Billy was smarting a little under the onslaught and was about to retort when he was interrupted. He is in pain said his wolf spirit sympathetically All creatures snarl and snap when they are hurt. Wolves are no exception and even a lord of the sky will strike out when they suffer.

Billy obediently bit back his response, realising on reflection that it was not so much him, but the whole situation Tommy was angry about. Tommy grabbed Billy by his blue shirt and yanked him forward, catching him completely by surprise.Jamie grinned. She had been anxious about meeting a half-brother who was physically old enough to be her grandfather, but that had gone right out the window after meeting Zarador. The king of the Zarakin had the body of a man half his age, and a demeanor to match. The Rangers had been received warmly, but without a lot of pomp and circumstance, for which Jamie was thankful. Zarador had then ordered dinner, instructing the cook to make the dishes bland for everyone except TJ and Jamie, both of whom had discovered they LIKED Zarakin cooking. Now the seven of them were ensconced in Zarador's study, discussing the matters at hand. He gave her a look she couldn't interpret, but it was fleeting and he sighed in apparent surrender. "Very well. Let us exchange information and be done with it, then. Why Kerone?"

She blinked, surprised by his abrupt solemnity. It took her a moment to formulate an answer, and she ended up telling him the same thing she had told Kerone. "Because she deserves it. Because I trust her and I think she'd make a good Ranger.

          Zarador cocked his head. "Ouch. I just thought of something. I might support you, but I'm not the sole representative of my race. A number of my nobles might balk at the prospect of supporting a half-human, whose Zarakin parent is Lord Zedd, and who wasn't even raised on Danata."
          "Wasn't Zedd your father, too?" Jason asked from the comfortable chair he was lounging in.
          "Yes, but they tend to forget that, since I've proven myself. Besides, in Jamie's case, it's just icing on the cake. They'll contend that since she's half-human, an Earth child, and above all, FEMALE, she isn't worthy of the risk we'd be taking."

"So boy genius, you gonna think a way out of this one huh? Where were you huh? If you'd been there to keep that friend of yours in line, this would never have happened!"

"No one is to blame" Billy replied in as calming a tone as he could muster.