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 gearhead 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, computers, flush toilets, or electricity.”
“Barbaric,” John said.
“And get this! No showers! You’re supposed to bathe in this big heated swimming pool with everyone else. Males 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.”
The cold knot in John’s stomach dissolved. John had thought he was losing his baby brother. He’d been afraid that the damage he’d accidently done to Blue Sky was permanent. The sekasha obviously knew how to coax Blue Sky toward accepting his elf heritage.
“Breakfast. Sure, sounds good.” John mussed Blue’s hair. It actually sounded as if they were gaining an extended family.