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"Yes," said Kevin, totally dazzled. Stars were practically visible in his eyes. "But--" He started to ask Paul how, why, and who, but realized the futility of ever comprehending this situation. Better just to accept it as the second coming of Woodstock.

It seemed completely wrong for Paul's background and personality but there he was, standing in the middle of this giant crowd watching with acute eyes as the lead guitarists, Trion Bartholomew and Atri Durris, tuned their instruments. Trion's partner Alin-Maya sat at the keyboards. The lead vocalist was familiar from Emperial's house back in Virginia over a year earlier: it was Tuthau gian Fourdr, the clumsy, good-natured one who had once been such good friends with Careli. (Not to be confused with the other Tuthau gian Fourdr, who was mentor to Zev.) The drummer was no one Rose had ever seen before, an Asian man.

Paul quietly removed his coat and folded it over his arm to better match the crowd; he was wearing a white dress shirt and grey pants underneath, plain enough to fit in almost anywhere.

Djerod could only shrug because at that moment the guitar blasted everyone in the crowd partially deaf. The noise was so vast it seemed palpable, like a wind threatening to knock everyone back. Some people wavered. A select few fell down, or back a step. As the band played the song intro, the crowd erupted into a cheer competing with the music to see which could be loudest, only giving the prize to the band whent he lyrics began.

"Well I came upon the child of God, he was walking along the road and I asked him tell me where are you going, this he told me. Said I'm going down to Yasgur's farm, gonna join in a rock'n roll band. Got to get back to the land, set my soul free." The second coming of Woodstock, pun intended.

His lips moved but the words were totally incomprehensible over the noise. he waved his hands in frustration and pointed at his belt. Rose could only guess at what that might mean, and none of her guesses were very good.

Looking frustrated, the strange man moved as if to take off his belt. By some miracle he left it on andmerely removed a strange circular disk. It expanded at his touch into a cylinder. He pointed at it as he held it up for Rose, and handed it to her.

A lightbulb went on in the stranger's head and he pointed down to the ground, crouching and motioning for Rose to join him. It was dangerous to kneel in the middle of a roaring crowd, so he kept his words as brief as possible as he ran his finger through the faintly muddy dirt.

"Tell Dee sorry."

With a look of exasperation (why am I always stuck trying to work with idiots) the man reached over, positioned the little canister so the bottom was resting on Rose's fingers and her thumb over the top and pantomimed pressing down. Then he got up and started to retreat away, as if there might be something explosive in the canister.

A hand tapped Rose on the shoulder. It was Kevin. Autry was gone, Djerod/Paul was gone, and Kevin pointed towards the stage, not realizing at all the magnitude of the reunion between fairy bond. He had merely thought it would be a shame if Rose missed out on one of the most unbelievable sights of the concert: Paul getting up on the stage and preparing to play for the next few songs. Kevin did not notice Burgundia clinging to Rose's neck, which was probably for the better because there was no telling what he might have thought if he had.