>"Well, Sakuya and the other maids are struggling under the workload. I talked to a faerie there, and I think they're pretty upset that a lot of their friends bailed on them. Also, I promised Patchouli that I would look into the problem for them."
>"I understand," says the hooded woman. "I would consider suggesting they take some time off, myself. Surely the mansion can go without dusting for a little bit?"
>"Ah, I hope Patchouli behaved herself?" Byakuren says.
>"Considering that I was warned to treat Sakuya as a 'particularly dangerous youkai' in her current mood, I think it might be reasonable to worry about the potential for collateral damage if this goes unaddressed for long."
>"Um, if I'm not interrupting you two too much, could I have some stories about the fairies so I can understand them better? They seem... confusing and somewhat childish from what I've seen, but that isn't very much."
>"Hmmm," says Byakuren. "Patchouli has come to me about Sakuya before."
>The hooded woman nods. "I have all kinds of stories, but maybe it's better if I summarize. They are confusing and childish, really. They're not very good at thinking about the welfare of others, since they tend not to care a lot about things outside of themselves. Emotional maturity is rare and fleeting in them. Curiously, they're extraordinarily kind to each other much of the time, except when they're playing or bickering, which tend to be connected.
>"One thing I have noted is that they're prone to what I call idea infection. When they get an idea stuck into their heads, they'll usually do whatever they feel like to achieve it. Along the way, they may well tell other faeries about the idea, and sort of infect them with it. When you see a group of faeries, usually they're gathered due to having the same idea. Usually, it'll die out after awhile. But, sometimes an idea spreads wide enough that hundreds of them will end up in the same group. Usually, there will be a leader, or core of ringleaders. It often happens when incidents are about to occur; we had quite a few faeries following us when we were trying to unseal Hijiri."
>"It's a long story," Byakuren cuts in.
>"But they all bled off after the job was done," the hooded woman continues. "This always seems to happen; unless there's steady progress, the groups collapse as interest wanes. Does that help?"
>_
