81 [audio]

[absinthe_eyed]

[The following is all but whispered.]

If you haven't read Dr. Chase's recent announcement, please do so immediately.  Avoid the sheep if possible.  Refrain from fighting them unless you know what you're doing.  Quarantine yourself if you are bitten.

These sheep apparently hunt in flocks; the attacks I've seen were carried out by anywhere from four

Comments

[had_not_lived]

They've been ignoring me, far as I can tell.

[absinthe_eyed]

Good. Stay inside anyway.

[had_not_lived]

I have been, since I started to hear about people getting hurt.

Do you think it means anything?

[absinthe_eyed]

I've heard that these sheep are getting revenge--getting back at those of us who killed the lambs.

May I ask you about something wholly unrelated?

[had_not_lived]

You think they're ignoring me because I didn't? Maybe.

Sure. What is it?

[absinthe_eyed]

I don't know. It's a theory.

[Filtered to Neil]

Thank you.

Is there a way to resolve an argument when apologizing for an action isn't enough?

[Filtered]

[had_not_lived]

I'm not sure, I guess it depends on who you're fighting with and what you did.

What's wrong?

[Filtered]

[absinthe_eyed]

Shilo. We're not fighting so much as alternately arguing with and ignoring each other. She's upset because I went out to investigate the sheep and told her to stay inside. There may be more to it than that, but her complaints weren't specific.

You and Todd have argued, haven't you? And you were able to resolve the problem?

[Filtered]

[had_not_lived]

Well... yeah, but to tell you the truth when we've really argued, really seriously, usually we got over it because something awful happened and we forgot.

I think... maybe the first thing to do, is ask her why she's so upset? I'm sure you had reasons for telling her not to go out, but I'm sure she had reasons for being mad at you, too, and maybe you need to understand those before you know how to make it better.

[Filtered]

[absinthe_eyed]

Oh.

I think she's drawing parallels between this incident and her father's tendency to lock her in her room. I've explained that this is different--that I was doing my job and there was a genuine threat that she was unprepared to face--but that makes her more upset.

Maybe I should make something moderately awful happen.

[Filtered]

[had_not_lived]

Do not even think about making something awful happen! That's not-- that isn't what I meant, and if you do something it'll only make things worse. I mean that... Eventually something happened that reminded us that there were more important things than whatever we were fighting about.

And... well... Why did her father lock her in her room?

[Filtered]

[absinthe_eyed]

I was joking. Possibly.

He invented a lie about her health that gave him a reason to exercise his almost pathological overprotectiveness. I didn't do that.

[Filtered]

[had_not_lived]

Sometimes I can't tell.

But I'm sure he told her that he was locking her in her room to keep her safe, that she wouldn't be able to take care of herself if she went outside.

[Filtered]

[absinthe_eyed]

I can't always tell, either.

As far as I know, he did. I didn't tell Shilo I was leaving, but I also didn't lock her in. She could have left the apartment if she had wanted to, although I advised her against it. I don't understand what the problem is.

[Filtered]

[had_not_lived]

That's a question you should probably ask her. I don't know Shilo well enough to say.

But I can see how she'd find the situations similar, can't you?

[Filtered]

[absinthe_eyed]

She doesn't want to talk to me.

I can. I also explained why they weren't as well as I could. She wants something else.