Shali glanced at the bear-girl, still unable to tell whether the other girl was genuinely stupid or simply a natural airhead. A trace of irritation flashed through her eyes, but it quickly gave way to obvious resignation.
If this had happened three months ago, when she'd first met the girl, the young Overmind would have needed at least three to five minutes to calm herself down completely. But after all the trials she'd endured lately, there was at least one piece of good news: she'd gotten much better at controlling her emotions and blood pressure.
Though, strictly speaking, she no longer had any blood pressure.
As for why the dignified Overmind of the Swarm put up with this little bear, all she could say was that fate worked in mysterious ways.
"So, how are you doing now? How much have you mastered? What ring would you say your psionic abilities are at?" she asked patiently.
Sonia thought it over seriously. "I could probably take on seven or eight people? That little rascal I beat up last time brought a few older kids to get revenge yesterday, but I took care of them too. And I've got natural strength now! Last week, the most troublesome bull in the herd tried to break out again, and I pinned him down with one hand. He behaved after that. Dad and the others don't know what happened; they just think the bull's gotten obedient."
At the thought, the girl immediately wore an expression that said, I'm so amazing. I'm so badass.
"What's there to be proud of?" Shali said crossly. "If you can't even beat up a bunch of street punks, I'd rather kill you right now!"
As she spoke, more than a dozen tendrils lined with hooked blades rose behind her. Her face