Kai got there first, because of course he did. He angled toward Dawn, Thane, and Exile with the expression of a missionary who had waited years for the right audience. "There it is," he said. "I knew it. Welcome, brothers, to the Light Church."
Pope, who had the instincts of a man absolutely unsuited to making things better, drifted in beside him and looked between them with open interest. "He's right. You've got the face."
Dawn's eyes narrowed. "What face."
Ash appeared on the other side as silent as shadow and twice as pleased with himself. "The one that says your life was easier before you met her."
Sam landed lightly nearby, folding his wings in with irritating calm. "That's usually the first symptom."
Thane actually blinked at that. "symptom."
Kai nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, then comes the awareness, then the reorientation, then the acceptance."
"Then the collapse," Pope added.
Ash tilted his head. "The emotional one, not the societal one. That already happened."
