by Wen Spencer
Blue scoffed. "Just what I need, a dozen more people to tell me what to do." But he turned and hugged Tinker tightly.
#
The elves had said that Blue was free to come and go as he pleased. John expected that Blue would put it to the test. He didn't expect that it would be so soon. Close to midnight, Blue sulked into the shop.
"What are you doing here?" John moved his bowl of popcorn so Blue could sprawl on the couch beside him.
Blue made a sound of disgust. "Do you know that Stormsong is the only elf in Tinker's household that speaks English?"
"You're fluent in Elvish."
"It's a pain to have to speak it all the time. And besides, there's so many things in Pittsburgh that Elvish doesn't have a word for!"
"True."
"What are you watching?"
"Something Oilcan loaned me." John suspected the loan had been an excuse to make sure he was coping with Blue being gone. "It's a season of a reality TV show called American Chopper. This family custom-builds motorcycles."
Blue usually disliked gear head shows, so John was surprised when he exclaimed, "Oh, cool," and settled in to watch, apparently contented. Two handfuls of popcorn later, Blue added, "You know, the enclaves don’t have TVs, CD players, flush toilets, or electricity."
"Barbaric," John said.
"And get this! No showers! You suppose to bathe in this big heated swimming pool with everyone else. Male and females together!"
John laughed at the disgust in Blue's voice. "Was there anything you liked?"
"I got to watch them sparring with practice swords. It was really cool." Blue gave a sigh of happiness. "You should see how they can move. They say I'll be able to fight like them someday. And they gave me this cool bow. I can't wait until you see it. You should come eat breakfast with me tomorrow. The food is amazing."
"Sure, sounds good." John mussed Blue's hair. "So, are you going to be backup ride for Team Tinker instead of main ride for Team Big Sky? Or is racing totally beneath a holy one like you?" Blue's scowl was answer enough, and the cold knot in John's stomach dissolved. John was pretty sure that as his brother aged, the sekasha would come to regret their decision, as often as not. Which, so far as he was concerned, was all to the good.
Elfhome Books by Wen Spencer:
Tinker
Wolf Who Rules
Elfhome
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Blue Sky (Elfhome)
other books by the author