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"Travelling in winter won't be easy," Lore reminded Elnara, "If the snows become as high as I hear here... even after this storm hits there's the worry of being out there and not being able to make it there before the next storm....."

And snow wasn't easy to travel, winter was the worse time to travel.

Lothiriel smiled warmly and reached out to put one hand on Elnara's.

"Don't worry, Aunt Elnara," she murmured softly. "Pen's a firecaster, and I have defensive magic ... we'll be all right."

At least she hoped. She couldn't say for certain. But she didn't want to worry her aunt more than she already had.

"Too bad you're not like Aragost," Alyse spoke up from where she was cleaning the dishes. "Magic doesn't work around him ... everyone always used to try when we were little, but we all gave up. Even Nako's elfstones don't work around him, and they're almost the strongest magic that exists."

She glanced up at Elnara. "What colour are yours, Elnara?" she asked curiously. "Lothiriel's are blue."

There was so much to learn still Lore realized listening to what the women were talking about. He had never seen elf stones, but he had read about them in the library. At least... a bit....

"Sounds like another back story in there."

"Mine are blue," Lothiriel smiled, reaching into the neck of her blouse and pulling out a tiny leather pouch. She opened it and dumped its contents into her palm, holding it out to show Lore. In it were three small blue stones, about the size of large pebbles, smoother than glass, and the colour of a midnight sky, sparkling as if they contained the very stars.

"The blue stones are called the Seeking Stones," she continued, setting her stones on the table for Lore to examine at his leisure. "Generally, they mean that their owner has an inquisitive nature."

She grinned. "I suppose that being called Seeker while I was growing up, I should have expected nothing more."

"But they're more than that," Alyse said quietly, leaning her elbows on the table and looking at Lothiriel pointedly.

Lothiriel nodded. "Each type of stones has their own particular power," she went on. "The Seeking Stones seek out anything you wish them to look for ... a person, an item, how to get to a certain place, how to get out of a certain place ... I've even heard that they can find ideas or emotions, though I'm not sure how much I believe that. On top of that, each set of stones has the power to protect their owner ... and if they fail, and their owner dies, they disappear."

Lothiriel giggled at Lore.

"I haven't changed," she admitted to him, her tone so bright she almost seemed proud of the fact. "Still inquisitive, still have to know everything ... though I have learned to be patient and learn some things in time rather than through Sight."

She looked over at Alyse. "Does your mother have any Stones?" she asked curiously. "I know she's never been to the Southland, so she wouldn't have gone to receive any ..."

Alyse nodded. "Red," she smiled. "Fire Stones. Nako says she expected Adonijah to be a firecaster because of it, but he's not. He's just a scaredy cat that talks to animals."

Lore tried not to chuckle at that, even though it had be many years and the boy still had not grown out of it, Lore was sure he would get better with time.

"Just you wait.. one day there will be someone he won't try to run from."

Elnara looked out the window, but all she could see were thick flakes of snow that were falling beautifully towards the ground. There didn't seem to be any wind at all ... but if they were certain, then perhaps it was best if they did leave right away.

"Hurry, then," she smiled at them, "so that you make it back to the ranch in time ... the last thing we want is for you to get caught in the storm."

She pushed her chair back from the table and rose to her feet. "We'll walk you to the door."