It's been raining for some long time now, and Thaddeus has been hard to find.
 Elsveth may have reported to you, had you asked, or had she wanted to
 volunteer the information, that Thaddeus had gone a-hunting for his escaped
 runnerbeast (half-saddled and trailing reins), and he has only recently
 returned. Now, sodden, muddy and wet through, he steps up the stairs from the
 stable.

Elsveth holds no secrets from Madri....at least none that don't involve mischeif so
 she has been aware. The green in question however, is absent to give that
 poor runner a break for the moment. Carrying her own bags out, she pauses at
 the sight of you and offers a crooked smile, "Looking a little wet there
 Thadd."

He looks quite exhausted. "It's been a long night. Blasted runner broke loose
 when the lightning hit, and bolted out the door and I chased it all over the
 place. Ran the torch out."  He shrugs and draws a muddy hand through soaked
 hair, giving you a half-smile and stepping in out of the driving rain.  "I'm
 going to trade that runner for a wherry, I swear, and be the only
 wherry-riding Trader out there. Make a regular name for myself. How are you."
  He reaches to touch you, then sees the state of his own hand, and retracts
 it.

Madri laughs softly to that and winks, "I dare say that would be a sight to
 see my friend." She stands still, watching with amused curiousity at your
 soggy state and as hand reaches out then retracts she uses her own
 rider-quick agility to capture that hand and draw you near, "Happy to bump
 into you again."

Thaddeus grins, despite himself, and shakes his head.  "Here."  The egg -- the
 precious egg which now resides in a fur-lined bag hanging from a thong around
 his chest, is handed over. "I have to take a shower. It's very hard.  Watch
 that for me? You going to be," he asks belatedly, "Around for a little
 while?"  His hand squeezes yours.

Madri takes the egg warily, damn things are known to go off at odd times, "You
 really shouldn't hand this to me." But she holds it for now and smiles, "A
 shower, eh?" No, no mischeif in her gaze there. Her hand returns the squeeze
 and she nods, "Aye, I will be."

In. In he goes.  Mud drips off him, leaving a trail that will not make him
 popular with the hold drudges.
.
Thaddeus returns, still looking exhausted, but now dressed in much warmer furs
 and munching a piece of buttered toast. Buttered toast can, some days, heal
 all ills. Today that and a cup of steaming klah, is helping.  Thaddeus
 glances around, as soon as he walks out, notes the green dragon with some
 relief (and a half-bow), and turns to locate you.

She is still where she said she would be, head half tipped to listen to the
 rain, or her lifemates voice, or perhaps she is off on some errant daydream.
 So lost she doesn't immediately turn at the sound of your footsteps nearby.
"Hey now,"  Thaddeus murmurs, reaching now with no hesitation to touch your
 shoulder, curl his fingers around the muscling there, and lightly bump up
 against you.  "Thank you for egg sitting."

Madri doesn't start at your touch, instead she offers you a glimpse of a
 dreamy smile and soft, "Hi there." She willing leans into your touch and
 chuckles, "I am only thankful it didn't hatch while you were away." It's then
 that something happens. A shift, a rumble and shudder comes directly from the
 egg.

"Oy!"  He stiffens and puts down his klah and bread to take the egg, then
 hands it back and reaches in haste for another bag on his person.  Providence
 only dictated that he replaced the bag of soiled meat he has been carrying,
 with fresh. "Now? Now!"  Thaddeus grins then, and /now/ reaches for the egg
 ever-so-carefully, before he finds somewhere sit, to feed it.  "Wait for it
 to hatch and stuff it full, right?"

It was raining, cold, and Thaddeus had just returned from a shower, his hair wet but without the muck, his clothes still clinging somewhat to damp skin, and a new bag of meat sweet-talked from the kitchen ladies.  In the past fortnight, Thaddeus has rotted a lot of meat; that used in turn as fishing bait in the bay, and he's up on his alpha-omegas.  Now, the egg in hand, he's sat down rather heavily -- self-corrected with great concern, and he's fumbling around for the meat, talking aloud, "Crack -- how much?  I don't help, right?  And then feed it.  If it wants to stick around. Right?" Rhetorical. He knows the rumours very well.

 Concealing a bemused smile behind her left hand, Madri props herself against the porch's railing to watch the eggs sudden burst of action and antics. "No, no help, it will all happen on its own." With free hand she motions to the ground, "Just set it down and enjoy."

 Watery Sapphire Egg shifts, trembles, pauses and then pops with one more audible crack shattering the remains of it's once smooth surface.

 "But it's /cold/ down there!"  Thaddeus protests, glancing up. Instead, he will settle to the ground cross-legged, the firelizard-egg-holding-bag laid out and the egg carefully positioned (as Thaddeus hisses slightly as he rocks it onto the bag) in the exact center.  "Oh!"

 Madri inches herself back a half step or so in order to get a better perspective. "Well, now that the egg is hatching that is fine, but believe me you will need some room as they can surely explode sometimes." Or at least it seems that way.

 Watery Sapphire Egg shatters into a thousand fragments, leaving its occupant out in the open.
 Norse Blue Hatchling
 Cast from the pure bright blue steel of Valhala, this firelizard dominates over his kin by both poise and personality. Almost a raiding party unto himself, he would much rather spend his days preening golden flecks dabbled atop shoulders and haunches, showing off his crowning head knobs illuminated by sky's gentle kiss. Long, but not lithe his bulky frame is solid muscle, balanced by the great expanse of his graceful wings and casual sway of his serpentine tail.

"Ah!"  Thaddeus says, intelligently, "Picked a cold time to hatch, buddy?"  He scrabbles for a piece of meat in fingers that have gone clumsy, and proffers it to the hatchling.  "Here. Here -- look." Murmured now, in the same voice he reserves for puppies and recalcitrant runners.

 Norse Blue Hatchling announces his arrival to the world with a deep and penetrating screech even as wobbly legs betray his newborn status. Flaring wings he glares about in urgent need for food, then plunder, then..../then/ he'll worry about what later.

 "Yo -- here."  Again, the food is gingerly proffered, another hand kind of easing around to the lizard's other side.  Thaddeus isn't going to /grab/ him, per-say, but he has heard all the horror stories (or were they fish stories) about the ones that got away.  "Look here, laddie, fresh uh -- wherry -- I think." He doesn't stop looking at the blue.

 Norse Blue Hatchling flops down on his haunches for a moment (hatching is hard work afterall) and cocks his head curiously towards Thaddeus and offered meat. He sees the offering and suddenly lurches forward with mouth agape. He'll take that thankyouverymuch and with a sharp *snap* the meat is gone. Got more?
 
 More, and much more.  Thaddeus grins, "It's awfully cute, isn't it?"  he mutters as he pulls out several more globs of meat, and offers that. "Do you realize, firelizard, that this is a sneaky, underhanded way to get you to put up with me for the rest of your life?"

 Norse Blue Hatchling snerfs up more and more with starving abandon and only momentarily pauses in his consumption to take in Thaddeus with /that/ look. The one that says, 'You'll do quite well." And a partnership...nay a bond is born.

Thaddeus will continue to feed him, "Will /he/ know when to stop?  Not colic,
 right?"  Thaddeus reaches to touch the hide, lightly. First time he's felt
 dragonkind, and he's impressed, fascinated.

Madri chose to remain silent. Sometimes it's best to simply watch and enjoy.
 "Aye, cute he definitely is," and perhaps a handful to boot. She continues to
 watch for several moments more, taking her time to respond carefully, "He'll
 let you know, and then it will be sleep right away. Then eat again and so on
 as he grows."

Thaddeus nods.  "And oil them, right?"  Do they come with a handbook. "Is this
 one out of one of yours?"    He will slow down on the feeding, a slightly
 silly, bemused look etched onto his features.

"Correct. Oil whenever his hide becomes just a hint dry...for the next bit
 they will grow very quickly." Folding her arms in front of her and using her
 hip to bare weight, she again nods, "Aye, she hides them in my weyr at times
 for whatever odd reason instead of proper nesting areas." Nutty green.

"Well, excellent."  Thad lifts his gaze to you again, grins fully, "Thank you.
  I was hoping for a green -- just because the eggs would be dandy to trade,
 but I rather like his flash and glitter.  And I have a runner-beast female
 who is far more 'beast' than runner, and she's fast convincing me I don't
 need to be traveling long distances with any gals.  He'll do just fine."
 Thaddeus proffers another piece, and just studies the firelizard. "They're
 enchanting. I don't see myself as one of those persons with a fair -- too
 expensive to feed and too much time.  I just wanted one."   He's tickled.

Pleased for your sake and for the good home this young blue is sure to have,
 "Aye it was my pleasure." She listens to you talk and can only chuckle in
 response, "Well the females can definitely be a bit more of a handful when it
 comes to there breeding true enough, but when it comes to food they are at
 least adept enough to forage for themselves when a bit older." Taking a
 moment to herself she casts a glance out towards the courtyard, in some sort
 of distant converstation before returning to you, "Elsveth sends her
 congratulations and welcome to your new little companion."

Thaddeus grins again, fully, and dips his head toward the green dragon
 crouched in that miserable weather out there. "My thanks to her."  Then back
 to what you'd said, "He'll not be able to forage?"  Thaddeus forages. The
 lizard best learn. 

Recalling what she had said she chuckles and shakes her head, "I think this
 weather is clouding my thoughts. I meant to say that when he is old enough he
 /can/ forage for himself. Likely for you as well." She smiles in return,
 "They are typically great companions and a fair bit more intelligent than the
 runners I dare say you are used to."

"That,"  Thaddeus shakes his head, "Wouldn't be difficult.  That current
 /beast/ I have -- flashy as can be. Piebald black and white runner, but she
 has to throw, toss, kick, bite, and dump me at every opportunity, or whenever
 we pass by mud. Maybe he'll be able to herd her back, eventually.  If I
 cannot trade her off."  Back to the firelizard. "He's gorgeous. Shall we go
 inside where it's warmer? Or," his regard slips past you to the dragon again,
 "Is she uncomfortable? Do you need to get back?"  Concern tinges his voice
 even as he gently tries to see about gathering up the firelizard, how he
 would a small child. With wings. 

Madri raises an eyebrow at the mention of your runner's antics, "Aye, she does
 sound like a handful indeed. Perhaps you should think about finding yourself
 a dragon instead." To this she offers a wink and turns to Elsveth who has
 suddenly decided to launch herself skyward and out of eyes' sight, "Huh."
 Gaze lingers for another moment before returning to you, "Well, I suppose
 that makes that decision as her highness has decided she is not ready to
 leave yet." There is more to the story perhaps, but for this moment Madri is
 not sharing, "But then I won't protest warming up inside either."

Thaddeus laughs, finally settling on a cuddling hold on the firelizard, as he
 manages to come to his feet. Evidently Thaddeus never read about Menolly's,
 who could fly almost just after hatching.  He'll straighten and offer you an
 arm, dipping his head toward you, "Are you Weyrbred, or do you know that it's
 the hope and dream of every other living soul on this planet, to be Searched?
  Aye, but if it were so easy."  He'll wink back, dipping his head toward you,
 letting his hair brush your cheek lightly, "And mayhaps I would get a
 matching blue?  Or, with my luck, a green."  He'll verbalize what every child
 has likely speculated about.

Madri accepts your arm happily and softly chuckles, "Holdbred actually. High
 Reaches no less and tis not the dream of /everyone/, but I do remember what
 it was like yes." Funny how sometimes dreams manage to come true. "Ah, tis
 not so bad riding green," and from touch or cold is that a shiver running
 through her frame? "There are women who ride blues and browns you know."

"Yessssss... But,"  Thaddeus doesn't really want to go there.  He does glance
 at you to see if you are teasing him, and his attention remains on you for a
 pause, before he'll turn to go through the door.  "You're cold." Maybe.
 "Let's get you something warm, somewhere warm." 

Cozy Nook
A smallish room, with quaint hand-woven pillows on a curved divan. Heavy
 curtains adorn the walls, well-loved tapestries worn by time and the gentle
 touch of admiring fingers. A singular table, small and round is the only
 other furniture, while a hodge-podge pile of old pillows, scraps, and rags
 proclaims the corner a favorite firelizard nesting area. 

"Yes /but/....you would have your drethers?" She can be cruel, in that teasing
 sort of way. "Mind I don't think I see you on a green though, no, not green."
 She is comfortable on your arm and to follow your lead to here, "Ah, a
 perfect spot to nestle him in for the night." Hand gestures at the pillow and
 fabrics before turn back to admire your little companion, "He is handsome
 though and I dare say very large for his colour."

Scoot there in by the table, and Thaddeus will sit next to you, but he's not
 ready to release his new friend. Instead, he'll scoop up some of the rags and
 pillows and settle them atop the table directly in front of him, and put the
 lizard there, where he can still watch him.  "You think? Larger?  I wonder if
 that's good or bad or just... Larger.  And does that mean he'll stay larger?
 In runners,"  Thad goes back to what he knows, "The little ones sometimes
 grow large, and visa-versa. Hard to tell."  Then he'll settle in on the
 chair, shifting it closer to yours.  "What color would you see me on, then,
 of a dragon?"  Certaintly, he will entertain this conversation.  "They don't
 come in piebald, right?"

Madri can't help but laugh softly to all your questions as she settles into
 the chair, crossing her legs at the ankles. "Well...larger he will be, they
 always do grow and if you see his paws," and to this she motions, "he'll need
 to grow into those." Her gaze turns to focus upon you then as smile stays
 constant for this moment, "No, no piebald I am afraid. Just the greens,
 golds, browns blues and bronze. /And/ as for what I think, brown for you.
 Perhaps bronze, but I like browns." And she does at that. "So you would want
 blue?"

He laughs.  "I wanted a green firelizard, after I wanted a gold firelizard --
 but that's the Trader in me. But ten minutes into new firelizard ownership
 and I wouldn't trade Bo for anything. So I'm supposing I wouldn't be picky.
 The greens and blues are lovely - in terms of marketing, they are much more
 flashy, don't you think?  I haven't seen many browns and only a couple
 bronzes.  They're impressive. Never seen a gold - I guess they don't get out
 much. I'd hate that, if I were a gal."  And no one has come in yet. "Moment.
 Would you watch my pal here?"  Thaddeus asks, as he rises and, glancing back
 for a worried moment at the firelizard -- as if he might dissipate or
 something -- the man steps out.  He returns with a couple glasses of wine.
 Red.  One for you, one for him.  They are both warm, mulled, smelling
 slightly of spices and clove. THen he'll settle down. "But,"  Thaddeus grins,
 "If I were Searched, If I were Impressed, If I Impressed a male dragon, I
 would certaintly hope it would be at Fort." 

Accepting the wine like a cherished idol, Madri cups it within chilled fingers
 and savours the delightful scent, "Perfect, thank-you." She will savour this
 heat for a moment more before taking her first drink "I do agree that the
 blues and greens are more flashy. Especially greens. Faster too.... But most
 lads I've come across they have their hearts on the bronzes it seems. The
 golds are indeed active, just on slightly different duties as the weyr often
 requires much of their focus." To this she wrinkles her nose, "Makes me
 appreciate Elsveth all the more." To the last she looks to you then, "Fort is
 it?" Though she suspects the reason why, it is always fun to play, "Well, I
 must admit Fort is good for size and population. Lot's of greens to fly there
 too and you could always do your trading on the side."

Thaddeus won't take the bait. Instead, he waits until you've sipped, then
 he'll try it.  He's pleased.  "What exactly is the difference, other than
 size and presumably how much they eat, between the blues, browns and
 bronzes?"  Ever the practical man, he'll consider cost of keeping them, first.

She mulls this question over with some thought, staring off into her wine for
 a moment or so, "Well overall, the bronzes offer the possibility of being
 Weyr Leader someday and being clutch daddy." Though spending copious amounts
 of time on the sands is questionable in terms of fun. "Other than that, it is
 your preference I suppose as size is really the only difference. Browns can
 and do sometimes catch the golds, but it is rare. Blues never do, they don't
 have the endurance for the flights. Blues tend to catch the greens more often
 as bronzes don't always have an interest in their flights. " She takes
 another sip and savours the taste. "And aside from that, it is the greens and
 golds that rise to mate. Golds lay the eggs, and greens are infertile."

"Because of the firestone, right?  Has a greenrider ever refused to feed his
 or her dragon firestone, to let them have a clutch? Or are greens interested
 in having clutches?"  Thaddeus glances toward the lizards, "I hear the green
 lizards tend to abandon them. But surely a /dragon/ is much more intelligent
 than that."  And the idea of being tied to the Sands, or the figurehead of a
 Weyr - not Thad's cup of tea at the moment.  He prefers wine, and sips it.
 
You say, "Because of the firestone yes, but I don't think they could even if
 they stopped eating it." She turns to focus on her wine, choosing to look
 away for a bit, "Green firelizards often abandon their clutches, correct
 hence why we can more easily find their eggs." She sips again, "but dragons
 are more like us and would tend their eggs." At least some would.... "If
 Elsveth had her way, she would have been a mom turns ago I suspect." She
 shakes her head to this and chuckles, "No, if greens were fertile we'd all be
 riding for sure.""

Thaddeus laughs.  "And this would be bad because there'd be even more
 politics, yes? And not enough wherries and herdbeasts to go around. How often
 are there Clutches? And how,"  Thaddeus round-about returns to the previous
 conversation, "Do the dragons know who would make a good Rider and who
 wouldn't?  Tell me about how you were Searched?"  His grin is inviting.

"Oh I don't know about politics. The golds are still the queens who rule the
 roost and no one really challenges that much." She leans back, time to get
 more comfortable. "Clutches depends on the number of fertile queens active in
 the weyr, and need in population. Clutches are usually every 4-6 months
 depending on weyr size and all." To the next she smiles, though a story
 that's been told many a time it is one that Madri will never mind sharing
 again. "Well the dragons seem to have a sense of who would and wouldn't but
 even then, it is not for sure..... And as for me, well I was just your
 average everyday hold brat who caught the interests of both a green and blue
 dragon." She remembers the day as clearly as if it happened yesterday,
 "Deireth refused to let me go and that was that....I didn't have much choice
 really and to this day I don't know what it was that caught her and Ryuth's
 attention."

"But you Impressed. First time?"  Thaddeus prompts.  He settles back enough to
 match you easily but somehow keep an eye out on the sleeping lizard, who is
 sometimes subjected to a light caress with Thaddeus' forefinger.  "And I have
 a feeling you weren't 'average'. The dragon does not make the human, does it?
  The stories all tell that the human was ... Unusual, above-average, in some
 way long before the dragon Impressed him or her."

Madri quirks an eyebrow to that, "Wel unusual thought I may be, I highly doubt
 it had something to do with my Impression. No...." She thinks for a moment,
 eyeing her half-full glass of wine, "And yes, first time out I did Impress."
 Taking another drink, a little more than a sip this time, "Well, actually in
 some ways the dragons do affect who we are and vice versa I suppose. Because
 we are connected on such a deep level she can sometimes sway my.... /tastes/
 or decisions. Especially if she is proddy." To that Madri grimaces, shakes
 her head and opts for a previous topic, "But it's impossible to say really
 what causes a dragon to pick a person. In times past both good and bad
 individuals have been Searched and Impressed."

"The dragons are wrong?"  No way.  Incredulity.  You are tearing down one of
 those Fables that all non-weyr children are taught, aren't you? 
Madri is doing exactly that. "Well wrong wouldn't be the correct term, but not
 all the rider's that have Impressed are good and honest folk Thaddeus." She
 settles her glass on the table and wraps arms about herself, "some are out
 for power and glory. Some are greedy.....some just stupid."

Quietly, considering, although one hand will reach for your arms -- or one of
 them, and fingers will press incessantly to ask you to yield that arm, "And
 the dragons -- the same?"  That had never been a consideration, at all. And
 Thad further wonders, "Do the dragons already sense what sort of dragon will
 Hatch, and they look for... Those who would match it?"

And that arm will yield, though slowly. "No, the dragons personality is a
 little different, but to their rider they are loyal no matter what. A dragon
 may disagree true, but one influences the other to a certain degree." She
 shakes her head to the last, "A dragon can no more predict that, than we can
 tell what a babe will be like when they are an adult." She looks to you then,
 "There is much fable and tale surrounding dragons and riders, when in truth
 we are as fallible as any other."

When he can get your arm to flex enough, his hands will cover yours, and begin
 to massage, gently, your hands. A touch of his lips, light, upon them will
 punctuate strong fingers' actions across your bones, muscles of your palm and
 wrist.  "It is everyman's dream to be Searched, but so is it everyman's dream
 to be happy." IN that word, he means females as well.  "And I'm sure life can
 be tragic for dragonriders as well as the more common folk.  But so can the
 joys be there for both.  The thrill of flight..." he pauses, considers, "And
 the allure of having a constant friend and companion,"  his regard strays to
 the lizard... "It's what makes them so popular, and what spurs the desire to
 be a dragonrider.  I suppose it makes sense, though, that it's not as the
 Harpers tell. Nothing is."

Madri seems to melt to your touch, tension slowly giving way to a warmer,
 relaxed state. "You speak true there Thaddeus. It is everyman's dream to be
 happy and in reality is being a rider is fundamentaly no different than being
 a holder, craftsman, or -trader- for that matter. We have duties to perform,
 there are dangers we must face. And granted we have our lifemates, but we
 still love, some have families and are for all intensive purposes normal
 people." With an oversized family member. "No rare is the tale I have heard
 from a harper that is true to every detail, but then, their stories wouldn't
 be so interesting I suspect."

Thaddeus laughs. "If their heros had to routinely visit the privies and stop
 to eat... They wouldn't seem so heroic, would they?"  He will brush the back
 of your hand against the rough stubble of his unshaved cheek, lightly.
 "Still, the craftsman, the holder, the trader -- they are all essentially
 /alone/ at the end of the day. You have a companion you can speak with,
 without opening your mouth.  And upon whom you can escape, if briefly, the
 mundanity of life. And," his brows arch and he reaches your own hand for your
 wine, while one of his separates to catch up his, "The considerations of
 mating flights do and will catch the imaginations of we young folks."

And that shiver once again runs through her frame as skin contacts stubble.
 "No, I can't say they would appear as such." A smile plays at the corner of
 her lips again, "Very true, but if for a time we wish to be totally alone
 with our thoughts, we cannot be." It's a fair trade. She laughs softly then,
 "Ah yes, flights tend to do that, but then when you rouse to a face that
 could scare the foundation of the weyr itself, you may not think so fondly.
 No, at least with you, you may choose your bedmates freely all the time, and
 have families if you so choose."

"That bad?  But you can step away... Or does that not erase what had
 happened?"  Thaddeus asks, because he really doesn't know. And he could /try/
 to choose his bedmates, but he's generally  not quite that lucky.  He'd
 rather break an arm than admit that small fact, however.

"It's not emotional. But it doesn't erase the /gloating/ that might happen."
 She grimaces at the thought, "but in the end, it is more for her at that
 moment than I, else she could go between."

"Why would she go between? Doesn't she /want/ to mate?" Trinculo asks. And he
 finally, finally, cues in on something. "Did you want to have a family,
 Madri?"  Quietly asked, washed down with another sip of wine, while he
 studies you carefully.  Then reclaims that arm, after you're done with it.

"In the heat of the moment she is wild and though her body wants to mate,
 /she/ wants to fly and be free. To that end, though rare and if not carefully
 controlled a dragon could go between. If they do that with no envision point,
 they will die." Her comment is matter of fact, though a slight tone switch
 hints at the concern it hides, "and when that connection is broken it is not
 unheard of for the rider to either kill themselves, or go insane. Some
 survive, but never quite the same." She shrugs to that, it is a fact of life
 for her. "Oh I am never truly sure to that, I would be a horrible mother I
 think." She chuckles then shaking her head, "Just never mention having babies
 around Elsveth. She is relentless on that subject."

"What do you mean?  She wants you to have babies?"   Thaddeus didn't
 anticipate this.  The dragon sure doesn't seem to object to Thaddeus'
 tentative relationship with her rider.  "Or she likes babies. And human, or
 dragon, or both?"  And just how many firelizards /do/ you have, Madri?

Is that a flush running across Madri's cheeks? Suddenly looking for somewhere,
 /anywhere/ to look (damn that empty wine glass) she will clear her throat,
 "She wants a small, wriggly 'pink one' to be precise." In other words yes, a
 baby. "Firelizards?" Thankful and eager for the change of topic, however
 brief "Well....three at the moment. A green, bronze and blue." A scary lot
 really. "What about you Thadd? What are your aspirations, other than to
 perhaps be a rider some day?"

He laughs. "First, to get rid of The Beast in a fair trade or some such.  And
 after that, to travel and see the world, to meet people and learn about what
 they do, why they do it, and how and why. To listen to Harpers under every
 manner of sun, in every manner of climate. To follow the sun as it crosses
 the sky and let the moons direct my turns." He shrugs. "Right now, to enjoy
 life.  If I should find a reason to stop, then I would do so.  For now, I
 cannot complain of a life wherein I travel from Gather to Gather, stopping at
 Crafts and Holds on the way.  If I must, I break runners to ride, or dig
 holes for meals.  But I watch the sun rise about every morning, and watch a
 fire flicker about every night."  HE grins and pours half his remaining wine
 in your glass. "And to be warm when it is cold out, and cool when it's warm
 out.  What more can oen ask for?" 

>> I bespoke Thaddeus with: Elsveth reflects /there/. In the back of your
 mind. Barely there, but there notheless. A crystaline shimmer like the kiss
 of a summer dream. Then a hushed little secret between you and her <<Little
 squiggly things are /cute/. And she would be a good mom.>> But don't tell.
 And then she is gone like she never was. <<

At the end of that little litany, Thaddeus blinks.  Stares for a second and
 closes his eyes, as if -- he is trying to remember something. Then he grins
 and glances over at you.  Just that.