The door shut as Reverend Jack left and there a mix of hope and worry. The Chapmans were clearly worried about Edward Cupple and the actions that had been orchestrated that lead to them becoming Slug People. The worry over those sorts of things and the powers that Cupple were a big cause of concern and the fact that they wouldn't be able to quickly and easily see to Cupple's defeat didn't help matters. Their journey the previous day and getting in contact with Reverend Jack was part of that whole search for a way to defeat Cupple, and while Reverend Jack hadn't been able to truly put together an easy path to victory, he had helped provide them with a means to have some hope. The hope was in the idea of getting a way to expose Cupple's use of magic and enable their claim of being forced to become Slug People because of Cupple's plans would be believable.
But that hope mixed with the worry as there was the knowledge that it wouldn't be a quick victory. Jeff gave a very heavy sigh as he could easily feel both of those things. He looked with one eye his mother and to his twin with the other. Both Whitney and Lucy gave some fairly heavy sighs as they also felt the same mix of hope and nervousness. That left him sighing as well and he wanted to say something when he heard a male voice clear his throat. That drew his attention back to Simon, the other male Slug Person in the room. Zoe and Grace were moving over to a side, behind Whitney and Jeff while Melody moved to Lucy's side. Jeff couldn't quite read Simon as well as he could his own family, but the sort of hive mind that Slug People had was there and he could tell that that mix of hope and nervousness was there with Simon as well. However, there was also a faint hint of something that was more... professional about the other male Slug Person.
"Well... we've made progress," Jeff said to Simon, trying to force a bit more hope and optimism than he actually felt.
"It would seem so," Simon gave a small and forced smile, "though... it will also clear things for other steps that may need to be taken."
"Like what?" Zoe wondered curiously.
"Mostly on other things to do," Simon said slowly, "like if you have jobs for the summer or other responsibilities that would need to be looked to. The colony will do all it can to help you. I WILL see to that. And that wouldn't just be limited to the future wedding between your daughter/sibling and my daughter. As I said yesterday... we don't like abuse and when Cupple first started poking his nose around the colony, we all had the sense that he was trouble. It wouldn't be fair to anyone to leave you facing Cupple alone."
"Thank you," Whitney slid forward, "for everything."
Simon nodded in response, but said nothing. It was pretty clear that he was waiting for the response to the issues that the Chapmans would have regarding their summer responsibilities. And in normal years, there often were some of those responsibilities. Jeff often did yard work for various people in the neighborhood, Grace took part in a program run by the library to read to children, Lucy and Zoe had often been available as babysitters, and after going to college, Lucy had done some clerical work in the summer for anyone that needed the extra help. And Whitney, particularly after John died, worked full time with a local coffee shop, though they were thankfully closed on the week ends. The transformation of the Chapmans into Slug people might change that, but there was also the sense that some of those changes would have already occurred.
"Wouldn't our transformations have killed that?" Jeff wondered, "like some kind of huge change in reality or something like that..."
"Particularly when not everyone has liked Slug People," Lucy commented.
"While the nature of the origins of Slug People, and your transformations, is magical in nature, you're assuming that there some kind of near omnipotent and reality shaping level of power that comes along with these sorts of things," Simon commented, "that is not the case. Reality does not change. Thus if you had jobs before you were transformed, you likely STILL have those jobs."
"But our neighbor... Paul... recognized us as Slug People when we were able to escape the house when we began looking for help," Whitney pointed out.
"A lot of that will relate more to the defensive magics that Slug People naturally have, and would really only work when you are in a near vicinity with someone," Simon spoke, "outside of that, until something else comes along that would provide them with a memory of you as a Slug Person, they will see you as human, because that's in their memory."
"So... Paul would see us as Slug People now?" Jeff asked.
"If you met him as Slug People, yes," Melody nodded, "but as my dad said... those you know but haven't yet met as Slug People would still treat you as if you were human."
"So... we'd still have our jobs," Jeff said slowly.
"Yes, your transformation wouldn't affect reality, and while an exceptionally powerful wizard MIGHT be able to accomplish a feet that could," Simon spoke, "from Cupple's descriptions, behaviors, and actions... he lacks the power to do that. In part why he's wanting to essentially brainwash Slug People to use as familiars."
"Well... in a way that's good," Whitney said slowly, while also giving a very heavy frown, "but then at the same time, that can be bad. The coffee shop I work at has the means to let Slug People work there and visit... and I believe I've even seen colony members come in from time to time..."
"But until Cupple is dealt with, there's a problem," Jeff spoke, "for we've found that the hive mind can protect us from being enslaved... but we don't all work together."
"Though, a lot of the work I'd do in the summer can be hit and miss," Zoe spoke up, "not everyone needs a babysitter every night or afternoon..."
Jeff ignored that point as he looked to Simon, "and I don't think we can ask you to have at least five members of the colony follow us around, even if our employers let us stay on."
"Mine might if the others stay out of the way and aren't getting too much slime spread around," Whitney commented.
"The library might let me go," Grace said weakly, "I mean they've come up with some books that can withstand a Slug Person's slime... but not many, and not everything they have is on a kindle."
"There could be gloves that could be used," Melody suggested, "with the books in our school here, we had to wear them..."
"The library wouldn't have the money to keep them in stock," Grace said slowly.
"And a lot of the yard work that I've done would generally be easier done by one or two people," Jeff commented, "and I'm not sure on the range with which the hive mind can apply... Things seem stronger here..."
"That's more a result of our close proximity," Simon sighed, "once you'd get about a block away from the colony's boundary, that feeling would go away. Do you work for a company? As there are some groups that come and tend to our lawns here in the summer."
"I don't know if Mr. Bremmer does that..." Jeff said slowly, "but a lot of what he does is fairly standard contract work."
"We can go in tomorrow morning and see," Simon offered, "and with enough backup to make sure Cupple can't engineer an ambush. And the same would then go with the others. I may not be able to go personally with everyone, but I would be able to assure that our law enforcement within the colony could be part of the teams for at least this initial attempt. What follows would then be up to the employers."
"There seems to be a lot of other things to worry about," Whitney said slowly.
"Yeah... I've been clerking at one of the local law firms in the summer... or at least for THIS summer," Lucy added, "I don't think that Cupple would risk any sort of incident at a law firm... but he might also wait outside it. I can be thankful that they can afford the slime proof gloves."
"Makes me wish that Cupple weren't an issue," Jeff said slowly, "I'd think adapting to the practical consequences of all this would be easier if we didn't have a lunatic wizard to defeat and a home to truly reclaim."
"It may take longer than one would wish," Simon said slowly, "particularly with a dark wizard going well beyond what would be tolerated... but the colony will help. Even those with their own private jobs will help. We are not the sort to let friends and neighbors struggle unwillingly if need be. I'll have some calls to make to get teams ready for tomorrow, and let them know on when and where they'd need to be."
"I'll come along," Jeff offered, "my work starts the earliest and I can at least give you an idea where to go to get things started."
Simon nodded slowly and then motioned to the door. Jeff slowly went with him and hoped that things would get better.