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Date: January 8th, 2001
Status: Public - Adam and Brian
Setting: Brian's room and the bar
Summary: Just innocently checking in...

While Pepper was talking to Wensley, Adam decided to seek out Brian, just as he'd promised. So he headed to the room diagonally across from his own and knocked lightly on the door. "Brian?"

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"He plays dead," said Luna seriously. "And sometimes, when I'm working, he accompanies me." If she had known more about the Muggle world, she probably would have agreed that it was akin to the relationship Sui had with Steve Irwin.

"Is he cheap to feed?" Brian asked. In the back of his mind, he was aware he probably ought to be having some kind of reaction to what he was seeing, but something about the combined presence of Adam and Luna did something to the fabric of reality that was weirdly reassuring.

Brian shivered. For all that she was One of the Guys, Pepper was also a Girl, and girls Knew Things. And they'd use them against you for your own good.

Some little part of him was hoping she'd work on Wensleydale real good.

"Well, not demand exactly. Just. You know. Make the case. That I did it wrong. Somehow."

"Oh, yes. He can normally find food for himself, but I feed him once every day, just in case. He's getting a tad heavy, so I guess he must have been successful at hunting. Come to think of it, he's been leaving rat tails around - I've used some of them in my potions," said Luna. There was another muffled bark, and this time some stuffing protruded out of a slit in what seemed to be the front end of the footstool, as Fido panted eagerly at the mention of food.

"Oh. That makes sense." Luna scratched Fido between the ears, and smiled as the footstool panted. (http://community.livejournal.com/neutral_omens/135341.html?thread=2898861#t2898861) "I guess he must be hungry."

Adam watched quietly for a moment. "Say, uh, Luna. Do you make everybody forget if they see Fido? 'Cause it don't seem fair to me to make somethin' interestin' an' show him around if you're just gonna be upset when people notice..."

"I think you're worryin' too much. I dunno how you c'n do it wrong unless he's fightin' ya and sayin' no an' stuff. Mebbe you should jus' give him some time to get used to the idea..."

"Oh, not everybody. I don't make everybody forget. Just... people who don't understand, like Muggles, you know." Luna looked up. "Why are you worried, Adam?"

"Jus' seems like you're makin' people curious an' then punishin' 'em for bein' curious," he pointed out. "Don't seem very nice. Jus' 'cause they can't do magic don't mean you c'n do whatever you want to 'em. If you wanted to hide your magic stuff, maybe you should try harder so it's not their fault if they see somethin' you don't want 'em to see."

"Chickenin' out midway is definitely doin' it wrong," said Brian. "Maybe if I wait long enough he'll forget that part."

"He eats...rats?" Brian said. Somehow the fact that the footstool was animate wasn't nearly as disturbing as the fact that it was carnivorous.

It wasn't that big a stretch to imagine a possible man-eating sofabed.

Luna looked at Adam. It couldn't be called a stare, but it was owl-like in intensity. "That's true, and generally we do. I just forget, sometimes, because I think that there's no point in dividing the world up. One of my teachers called me an idealist. Then sometimes, there are accidents. And also accidents that are not really accidents." Luna paused and thought for a moment. "I wouldn't really call it a punishment because they can't really miss what they don't know isn't there, can they?"

"He does. And my leftovers. And he loves to gnaw on bones as well." Luna set Fido on the ground, whereupon he began to sniff at Brian's ankles. "He doesn't bite. Hard, anyway."

Famine knows that expressing regret over that fact probably won't go over well, and remains silent on that subject. "Yes, I was looking after my interests in southeast Asia. Everything has been going smoothly here, then?"

Adam sighed. "You didn't chicken out," he insisted. "You'd'a gone back to it if you could, right? You jus' asked a question. 's allowed."

"'s not your choice to make," he said shortly. Adam felt rather strongly about free will...

Adam nodded. He didn't like Famine's work, but he didn't stop him either. Sad as it was, he had an important job to do. That didn't mean Adam had to allow it around the Manor...

"Smooth as it can. I 'spect that means somethin' awful will happen soon." He grinned, looking far too amused by that prospect.

"It is our choice to protect ourselves, and *only* to protect ourselves. Even though we have an advantage magically, they have the advantage numerically. This I acknowledge to be true. Thus, until we can get Muggles to understand and accept us, we have to modify their memories so that *we* can be safe. We have to look out for us, you know," said Luna. Her expression did not change. If Luna had known about Adam's thoughts about free will, she would have asked him, "When the intents of two people collide, where does one person's right to free will end and the other person's right the free will begin?"

Famine's long since stopped actively trying to effect anyone or anything around the Manor, he knows a losing battle when he sees one. He is what he is, though, and sometimes that has an effect even if he doesn't intend it to.

"Perhaps," he says with an answering smile. "You certainly seem pleased by the notion."

"Lookin' out for yourselves don't mean modifyin' other people's memories without their permission," he insisted. "Why don't you try workin' on gettin' not magic people to understand and accept you, instead? It works both ways. And when the intents of two people collide, the people compromise so they both get somethin' they want or need. It's a matter of carin' an' respect."

"'s been kinda quiet lately," was the boy's only cryptic response.

"I *do* try," said Luna. "Some of the others - well, they don't care so much. Or sometimes we see that the Muggle is not ready to understand and accept us, so we modify their memories so that they can remain as they were, instead of becoming confused and angry, and possibly being labelled as crazy, if they try to tell other Muggles about us.

Then there's also the problem of the Wizarding World's distrust and scorn of Muggles, which was exacerbated during the Witch Hunts of the 13th to 16th century. We never do forget." She sighed. "So the rot goes both ways, and it will take a long time to root it out."

Adam frowned. "Well, let's start now then."

Luna blinked, almost-blankly pleasant. "Well, in the interests of improving Wizard-Muggle relations, would you like learn how to play some Wizard games," turning to include Brian as well, "and then you can teach me how to play some Muggle games as well?"

Smiling for the first time in a while, Adam nodded. "I'd like that. What kinda games do you know?"

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