'Hello, Roxxi.'
'Hi, everyone, come in.'
'Where's Tate?'
'In the kitchen. He's harassing- I mean, talking to the new security guard.'
'Lucky them.'
'She's a woman.'
'Ahh, say no more.'
'...I feel sorry for her already.'
'I'm lost.'
'He's probably hitting on her.'
'Yeah, I'm pretty much expecting it, to be honest. Let's go on through.'
'Oh God, Tate...'
'...I know.'
'...So, you know why we're here. Anyway, this is Madina, and she can help to prove that the PND is working as described.'
'Nice to meet you.'
'Nice to meet you too.'
'Um, I don't know what that is...?'
'It stops all non-human effects... You're a werewolf, right? It'll probably interfere with your transformation...'
'Oh, that's fine! I don't need that to do my job.'
'It stands for power nullification device. Once it's plugged in, I can configure the range of effect to encompass the house.'
'That's good. It'll be such a relief...'
'Let's take a look.'
'Alright, so where should it be plugged in?
'We can put it in my office.'
'Dad wasn't impressed with me when I pointed out his hypocrisy. I mean, what's the big deal anyway? We're all naked under our clothes. What's so offensive about the human body?'
'Zeus, no offence, but I've heard all this about a million times. Just... ease up, okay?'
'...Sorry.'
'It's fine. Don't worry.'
'So... are you gonna go meet her?'
'Well, I'll have to eventually, but I don't know if I feel like it right now.'
'Aw, okay. I'm not gonna push you. Still... she's pretty.'
'Is she?'
'Yeah. You'll see. And no, this isn't some attempt to prove I do like girls. She really is.'
'Jeez, it's okay. I believe you. You don't have to have equal amounts of crushes on both genders. I know it doesn't work like that.'
'Thanks.'
'Besides, if you liked as many girls as guys, that'd be a lot of people.'
'Hey!'
'Really embracing the free love part of being a hippy, aren't you?'
'Oh, stop it... it's not like you're not interested in girls! Look, we're seventeen! Isn't this normal for our age?'
'More than normal. In fact, we're probably quite late with it. I mean, Mum was only two years older than we are when she had us.'
'Wow...'
'Yeah. What a thought. Anyway, you've got me interested. Let's go meet this security guard.'
'Sweet!'
'Ready, Madina?'
'Yup!'
'Hi. What's going on?'
'Hello. Just installing some protection for you guys.'
'And I'm, like, helping for a demonstration.'
'She's Madina, by the way, and I'm Nalini.'
'I'm Zeus.'
'...Hi. I'm Tristan.'
'Nice to meet you.'
'Right. You're aware this'll have a temporary disorientating effect on you, Madina? It won't effect anyone else, it's purely for your species.'
'Oh, lucky me.'
'Go ahead then please.'
...
...
...
Wow.'
'That's so cool, how do you do that? ...If you can even answer me.'
'It's part of her species, she has control over the water element.'
'...And the rest of us are just boring. What is she?'
'A dysadin.'
*beep*
'Oh wow, it really works! Not that I thought you were lying or anything...!'
'No, I understand. Are you alright, Madina?'
'Yeah. I'm steady now.'
'What happened?'
'A dysadin's horns is indicative of their strength - the stronger they are, the bigger the horns. As the PND made Madina temporarily weaker by suppressing her element, her horns shrunk. And the horns are probably the most important bodily part.'
'Yeah, and they're, like, really sensitive too.'
'And these marks on my skin display my element!'
'What are the other elements?'
'Fire, air and earth. Fire's red, probably kinda obvious, earth's green and air is silver.'
'Can you do anything else?'
'Water's kinda shit, to be honest, unless there's like, a fire. I can get things wet.'
'Must be useful sometimes, though.'
'Yeah, I can't lie, it is. Makes getting ice for drinks totally easy!'
'I bet! Thanks for your help.'
'No problem. If Madina wouldn't mind helping me to test the range of the PND, I can properly configure it and then we can get out of your way. How many floors does the house have? An attic? Basement? Because I'll need to take all of that into consideration too.'
'There's an attic but no basement. Just this floor and the first floor.'
'Alright. Can someone take Madina up to the attic then please?'
'I'll do it.'
'...And I'll get the ladder down.'
'Alright, thank you.'
'Right, that's ready. I'll leave you to it. Behave yourself up there, Tristan!'
'Oh, shut up.'
'Thanks!'
'Fuck. Bad idea.'
'Are you okay?'
'Yeah. I haven't been up here since... well.'
'And it's fucked up my vision. I can't always tell where things actually are any more. So I panicked a bit.'
'Oh no, I'm sorry. You can hold onto me if you need to.'
'Okay, thanks...'
'No problem! So, it seems like up here's pretty well covered.'
'Are your powers not working here?'
'Nope. My horns still feel a bit funny, so the PND's working A-OK.'
'Good to know. Does it hurt?'
'Nah, I only feel a bit, I guess like, woozy. Our horns store our energy, you see.'
'Oh, I see. I guess you'd better go down, huh? Uh...'
'Probably a good idea.'
'Attic's covered!'
'Alright, good. What entrances are there to the house? Back door, side doors?'
'There's only the front door, and Topaz will be guarding that, so hopefully we should be completely covered.'
'Even so, if we're dealing with someone that has the ability to teleport, it's better to be completely sure, isn't it? Sorry to be a pain Madina, can you do a quick lap of the outside of the house for me?'
'Oh go on then.'
'How far will it stretch, then?'
'About a couple of feet around the house? Far enough back from the front door that if anyone teleports in, they can't just immediately go for a surprise attack and try to break it down, especially with your new security guard.'
A couple of minutes later...
'All secure!'
'Fantastic. That's all there is to it, then. It can be left alone now and will take care of your house for you.'
'Oh, thank you! It means so much to me that you've done this.'
'Yes, me too. Thank you.'
'No problem, I hope it gives you peace of mind. Anyway, we'll get out of your hair now.'
