For several minutes Rue thinks silently to himself. His mind tumbles over and over all the fun he's had with Seishu and Inui and the rest, and he can not help but begin to feel the loss already.[i]When this all goes back to normal, Miter Seishu will be gone, and so will Inui. . .An to think, we get along so well now, but I never even met him before. .Or maybe I did. I mean, he was really shy, still kinda is, so maybe I saw him before but was too busy to notice him?And what about the others? I feel so much closer to all of them because of our connection with Mister Seishu. . . .After he leaves, will I no longer have them to be close with? I feel so close to Inui now, I know the loss will hurt so bad, but will everyone just fall back into their old routines, basically falling away from one another? It sounds. . . so sad to think about. . .. '[/i] 

With a soft sigh Rue looks up to his guardian with a slight sadness in his otherwise excited demeanor. “Lord Enasi, will I never be able to see them again after they leave? Inui, and Mister Seishu? They'll come to earth, right? And maybe, I could, I don't know. . . .Arrange play dates?” There is not much hope behind the little minion's eyes, knowing very well that he just doesn't have the talents necessary to make portals on his own, and he wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone into making portals [b]for[/b] him. After all, if everyone drifts once more apart, then who would he even have to ask?

~*~*~*~*~

Rasha poofs into his animal form, skittering along behind the nightmare minions as they walk along several yard behind his idol. His ears perk up as Inui finally finds it in himself to ask some intriguing questions. He moves in a little closer while Inui awaits their answer so he can hear them better when they do come. Ran glances over his shoulder at the approach of positive energy, but otherwise ignores the little dream. Rasha does not cower under the gaze but instead moves in even closer with his head held high. Ran rolls his eyes with a chuckle a turns his attention back to the little minion between he and his older brother.

Lan pats Inui on he head, smiling ever so slightly. “The world is harsh, and you don't wise up quickly, it is easy to die there. There are plenty of safe places to travel though so if you are worried about being able to handle the more dangerous elements of our realm it's as simple as staying in those places. You're not thought any less of by playing it safe, but you can gain honors for going to the danger zones.” Ran nods in agreements and Inui's wide eyes turn on to the younger brother. It's clear he's already terrified despite their assurances about safety zones.

“Since you'll be starting from scratch, I don't see you even being allowed out of the palace for quite some time. Master Seishu doesn't risk his minions unnecessarily.” Ran tilts his head to the side at the look of confusion on Inui's pale face. “What is it little one?”

Inui is a little confused at the 'little one' reference, however he has a more important question at the moment. “If. . . .If he doesn't risk us minions. . . .Why do any minions stay anywhere but at the palace or in the safe zones?”

They both chuckles at this and Inui's face flushes deep red, feeling somehow that he asked something stupid. Rasha sees this and rushes forward. With a light leap he lands upon Inui's shoulder, straling the minion, however he recovers swiftly as that soft tail comes down to caress his cheek. Glaring back and forth at the brothers Rasha says rather harshly. “What's so funny? It's a legitimate question! My guardian keeps my safe by keeping me away from things that can hurt me, so why doesn't My Lord Seishu do the same?” He huffs lightly. “Even if there [b]is[/b] a good reason, there is [b]no[/b] reason to laugh at Inui about it. . . .” Bother of the taller nightmare minions look at the cat with impassive faces and both Inui and Rasha wonder if the little trickster made them angry.

It is Lan who speaks first as their guardian vanishes off into his first nightmare. “It's not in our nature. Keeping us all cooped up in those safety zones with nothing to challenge us save for one another, all the negative energy concentrated in the area would force a self destruct. We'd all begin trying to tear each other apart for no other reason than a need to release energy and calm our nerves.” He does not sound angry or even condescending as he speaks, sounding instead like a simple relay of information. Ran nods in agreement before couching lightly.

“As to your other question, no, not all minions have fangs, but all have at least some sharp teeth. Those without fangs have what we call 'shark teeth', which if you know what a shark is, will make sense. All nightmare minions have the inherent ability to defend themselves, but it's not always a physical thing. Even minions with fangs can't always use them to fight with, having small mouths or some such, or even a relatively peaceful nature, which brings us on to your last question.” Ran smiles and motions that he's passing the buck to Lan.

Lan coughs and smiles. “All nightmare minions have a natural competitive streak, but that does not always manifest in the need for violence. We have other kinds of competitions, and after you fully become one of us, you'll find out what your is.” He smiles a little wider. “If you don't think you're a fighter, then you're probably not a fighter. Maybe you'll be in our athletic or musical competitions. There is also sky art, creative scaring, and energy displays. Those are just a few of the competitions we hold every few years.” He chuckles. “We stagger them out over the span of ten years so those in multiple competitions will have at least a year or two of rest in between.”