“They are supposed to be.”Seemingly unperturbed by the situation, Elaina squatted down on the other side of the huge beast and began looking it ov...er inquisitively. “Where do you think it came from?” She asked as she poked at its chest with a gloved finger. “Surely it wasn’t living out here on the plain, so close to all these farms and whatnot?”“Doubtful,” Smythe muttered, dropping the hand, which thumped heavily into the brown needles littering the ground. “Who knows how far from home it is, or. The clouds in the sky provided extra power, despite the lack of a lightning storm.Strands of blue and white light flickered over the spear, and the men backed away, their eyes wide. One fell into the mud and scrambled backwards, trying to get to his feet.“Storm witch!” the other said. “I’m sorry! We weren’t gonna do nothing!” He turned and ran, and his friend managed to stand and follow after.“They must be locals if they know about stormrunners,” Sarette said, staring after them.“They were. It took me a moment to realize what he was doing, but by then I had returned his kiss back."You seem so familiar to me," he hugged me with his one good arm. He felt weak, fragile and my heart ached for this man who was a mere mortal now."I love you, I know that," he said."I love you too," I said automatically.He smiled and we stayed in our embrace for a few more moments."I'm going to take you home now," I told him as I stood up and started wheeling him out of the room."Our home?" he asked. There seemed to be a tiny section where there was an overlap, where the ice didn’t appear to seal perfectly. I moved closer to that point.“I think I might have an idea,” I said, burrowing through the tiny hole left where the imperfection had left his shield vulnerable.The ring itch was back.“You FUCKER!” he exclaimed, squirming. He severed the connection.“Do I need to worry about you?” he asked. “You seem awfully interested in my ass.” He obviously hadn’t learned about my sexuality.“Well, it is.