Of course the rest are for fun. Gemini is all about fun.

She's the Fun Mom of the pack, where Taurus is more serious. (Ignore that Taurus is about the same age as Ember; age isn't important to the Silver Divers, just experience and competence. The only requirement for being leader of the pack is proving, over and over again, that you are the leader of the pack.) When there's plunder to be won, Gemini is there. She's the one who receives the loot and the one who parcels it back out, stopping arguments over ownership before they can even begin. When there's a party to be had, Gemini is the one at the middle of it, playing scent like a harp, supremely indulgent but never losing control of her self. Taurus wins arguments by wrestling her opponents into submission, but Gemini wins arguments by making them never happen in the first place, or redirecting their energy when they happen.

Both of them are happy here. That's part of why they offered pack membership to Ember; they took pity on her and wanted to let her share in their joy.

Even so, approaching Gemini while she's working/playing is difficult. The crystal-clear images in Ember's head keep her from veering off to play, despite the squirming clerks all around, tied to chairs dragged out from their archival office, drowning in Indulgence and Defeat and Invitation, with scritchies and ear-rubs and kisses from passing Ceronians, and with the conductor in the middle of the sharing circle, sunglasses perched on her forehead, dressed in a loose gown with flowing sleeves, a vision worthy of an Azura master-painter as she runs a bolt through her hands, soaking it with artisanal scents, impossible to look away from as she stoops and pulls it snugly over just the right clerk's face, her sleeves whispering against their bound arms as she knots it snugly into place...

But Ember is a good girl. She stands to attention and radiates Urgency. Two of the clerks start struggling harder, ears twitching, trying to look anywhere that isn't a wolfgirl, only able to slowly rotate in the spinning chairs, but that's enough to get Gemini's attention. The sunglasses come down with a huff, and if she wasn't here on serious business, Ember would be tucking her tail between her legs and trying to make herself smaller, apologizing for interrupting Gemini's art.

"Share your report."

"I was on a training exercise," Ember dutifully recounts, hands behind her back, legs apart, chin up. Respectful stance, as befits the pack omega. "I still remember the exercise data and can recount it if you want. However, while returning to base, I encountered something new and noteworthy on two separate occasions." Gemini nods. There is no fear in Ember, only the relief of being able to share her sense experience. "First, while diving off the coast to avoid patrolling Corvii, I saw a dragon in the sky above, fifty meters above the water. It was five meters long, nose to tail. It was translucent, but filled with colors and light; I don't know if it can hide the colors to make itself more difficult to spot. The impression was crystal, not glass. From its mouth it projected a grid of light on the seabed, and this grid highlighted three-dimensional objects, including myself. After I was scanned by the grid, it focused the grid into a laser which it used to alert the Corvii patrols. Notably, it didn't attempt to use the laser to disable me, and it didn't chase after me. It's possible that it represents new discoveries in silicate-based biomancy, but I believe it's a relic of the gods, possibly Apollonian in nature."

Gemini nods. Not the nod of a new discovery for her, but of something she isn't surprised was new to Ember. Bashfulness coats Ember's inner arms. She's still the sapling, still the cub. But she hasn't done anything wrong; she's done exactly what is expected of her as a member of the Silver Divers by reporting this.

So she continues.

"I was pulled deeper out to sea by an unnatural current that I believe was a sign from the Horsefather. After swimming for approximately thirty minutes, approaching the limits of my ability to sustain my breath, I discovered what I was being shown: a structure of cyclopean size and make on the seabed. I can't estimate its length or height, but it was like a mountain range on the bottom of the sea. The water around it was polluted, and my instincts told me that it was leakage from the structure. In delirium, I approached the structure despite the toxicity of the water around it and had a vision which was difficult to interpret. It involved stars, and a star beneath the water, and crew instead of attendants. My original guess was that it was a temple built by humanity and drowned, intentionally or otherwise, by some change in the planet's climate, given its impossible scale. However, after having the vision, I think it's some form of starfaring craft, one which would require the entire clan to function at its barest minimum. I estimate that, drained and made functional, it could carry multiple Ceronian warhosts, or an entire planetary population. As I left, in need of air and disturbed by the nature of the vision, the Warsphere in orbit approached the site. I don't know whether they were previously aware of the site. It is possible that they have been charged with keeping us unaware of the site and now will need to escalate in an attempt to drive us away, but I think it's more likely that they were also unaware of the site and that they will move immediately to secure it. However, we have the edge in war in our patron's domain. We can take it and secure it, perhaps even repair it if my instincts about its purpose are correct."

Ember licks her lips.

"Do you still want the information from my training exercise, Gemini?"

Probably not. This is more serious than one of her training games. But she can't assume. It's possible Gemini will want her to recite the information just to prove that she is capable of holding it all in her head. She stands in submissive attention, waiting for her Alpha to require more of her or to dismiss her. She is Not looking at the clerks. It would be really fun to be told she can do whatever she wants now. There's one with a mop of curly hair and a lap that's begging for her to sit down in as she practices her own tactical pheromone usage with scarf and kiss and the remnants of his stuffy buttoned shirt. But she can't yet. She hasn't finished her duty until Gemini tells her she can stand down.

Ember is, after all, a very good girl. The one who takes this seriously, because she's the bottom of the pack. The one who takes this seriously, because the god of the Silver Divers has given them a sign. The one who takes this seriously, because she's so hungry for praise. And the one who takes this seriously, because Gemini might toss her right back to Plundering Fang, who might pull out another chair and make her an honorary clerk for the day. The Silver Divers may be egalitarian, but Ember's still earning her place among them, and being the bottom of the pack makes for a very respectful and dutiful young huntress. And, besides, nobody mouths off to Gemini. She'll just smile and then arrange your imminent downfall, possibly by having Taurus [i]get[/i] you when you least expect it.