---
Edda woke up next and lifted her head slowly. She did not fling a knife at anyone. That was growth. "I do not snore," she announced to the world, just in case.
Fizz pointed gently. "You purr," he said. "Like a cart with one good wheel."
Penny stretched. It was a big stretch. Joints popped like corn. "Where are other people," she asked. "The guests are gone?"
"Gone early," John said. "Sera, Elara, Ina. They left a note. They had some work and they will visit some other day."
Penny nodded like a captain counting her crew after a storm. "Good," she said, and then she sniffed the air. "Is that my kettle?"
"I put it on," John said.
"You are a blessing," Penny said, and meant it.
Pim came blinking out of the side hall, hair flat on one side and wild on the other, shirt buttoned in a new way no shirt had ever wanted. He stopped at the edge of the room and took in the battlefield. "Wow," he said. "It looks like a festival fought with a farm and had a mess."
