((A reaction to Murder in Rhy'Din!))

"They found them last night," Flo was saying as Piper poured out coffee. Both women were shaken, but for the sake of their children, playing in the next room, they were endeavoring to keep themselves composed. Lyneth and Thom were oblivious at the moment to the concerns of their mothers, but they wouldn't be so oblivious for long. Not living here in the Old Temple as they did. "Three mages, Kadesh says. Some kind of injection, but they're not releasing any information."

Wrapping her hands around her own cup, Piper bit her lip hard, worry flaring on her face. This was all they needed; some looney who just happened to have a bit of temporary authority setting his sights on everyone who used magic. Lyneth and Thom were Fae-children of human mothers; Flo and Piper would have their work cut out to protect their little ones.

"Why now, why do this now?" she asked, unsettled and frightened. She knew that if the worst came to the worst, the Grangers would take she and her daughter in, and probably Flo and her family too, but she didn't want it to come to that. "I've heard all about that Prop 37 havoc that flared up a few years ago. Surely the Baron knows enough to learn from recent history."

"He's supposed to protect us, not persecute us," Flo agreed, both women speaking in low tones, mindful of the children so nearby. "I won't let them do anything to my Thom. It's bad enough that the Fae are keeping an eye on him without some leonine bastard wanting him on a register."

"Who is the Baron of Old Temple at the moment?" Piper asked, genuinely confused and at a bit of a loss. "I've never even seen the man around here. If he's so concerned with the state of the Old Temple, surely he should actually come and take a look at the place."

"His name is Rakeesh Sah Tarna," Flo offered with a shrug that conveyed as much confusion as Piper's expression. "He's supposed to be some kind of lion man, but that doesn't count for anything around here. No, it's this distrust of anyone who uses magic. It'll get bad before it gets better, if someone doesn't do something about it."

Piper frowned again, rubbing a hand through her hair. "I know one of the members of the G.A.C.," she mused quietly. "But I'm sure if there had been any real concern, she would have contacted me. Caroline must not know this Baron very well herself, if he is so very unpleasant about magic users."

Both women glanced toward the living room, where two small people were enthusiastically showing off to one another the little tricks they had learned to do most recently. Rose petals were showering down over Lyneth's head, bursting into fading light where they touched her, courtesy of Thom's wriggling fingers; the little boy himself was contending with being about a foot off the floor and upside down at the same time, thanks to Lyneth's sense of fun. It was all so innocent, and yet there was someone out there, someone dressed in a little brief authority, who would have both children registered for their innate talents.

"If this register goes through, what then?" Flo asked, shaking her head. "I've lived on Rhy'Din all my life, there's never been anything like this."

Piper's expression darkened. "It happens quite often on Earth," she said unhappily. "The worst time, you may have heard of ....it seems to have happened on every Earth. It was called the Holocaust. People who were deemed different, either because of their religion, or their culture, or even the way they looked ....they were put on a register. Then their freedoms were curtailed. They were separated from the rest of society, treated worse than third-class citizens, and ....Oh, it was appalling what was done to them. Industrial genocide on a scale I can't comprehend realistically. I know the numbers, but they're just numbers. They're so huge, I can't imagine it."

Flo swallowed in the face of the very real fearful concern that poured from Piper as she spoke. "The Governor would never allow that to happen," she said stoutly, putting her faith in the woman who had led the city successfully enough for the past two years. "She couldn't. Rhy'Din would empty in a fortnight if ....She couldn't."

Piper squeezed her hand, shaking her head. "I don't know," she admitted, reluctant to confess to being lost. She needed Des here, but he was busy on Earth today, hoping to get away for a visit sometime in the next week. "I hope you're right. I won't let them take my Lynnie away from me."