"I don't know," Asar-Suti sighed. "To be quite honest, had he done anything of that sort, I'd have had problems telling him no. My closest followers and I have always been - special. Inferring things after Strahan and applying that to Lochiel without asking was what brought all that unhappiness about. Strahan was - Strahan was breath-taking, sneaky, stylish, lovely, extraordinary, dedicated and devoted, back home. He would spend hours on end by my Gate, letting my flames touch him, crawl all over his skin. We were very close; but here, he's been moving slowly away from me, and I know I have to let him. As anybody, he grows beyond what he used to be. Like me, he's without a purpose here, and he has to make his own. It takes time, though - of course, he is Strahan."

Asar-Suti shrugged. "And I don't think he would say anything about 'half-human kitchen hand' - unlike Lochiel, Strahan never needed to be high-handed, standoffish, or condescending. He just is what he is, with dedication and abandon as always. I just wanted you to warn about the maned wolf."