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Lancaeriel sighed. "This was back when we were studying at Altak-Bet Ainúl. Cael and I were researching protective barriers and two novices broke into our office and made off with our research. Cael remembered most of it, said we could start again, but I ... I was somewhat hot-tempered in those days, and I refused to let it go. Also as Head Druidess, I knew I had to be firm in our security. A breach would cast doubts on my ability to lead the others, not to mention if it went unpunished it would only encourage others to steal research that was not their own."

She shrugged. "So we went after them."

"They had fled the fortress," Cael added, "and it wasn't hard to find them. And if it had just been them when we found them, it would have been easy to deal with them. But they'd taken refuge in Karkhe'er, one of the original dwarfin cities."

Cael rolled his eyes, remembering, and Lancaeriel sighed. "Yes," she murmured, "and you know how skilled the dwarfs are with tunneling. They were back then, too. Perhaps not as skilled as they later became, but they had a massive underground network that makes the Southland palace's labyrinth look like a straightforward path."

Cael looked at his wife curiously, and she smiled grimly at him. "Similar to the one we found near the Wolf's Head in the Second Age."

"Ah." Cael nodded. "Right. Anyways, I told Lan we should leave things as they were, but she insisted we go after them. No mercy back then."

"That they are," Cael agreed. "And incidentally, this part of the story is the reason I say Lan is a bad influence."

"Look, we had to get through them," Lancaeriel pointed out, her face colouring slightly. "At that moment, how wasn't uppermost in my mind."

"You know, it's quite possible that we may be one of the reasons elves and dwarfs have always been so at odds," Cael muttered.

Cael opened his mouth to answer, but Lancaeriel quickly clamped her hand over it.

"Suffice it to say that it's something I wish I had not done, despite the importance of what we were doing there," she said flatly, her face burning now. "I am not proud of what I did. The races were at odds already, and I made things worse. I was indeed a bad influence on Cael, though thankfully he outgrew it."

She yelped lightly, more out of surprise than pain, when Cael nipped her finger to make her uncover his mouth.

"I hope you washed your hands recently," he said, looking up at her. Then he turned back to Miyuki. "As I said, bad influence. So if you're going to follow her advice and get Kaito to steal Shiro's tablet-"

"Borrow," Lancaeriel interjected.

"To borrow Shiro's tablet," Cael amended, "then don't make a habit of doing such things."

"Probably the safest option," Cael agreed, raising his hands above his head to keep Lancaeriel from swatting him.

"You're going to give my student the idea that she oughtn't trust my advice," she chided her husband.

"Sometimes that's the better idea," he laughed, ducking his head down when she reached around his hands to get to him.

"Maybe they have reason," Cael laughed, taking advantage of his empty lap to roll away from Lancaeriel. He jumped to his feet and just about pounced on her, throwing his arms around her and trapping her arms at her sides. He put his chin on her shoulder and grinned at Miyuki, his brown eyes sparkling mischievously.

Lancaeriel was also laughing, not even bothering to struggle against her husband's grip on her. She also didn't want to hurt Suki, not that she was terribly worried about that - the Pokemon, she knew, could take care of herself. She was more thinking about her lyre, which was precariously balanced and slowly slipping off her lap towards the ground.

"Someone grab my lyre," she giggled. "Please."

"Thanks, Suki," Lancaeriel grinned at the Pokemon.

"Yeah, thanks, Suki," Cael grinned mischievously. "Now I don't have to be so careful."

He picked Lancaeriel up, making her squeal, and took her spot on the rock. When he had a secure position, he set his wife down on his lap triumphantly, keeping his arms around her.

"Much better," he grinned, his look every bit as catty as Kaito when he'd tricked someone into doing something he wanted.

"Ulani and Ulrich?" Cael asked curiously. "Who are they?"

He looked at Lancaeriel, but she was equally puzzled.

"Believe it or not, even I don't know," she admitted to him. Since she was trapped in his lap, she leaned back against her husband, resting her head against his shoulder. "Who are they, Miyuki? Well, distant cousins you said, but where are they, perhaps is the better question, then."