Yeah, but getting really unhappy in anticipation doesn't help too much either. 

Mmhmm, and I'm not doing that? I know this could kill me; I know it could hurt me very badly. But that doesn't scare me, and hasn't for a long time; working with the tigerfolk was just the same.

Okay. 

Sigh. Snuggle.

Sigh. Squeeze.

Mm.

Can I ask you something?

Yeah, of course.

The thing where Quendi don't have kids in war time - why is that?

Because the kids will have happier and better lives if we wait until we're somewhere safe. And the Enemy can't get them.

Okay. Snuggle.

Why do you ask?

Well, I hatched during a war, and I've been thinking about that recently. It's not as much of a taboo for kobolds, obviously, but it's still uncommon. But they needed me. Or - not me, so much, but a kid from my egg-parent, and I'm who they happened to get; it didn't work out how they were expecting. But, even from then, the question of what I'm for has always been something with a really obvious answer - I was for being the next chief, and then I was for being a Speaker, and then I was for working with the tigerfolk, and now I'm for this. I'm not sure I like that, but... I think losing that hurt me almost as much as being alone, when I lost my tribe. Like it or not it's part of what I am, that I'm for something.

Ah. That - does sound hard. I think I'd feel something of that if I - had to leave -

Nod. Yeah. But it's not - usually a problem, for me? When it is it's a bad one, but most of the time it's just life, even when doing the thing I'm for means doing something I'm not very comfortable with. Snuggle.

I'll keep that in mind.

Hug.

A few days later, she's getting ready to go see the Dwarves. Did you end up telling them about the fire form?

Haven't, no, but since they haven't pushed us to get magic I'm not too worried about offering things that could be easily weaponized if they were mages. Also, they're easily creative enough to weaponize all the other forms.

She hesitates, then nods. Okay. What do you think I should do if they ask for weapons?

Say we're not selling them.

Okay. What's that in their language?

He offers a translation. Not their language, technically, just Sindarin, the local Quendi language. Their own they keep secret.

She repeats it back. Okay. Anything else I should know?

I'm not sure. Are they going to discomfit you if they talk about accounts and trade?

Maybe, depends on how they do it. I'll cope, anyway.

Okay. Good skill.