"Thanks! Yeah, it was live plants - I don't really work as well with dead things, so it just made sense to keep them alive. A few died in the first year 'cause I messed up with irrigation and I had to redo that spot completely. It was really, really annoying."

"Sounds it. I've never stuck with anything that long."

"Eh, it was fun. Soothing to do. I mean I didn't just do that all the time, I did other stuff too, but it was nice to come back and work on it every now and then."

"What other kinds of things do you like, then, besides plant mazes?"

"Some exploring, some talking to people - the people at the closest town over were pretty cool. Cute girls, polite people, so on. They knew they could poke me if the mages gave 'em trouble, which never really came up. I left them a note when I ditched, but they kind of already knew I wasn't likely to stick around forever."

"If I know my daughter, she won't be leaving your world to shrivel up all by itself, so maybe you'll see them again."

"Yeah, my brother's the same way. So I'm not too worried. If the dynamic duo take forever I might go grab them, but I'm not much of a 'planner' and Adarin pouts if I mess up his plans. Besides, I'm still checking to make sure this is a good place to crash."

"They do seem to suit each other, don't they."

"Pfff. I guess? It's sounding like they do and he's definitely got the whole shebang with hearts floating around his head and everything. But I haven't exactly sat down with your daughter and grilled her on her views of the world."

"Oh, she's always been kind of a crusading malcontent. She hasn't had a lot of application for it, so far, but she seems to be revving up like she was born for it now she has an idea."

"Ha! See, my brother was sort of passive about it for a while, till the invasion happened and he decided that he was going to fix things. He wasn't like - going to let people die horrifically before, and didn't like the place, but I don't think he was up for any kind of crusading then."

"Well, it seems they've met in the middle, then, haven't they."

"Yeah. They're cute together. Plus I like her, she's spunky."

"Ha! I've never heard quite that description of her, but it suits."

"I was afraid he'd end up with some annoying useless wallflower or something. This is a nice change."

"Did he tend to go for the useless wallflower type before?"

"I'm afraid I don't have much information about what the initial - courtship stage was like. Since Isabella has been very vocal in her opposition to claiming people at daggerpoint and I think she'd be more embarrassed about it if she'd done it anyway."

"Well, I wouldn't put it past her, at any rate."

More giggling. "So what's claiming at daggerpoint? Is it exactly what it sounds like? 'Cause I'm not sure if that's disturbing or hot."

"It's more or less what it sounds like, it's fallen rather out of favor now that witches can no longer expect to get away with murder if declined. I've never done it; my mother did, but not with my father, with her preceding husband. Opinions are divided on disturbing versus hot, but Isabella was firmly in the former camp and I have to say I largely agree with her."

"Huh, well. I'm glad it's not like - widely supported. But it does still sound kinda hot. Horrific, though. No means no, and all that jazz."

"The official story is 'witches just have such overhwelming emotions that we can't bear to live in the same world as someone who's spurned us, it is the only insult, any mortal should be glad to have a witch for a lover', blah blah - so much nonsense, I think. You won't run into this problem, at any rate. Witches who prefer women have their own traditions which mostly don't involve mortals and therefore mostly don't involve predicating their courtship on being able to stab the object of their affections."

"All right. It sounds like a bunch of fluff and garbage, but then again I'm not a witch. I dunno what your heads are like. Maybe some of you are wired like my mom and obsessive and crazy."