"I'm just saying, look how easily she diverted that river!" Charlotte insisted as she gestured towards the image on her new phone screen. "The Thames isn't some little stream, it's a proper serious waterway! And that little dog-girl stopped it in its tracks with her magic, then sent it up over the banks and into the city!"

Flora looked like she was fighting back a smile as she replied, "I know cutie, we've all seen it. Except I'm pretty sure that's a dog-boy, not a girl."

Our mink friend's ears folded back and she rolled her eyes, "Whatever. He or she, they're kinda cute. Anyways my point is, maybe I'll be able to do stuff like that too someday? I just have to keep practicing my water magic."

"I'm sure you will," I chimed in. "That's one of the things Gaia told us back when she first hired us? She wanted all of us to keep working at it, so we'd get stronger."

Stef agreed, "Not just stronger, we've also learned more control. So our magic can be a lot more precise now."

"Who's up for another quick dip in the lake?" Charlotte asked with a hopeful smile. "We may as well try and charge up a bit more on the magic, right? And I can keep practicing at the same time."

She looked to her girlfriend and added, "You can practice too! There's loads of trees and plants and things growing right up to the water's edge. And plenty more under the water!"

That was part of all the news and revelations from yesterday. Flora finally figured out her magic in the afternoon, not long after Gaia's visit. Our deer-girl friend realized she was sensing something new from the plants and trees that surrounded our cliff-side home. From there she quickly figured out that her magic seemed to be plant-based, although she said it felt easier to work with trees.

Once again it seemed like a perfect fit, and it meant our little group had even more versatility. The part that excited me the most was the prospect of getting Flora to craft us some nice wood doors and furniture. And our deer friend was excited by the possibility of making her own boat, once she'd learned enough control over her abilities. She'd already begun studying different rowboat designs on her new phone.

Meanwhile Stef pointed out that Flora's magic would probably be a huge boon to agriculture. Actually between her plant magic and Charlotte's water magic we figured the two of them would be able to grow and irrigate entire fields of produce together.

As for yesterday's last big news item, that's what our little mink friend was enthusing about on her phone. A trio of Gaia's followers attacked some law enforcement building in London, and apparently rescued a couple people the English government was holding prisoner. It was all over social media and the news websites last night, but despite all the incredible video images there wasn't much in the way of trustworthy information. The humans were spinning it as a terrorist attack, but it looked more like a jail-break to us.

"So?" Charlotte asked again, "Who's up for that mid-day swim?"

The rest of us all smiled, but I shook my head. "Maybe later. We're supposed to be meeting our government counterparts today, remember?"

"We should have at least an hour's warning that they're coming," my enbyfriend added, "But my little star and I should stay ready just in case. We know Theo's been looking forward to seeing his friend again since we got that text yesterday."

Flora asked nervously, "Do Charlotte and I have to be there for that?"

"I don't think so," I shook my head. "If you two want to go swimming without us that's fine. Just try and stick to our swimming-hole area and you'll be fine."

The little mink-girl started to say something, but both Stef and I were distracted just then. We'd both become aware of a group of people entering our territory on horseback, from the military base at Retz. At the same time Theo dashed out of our home with his ears and tail all standing up.

"He's coming!" our little wildcat friend announced happily. "Hannes is coming!"

Stef grinned, "We know. It feels about the same as usual, doesn't it? A dozen horses with riders I think?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "So if they stick to the same pattern as before we can assume at least half of them will be armed soldiers."

My enbyfriend made a face, "We'll know for sure soon enough. The smell of gun oil carries on the wind."

We continued monitoring their progress, then when the government group was about thirty minutes away Stef and Theo and I set out for the usual meeting spot near the natural dam. Flora and Charlotte opted to stay behind at our home, although they hadn't ruled out the possibility of another visit to the lake while we were busy.

When we got to the clearing overlooking the dam and the base of the magic mountain the three of us waited patiently, while we continued monitoring our official visitors' progress. They made good time though, so we weren't kept waiting too long. And when they finally arrived we saw a few familiar faces, along with several new ones.

The guide Rene Theyer was back again, as was Werner Seidl the photographer. And Hannes was there too of course, along with Private Horse Whisperer guy. Franz Kofler the secret agent had also returned, but he was the one familiar face none of us were very happy to see. The rest were all new, including a civilian woman, a Bundesheer officer, and five more soldiers. As usual the military types were all armed, three with rifles and three with bows. And all of them including their lieutenant had pistols on their belts.

We watched as the group went through the same routine as always, they all dismounted then the guide and that one soldier looked after the horses while the other soldiers took up positions around the area. The photographer found a spot where he could take his pictures, while Hannes and the woman approached us. And accompanying them were Kofler and the officer.

"Hello again Theo," the young bureaucrat greeted our wildcat friend. "And Stef, Stella. It's nice to see the three of you again."

Theo's ears and tail were all standing up tall as he replied, "Hi Hannes! I'm glad to see you again too, I missed talking with you! I'm not as happy to see Mr. Secret Agent again though."

Kofler bristled a little but didn't bother to respond. Instead he just stood there looking grumpy, which as far as I could tell was probably just his default state.

Then Hannes introduced the other two, starting with the woman. "This is Ms. Alina Schüssel, she's been assigned to be my assistant for the rest of our negotiations. And that is Lieutenant Niklas Renner, he's in charge of our escort today."

"Hello," Ms. Schüssel added awkwardly, like she wasn't used to dealing with talking cats or demi-humans.

She looked to be in her early thirties, about the same age as Mr. Huber. She was dressed for a government meeting rather than a trek through the wilderness, and carried a leather folio which she opened and held like she was ready to start taking notes.

Theo replied in a friendly tone, "Hello Alina, hello Niklas."

Lt. Renner didn't bother with a response. He just gave the three of us a curt nodd, then turned and marched off to stand next to two of his men.

After a little awkward pause Hannes cleared his throat then said, "So I suppose we should get on with our meeting then?"

"The first order of business I have for you is some good news for Mx Stef and Miss Stella," he addressed my enbyfriend and I. "Your families were both released yesterday afternoon, and the Austrian government apologizes for any inconvenience or hardship that may have caused."

It took another second or two for that to sink in, and by the time it did my ears were folded back while my tails all stood straight out behind me. Meanwhile Stef's ears were drooping while their tail puffed up.

"Excuse me?" I asked in a forced-calm voice. "What do you mean, released? Released from where?"

Stef added in a harder tone, "What did you do to our families?"

Hannes looked even more uneasy as he addressed me first, "It seems that your mother went to the police on Tuesday? She provided them with some information, that connected both yourself and Mx Stef to Gaia."

That news hit me like a blow to the gut. I tried to keep my emotions to myself though, I didn't want to make a scene in the middle of our government negotiations.

Meanwhile the government staffer continued, "That information reached Minister Pierer's office the following morning, and he ordered your parents be brought in for questioning Wednesday afternoon."

"He did the same for your family too," Mr. Huber said as he looked to my enbyfriend. "Then he ordered both families be placed in ah, protective custody, until further notice."

"They're all ok though," the anxious bureaucrat added hastily. "They were all released yesterday afternoon and returned safely to their homes."

It was hard keeping the emotions out of my voice as I responded, "So our families spent four days in prison? And they weren't released until after that news broke from London yesterday?"

"I'm sorry," Hannes apologized nervously. "The whole thing was handled by Karl Pierer's office. I only found out this morning, when they briefed Ms. Schüssel and I."

Stef and I exchanged a glance, and they gave me a compassionate look before whispering, "Now we know why you didn't hear back from your folks."

"Yeah," I sighed.

Meanwhile Theo addressed his friend in a sad voice, "Hannes I'm very upset about this. Stef and Stella are my friends, and I want to be friends with you too. It's hard to feel like we can trust you though, when you humans keep disappointing us."

"I'm really sorry Theo," Hannes apologized again, and to be fair he sounded like he truly meant it.

Then Mr. Kofler spoke up, "I'm not sure if you...people know this, but Minister Pierer was hospitalized on Friday. According to his doctors he's suffering from the sickness that your boss has been spreading around the world."

"My bosses sent me to pass on the following request," he continued. "Your families have been released as a gesture of goodwill. In return the Ministry of the Interior wants you to cure Karl Pierer. Is there some sort of medicine you can provide, or an antidote or something I can take back to Vienna?"

From the way Mr. Huber and his assistant both almost face-palmed we could tell they didn't know the undercover agent was going to say any of that stuff. I almost felt sorry for Hannes being put on the spot like that. Mostly though I was just angry, and so was my enbyfriend.

Stef scowled at Kofler, "Seriously? You and Hannes need to get your stories straight."

I glared as I added, "So you're saying the government's not sorry they tossed our families in jail? And our parents were only released as a 'goodwill gesture'?"

"Franz I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Theo stated firmly. His ears were folded back and his tail flicked from side to side in irritation as he continued, "Get on your horse and go away. Right now. You are no longer welcome in our territory, and will not be allowed to return."

The angry wildcat added, "And you can tell your masters, the only thing that can save Karl is himself. He needs to heal the sickness in his heart. I suggest you and your colleagues should try and do the same."

Kofler opened his mouth to protest, but caught himself as a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. I felt it too, like the air temperature suddenly spiked a few degrees. A moment later it seemed like everyone in the area was sweating, and the air felt like a summer afternoon in the Mediterranean rather than mid-October in Austria.

Up until that point the soldiers all seemed fairly relaxed, like they were treating this as routine. The heat made them a lot more uneasy though, and they ended up watching my friends and I very closely after that.

The unseasonable warmth remained as Kofler stalked over to where the horses were being kept. He remained quiet as he mounted up, then headed off alone on the trail back to Retz. It wasn't until the man was out of our sight that the temperature finally returned to normal.

"I'm really sorry Theo," Hannes apologized again as he used a handkerchief to wipe his brow. "I promise I didn't know Kofler was going to do that."

Our wildcat's ears and tail perked up, "Thank you Hannes. I believe you, and I'd still like to be your friend. Unfortunately I've been asked to pass on a missive, and I'm afraid your masters may not like it."

I wasn't expecting that, and from the look on Stef's face they weren't either. We both stayed quiet though while our little friend went on to deliver his message.

"As of noon yesterday," Theo announced, "Gaia has exercised her right of eminent domain to permanently reclaim all abandoned or unoccupied territory within the areas of influence of all of her magic mountains around the world. Displaced humans will be reimbursed for their losses, but any government or corporate owned holdings in those zones are forfeit."

He continued, "Any humans still living within Gaia's territory are welcome to remain as long as they wish. Should they choose to leave at a later date their land and properties will be seized immediately upon their departure. At that point they too will receive compensation."

"Furthermore," Theo added, "Planet Earth reserves the right to reclaim additional territory in the future, at her discretion and based upon the needs of the environment, flora and fauna of all kinds, and all those aligned with and working in support of Mother Nature."

Finally our little wildcat concluded his message, "Gaia's other diplomatic teams are in the process of informing their own local governments of this news, but in the meantime you're welcome to share it with Austria's European neighbours."

By the time Theo was done Hannes and several of the other humans were all staring wide-eyed at the little wildcat. Alina seemed like the only one who was focused on something else, as she worked to write down the full text of the announcement in her notebook.

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