[PQ] ghosts in the machine

Loren felt his jaw muscles feather with tension (and maybe his finger shifted to claws for just a moment) before he forced himself to take a breath. ”How might Abasi be able to help you?” His voice was low, and chilly, but at least it was polite. As Jigano and then Sunjata showed up, the summoner eyed both men, almost warily. However, the Launceleyn said nothing. He simply turned to face the children of Rae. As Kaimana spoke, though, Loren’s eyes widened. Before he could say anything further, the experiment was already underway. Unsurprisingly, Astra’s joy was almost palpable. I get to speak! This is so exciting! She was so glad to be able to communicate with him that she left Kai and Oia momentarily to bound in an excited circle around the summoner. Being bonded is great! Except when I get left behind. I don’t like that. Or when you get sad. But I like seeing all those new places, and when you’re happy. Oh, and I like when you feed me apples. However, the demi-gods hadn’t specified that the information should be transmitted to them, so the Launceleyn, being the stubborn dick he currently was, didn’t relay anything that Astra told him. Turnabout was fair play in his mind. If they wanted that information communicated, they should either learn how to read between the lines of what others said, or give more explicit instructions. Unfortunately, his luxere companion disagreed with his analysis. She stared at him with suddenly sad eyes. You should be nice again. I like it when you’re nice. I don't like it when you're mean and lonely. Everyone needs a herd, even you. He was shocked enough by that analysis that his jaw dropped momentarily before he schooled his features into an expressionless mask. LOREN Not quite an open book