After signing off last Sunday night I simply couldn't sit in my dorm room watching my father suffer through the filibuster. I texted my professors and told them a family emergency was calling me away. Some of them knew exactly what that was, but other academics don't follow the news so much.
Two hours later I was back home, watching the TV along with Kell and Rudy. Hours later Dad collapsed, causing Kell to bemoan her decision not to go down there to be at his side no matter what the consequences. Suddenly a snake sprung down from an overhead vent.
Kell screamed, and Rudy and I sucked in our breath. That's when we saw Coney, who had been quietly keeping to herself in a corner, leap into action.
Before the snake could sink its fangs into Dad she grabbed its tail and, in one quick motion, swung its head into the wall. It was killed instantly, and Coney proceeded to slowly chew it which continued the filibuster. (No one objected since the rest of the Council had already fled in terror.)
They returned just before Dad regained consciousness. They knew they were beaten, and that if they wanted Coney's protection they'd have to reform themselves. Some decided not to go along, and at least one lived to regret it when they encountered the dead snake's spouse just outside the warren entrance.
So, Dad and Coney remain on the Council which no longer meets in shadows. We'll see how long they stay honest.
Lastly, to make up the classwork I missed by going home I won't be as available for follow-up comments as I usually am. I'll do my best, though!
