Darrkon listened to the young woman singing and could not
bring himself to interrupt.  The words she sang reminded him of
the dreams he had as a child.  Of times when he was guiltless and
innocent.  He found himself thinking of things he had long though
forgotten, of his village, his animals, and...his mother.  But as
the woman's song ended so did the memories, but he found himself
touched and could not help but comment.

	"That was beautiful."  In as soft and non-threatening a
voice as he could muster.  It had been years since he had talked
to anyone without threatening them.  He hoped he didn't sound
harsh.

	The auburn haired woman turned, startled.  Darrkon chided
himself for not making some noise.  His years as a thief had made
moving around unheard second nature to him.  If he were to
successfully interact with others he would have to retrain himself
in that matter...as well as a number of others.

	The woman quickly regained her composure and after a brief
pause, which Darrkon could only attribute to a discussion with her
dragon, she asked, "Who are you?"  There was no fear in her
question, nor was there a sign of threat or distrust, simply
curiosity.  "I'm Soliel." she continued, "And this is Firiel."

	"I apologize for my interruption.  My name is Darrkon."
Once again Darrkon scolded himself for his behavior.  He had
interrupted her and hadn't introduced himself.  He knew he was
off to a bad start.  If he couldn't communicate with a simple
woman, how could he ever face the Warrenleaders of Norwall.
Calindeth was perched on the outskirts of the warren but Darrkon
sensed his laughter as though he was right next to him.

<I do not find much humor in this Calindeth!>

<That is because you can't see it from my position.  You have
faced all kinds of criminals but this small woman unnerves you.
Do not think of her as different  from you or those that you
knew before.  Deal with her as you would with them.>

	The woman's dragon shifted and she began to scratch a
section of its forleg that's rather difficult for them to reach.
"I am new to Norwall."  She told him openly, "But I can't say
that I've heard that name mentioned in my stay here.  What do
you do?"

	"I am new to the area as well."  Darrkon answered, "I
am here for business.  Selling or trade, doesn't really matter.
I hoped you would know the best place for a trader to push his
merchandise.  But as you are new here as well, you won't be
much help to me.  I need to find a guide.  Perhaps I'll see you
around."

	As Darrkon walked away from the shelter Calindeth spoke
to him.

<Brilliant!  The first person you meet and you turn her away.
You told me not to try to sabotage your chances of staying here,
but I won't need to.  You're doing a fine job yourself.>

<Don't start with me Calindeth!  She caught me off guard.  How
can anyone be so open?  I have been away from people for many
years.  You can't expect me to learn to deal with them over
night.>

<I know.  I just want you to find your happiness, and she could
have helped you.  But the first thing you must do is to stop
referring to humans as them...you're part of their race and you
won't succeed until you accept that.  And you all aren't all 
bad.  I like you, and there's got to be at least one more human
like you.>

<Well here' to hoping.>