<<Saturday Morning - March 11, 2079 - Seattle>>

The holofaxes and screamsheets can only talk about one thing this morning: Denver.

Yesterday, March 10th, Ghostwalker's deadline for all foreign governments and citizens to freely leave the Front Range Free Zone (FRFZ) was reached. Per their orders from the great dragon, the Zone Defense Force (ZDF) locked down the city. Airports were closed and all of Denver’s major entrances and exits were blockaded. A Matrix blackout was initiated, isolating the Denver Grid from the public and megacorporate grids. (AM, being savvy about such things, knows that some information is still managing to get in and out through the Denver Nexus.)

One passenger jet liner, Shin-Delta Flight 401, ignored the order to turn away and was shot down for entering restricted airspace. It's a scandal of international proportions.

Razak to Tamarind: <<This is why we ordered you out. Those still inside the borders but trying to leave are being sent back. Inbound traffic is turned away.>>

UCAS and CAS forces had previously assembled along the border in a standoff with the Zone Defense Force. The UCAS task force commander ordered all forces to attack. (The CAS forces however held fast). Sixteen UCAS aircraft were lost in the brief aerial skirmish. Ghostwalker himself made a battlefield appearance, casting a spell described as 'a massive wall of white hot fire' between the FRFZ and UCAS forces. UCAS forces then disengaged and withdrew from the FRFZ territory.

Razak: <<You want a juicy tidbit? This is what Ghostwalker said in the middle of the battle: "This is once again my domain, whole and complete. Everything and everyone within it belongs to me. Those who wanted to leave had their chance. Consider this my final warning: do not attempt to return, for if you do, you will only find death. For now, leave with your lives while you still have them." The UCAS was dumb to make the first move but it provided valuable intel. Looks like Ghostwalker wasn't bluffing like they thought. Feels good to be right.>> (Last month Razak correctly predicted that Ghostwalker's warnings were not a feint or a bluff.)

The national governments of the UCAS, CAS, Pueblo Corporate Council, Sioux Nation, and Aztlan (really, Aztechnology, but they let Aztlan pretend) are all convening today to discuss the developments. Saber-rattling senators rattle their sabers. Talk show pundits are practically rabid, frothing at the mouth as they yell over each other. The Salish-Shide Council, California Free State, and Tir Tairngire are all monitoring the situation "with concern".

It is against this backdrop that we find our team of scrappy-yet-increasingly-professional investigators... moving into a new house.

<<Saturday Noon - March 11, 2079 - Crossroads, Bellevue>>

Crossroads is the neighborhood in the northeastern corner of Bellevue right before you reach Redmond and Touristville. It's not far from SIS HQ, but mentally it is worlds apart. Knight-Errant patrols the border regularly and does its best to keep the violence on one side of the curtain.

Mato has signed the lease on a 200 square meter house with four bedrooms, a two-car garage, a yard, a garden, and a spot for a magical lodge. It's spacious, and there are even things like a lawn and trees to call your own. In the backyard there are a pair of very tall Douglas fir trees that provide a sweeping canopy over the rear of the property.

The bad news is that it's square in the middle of the most cookie-cutter, homogenous neighborhood that you could imagine. Every house looks like it was stamped out of the same mold. They're all painted a shade of white that doesn't look quite right. All have grey trim. The lawns are bright green. Looking up and down the street, it's almost impossible to identify any features that distinguish your house from any of the others. Upon close observation, you conclude that your trees in the backyard are slightly closer together than everyone else's trees in their back yards. That's as much as you have to work with. It's a very respectable middle-class neighborhood of young families, middle managers, and moderately successful entrepreneurs.

Mato is unloading furniture from a moving truck, using his cyberarms to manhandle large pieces of furniture easily. Realizing that the house was empty and that people would want things like beds and chairs, he went out and made a large purchase. (In anyone asks, "Where did you get that?" he'll shrug and say, "The gettin' place.")

It's still technically winter but the weather is unseasonably warm. Today the thermometer will reach 16C for the first time in 148 days, which triggers an unofficial but widely observed celebration in sun-starved Seattle. This weather is causing the neighbors to mill about outside, and there's an impromptu soykaf party on your new front lawn as they congregate to meet you. The friendly, attentive, highly-suspicious and nosy neighbors are doing a good job of cornering each of you and peppering you for information.

"Is this your place?" a young human Chinese mother asks Raven. "Are these your friends helping you move in?" Evidently Raven looks like the most likely resident among you.

"We have a neighborhood watch!" an older human Caucasian woman with a big head of white hair tells Bobby. She holds out a piece of electronic paper proudly. "We're always looking for volunteers!" She leans in with her eyebrows raised, looking expectantly at him.

"There's a home owner's association," an older human Caucasian male with a round belly tells AM. He looks retired, but he still wears slacks, plus a sweater vest over a dress shirt. "Meetings are the second Tuesday of every month, which means that there's one coming up in a few days. You should swing by, say hi, introduce yourself."

Tamarind sees a middle-aged dwarven Japanese woman making a beeline for her. "Hi! I just came by for some snooping, I mean some sugar!" she says, blushing at her verbal slip. "Are you Denver refugees?"

"Dreadful business, that Denver," agrees the older human woman.

"Quite right," agrees the older man, sipping his soykaf. "I called our senator this morning. I registered my stern objections to his admin assistant."

"Dragons," the young mother says, shaking her head sadly. "What sort of world are we leaving for our children? One with dragons in charge?"

"Someone should do something about all these problems!" the female dwarf nods.

There's a general hum of consensus about this point. Everyone looks to you expectantly, confident in your swift agreement.

Rachel has been following the news. It all seemed so far away, yet somehow around the corner. She wonders how this new situation will affect their lives. Will it, really?

After staying in the nice casino hotel for about a week, she is a bit spoiled, but also happy to finally see their new place. It's so much better than the first one. Sure, the whole area is a bit uniform and corp-like, she would have prefered a bit more individualism, but they can do that inside their new headquarter and give it its own touch. Surely, this will feel like home in no time. Mato actually bringing in some furniture is a good first step. Rachel helps putting it in, and finding a good place for the various pieces.

When they are being greeted by their new neighbors, the young witch isn't annoyed at all by the plethora of questions. She happily mingles and chats with them.

"Mine? Oh, no... well, yes. Also. This is going to be our new headquarter. We are a small investigation company. You know, like private eyes. It's so nice of you to make the effort to welcome us to the neighborhood. Hi, I'm Rachel."

She offers the young mother a friendly hug.

"Please, tell me something about the area. Is everyone always so nice here? Where are the best shopping spots? Where do you go for entertainment? You look so fit, surely you must work out. Any nice parks here for a morning run? There is so much to learn still."

Rachel will also slip her senses to the astral and observe the various neighbors to get a good impression of them.

Earlier
Visiting my mother did not go as planned; it pressed on all the painful points and memories and only took me a few days to break. Almost 31, and my mother can still make me feel like an insecure girl that needs to be sheltered from the world, and the fact that I mingle with crimelords, gangsters, and bullies and thrive - means nothing. It just shows my “poor judgment” and that I should - no, must leave that terrible “Redmond” place. Jewsey running away to the other side of the world to help “his people” does not help. How can he go around helping his tribe when I can’t even stand my mother?

It has been a year since I left, where I’ve been very low and then gradually climbed out of the gutter—clawed my way up, learning and adjusting and finding my inner confidence. I met with Urubia - I spoke to an actual dragon -- and speaking to my mother is worse. She is just so set in her ways, and she makes everything I do seem so small. Iktomi is my imaginary friend, and sorcery is just something that “would get you killed” and that “getting me educated is worth nothing if I can’t find a good job”

I should go “play it safe” and get married and have a few babies --- my mother is not getting any younger, and she wants to know that I am well off and see some grandchildren before she passes. I am an elf, with a biological clock that ticks slower, and she looks at me, and she resents me - she is afraid that I would never give her what she desires and to be honest. Perhaps I never wanted all these things, and perhaps I wanted to feel something real before it was my time.

After all, a safe job, small risks, keeping your head low, and working hard, and then... you find yourself running the mouse wheel with no end in sight. You get married, have a few children, and then teach them that piece of wisdom so that they, too, can run endlessly, and the vicious cycle repeats, and nobody ever gets ahead.



After a few days with my mother, I couldn’t stand her anymore. I find myself driving aimlessly into Sioux nation. Stopping and firing a few bullets at soda cans and bottles. Missing my father. He is so close and yet so far. His kids have left the house and gone on their way, but his wife is still there, and I can’t just show up. I returned to my mother's home with the realization that there was nothing waiting for me out there I couldn’t take vacations because there was nowhere to go - but I told everyone I’d be away for several weeks. Going back so soon feels wrong, so I stay, and I grind, and I make a few coins to pull my weight around home and to give mother fake hope. I train at a local gym, and I help people with my useless shamanic healing, making a few coins and putting some food on the table.

Playing it safe, and after two weeks, I leave. I can’t take it anymore. Iktomi has taught me the most painful truth - I have no home. There is nowhere to return to, and I can’t stand my mother, I have no real place in my father’s life. I love them, but I don’t like them. So instead of breaking, I reach for an outdoor shop and get some equipment, and I spend another week in the cold outdoors. Speaking to my imaginary friend, that does not answer. Not this time, I am not getting off so easily. I am all alone, and I gradually reach a decision to change. All the limitations and rules and social stigma is in my head, and I am a sorcerer - Bobby can change into all the animals. Why can’t I be taller, faster, and stronger and have a body that projects strength? Why must I feel small and powerless among orcs and trolls? There are some technical difficulties, but I am determined. A few weeks later, when I am ready to leave, my oversized clothes suddenly fit, and I have figured out how to keep the spell I had known for years already - with me indefinitely.

I get into the car, stops at a motel wash, and examine my new body. It is everything I ever wanted to look at, but genetics and nutrition disagreed. I feel great, but I also feel terrified. People look at me differently, which forces me to look at them differently. Then I returned to Redmond and found SIS abandoned, damaged and cold, and alone. I knew it I talked to Mato the other day, and he caught me up on recent events and told me that they all live in some Hotel now and live the good life. I wanted a moment alone with the pain of change, and if I wanted a fancy Hotel staying with Black was nicer, I did not have many girlfriends.

Black took me dancing and shopping, and she let me ride her motorcycle in a few races. It was exciting, and I felt so much sharper and quicker to respond - it was amazing.


*****
AM feels stressed when the neighbors come looking she loved the fact that her house looks just like the rest of them, and standing out brings troubles, but somehow despite that, it feels like everyone has come to look at them. She was carrying heavy equipment with relative ease using her new and improved augmented body and feeling as if she was enjoying it too much. When the man addresses her she fakes interest and smiles "A home owner association? I'll be happy to introduce myself, but we don't actually own this place... is that still relevant for us?" she asks smiling at their misfortune.

Bobby had been busy. AM could reliability levitate stuff, but having a gorilla to haul furniture around was just unbeatable.
After that, Bobby had vanished for 24 hours, stuffed himself from the fridge and crashed in his cot for 12 hours.
But a careful observer could see that the two Douglas trees now sported birdhouses, a bird bath and a separate feeder for squirrels.
Also, the little gardening drone had been disconnected and brought in. Instead an open seed package for wildflowers rested now against the wall of the backyard.
In contrast, the front yard had been mowed down to the last blade to exactly 30 mm.
Unrelated to that, some neighbor kids had told their parents that the new neighbors had let a goat out to graze at night.
Kids and their imagination...

At the housewarming, Bobby was cheerful and very keen on the neighborhood watch scheme:
"Great, where can I sign up? You know that there is a pretty suspicious van parked down at 122? Smells like PVC, so either a dealer for Eros or worse, one of those guys selling those pink flamingo garden features.
Also, 344 has a rat problem in their cellar. The urine traces are pretty obvious in near uv light. I'd guess they are keeping a python and some of its food escaped."

Mato is a bit put off by AM's new physique. Okay, more than a little. She is now taller than him and he can't quite get used to looking up at her. His arms are still stronger - a point he tries to demonstrate through ridiculous feats with the furniture - but AM now has legs for days. Mato's legs are sleek things of a long distance runner. AM now has the legs of a sprinter, with powerful quads and calves.

The young Chinese mother's name is Yao. "But my friends call me Bao." She laughs nervously at the mention of an investigative agency. "We're zoned for single-family residential properties, not commercial..."

"She's right you know," the older human male agrees. He sticks out his hand. "Danforth Ableworth, of Danforth Commercial Properties. Retired, but I like to keep my head in the game."

Raven can see that Danforth is missing some Essence, but she can't see why. The logical conclusion is some sort of bioware or high-grade cyberware that can't be seen at a glance. (Closer examination would see that that Danforth has both a sleep regulator and a mnemonic enhancer.)

"You’re allowed to run a business out of your home in Bellevue as long as it doesn’t interfere with other residents in the neighborhood. The home occupation rules in the Bellevue Municipal Code - also called the BMC - contain limits designed to minimize the impact your commercial activity has on your residential neighborhood. For example, the ordinance says that your business cannot produce noise, odors, or other emissions that can be detected from your property line."

"We'll be maintaining an office elsewhere," Mato chimes in as he passes by. It's unclear if this is a lie to assuage the residents. SIS HQ didn't burn to the ground but it's a shell of its former self. There's a good of water damage from the fire suppression systems, plus the Halloweeners took chainsaws to the walls inside and the furniture you left behind.

Raven's hug catches Yao off-guard, but Raven's warmth quickly wins her over. "Well there's tremendous shopping just a kilometer that way." She points. "So many good places to eat! So Tasty - that's the name of the restaurant, but it is so tasty - Joy Box, Ezell’s Southern Accent has Confederate cuisine, The Mogul, Silver Fools, Happy Lamb Hot Pot..."

"Have you been to Chilibee's?" Danforth asks. This is a chain restaurant with scientifically-designed flavors that are customized to please a mass-market audience. The marketing is soulless and completely unobjectionable, as is their food. "I love taking the missus to Chilibee's on Mondays. They have the best specials on Mondays. Go before 17:00 for a good discount."

The older human female's name is Edie. She looks enraptured at Bobby's enthusiastic response. "Oh, you'll be perfect," she says, placing a hand on his arm. "Ever since my husband Ron died, we've been looking for a big, strong man to take his place..."

"Kelsey Creek Park isn't far that way," Yao says to Raven, pointing to the southwest. "It's really big. Great trails for running there. Glendale Country Club is over there too. If you get there first thing in the morning you can jog around the golf course before the first tee time. Sometimes they chase you away but I bet a pretty thing like yourself won't have any trouble with that..."

"Doesn't matter at all!" Danforth responds jovially to AM concern about not being a homeowner. "About a third of the residents here are renting. It's always great to get to know your neighbors. Builds community, you know? Builds trust." He says the last word with special emphasis.

Looking around the astral will reveal a great deal. Underneath their warm and welcoming veneer, the residents are intensely anxious. Edie's fear might be manifesting itself with a surge of arousal while speaking with Bobby, but the others are deeply uncomfortable. Is is because Rachel mentioned the business? Or because Mato is an ork with obvious cyberware? Or because some of you are clearly Amerind? Or is simply because you are new?

Edit: fixing speech color

Tamarind relaxes as the neighbours congretate. This is the best case situation, in her opinion. Crowds are pretty easy to deal with, compared to a lot of one on one time. And it is easy to smile at the dwarf who hands her a story so neatly packaged. She looks at it quickly from a couple of angles and decides that the straight truth is indeed fine to share.

"Actually, yes, I was living in Denver. Well, not the city itself, the Front Range Free Zone has more open territory than Seattle does and I was in the less settled parts. Transportation logistics. I left about a month ago, but it took us a bit to find this house." She looks around at the area fondly, then asks "Please share your favourite local places? We don't have our kitchen set up yet, I'm about to order in coffee, I might as well get extra, to go with the sugar you know."

Shortly she sends the more intact of her travel drones off to get a large to-go box of coffee and a stack of cups. Might as well get the neighours used to her having her own delivery drone, since she may be using it enough. It could always carry the smaller ones and then deploy them once away from the house.

AM responds to the introduction by "Emma Miller... but my friends call me 'em'". She then adds trying
to be open to the concept of a homeowner association where people get to be privy about her life.
"We'll be there." she promises more to herself than to the old man. As long as their communal lifestyle is acceptable, there is something to work with, but their kinks would require a lot of social lubricants like smiles and cake to smooth out. She is a fish out of the water, but she disguises it -- never show weakness, just like in Redmond.

She understands the desire to be rich, she wants shoes and fast cars, a better deck, powerful foci, and a larger wardrobe, and all these things cost a lot of money. Does she want a nice house with pine trees and nosy neighbors? Do people even enjoy that sense of community? Perhaps when they are not illegal, and walk around with a highly illegal deck, sport guns, and practice sorcery. Redmond is not safer, but she understands the dangers there. Here, not so much - but her spider-sense is tingling. She looks at Mato that carries the refrigerator without effort; it is an impressive feat and is very masculine. It would have been a job for the levitate spell, but he insists on that... perhaps Mato feels the other way? He was rich; he wanted life to put him back where he belonged. Or perhaps it is post-trauma after being blown to pieces? That changed everything - even for her. She realizes. Perhaps this is why he insisted on a place with a neighborhood watch. She muses.

Bobby also seems to be doing better than herself, and Rachel - well, she is already hugging the neighbors and not even pickpocketing them. Which is the only situation AM can think of herself doing something like that. Genuine warmth - she is a natural. Perhaps it is just AM that does not fit in civilization? Even Tamarind seems to find something relatable to say - but what can AM speak about which is socially acceptable? AM's eyes look for Trouble; while she is always connected to the spirit, she wants to see him in his majestic lazy glory. Trouble is indifferent to the entire social situation and does not feel a need to help with the move or talk to the neighbors - no... he is just lazily lying down on the grass enjoying the sun. She would have switched places with the cat in a heartbeat.

... she gathers her witts and tries to form some rudimentary social connections - "Is there a nice place to workout around here? I miss the old place already." she asks.

Bobby kept up the chipper facade as long as he could, but his social batteries were draining quickly.
He made sure to read the neighborhood watch pamphlet, before signing up.
After all, he intended to keep watch anyway, so why not looking out for the whole neighborhood. At least this would give him some form of legitimization to hang around and be nosey.

So he smiled and then used the first opportunity to get away from Edie by taking over the task to refill everyone's soycaf.

He discreetly sent the others a message <<Whatever you do, don't tell them we can do magic. And no hacking or drones or anything else beyond those people's horizon.>>

"Of course, it is all legal. Don't you worry. There will be the occasional visitor, but other than that, you won't even notice us. I mean, discretion is kind of our job. Change is always a little scary. It is the same for us. This is all new, but I am sure we will settle in quickly."

When Yao lists some of her favorite spots, Rachel comments: "Ah, so many places. Great! I will have a lot to do. The Park sounds nice, and maybe I will check out that Country Club. Does anyone here play? I heard golf is a very relaxing sport."

While they speak, she also takes a closer look at Danforth.

Danforth looks pleased as punch to hear that AM will attend the Home Owners Association meeting.

Raven's closer examination of his reveals common health problems related to being a well-fed older man. In addition to his cultured bioware, she notes that his blood pressure is too high. But maybe that's related to this meeting?

"You poor thing!" the middle-aged dwarven Japanese woman tells Tamarind after hearing about her exodus from Denver. "I'm more of a tea drinker myself but the soykaf lovers all rave about 'Hye Life'."

A quick Matrix search reveals a cafe offering a strange combination of Armenian coffee and pastries along with American barbecue. Tamarind sends a drone zipping off for more soykaf. Despite Bobby's concerns, the neighbors don't seem to think much of the drone. Edie, the older female, watches for a moment as it zips away and seems to marvel a bit, perhaps remembering a time when drones were not ubiquitous.

The fridge is a bit of a problem for Mato. It's not his arms that are the problem but his legs. They are his weak link, at least in terms of raw strength. He can get the fridge off the ground but then actually walking with it is a chore. At some point he swallows his pride. "AM, can I get some help here," he says, sweating.

"I play tennis at the club!" Yao tells Raven enthusiastically. "Do you play? You have the legs for it. I don't golf but Mr. Ableworth does!"

"With a 10 handicap," he admits, indicating an above-average golfer but still an amateur. "I'll get it down to single-digits one of these days, I swear. I can get you in as my guest anytime. Members' privileges!"

Raven is accustomed to this treatment from men, especially older men.

"There's a gym at the country club, of course,"2 Danforth says with a swish of pride. "But you look like you could use something a little more... serious," he adds to AM, gauging her bodybuilder volume of muscle. "Maybe try Good Time Fitness."

"We have a private contract with Sakura Security," Edie tells Bobby. (Folks can roll a knowledge skill here if they wish.) "You'll see them on patrol white cars with a cherry blossom on the door. Lovely folks, but we still feel the need to have a neighborhood watch make the rounds. As good as they are, a security company will never know as much about a neighborhood as the neighbors!"

Edie looks proud of this fact, and also determined to keep it true.

"I'll get you an arm band," she tells Bobby, using it as an excuse to grab his bicep. "Oh, and please make sure that everyone - including your visitors - is broadcasting their SIN at all times. Otherwise Sakura will stop them to investigate."

Mato is avoiding much of the conversation by moving a lot of furniture. The neighborhood residents don't seem to think that this arrangement is unusual.

When Mato's request arrives, AM grins at Danforth and rolls her eyes "duty calls" she apologizes, then she goes to Mato, carefully balancing the awkward thing. She is happy with the chance to escape the social situation - if only for a short while. While they all seem nice enough, she always looked at such people from the sidelines, and here they are, assuming she was part of them - and perhaps she was? As her father says, "as long as you don't get caught." So while she would normally levitate a heavy object, the presence of so many nervous spectators, Bobby's warning, and her new and improved body allowed her to try something new.

She looks at Mato and the awkward piece of metal he is carrying, and it takes her a moment to understand what to do. Mato does not need that much anyhow. No matter how strong he is, it is too much weight to wave it around. Two people splitting the weight among them would do the trick. "Praise Iktomi for yet another unusual experience." she thinks when she finally realizes - that SHE is helping Mato with the refrigerator and that it is not such a difficult task between them. After the way Cutty had looked at her just a few months ago, promising to teach her something that does not rely on physical strength - after living an entire life without physical strength, here she is lifting a super heavy refrigerator - well, helping - but Mato asked her -- not Bobby. It got to mean something, and she is thankful for the opportunity to do things differently.

Once inside the house, she utters a grateful "Thanks" at Mato, "I already agreed to participate in a homeowner meeting; only the Wakan Tanaka knows what more I would have consented had I stayed in the conversation."

Bobby nodded and thanked the old lady: "That will be very useful. I'd like to read the contract as well - you can never be too careful with the fine print. Did the HOA sign the contract? Maybe I should visit the next meeting too."
Bobby had some idea of what this particular subsidiary was most well known for. Beating up metas in the back of their cars was one of them - though that was probably true for all of those companies. Knowing their patrol routes would be very important to him if he wanted to move around in different guises.
The attention of Edie was not particularly bad, but neither was it pleasant. But with the inherent racism in these neighborhoods, it seemed an Amerindian was preferable to an orc.
He certainly would enjoy the retreat that his next initiation would require from him.

"Tennis? No, never tried that myself. But the outfits are certainly cute," Rachel comments.

"A trial run on the golf course would be great. Maybe that could be something for me. Are there some ladies at the club, too? Or is it more of a gentlemen thing?"

The witch wonders, how easy it would be to cheat at these sports with a subtle application of Magic Fingers. Do they have magicians overseeing the games? Or spirits?

"Yes, of course!" Edie says. "I'll forward it right away. Now where did I put it..." She starts to flit through her commlink but it's clear that she's no expert in technology. After two minutes she eventually finds it. Bobby sees that the contract with Sakura Security was signed by Edie, acting as the President of the Highland Home Owner's Association. Evidently that's the name of the neighborhood.

Bobby knows that Sakura Security is a subsidiary of Mitsuhama. Sakura has a reputation for mostly employing humans and elves, with the occasional dwarf that isn't too ugly. Most of their contracts are for nice neighborhoods that expect a certain level of deference and customer service, especially those with high concentrations of Japancorp employees. Their employees aren't thugs or killers; they prefer discrete conflict resolution whenever possible. They're more likely to hit you with chemicals than clubs. AM knows that their Matrix patrols are mostly automated agents, but with spiders on call to respond to alarms.

Inside, Mato nods to AM. "Staying on the right side of the HOA is important. They can make your life a living hell. Not in the way the Halloweeners do, of course, but through rules and fines and other rigmarole. If we miss a meeting then I guarantee there will be a rule passed that will annoy us."

"Many ladies at the club," Danforth nods to Raven. "None so pretty as yourself, if I may." Again, Raven is accustomed to the raw flattery. "They do discourage jogging around the links, especially by guests, but of course exceptions are made."

"Yes, the outfits are the cutest!" Yao agrees enthusiastically. "The tank tops, the little skirts, the short shorts." She twists and strikes a pose for Raven, showing off her legs. "I like jogging outfits too. Although these days I'm mostly jogging with a stroller, and it's harder to look cute with a stroller."

Some research will indicate that amateur rounds of golf are not observed by spirits, watchers, or magicians, except in the capacity of security. Telekinetic cheating is certainly possible, but relatively rare given the limited number of magicians in the world.

Tamarind's drone returns with soykaf and a stack of cups. The older Japanese lady declines, but Edie, Danforth, and Yao all readily participate. They looked pleased at the hospitality.

"Oo, that's strong," Edie says with a wince. Indeed, the brew is intense.

"They grind it really fine, almost like powder," Yao explains. "And then they add it to water and boil it. No filters! Just pure soykaf power." She flexes a bicep.

Tamarind makes sure that those who want the 'kaf have some, then tries it herself. "Oh, I think I have a new favorite soykaf place! This reminds me of how my Dad made it. I was too young to really appreciate it back then except mixed with a lot of soymilk and sweetener, but this brings me back. I'll have to go visit in person at some point. After a few years working out in the country, it will be nice to have local places. Being able to take a quick drive instead of sending drones off for pick-ups all of the time." She skips over her weeks in Redmond, best not to emphasize that part. For that matter, if anyone gets the impression that they'd all been in Denver, that would be fine by Tamarind, but she isn't going to try and actively push such a story.

"I'm hoping to cultivate some flowers. Any rules or customs around front yard flower gardens I should know about?" She hopes that will get someone talking, and let her just nod along, needing only occasional questions and comments to keep the conversation going for a while. She has visions of growing something with some height, to leave the front lawn quite so boring, but she suspects that in this area they'd prefer some low standing annuals, and maybe the conversation will even enlighten her on that front.

Of course, in the back they will hopefully be able to put in a good vegetable garden. That is something that she won't ask about, sometimes out of sight, out of rule enforcement.

AM sighs "Some people have too much free time, but politics are everywhere, even with the Halloweeners.". Redmond was impossible, but Highland? Did they have a chance to make it work? She asks with curiosity. A commune in suburbia... Three girls, two guys, a home business, I feel we're wired for a disaster. They all live in families. How do we fit in here? It has been five minutes, and you decided to play the mover. They'll eventually figure out that you live here too." she asks, a bit puzzled by Mato's low profile when he is the one person among them that probably understands the rules of the game.

"We pick our battles," Mato says, taking a break and leaning on the refrigerator he just put down. "They happen at the time and place of our choosing.

"Playing the mover is a practical matter, since there's work to be done today. Tomorrow I'll wear a suit, my Sunday best - I could use some help with alterations, by the way - and will ease them into the idea of being around more often. I grew up like this, so I know my way. Eighty percent of the time their bias is socioeconomic, not racial. If you live like them, dress like them, and talk like them... you still won't be them, but they'll, mm, benignly tolerate you.

"Plus, if they like you then I benefit from that association. So get back out there and play nice."

She opens her mouth, but no words get out. All her friends are from the wrong side of the law. Or perhaps it is the right side to be, the side of anarchy and freedom rather than soul-crushing rules and regulations. She has some smart or sarcastic stuff to say about the situation, but how helpful would it be? She has been the least involved as possible in the move, she wasn't even there and the house in Redmond was trashed again - they did not blend in - with the criminals as well.
"I'll give it a shot Mato, I mean I owe you turned out okay despite knowing what an HOA is.

She looks at the kitchen with frustration, it is not ready. "We need tea" she says half to herself she adds " it is the one thing that won't freak them out. ", but she hastily cleans up her worn-out, male armored jacket. Her social armor, is filled with frustration and pain. A testament to all that she has lost - which somehow brings her comfort. She owes Mato her best effort, and Iktomi is likely entertained by the entire oddity of the situation.

Looking for her place in the crowd she approaches Rachel and Yao, You should try our tea, we grow our own herbs, it is very calming and healthy."

Bobby had enough - his social batteries were empty and all he wanted now was to turn into a ferret, curl up under a sofa cusion and wait until the neighbors went away again.
"Thanks, I'll come by soon and send you a report if I see anything else suspicious. If you excuse me, I've got to make sure that the wooden floors aren't scratched up. You never can have enough felt stickers under your furniture."
With that inane parting words, Bobby hurried inside, leaving Tamarind and Rachel to fend for themselves.
Once inside, Bobby saw that Mato and AM had things well in hand. Looking around a bit aimlessly, his eyes finally fell on a carton with a fresh shipping label from a well known electronics wholesaler.
"Finally arrived. Took them long enough." He ripped open the parcel and took out two bags labled "Stealth Tags" and a complete electronics tool kit, as well as a bunch of thin cables.
"I've watched some of those hacker vlogs, those hacker club types have. Pretty clever ideas for a bunch of underage trust fund babies.
Yell, if you need my help with something."

Bobby went upstairs into his designated room.

Seeing Bobby retreat, Tamarind figures it is time to start driving the neighours away, slowly. She messages Rachel <<I don't know how much more patience for this lot you have, but I'm ready to start boring them away. I think gardening nerd talk ought to deal with most of this crowd, and any who stick with it I'll walk around and look at gardens for a bit longer, before saying that I should help with unpacking>>

And then she gets on with that job. "I've done my gardening on the other side of the Rockies, where it is dryer and and cooler. The flow prospects here seem lovely, but I'm looking for ideas. . Yao, do you have flowers that we can go look at? Or any of you really."

"We definitely should go shopping at some point," Rachel says to Yao.

It is obvious enough, that most of their little group have no further interest in chatting with the folks from the neighborhood, so she smiles at the gathering and says: "It looks like the guys want to finish getting everything inside and set up before it is getting dark, so we better go and help them. Don't want to be called a slacker for no reason, right? It was so nice meeting you all. Such a nice gesture. Thank you!"

"Oo, yes, please!" the Japanese dwarf says AM's offer of tea. Her name is Hina.

"Oo, yes, please!" Yao says to Rachel's offer to go shopping, and offers her commcode.

"Oo, yes, please!" Edie says to Tamarind's suggestion of touring gardens. "It's still early in the season so we're just now getting the first daffodils. But with a warm day like today I bet things will be popping soon!"

"I have a vegetable garden!" Hina says. "With the nice weather, I'm planting seedlings this afternoon! Broccoli, kale, kohlrabi... I started them indoors back in January and now they're ready to go into the ground. I have beet seeds too that I'll just plant straight outdoors; no need to start those inside. I love the greens they grow. You could do cauliflower right about now too but I hate it. Bleah! I'd rather eat polystyrene."

Rachel escapes inside while AM (having sweetly offered tea) and Tamarind (having sweetly offered enamel-stripping soykaf) are lead off on a tour of Edie's and Hina's gardens. Luckily both of AM and Tamarind know what they are talking about and manage some reasonable gardening insights during the tour. (Mato is a passable gardener as well and has expressed interest in some sort of greenhouse in the back yard.)

~~~

The time passes and eventually AM and Tamarind return to the house. Most of the furniture has been moved in, but very little has been unpacked yet. Mato drinks a cold soda while sitting on some new deck furniture (!) on your new patio out back (!) that also has a hot tub (!).

"Let's talk about life here," he suggests when the team is reassembled. "There are two bathrooms: one upstairs, one downstairs. As I'm sure you've noticed, the one downstairs has a sauna. But using it ties up the downstairs bathroom so let's keep it to 15 to 20 minutes unless we're all doing a sweat lodge.

"Technically we're only allowed to have a home office in a residential zone if the organization has three employees or fewer. Obviously we've tipped our hand that's not the case. As such, Redmond will still technically be our HQ, an office for meetings and walk-ins. No, it's not in good shape right now, but at least the building is standing. I'll get Waylon to work on it but it will be slow going. It's not livable right now, that's for certain. Well, maybe for Waylon it is.

"But let's talk about why we're here. There will be problems here, just as there are anywhere, but those problems should - in theory - be less homicidal than our previous problems. But we'll need to evolve accordingly too. We can't respond with force at all. Magic should be discrete. If we have a problem, we'll respond with legal counsel. That's how the game is played here. Wars are fought with words and conspicuous consumption. I'll leave it to you to decide if that's the more civilized approach or not.

"Questions, thoughts, concerns?"

AM immensely enjoys the tour and the tea, she is a social animal once the anxiety goes down, and it does once it is on Hina's property. She likes gardening and sees it as part of her worship, but most of her knowledge, besides keeping a small hydroponic for herbs, is theoretical because she has had more urgent concerns than planting seeds since she arrived.

"... but you have to put yourself out there to grow," she remembers DB and his instructions when she was terrified after realizing which spirit had chosen her for a totem. "Iktomi would test you, take things from you, and trick you, but none of the Wakan Tanaka is evil, and they all encompass some of our wisdom."

Perhaps they are not so bad, these 'others' she envied, resented, and sometimes hated. The people that had all the nice stuff where had very little and always got it in some crooked manner. It was a digital world, and AM and her mother had no digital representation. They did not exist in that world - which is why the first fake SIN was such a big deal - she was suddenly a natural person as long as she did not try to do anything too ambitious with it. She could buy something at a store for some, not at some shady merchant at an actual store.

So she makes some herbal tea on her small gas stove, and then the tour, and she feels mellowed a little bit.


===
She comments humorously , "Not petrifying the neighbors even if they deserve it...", and then she strokes Trouble. "You too, little guy..." Trouble protests a bit about the no magic rule, but then he hurls when she scratches him the way he likes, kind of like how Urubia does it.

Bobby shrugged while he let his new toy glide through his fingers: "Conspicuous consumption... Getting eaten by a bear would qualify for that wouldn't it?
Nah, I get it. Civilized folk and all that. Don't worry. I'll do my part in the neighborhood watch. People are less likely to complain if they know their car could get towed for being parked on the curb. Don't see those rules around here as a prison. They are weapons. You can train to use them and when the time comes, eviscerate the opposition.

And believe me, our neighbors have plenty of skeletons in the closet. A surprising amount of secret rooms that look like amateur porn sets / sex dungeons. Also, lots of cheating spouses and a bunch of swingers going by the smells of their cars and garages.
Lots to work with."

"I will take this here over what you have to worry about living next door to the Halloweeners any day of the week," Rachel says.

Mato is pleasantly surprised. He had expected more resistance to the environment. Well, perhaps everyone was still in the honeymoon phase of continuous Matrix access, electricity that doesn't cut out regularly, and abundant hot water.

"Bobby is absolutely right: the rules are a weapon. But remember that weapon cuts both ways. If we slot someone off, they can turn on us and give us headaches.

"An example: parking. We have a two-car garage. We have the Americar, plus Tamarind's Econovan. Two cars, two parking spaces, great. But I think there was also a desire to turn the garage into a workspace where we have some dedicated space for our projects. No more doing delicate electronics work in your bedroom, neh? So why don't we just move the cars out of the garage?"

He waggles his finger.

"The HOA frowns on that. They don't want more than one vehicle parked in the driveway, and street parking - despite the abundant curb space - is intended for visitors. So maybe we put the Americar in the driveway and use half the garage for a workspace, but I guarantee there will be murmurs about it. Yes, about a car parked in the driveway. It would be more acceptable if it were a S-K Bentley Concordat, GMC Cadillac Nocturne, or a BMW X89. Then we'd just be showing off, like everyone else. Conspicuous consumption and all that.

"Long story short, just because we have a lot of space doesn't mean that we can always use it the way we want."

Bobby nodded: "Yeah, but what else is new. There are always rules. At least we are facing less fire bombs. And a lot fewer people taking potshots at passing birds.
Maybe it's time we sell one car and upgrade it to a better model as well? One that reflects well on the neighborhood and helps keep the real estate prices high? Because that's what all these rules are about, aren't they? Make this place appear perfect, so the house prices don't fall and the people who invested their cash and loans here, aren't losing out.
Don't look so shocked. I may be a savage at heart, but I know a thing or two about architecture and the real estate market. So the first thing we'll have to do is errect a better privacy fence around our garden. Or rather, the first thing we need to do, is setting up a warding ritual to protect our house from astral spying. We have nosy neighbors - anyone pumping them for information would have an easy time. We left Nightmare and his spirits behind in Redmond, but there is no guarantee they won't follow us.

Anyway, what a day. Hey, how about we celebrate our new space with a bit of sweating in the sauna? You all know my hairy ass anyway. About time I got to see yours."

Bobby grinned, not showing if he spoke in earnest or in jest.

"If we go fancy, let's do a sports car... Something to enjoy rather than to show off." then she looks dreamy "something I can race with... but then she frowns "I can still race. Or did the HOA make up rules against street racing?" she seems frustrated at the notion of rules. Still, she is oblivious to how these people behave and even to the concept of being busy and having a regular job rather than occasionally having something important to do. Who knows how these people live? she muses.

"There are rules against street racing, yes," Mato nods to AM, disappointed to be the one to break the news.

"We could probably afford one of those cars," he continues. "Or a Rover Model 2072, Ares Humvee, or Toyota Coaster. But remember that we might still commute to Redmond occasionally, so we don't want to paint a bigger bullseye on our backs. We could take Tamarind's van, if she's amenable.

"I bet we could get away with an Ares Roadmaster..." he adds thoughtfully after a moment. "They handle like a blimp in a hurricane, but there's a certain social cachet you get from driving an armored car... It makes you look like a target, which makes you look important."

On the way to the sauna, Mato says, "By the spirits, wear a towel, Bobby. Do you know what sort of germs and bacteria breed in moist heat? We probably have the next strand of VITAS-4 breeding in there and the only thing standing between it and your hairy hoop is a plush layer of synthcotton."

"... but I can do them in Redmond and come back, right?" she asks, and when Mato suggests an Ares Roadmaster, she comments, "Roadmaster is an overkill please don't.


She considers the Sauna for a brief moment but feels too shy, so instead, she tours the house and starts getting the magical lodge in place on the second floor. Feeling like her regalia should not be the first thing that a neighbor sees. She is an oddball without needing to explain that part of her life.

Bobby just shrugged: "That's exactly the reason you want to let as much air as possible into all your crevasses. You better make sure you use some lanolin on your metal parts. Wouldn't do to get rust stains on the wood."

Bobby dropped the mask spell to reveal that he was actually still wearing his towel.
"Don't worry, I'm going to sit on a towel."

"Yes, you can street race in Redmond and then come back," Mato tells AM.

"If you're awake late, I think the go-gangers like to race on the Highway 90 bridge across the lake since it's a straight shot. That's like a 2am, 3am, 4am thing. I'm told the lake and the wind spirits like to watch. Council Island isn't amused but they won't intervene unless someone takes the exit onto the island. But if you're going to race on this side of the Redmond curtain, do me a favor and get a morphing license plate and a spoof chip."

To Bobby he says, "I'm titanium and carbon fiber, neither of which rust." He examines his hands, as if studying them. "Literally, at least. Metaphorically they do. I got these used - second hand if you will, har har - from someone who, mm, didn't need them anymore. Then I ordered the legs to match. Maybe one day I'll commission a pair of my own."

He seems lost in that thought for a moment.

"This place is really nice," Rachel comments. "Once we are settled in, it will be even nicer, I think. And the neighbors don't seem that bad. I would be curious about anyone new getting into my neighborhood as well. And you, too."

"Roadmaster, isn't that the beast that is as big as a fire truck? That would block the whole street! The GMC Escalade is cool, but maybe a tad too expensive. Yet. I once was on a date with a guy who drove one of those. So classy. And a lot of space, too. It is pretty much on the top of the list of cars I would buy, if I could afford it. And learned how to drive them other than by telling the autopilot where to go. I'm sure you guys can show me, right? Can't be that hard. I will also look into learning how to golf. That looks fun, and who knows, could come in handy some day."

Rachel's stuff is unloaded pretty quickly. It's not that much. She probably would own a lot more clothes, if she couldn't change them on a whim. She had ordered a couple things from her talismonger, using the funds they earned on the last job. Much of that went into reagents, which she will need to entice her spirit friends to stick around a bit longer. She also upgraded her own magical lodge. More than she really needs at the moment, but you never know when it will be needed. And it takes time to set all that up, too.

“Finally sauna time! One camp I worked at in the Sioux, we were based out of an old 20th century gas station, the kind that had its own mechanics garage and a store and diner and all of that, enough space that once we patched the roof we turned the old store-room into a sauna. Home-made sauna, not enough ventilation, ended up with a mold problem but we were moving sites by then anyway. But I loved that sauna. You’d be out on a cold night, helping someone land and transferring cargo, fueling them back up, inspecting the bird before it flew off again, or occasionally covering it with a camo tarp. By dawn you’d be exhausted and half-frozen, but we’d have the sauna hot enough to steam vegetables and we’d all pile in there. Warm up, relax, clean up, chat. Wouldn’t take long before people were yawning and ready to head to bed.” She stops before discussing how often people hadn’t headed to their own beds; that site had been a bit of a soap opera. She doesn’t need to introduce that awkward thought to these nice people.

She falls quiet for a bit, remembering her own relationship in those long gone years. Which eventually leads her to ask “Are there rules about the hot tub use? It looks private enough, but it wouldn’t shock me if there are acceptable hours of use or something like that.” Soaking in the hot tub at 2am while monitoring drones wouldn’t be as nice as skinny dipping with her girlfriend on warm Sioux Summer nights when no smugglers were due, but it would certainly beat sitting in her van or bedroom.

“And I’m sitting on a towel, but that’s it. None of that 'wear a swim suit into the sauna drek. We can compare scars if you want.” She’s never valued her appearance enough to feel much modesty. It is just a body, nothing special or rare about it. It happened to be hers, and she appreciated its quick reactions and overall good health, but she was under no illusions that anyone else valued it highly. Besides, Bobby is so variable in form that his relationship to bodies must be unique, and Mato showed all the signs of body detachment that was so common with substantial ‘ware. For that matter, maybe she had cared more about her modesty once before her enhancements? She couldn’t really remember anymore though, and anyways that was long ago, lost with Sioux Summers and Winters and her one good relationship.

Bobby perked up at the mention of the Roadmaster: "That thing is pretty affordable - it's even cheaper than a Rover 2072. But its slow as mollasses without a jumped in rigger. I was thinking more of something like a Dodge Charger - there are a few on sale at police auctions. Or a GMC Phoenix. Now that's a real sports car - and surprisingly affordable at 32k. Seats only four persons regularly, but if need be, I can ride in a smaller form."

To Rachel he said: "Yeah, I should take a few more lessons as well - really, I only have the basics and leave the rest to instinct and good reaction time. But maybe Tamarind can help us out a bit there."

"There's no explicit limit on hot tub hours," Mato says, "but there are quiet hours. 10PM to 7AM on weekdays, 11PM to 9AM on weekends. The definition they use is 'frequent, repetitive, or continuous noise that can be heard at a distance of 25 meters from the property'. So specific! Do you suppose that Edie has a laser range finder?

"Obviously we have a nice patio here. There's a small porch off the 'family room' upstairs." Mato points up to the porch that partly overhangs the patio. "There are no specific plans for either, other than some furniture to sit on, so let me know if you have any ideas. We'll be getting a grill. Socialization in the suburbs usually revolves around soykaf in the morning and barbecues in the afternoon.

"I'm going to do some vegetable gardening. We obviously have lots of space." He gestures to the generous yard, which is largest to the west and north (the back yard) with smaller pockets to the east and south (the front yard). "Root vegetables like to be west-facing, while greens like to be east-facing, so maybe I'll break up the plots. We could do a ring of flowers around the lawn too, but I don't know as much about them."

He looks to see if the other gardeners have opinions.

Bobby chimed in: "I'm all for vegetables, but let's leave the rest of it to nature. I already put some wild flower seeds out and disabled the mowing drone. The back yard should give some shelter to small animals. I need to study the local fauna. That's also why we need a higher privacy fence. Helps with the noise too."

"The HOA has significant fencing guidelines," Mato sighs. "Around fence height restrictions, view and visibility, plus style and uniformity. Generally speaking, they missed the memo that good fences make good neighbors.

"Plus major property changes to would have to be approved by our landlord. Which, for the record, is a real-estate investment trust controlled by American Family Financial, which is a subsidiary of Mitsuhama Financial Group, which of course is part of Mitsuhama. So long story short, expect a lot of conservative responses to inquiries. Sometimes it may be better to ask forgiveness than permission, but even that has to be counterbalanced by the expectations of the HOA. So tread lightly.

"Oh and there are strict guidelines around lawn height too. It must be under 15cm at all times and well-maintained. So if you want to disable the mowing drone you'll need to graze it."

"I fucking hate changes," I think at Trouble. I have grown accustomed to always having the young spirit's voice in her mind, I was never alone since I made him, and the little cat changed everything, including my identity of self. Trouble says nothing verbally, but I can feel his amusement and imagine him saying, "Have you looked in the mirror recently?" -- "I miss the old home and don't want a new bed. I understand bullies and gangers, and I don't understand nosy neighbors and barbeques and talking to such people without trying to bullshit them."

"Do you?" I imagine Trouble answering me while rubbing his fur on my leg, playing with an actual cat, and marking me as his or something along these lines.

"I don't... It was terrible." I confess, "The gangs, and the insecurity, and the house getting damaged like twice and in half a year, and Mato getting blown up... "

"So now you are safe, darling," I imagine him saying in a condescending voice as he lies on his back and expects me to rub his tummy, to which I oblige. Sometimes, Trouble can manipulate me just as much as I can magically control him. Perhaps giving him all my memories weren't such a bright idea, but I did not want him to start as an oblivious baby - teaching him everything would take decades otherwise.

So I sit on the floor, hug the little cat, and play with him. I am pretending that he is a cat rather than my equal. I don't feel him speaking, but he thinks something at me, and I gradually realize how much I've changed. "I don't want to be afraid anymore." I think at him, but he knows. He thinks swimming suit at me - as if it was that simple.

I grin embarrassed "I have no clothes that match my current shape, no swimsuit nothing just Beaver's old clothes."

"I am nude all the time." he grins at me and adds "Bobby doesn't care, Tamarind doesn't care much, Mato doesn't care." he adds, having a part of me peer pressuring me into the sauna is a strange experience, but I am not that person, not even in this new body.Instead, I pick a room on the second floor and unpack, perhaps I'll share it but If Bellevue is going to work out I want to have some personal space so I can gradually get used to the change.

"Too embarrassing to be nude" I explain, but the cat knows that I won't do it, he is just amused to watch me struggle. I guess he is part Iktomi too. I changed my entire shape and perception of self, to gain some confidence, and here I am, the same person as when I was frail and weak. Well I was never weak - but I always felt weak - physically weak.

"I am going to burn this armored jacket..."

"No, you won't. You can't BS me."

"I'll buy new clothes, do shopping or something" I repost, feeling insecure that Trouble reads me faster than I read myself.

"No, you won't. You'll buy something useful or fun like a racing bike.
He is right, but I am annoyed that he does it again. Taking Black's bike was so much fun; I could go toe to toe with many of these go-gangs. Or at least gain their respect. "

"I'll use magic to make it mine, not his..."

"It is yours, you stole it, and your boyfriend never came looking for it."

"He is not my boyfriend, it is me dwelling on the past, tormenting myself for not being Sioux enough to stand up for my happiness. I don't look Sioux, and that nation only included me when they realized I have talent. I am fucking wearing Beaver's ugly Jacket all the time as if he'll ever come back to ask it. It is over, and he would not even recognize me if he does come back. It is not just the legs...

"Alright, I am helping. What is on the menu?"

"I want it to be a female jacket that respects the shape of my body and covers everything that needs to be protected, and it needs to remain armor, so no cleavage or other nonsense, but I want it to fit me, not him. Let's make it purple. Beaver would never wear purple it is kind of girly." I decide in a moment of boldness.

"Are you sure? You modded all your other clothes but never this Jacket or anything else you took from him. You can't just remake it exactly as it was." He knows that I am sure, I think, he reads me like an open book - but he asks because I need to realize that I am sure. I love Trouble so much, my baby a piece of my own, and through him, I love being half Sioux because otherwise, I'd be alone.

I stand in front of the closet's mirror and say, "Goodbye, Beaver." as I will his jacket to change for me. I fashion the Jacket to be feminine, show some waistline and some more class, and to be purple. Then I go over shirts and pants and the rest of his clothes, changing them into something gender appropriate, changing them to be my clothes... and while I am not going to start showing skin. I don't need to be so unapproachable, I have my new biceps to convince the guys to show some respect, and I no longer need to look unattractive. That part of my life is finally over.

The discussion of yard care eventually faded as they headed into the sauna. But once they'd sorted out how it worked and got comfortable, the discussion picked back up. Tamarind offered "It seems strange that things are already growing, so early in the year! We might have to buy a lot of them from a garden centre this year rather than starting from seed, but if we are here next year we can have more options. I love wildflowers, my first choice would be letting wildflowers grow, and have the local insects and animals coming to visit. A little bit of nature ... but a place like this would never accept anything so free. It is like the military, everything has a way it is done, and whether or not you agree with it, you do it."

"But also, wasn't part of the point of this place is that it is not obvious where we live? Being too different throws that advantage away. The back yard maybe, although drones can still see that, or spirits. Wouldn't it be better to keep our personal touches small, easy to miss?"

"And for a small rebellion, maybe we can seed small wildflowers in the lawn, something low lying enough so it isn't mowed down -- or grazed -- and isn't super obvious. Maybe even something that might spread around the neighbourhood?"

"Oh I'll make sure it's all within the rules. The point is: There are about a hundred provisions how your lawn should look like, but you don't actually have to have one. I'll present to you my plan once I've familiarized myself with the regularium."

Bobby grinned his shark smile.

"And yes, we want to blend in - but not to the point where we lose our identity. We all should try to preserve that bit of wild in us. It's what gives us our edge against our opponents."

Satisfied with the new wardrobe, I exit the room. "Anyone wants to walk the new hood? Get familiar with the surrounding and find something to eat." seating in the Sauna.

"Yes, let's," Mato agrees, sweating profusely. His body doesn't have extremities to send blood to cool off, so he doesn't last as long in the sauna as others do.

"Rachel, AM, I have a job for you that I'm hoping you'll enjoy. Folks in this part of town are very tuned in to signals of affluence, like clothes. I'm hoping you two - and your magic - can help keep us dressed fashionably, with outfits that rotate on a regular basis. It might just be Wellington Bros and Vashon Island underneath, but I'm betting you can make it look like Très Chic, Berwick, Armanté, and Jean-Paul. What do you think?"

The neighborhood outside is a loop of cookie-cutter houses that's connected to another loop of similarly cookie-cutter houses that are connected to more such loops. Periodically there will be a small park or playground for children, but most of the individuality (if that term even applies) comes from the fact that - nature being nature - the trees aren't in precisely the same positions in each yard, nor are they identical. The evergreen trees in the SIS backyard spread out a little more than usual, and grew a little higher than usual, providing the backyard with a bit more cover than the rest of the houses around you.

Because it's a warm day, many neighborhood residents are outside. They garden or do projects around the exterior of the house. Some folks are washing their BMW 400GTs and GMC Commodores in the driveway. Others are making their kids do it, presumably to instill some sort of work ethic. Everyone waves with smiles that don't quite reach their eyes; their auras reveal a sense of unease. Trouble, ever curious, goes on the walk with you unless AM orders him away. The cat escorting you down the road earns some raised eyebrows, plus more consternation on the astral.

If you walk through enough loops, you get out of the residential zone and into a heavily commercial zone that is either a suburban nightmare or utopia, depending on your point of view. There's even a neighborhood mall with upscale shopping and eateries, plus a Simsense Cineplex.

AM responds So you want a makeover? It can be fun..." She looks at Raven, unsure why he thinks she knows how to make clothes - but perhaps she does. AM hasn't been around to get to know the woman just yet. I will buy a sewing machine to increase our options. The combination of mundane and magic would give me a unique touch with clothes. You know magic does not add buttons or change the number of fabrics. I feel like I can overcome this limitation with a combination of mundane and magical techniques and just make my own clothes to have a style that cannot be easily duplicated. something a bit more conservative than the current fashion. "

She then gets to overcome the nice feeling of shopping and realize what Mato is actually saying. " This entire hood is upside down, these people want to appear richer than they are? Aren't there any thieves and con artists around?! My intuition is always to be more modest than the neighbors; never have the best house, never own the best car, and never wear the most expensive clothes. That way, when undesirables come they go after someone with more to steal from. I mean, it was getting harder to do that in Redmond where people are so poor, so I thought here would be better - but now we are trying to appear more successful than we are? wow"

She then comments as if within another line of thought
... and about the trees, I feel like it bothers you that they are all the same. Sorcery can change it if you desire, it would probably take several days of research followed by several hours of dancing and chanting and invoking the Wakan Tanaka, but it was done on large scale before, and we do not have to have pine trees, we can have trees with nuts to compliment our diets, and we can even change them back to pines when we end the lease or if the HOA complains. I mean, I doubt they'll have a rule about changing the tree type with ritual magic - would they? I get that it would out me as a sorcerer but they would learn that about me eventually being so nosy."

"Oh, sure," Rachel comments. "That shouldn't be a problem. Part of the reason, I wanted to go shopping with Yao, so I can see what is trendy around here. If the houses are so boring, maybe at least the clothes can add a little touch of individuality."

'Individuality' - that is a word, that Rachel uses quite a lot. It is one of the foundations of her beliefs and what her magical tradition is based on. You are not supposed to be pressed into a form by outside influences, but live out your inner self, as you see fit. Be what you want and show what you are. No wonder, that many followers of her tradition end up being street punks or free-rights political activists. Little rebels against the corporate-dominated world. Most of them have one thing in common, though, they love to dance and party, and are at home in the cities and metroplexes rather than secluded parts of the woods. The full moon is still an important part, though, much like with traditional witches. Usually a good excuse to go dancing in a club until the sun comes up. Or similar ecstatic excercises.

"That will also give us an excuse, Am, to hang out a little more. We really do not know each other very well, yet. But there should be plenty time to do that, I hope. And that is a great idea with the accessories. I wonder, if it is enough to have them in a pocket, or whether they actually need to be sewn in. Guess we could experiment with that a little."

"I would also like to spend some time with preparations. Like, actual preparations, you know, alchemy, though we 'acquired' some nice ones from Frission, which are still good, thanks to that Vault. I really need to think about some spells that would make useful preparations for us, only know a few so far. And also getting some spirits on my good side, so I can ask them for help, if needed."

"The trees don't bother me, no," Mato says. "If anything, I appreciate at least some way to tell our house from the others, if only by the trees in the back yard." (The commentary about the trees wasn't Mato's thinking but rather some a reflection about how nature is not so easily conformed.)

To AM he says, "I appreciate your instincts. And, in general, I was taught to live within my means. I didn't necessarily learn the lesson, hence the significant debt to the Koshari, but I think I understand it now.

"But, yes, there's very much a culture of 'you have to spend money to make money' here. Which is true from a business perspective, in the sense of investing in the future, but here they apply it to all aspects of their lives. They have to model success so that others will think that they are successful which in turn will attract other successful people who can actually help you to be successful. Or so the theory goes. I'm guessing that for as often it works, it just as frequently saddles someone with lifestyle they can't really manage. A mortgage and a car loan and family expectations all disconnected from reality. One little financial speed bump and - BOOP! - the house of cards comes tumbling down."

That makes Mato thoughtful for a moment.

"Hmm, I should work on an SIS health plan."

I comment to Mato, "Oh... I understand, which is why I don't want you to dress in a generic suit, even if it is expensive. Let us make something unique that non of them can have and thus can price. Leave them guessing how you got fashion that does not appear in any catalog. "

I am surprised that Mato wants his house to be different. While I am willing to make the house unique, I prefer it that way, so I am glad that Mato finds an insignificant difference to distinguish the place because I am sure that no matter what we do, our house will be unique due to the presence of magical lodges, and wards. In that sense, we will be as exposed as if we painted it blue or changed the trees.

I look at Mato and take a leather-covered book from Erika's case: the Hive by Camilo José Cela. "Mato, I wanted to give it to you but did not have a chance. An actual paper book that the Duchess gave me. I finally finished it and thought you'll appreciate it. It has 300 characters with little stories, brilliantly blending into the master plot. Perhaps you'd like to read it next?" I say, hoping that he would so I have someone with a different perspective to discuss it. It was strangely enjoyable to read.

I then look at Raven and say, "I'd love to hang out, but what kind of stuff are you into?" The plus side of hanging out with her is that she dresses in a manner that would make me attract less attention which is a plus side considering I am not used to having people's attention.

"We'll see what the limitations are... I have never tried it before.

About shopping for clothes, I've never actually done it. My mother made all my clothes to save money. The high fashion I have came with a job, and I've been modifying a few items to create the illusion I own a wardrobe. I do need plenty of casual clothes since none of my old stuff fits my new body. I want to say yes, but can we do something else if I find it unbearable?
I mean, there is no need to find the best ones, I can work with roughly fit to exactly fit. " I say uncertain how much time girls take to measure clothes, and due to tirds and movies being my only cultural reference about such a situation, I dread feeling out of place for a long time.

"They do have numbrers on the houses, or not? Maybe we could even add some fancy AR stuff, to make it a little more distinguishable, at least when you look through that lens," Rachel wonders. Looking at AM and Tamarind mostly: "Do you guys know how to do that?"

"As for shopping, I generally use it for inspiration more than to actually buy much. Never really had a lot of money, so buying too much of the expensive stuff was out of the question. Had to save for quite some time to afford the better outfits that I own currently. I can also help you find some suitable clothes for yourself, if you want. I could make some images, illusions, with you in various pieces, maybe you will like something. And then we can go from there."

"There are restrictions about AR decorations, same as everything else," Mato says. "I haven't read that part closely, but most of the allowable guidelines involve holiday decorations. Valentine's Day, Independence Day, Halloween, things like that. Commercial advertisements are forbidden. There's something about AR signs and speech - like what's allowable during election season - but I just skimmed over it."

Mato is rather touched by AM's offer of the Hive by Camilo José Cela.

"Yes, I will read it," he readily agrees. "That's a kind gesture. Thank you."