#earthrunes

"mmm it's good you put the animal first. I will keep an eye out and then let you decide. Perhaps your resources will be different then, one way or another? Does that sound good? It could be months from how. As I will give priority to restocking the kennel here."

She hesitates, then smiles and nods. "Okay."

A nod then a glance to coradel "So the Shepherds. Then others?"

"I think so, yes. How do we arrange this?"

"Before, the Baron would simply send me, and perhaps one other if it gained a diplomatic advantage."

"Hmm...I would like to go, but I'm not sure if that would be appropriate. I mean, if the Baron never went himself...."

"you are not the Baron, and your Regent fills the chair when needed," Sir Sergei says with a look of respect to both "Change is not always bad."

An amused look. "Fair enough. Well...Deryn, if you wouldn't mind stepping in for a few days? I can try to schedule for when you don't have class or other obligations."

She nods. "Besides, you have not done a lot of travelling yet. It would be good to see other holds."

"It's true." A pause. "August won't like the idea much, sadly. But then I suppose it won't be too many days, right Sergei?"

"Not at all" He says

"Hopefully you can be here when the Beaumayn Countess visits..."

"But otherwise, I should be fine."

"When is she visiting?"

"Not quite sure, to be honest."

An amused look. "Well, then it's sort of luck-of-the-draw, I suppose."

"True enough. Met the Aesin yesterday. He... was surprising."

"How so?" Coradel bends to give the older dog another round of pets and scritches.

Sergei looks quiet going over his notes.

"I liked him."

the older dog leans in.

"That's surprising? I mean, sure, Aesin are arrogant, but..." she gives a shrug.

"Aesin are as subtle as a Viking longship...on fire, but they are...efficient" The Varich observes

"Why doesn't either of those sound like a compliment?" A teasing grin.

"Well, he also treated Colton well. We fought together. It was good."

((BRB))

"mmm I had hoped a Varich would show themselves for this chance" Sir Sergei admits, "One always cheersfor the home team"

"But no, I have nothing against Aesin."

"No Varich - right now, the contenders are a Fiona, an EIluned, the Aesn and the Beaumayn."

"mmm" He says impassively.

"Well, we'll see what happens."

"What color lab?... if we were so fortunate?"

"Though the Aesin encounter is what brought me down here. Do you know much about chimerical pandas?"

A shy grin. "Chocolate."

"Chimerical...pandas?" he says surprised, "I know only the basics of mundane ones. Interesting. I will have to study up."

"Colton found a stray one, maybe the size of a basketball."

((back))

A chuckle, "I'll set up a pen for it perhaps"

He writes down something on paper.

"A chimerical panda? Where did he find such a thing?"

Pen for Panda small Chocolate lab fae hound?

"And...what does that have to do with the Aesin?"

"In St. Louis. It was hiding from the... creature..." A little frown. "Heck, I don't blame it."

((And this is the part of the story that Coradel-P hasn't heard, but Coradel presumably already got briefed on???))

((Welll...))

"The Aesin was monster hunting. So.... Cole and I went monster hunting, too."

"Commendable."

"Oh? Any luck? Another ogre on your kill tally?"

"A chimera. The Count got the kill, but I did my part."

"So, our possible future count is a warrior. Mmm" Sir Sergei nods