"So what are you going to do?" Derek asked. He frowned as he added, "You can't just hide out in your apartment forever Tori, that's not healthy."

I grimaced as I glanced over at Lia then looked at Soneya. Our small sister was streaming cartoons on my computer again, she was curled up on my chair with a pout on her face as she stared at the screen. And the wolfgirl just looked slightly stressed again.

Despite appearances, our visit to my parents' place yesterday did us all a lot of good. After we had dinner with my mom and dad all five of us went out into their backyard again, and both Lia and I convinced Soneya to join us barefoot on the grass. In fact we ended up staying out there long after the sun finally set. We didn't head home until around ten last night, and we probably would have stayed even later except my parents wanted to go to bed.

Unfortunately a lot of that good mood had already faded again, after spending today cooped up again in my tiny one-bedroom apartment. It left me seriously worried how we'd manage long-term. I wasn't so worried about food since we had plenty of that, but the psychological stress seemed like it was going to be a lot worse than I'd imagined.

Now it was early Monday evening, and Derek dropped in to see us as soon as he got off work. We were going to order in some dinner soon, but for now we were catching up and talking about all new craziness that happened in the week since he was last here.

I finally focused on my friend again, "Believe me I know. We really don't want spend all our time indoors, but things are getting scary out there. And with all three of us being so obviously different, we're worried someone might attack us or something?"

"Yeah I get that," Derek sighed. He drained the last of his water then got up and headed into the kitchen to get another drink.

With my enhanced hearing and tall fuzzy ears I could easily hear him looking around in the cupboards and the fridge as commented, "So you girls stocked up on loads of food and stuff, but you didn't bother getting anything interesting to drink? No soda, no beer, no booze?"

We didn't want to let people know about our enhanced senses or how the chemicals in most of those things tasted bad to us now, but I had a valid answer for him. "All that stuff's expensive, and none of it's critical to survival, right? We got the necessities, just in case things fall apart. We weren't going to waste money on alcohol or overpriced fizzy drinks."

After another minute or so he returned with a full glass of water. He sat back down with us and asked, "Speaking of money what's going on with work? Weren't you supposed to go back in today? Vacation's over now, right?"

"Yeah," I grimaced. "I emailed first thing this morning that I couldn't make it back just yet. I didn't go into details, just said I couldn't make it. My manager emailed back that he understood, like I guess the world's crazy enough he didn't need to ask why. I had one more week of vacation time so I'm taking that now? If things haven't changed by next Monday though, I'll either be on unpaid leave or I'll have to resign or something."

Derek sighed, "Damn. So what'll you do for rent?"

"We haven't figured that out yet," Soneya responded quietly. "It's definitely our main concern right now."

I added, "My folks might be able to help for a month or two, but -"

A knock at the apartment door caught us all by surprise.

Lia's tail swished around as her ears stood up and she asked, "Food?"

"Can't be," I shook my head as I got up. "We haven't ordered dinner yet."

Our small sister's ears and tail drooped again as she went back to staring at the computer screen, while I headed over to the door. I opened it up and my stomach lurched as soon as I saw who was there.

"Hello again Tori," Gaia greeted me with a wide smile. Like her first visit she squeezed past me and into the apartment before I could respond. As she continued on in she added, "I'm back to talk with the three of you about that job offer!"

She was already in the living-room greeting the others while I was still closing the apartment door, "Lia, Soneya, it's wonderful to see you both again! And hello to you too! You must be Derek, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm sorry if this is a bad time girls," Gaia added, "But my schedule's been rather hectic the last hundred and seventeen years. And the past two weeks have been absolutely impossible."

For the next second or two there was just silence as I quickly moved to catch up to the eccentric not-goddess. She was standing just inside the living-room, while the others were all staring at her. Soneya had a worried frown on her face, Lia's expression was sort of neutral, and Derek's eyes were wide while his face was pale.

He finally broke the silence as he exclaimed, "Holy shit it's her! Tori what the hell?! Why is public enemy number one acting like you and her are best buds? Holy shit how does she even know my name?"

A moment later he added, "Oh crap am I going to end up on some kind of watch list or something? They'll think I'm friends with terrorists!"

"Oh calm down," Gaia said as she rolled her eyes. "Nobody outside this room even knows I'm here."

Soneya gave my friend a look as she stated in a warning tone, "And it's in all our best interest that it stays that way. So you'd best keep all of this to yourself."

"And a little warning would be appreciated next time," the wolfgirl added as she focused her frown on Gaia. "Instead of just dropping in on us unannounced."

I looked at my friend and suggested, "Sorry Derek, maybe we can do dinner another time? I don't know how long this is going to take, but it's probably not something you want to be involved in?"

He glanced at me, then looked at Gaia again and nodded slowly. He quickly gulped down the rest of his water before leaving the glass on the coffee table, then very nervously made his way around where Gaia and I were standing. He had to get past us to escape, but he did his best to keep as much distance as he could between himself and her.

He hurried out the door while saying, "Good luck stay safe talk to you later!"

The door swung closed behind him then I sighed as I looked to our unexpected guest. "Soneya's right, next time please let us know before you show up? Derek and I only just made up last week, I don't want to lose him as a friend again because he thinks I'm a terrorist."

Gaia didn't seem too worried about that, she just gestured at the sofa as she replied "Have a seat Tori. It's time to talk about whether or not you girls want to accept my job offer."

"You haven't actually told us what it is yet," the wolfgirl stated impatiently.

"Getting to that right now!" our guest stated as she clapped her hands together enthusiastically. "Representatives and ambassadors! I'm sure you already figured that out from my speech last Tuesday, but that's your role. Lia would be one of my direct representatives, she'd be speaking for me and she'd be able to contact me directly when necessary. Soneya, Tori, you'd be my ambassadors. You could talk with the local human leaders."

She started pacing as she continued, "In terms of recompense, first thing is we'd get you some proper accommodations? You can't live in this tiny cramped concrete box, it's unnatural. The three of you need fresh air, trees, dirt and water. I have a perfect spot already picked out for you, it's not that far away and I know you're going to love it!"

"And don't worry about money or ID or any of that nonsense," she added as she kept walking around the small living-room. "I can provide the three of you with all of those things, for as long as they matter."

Soneya and I exchanged a look, then the wolfgirl stated "I'd like to get all of this in writing. A proper contract, with all the terms and conditions spelled out in detail. I need to know exactly what I'm agreeing to, before I agree to anything."

"And before you go writing it up there's a few things I want to make sure are on it," she said in a firm voice. "First off I need a guarantee that Tori and Lia and I will be safe no matter what. I don't care how you do it, what kind of magic or whatever is involved. I just want a guarantee that none of us need to worry about some crackpot human attacking us because we're different. Or because they figured out we're on your side."

She kept going in the same tone, "Second thing, you're talking about moving us and air and dirt and stuff? I want detailed information on what sort of place you're talking about. Where exactly is it, is there a building, are we going into an actual house, or is this going to be like camping again where there's no plumbing or electricity? Same thing for money and ID, you said you'll take care of it but I need actual details and numbers."

"Third thing," she continued, "I want a guarantee that none of our friends and family are going to be affected by the tainted water. It should be obvious but you can't expect any of us to be working for you while you're actively hurting or killing the people who are important to us."

It looked like the wolfgirl had more to say but Gaia cut her off at that point. The not-goddess's voice was just as firm as she responded, "I'm sorry Alpine but that third point is not negotiable. There are rules already in place which I will not bend. Having said that, I can tell you something about how those rules work. And more importantly, how they will impact those humans you're worried about."

Her tone was a little softer as she continued, "Your mother will be fine for at least the next decade, and if humanity cleans up their act before then she's got nothing to worry about. Your father is on the fence right now, he's probably safe for the next two years but could go either way after that. Your friends Michael and Shane are in the same category as your mother, fine for a decade or more. Your friend Luna should be safe for the next five years at least. This is all assuming none of them change their ways. If they shift more towards nature then things will be even better for them. If they dig in their heels and fight, things will get worse."

"Tori," she said as she looked to me. "Both your parents are in the same category as Soneya's mother and her friends Michael and Shane. They'll be fine for at least a decade, perhaps even more. Your manager Mr. Hudson at work falls into that category as well. On the other hand, your former friend Curtis will likely be among the first to take ill when the changed water reaches this area."

Gaia looked over at our small sister and gave her a compassionate smile, "And Lia, all of your brothers and sisters will be just fine. None of them have anything to fear from me or the waters."

We were all quiet for a few seconds, before I addressed our guest with a question. "You forgot about Derek. You know, the guy you scared off a couple minutes ago? Will he be ok?"

"Derek has no reason to fear me, and will not be harmed by the water," Gaia responded with a smile.

"What are the rules?" Soneya asked. "You said the water follows rules, what are they?"

The not-goddess shrugged, "I'm sure you've already figured it out. The details are complicated and lengthy, but in simple terms humans who respect nature and value the environment will be ok. Those who disrespect nature and the environment are at risk."

"The bar's not all that high right now," she added. "If you don't go out of your way to actively poison the environment you're probably fine. People who plant trees and actively care for nature are even better off. But someone who's knowingly hurting my world or my children for their own greed or amusement is at risk."

Soneya asked, "How do you make the distinction? I drive an old Jeep and eat meat, am I worse off than a vegetarian on a bicycle?"

Gaia sighed, "I don't have a problem with the consumption of meat, as long as it's ethical. Some of my children kill to survive and that is part of nature. But there's a stark difference between the ethical slaughter and consumption of prey for sustenance, versus some rich asshole killing an endangered species for sport. Or greedy poachers driving a species to extinction because they think its horns or tusks have some magical properties."

Gaia continued, "Likewise there's a difference between someone driving a car out of necessity, versus some oil company executives who want to turn a nature reserve into a big hole in the ground because it will add another zero or two to their already obscene wealth."

"Obviously there's nuance and grey areas between the extremes I just mentioned," she added. "And if nothing else changes the bar will eventually rise and more people will fall ill. Likewise there's incremental improvements to be made? Burning oil byproducts isn't the only way to make vehicles move or produce electricity. Humans already have alternatives, and should humanity wish to cooperate I can provide some options of my own in time."

She stopped there and sighed, "Anyways we've gone well off-topic. I'm much better at speeches than I am at conversations, which is why I need representatives and ambassadors. Soneya, I'll put together those contracts you asked for but it may take me a little while. In the meantime I'd like the three of you to continue practicing your magic. Experiment and be creative. Find your limits, then push past them. You all have great potential, and when the time comes you'll be capable of doing great things."

"Were there any other questions?" Gaia asked as she glanced at the three of us.

I slowly shook my head, Soneya already covered all the important topics I could think of.

Then our small sister spoke up with an even more important question, "What are we going to do for food tonight? Derek was going to order us dinner but now he's gone."

"Don't worry Lia," I replied with a smile. "I'll make us something in a few minutes."

Gaia was smiling too as she said, "You girls take care of yourselves and each other. I'll be back with the contracts as soon as I can."

With that she vanished without a trace, just like the first time she visited. And as soon as she was gone I got to my feet and headed into the little kitchen to see about dinner.

"I suppose that was a little progress," Soneya grumbled. "With any luck the written contracts will actually have some details in them, rather than vague hand-wavy assurances."

I commented from the kitchen, "I get the feeling she's not great on fine details? Which makes sense, if she's used to looking at big-picture stuff? And you can't get much more 'big picture' than looking after the entire planet."

The wolfgirl sighed, "Yeah I guess. Good point Tori."

"Uh-oh," I frowned as I stared in the fridge. "Soneya, Lia, have either of you been drinking the water we brought back from the park?"

"Nope. Why?" Soneya asked.

"I think maybe Derek thought it was spring water," I sighed. "It looks like he's been helping himself to it? Two glasses, at least."

"Good thing Gaia said it wouldn't hurt him," the wolfgirl commented.

I nodded slowly as I replied, "Yeah..."

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