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Halmir headed over to join the small group, taking stock of them with a quick glance. He smiled at them, but it only served to stretch a scar on the corner of his mouth and eye and made him look even more disfigured.

"Would it be to much of a stretch of the imagination to guess that you, sir, are Donovan," he said formally in a rough and gravelly voice, "and that this little rose bud is your daughter, Lin?"

Halmir nodded, and his smile widened, though it only made him more hideous. "Aye, I had a chat with Ulrich before lunch," he agreed. "In all honesty, though, to spy the oak in the forest of cedars is far from a difficult task."

He chuckled a bit at Lin's reaction. "And you, little seedling, will you follow in your father's footsteps when you grow up?"

Halmir chuckled at Lin. "Funny I speak not," he replied good-naturedly, "'tis eloquence I speak with. A fair tongue is a skill forgotten by many today, I fear to say."

Finished teasing, he resumed his normal mode of speech. "And yet, child, you are correct: I did not call you a plant, nor your father; I merely used a comparison. Rather than taking up all sorts of time to say that you are young and small and might someday grow up to be strong and commanding as your father is, I used the idea of a sapling that grows into a mighty tree to show in a single word the entire idea of what I was attempting to convey. For example."

He grinned, his scars twisting again.

"If I were to compare you to a moor kit, I would do so to say that you are both young and small yet filled with a fierce strength and courage despite being quite attached to your parent figure. Would I not be correct to say so?"


Ulrich coughed softly to get Donovan's attention and tapped his temple again.

"The offspring of a moor cat," Halmir replied easily. "Though if you don't know a kitten, you're doubtful to know the cat."

He paused, for once at a half-loss for words.

"I don't believe I know anything that you might be familiar with," he murmured, a thoughtful crease halving his brow. "Perhaps ..."

"They know cats," Ulrich interrupted the man. "Not moor cats, but cats. Though, as I recall, Donovan's seen a moor cat before ..."

Halmir looked at Donovan through half-lidded eyes. "Indeed," he said softly, though his voice was still rough and gravelly. "To come away from an encounter with a moor cat ... that takes more than strength, that takes luck that no one in this land has seen before."

Ulrich cleared his throat. "The moor cat was helping Donovan."

Halmir looked sharply at Donovan once more, and this time his eyes were wide with surprise. "Indeed?" he questioned. "Then there is much more to this man than meets the eye ... indeed, for one to work with a moor cat is far more rare ... however did you manage it?"

Ulrich chuckled a bit. "Aye, Leif was a bit tempermental," he agreed. "He was loyal, though, and did a wonderful job defending our home. We haven't had any attackers since he was around ... even though that was such a long time ago now."

Before Halmir could get too confused, he added, "No, moor cat's don't talk, unless you're Amdir."

Halmir turned serious immediately, changing his expression and his stance to reflect it, and suddenly he looked every bit the soldier he had once been.

"Give me the details, sir," he nodded.

Halmir nodded and his arm rose a bit then lowered as if he had to stop himself from saluting.

"Aye, sir, I would be honoured to join you on a hunt," he said solemnly.


Ulrich cleared his throat a bit. "If you'd like, Donovan," he suggested softly, "I can ask Ulani where they might be. She has ... a method of finding anyone, anywhere, at any time ... I ask only that you stay here, then, tonight, and I can bring you their exact location tomorrow morning."