"Then say that. The truth at the pace you're ready for." I looked at him. "No one is going to demand more than you're ready to give."
"What if they'fear me?"
"Some people might be," I said honestly. "People are often scared of things that are new and don't have a category yet. That's not your failure. That's their process, and they'll work through it."
He nodded slowly.
"And if they can't?"
"Then they can't. And we will deal with that when it happens, and it will not determine who you are or whether you belong here."
He looked at the road.
"Okay," he said. "Good."
We came around the last bend, and Black River's gate came into view.
There were people there. More people than I'd expected — not a crowd, exactly, but a gathering. Those who'd known, and their proximity to others who fo
