"Aye! She didn't want to stay still for a robe fittin,' fought'em every second, and even attempted to get out of the lighthouse one way or another. She was a bit of tom-boy, and hated robes and dresses and such. Made me laugh when I went over to assist him. He said, I wasn't helping the situation. I told him, she's a child. They don't always want to do what you want them to."

"Sounds like the Lady!" The elemental laughed again.

The wind really started to pick up as the two were talking. The hanging laundry began straining from the sheer force of the wind and Madame Mabel found herself barking to her employees to gather all the linens outside and bring them in. "A storm is brewing in the west. They always brew in the west, care to give an ole' lass a hand?"

Quake reached out and grabbed the clothes line and hulled it in a few minutes, "Sure, no problem. Wow, the wind gets seriously crazy here don't it?"

"Aye! It does indeed."

***********

Alyson turned around whispering, "May I stay with you tonight?"

The Bronze Man led the elementalist out of the bath house, across the hall and to his chambers. They went in and the door shut for the evening.

Alyson sat down on the canopy bed with its silk drapes that hung from the ceiling down to the floor. She remembered waking up on it a few times before she had her own room. The Bronze Man of course, did not sleep with her but slept in a hammock, or in his chair off to the far side of the chamber. He was a gentleman and kept it that way. It was so comfortable to lay down on or jump on when, she tried to that only once and got the sternest look from him not to do that ever. She giggled at the memory.

Lazheros moved his hand down her back and loosened the laces on the bodice enough for comfort. "Remembering?" And sat down next to her.

"The look you gave me the first time you brought me here after my uncle left. Not that I would do that now, I might hit the ceiling," She smiled at him, "from my point of view it was funny."

With the other hand, he reached around her waist and pulled her closer to him. The embrace was intoxicating to him. He waited nearly six hundred years to hold someone like her again. There was another of whom he planned to spend his life with, a female bronze dragon who's life was cut tragically short by a dragon slayer. Thus began his life long devotion as a cleric of Bahamut in the hopes of finding such a soul like him.

He leaned back on the pillows set against the headboard with the elementalist wrapped in his arms. "Sleep now...sleep."

Alyson turned on her side and cuddled in his arms. Her head lay upon his chest in comfort. Sleep finally claimed her for the evening.

The wind blew in fast and sudden making Alyson shiver in Lazheros's arms. She slowly opened her eyes half asleep, "Storm coming. *yawn*"

"Hmm?" He looked over to the western window and witnessed flashes of lightning followed bellowing thunder in the distance. He let go of the elementalist briefly and sat up.

She rolled off of him looking for something to block the wind while he got up and closed the window. He secured both of the latches instead of one. The storm coming was bringing more than just lightning and thunder. He glanced about to see the water in the bay was very choppy and the watch towers were sounding the alarm to the city proper. ~I will be back in a minute.~ He left his chambers to talk with the watch at the lighthouse. He returned as Armendes magic barrier enveloped the entire building.

Again he leaned up against the headboard of the bed and wrapped his arm around the elementalist to keep her warm. She again laid upon his chest and fell asleep and would not wake til morning as the wind brought the storm ever closer the Asylum's borders.