“All right, all right, maybe you’re not friends. But at least you two must have something in common. I saw you doing those card tricks together.”
“What’s this?” Lydia asked, eyebrow raised.
Tich’ki’s dusky skin flushed. “He asked me. What was I supposed to do? Tell him he wasn’t bright enough to learn?”
“Teaching him tricks, eh?”
“Card tricks!”
“Of course.”
“It’s true!”
“And was that all you were doing, hmm?”
“Lydia, that’s ridiculous! Look at the size of me! He’s more than twice my height!”
“Why, Tich'ki! Aren’t your people wonderful shape-changers? I should think you could be any size you want to be.”
Kevin stared from Lydia to Tich’ki. “I don’t understand you two! We’ve got all sorts of people out to get us— How can you possibly waste time in—in banter?”
They both looked at him in surprise. Lydia shook her head. “Would anything be changed if we acted like scared little kids?”
“No, but—”
“Morale, Kevin, got to keep up morale. Just as,” she added slyly, “Tich’ki was keeping Naitachal’s morale up.”
Cornered, the fairy took to the air. Still blushing, she yelled down,
“You know I don’t date outside my species!”
“Since when are elves and fairies separate—”
“All right! All right! I’ll go look for him. You stay here.”
As the fairy darted up and away. Lydia murmured a bemused, “Card tricks?”
“That's all it was, really,” Kevin said.
“Oh, I figured that But how often do I get a chance to rib a fairy?” All at once she frowned. “Eh, I know I said something about keeping up morale, but this hardly seems the time for a song! Why are you taking out your lute?”
“I’m going to try something.” Kevin paused, one hand caressing the polished wood. “I only hope it works.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s a song that’s supposed to draw someone you know to you. I’m going to try it on Eliathanis.”
“You don’t exactly know him.”
“Well, no. But he’s an elf after all. Even if I can’t manage the whole force of Bardic Magic, he should have enough innate magic to sense something.”
“Always assuming he wants to listen.”
“If the song works properly, he ... uh ... won’t have a choice.”
Lydia raised an eyebrow. “Only hope you don’t call up Empty Eye from the gang as well. He’s an elf, too. More or less,” she added in distaste.
