk's fourth-youngest child, Sey'les's nephew Arush appeared in the entryway to the dining room, holding a batter-covered spoon. He gasped in amazement, then began stammering away in his shrill Bothese. ["WHOA! Aunt Lir! AUNT LIR HAS SOME—WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS?!"]

{"I don't like kids,"} Veryk said cautiously.

Morai hooted ominously.
Next thing Sey'les knew, eight of her nieces and nephews stormed into the living room from the kitchen, from the backyard, and from upstairs, some tracking in snow and mud.

"Panam dosh!" ["Children!"] Sey'les urged, "gyn-dasha wu korn roym do uszhul!" ["Give them space!"] She staggered backwards towards the stairs as Safyan and two of the eldest children held the toddlers back.

o.o.o.o.o

{"This really won't be necessary,"} Veryk huffed.

On two thirds of the floor in Sey'les's room, flimsiplast newspaper was scattered about—precautions in case Morai or Veryk decide to relieve themselves on her floor.

"We might be here a while," Sey'les snarled, rolling out the last one.

Morai hooted overhead, perched on the ceiling fan.

{"Yes, I agree. We should get going."}

Sey'les stopped what she was doing and regarded the Savrit Cat. "Veryk, I really want to say goodbye to my family. They've been nothing but supportive since… Well, you were there, you know."

{"All right, but don't tarry too long!"}

"You can hang out on my bed if you like, so long as you promise not to—"

Veryk hissed, shaking his head indignantly. {"Lir Sey'les, I am older than the Celestials! My warmth is brighter than a thousand suns. I am not going to wet your bed!"}

Morai squawked Veryk, batting her wings.

{"I am a Prophet to these beings Morai! Don't you—"}

Morai swooped down, bearing down on Veryk with her claws.

Sey'les stepped over the Viverrid, grabbing Morai out of the sky with her bare hands. She did it spontaneously, in the moment to protect Veryk. Yet, as she held the green owl, her fur swirled nervously. Her danger sense did not tell her she was in danger, but the Bothan growled politely nonetheless. "Uh, sorry Morai… Please don't smite me. I just don't want you to hurt Veryk."

Morai hooted angrily, shaking her head.

"What did she say?" Sey'les growled to Veryk.

{"Oh, you don't want to know!"} Veryk replied in a dramatic tone, rubbing Sey'les's pant leg with his body as he circled around her.

Morai squawked again, warbling emphatically.

{"She's really insulting you now! Calling you the Bothan schutta of the Wookiees! Ardennians too. And… Oh… OH! How could you say such horrible things Morai?"}

Sey'les bared her fangs. "What the kriff is your problem with me?! I saved your life, you dumb little… You dumb little asshole Celestial!" She spat the word 'Celestial' as an exasperated insult, not really knowing what it meant or entailed.

Turning her beak to Veryk, Morai screeched.

{"No Morai, I think Sey'les's romantic partners are absolutely none of your business!"}

Sey'les could suddenly sense something deceptive and mischievous about the little Viverrid Prophet. "Veryk, if you're lying, I can only say I am sorely disappointed. I would have hoped Prophets would—"

Safyan's voice bellowed up the stairs from the dining room. "Lir? Who are you talking to? There's no time for you to have full-blown feral conversations with those animals. The food's getting cold."

"Guys, I know you're Prophets and can open portals, summon lightning, make whole planets disappear, create whole new life in just days—"

—Morai warbled, shaking her head.

Oh what the kriff are you saying you dumb little Celestial?

Sey'les put Morai down gently on the bed. "No fighting with Veryk. And Veryk, no fighting with Morai."

{"All right,"} Veryk yawned.

Prophets sleep too?

"All right, I'm going," Sey'les growled cautiously, then shut the door behind her. Anxiously, she walked down the stairs with her ears perked up, listening for any sign of trouble from her bedroom. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard Baroshk whispering.

"Maybe your sister hypnotized those animals."

"Don't be ridiculous," Safyan hissed.

"You said she has powers."

"She does but… SHHHHH! Lir is—Hey!"

"Hey…" Sey'les looked back up the stairs, fur swirling with nervousness.

Okay they don't sound like they are fighting.

"Aunt Lir," growled Sayga, Sey'les's eldest niece. "I think I figured out what species the owl is."

"Oh?" Sey'les replied, pretending to be interested as she pulled up a seat. This'll be good.

"It's—"

"She," Sey'les corrected.

"She's a Convor. A breed of owl from the Kashyyyk system."

"The Kashyyyk system?" Sey'les asked, ears perking up in genuine interest.

"Yeah," Sayga growled with excitement, showing an image on her datapad.

Like Morai, this owl had feathered spikes on the side of its head and a long tail. Unlike Morai, it was brown and tan.

"Maybe she's so calm because she's a pet," suggested Rayek, the second oldest child. His ashy grey fur danced with excitement. "Maybe someone posted a reward!"

"Maybe," Sey'les mumbled, chewing on a carrot. "Doubtful though."

"It's not polite to talk with food in your mouth," Safyan hissed, ear batting in annoyance.

Sey'les batted her own ear in exactly the same gesture. "I think it's even less polite to correct your thirty-three year old younger sister in front of—" She paused, then gulped down the bite. "Sorry."

"Pam sor'sor Lir?" ["Aunt Lir?"] asked Kyth, her second-youngest niece.

Sey'les turned to the toddler. Aren't I just the focus of everyone's talk tonight? "Kiz pa Kyth?" ["Yes Kyth?"]

["Will I be tall enough to see you at the circus? Daddy said once you quit holding the sign, that's where you're headed."]

Baroshk's fur swirled with embarrassment as Sey'les glared at him.

Sey'les turned back to Kyth, putting on a big smile. ["Sure. I don't think they have height requirements to watch the circus. But, what I really want to express to you all, is how grateful I am to—to have been a part of this again."]

["Oh yes,"] Baroshk agreed with a wry growl. ["We are all grateful that—That you could be here. For two years! And no doubt many more."]

Sey'les sniffled, tears running down her eyes. Two years ago, she was a Captain in a Republic Direct Action Unit. Now she was a felon who, despite holding a pilot's license, could only find work holding a stop and slow sign. But, that's about to change… For better or worse. ["You actually won't have to worry about that much longer, Baroshk. I am not sure when I will see you all again."]

Everyone at the table was now staring at her.

"Have you lost all grip on reality?" Safyan hissed in Basic. "You are implanted with a tracking device and forbidden from going more than 200 kilometers from this house. You are not going anywhere! As I said, you will stay here for as long as you need. We need a babysitter in winter and you have nowhere else to go!"

Sey'les gulped, trying to work out exactly what to say. You know how I have powers? Well, two years ago, the Prophet Veryk saved me from the execution chair—stopped the Spynet from overwriting me. Oh yeah, the Spynet can transfer essences—forgot to mention. Well now Veryk's asking for my help… After falling from the sky… He's the purple one by the way. He wants me to go with him, once he has the strength to do something that enables me to go with him.

"Lir," Baroshk growled worriedly. "You aren't thinking of hurting yourself are you? That's what this is about isn't it! Unbelievable that you would—"

"No," Sey'les snarled, fur standing up. She wiped the tears out of her eyes. "No, but thank you for your concern." Kriffing asshole.

"We should get her help!" Baroshk yelped. "This is the third sign out of the twelve! This is—"

A toilet flushed from the upstairs refresher, causing a collective gasp at the table. Everyone looked around and stared at each other, wondering who it was upstairs.

Sey'les's fur swirled nervously. Okay… Eight kids, Baroshk, Safyan, me… We're all at the table!

["I think the animals are in the refresher!"] Kyth yipped in Bothese, giggling as she clapped her hands.

Sprinting across the room, Sey'les tripped on the first step and yelped. Her fur fell flat as images of the Prophet Veryk drowning in the toilet flashed through her mind.

Can Savrit Cats swim?! What if he's so small he fits in the pipe? I'll never be able to save him without tearing out the whole plumbing of the house! She clambered up the stairs on her hands and knees, flushed with adrenaline.

"Are the animals in the refresher?!" Baroshk whimpered.

"Lir! Lir, wait for us!" Safyan yelped.

When Sey'les reached the top of the stairs, she checked her corners. Most worryingly, her bedroom door was open and Morai was standing on the floor, staring out with her big green eyes. "Hoot hoot."

"Dank Farrik! Veryk!" Sey'les said urgently. "Are you okay? Is everything okay?" She twisted the doorknob, grunting angrily upon realizing it was locked.

"Did the animals lock the door?" Safyan snarled incredulously, stepping up besides Sey'les.

Baroshk reached the top of the steps, panting as he stood behind them.

"All right! Everyone step back," Sey'les ordered, raising her foot to the center-right of the door frame, just like she was taught in her urban warfare course at the Judicial Academy.

"What are you doing?"

Sey'les grunted in answer, kicking the refresher door as hard as she could. The cheap house lock broke with a thud, and the door swung open.

Veryk was standing on the counter. With two little paws, he twisted the warm tap on the sink. Water spouted out from the faucet.

A voice went off in Sey'les's head. {"Well, that was dramatic wasn't it?"}

"You broke our door!" Baroshk snarled.

"Lir, you—Wait… Is that Savrit Cat washing his hands?!"

Having literally barged in on a Prophet in the refresher, Sey'les froze in the doorway, not quite sure what to do.

Veryk rubbed his paws dry on the nearest hand-towel. {"I told you the newspaper was unnecessary."}

"I am so sorry," Sey'les croaked, both to Veryk and to Safyan and Baroshk.

"Is he that thing drying its paws?" Baroshk gasped. "Did it just flush the toilet, wash its hands and then dry them? How is this possible?"

"Should I tell them?" Sey'les growled to Veryk.

Before Veryk could answer, the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be at this hour?!" Baroshk growled incredulously, walking down the stairs.

Not knowing what else to do, Sey'les reached under Veryk's armpits, picking him up and carrying him back to her room.

Baroshk's hushed voice whisper-yelled up the stairs. "IT'S GRUM DZA'LES!"

{"Oh great,"} Veryk huffed. {"I was hoping we could avoid this…"}