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"I hope to see soes But I hate unpleasant talk at the beginning of the day Draw sos, won’t you?"

Fourfang showed ad a bucket and a bristle The Copper watched the blighter hile Rhea cleaned and filed his claws Fourfang scrubbed his hands in the bucket after finishing the floor

"Much better Now go down and get yourself a dried apple One for Rhea, too; I think she’s exhausted froer ca returned fro air shaft and through the Gardens, where Si honeyed beetles

"Co You must see them You don’t posses any beauty, but you have an eye for it Oh! What did I say An eye? I beg your pardon"

The Copper wasn’t in the mood for Simevolant’s jokes "I’ with SiDrakkon; you’ve ti of which, look at the purples; doesn’t it rather re color," the Copper said

"I’ve been staring at these flowers allYou know, no two are alike? Why do flowers differentiate? The petals are just going to drop in a little while anyway, and unless you get right up under them, it’s hard to tell I wonder why they bother"

The elf cleared his throat

"Don’tone all sad I’ll have your hair plucked out by its roots for that" The golden drake stood up

"I can’t keep our Tyr waiting," the Copper said, putting himself between the drake and the elf "I must be off, cousin"

The elf led hiers, ifts themselves or with thralls to carry the load, waited Curtains blocked the far end, and the elf slipped through them

A few moments later the Copper heard a heavy tread, and before the curtains could even be opened SiDrakkon storainst sos to clear his way, but SiDrakkon was staring at soestured for the Copper to coh a door of stone and steel that turned on a central pivot, and two blighters rushed in with braziers burning incense to clean away the angry shly oval, with the door at one end and a shelf at the other A cascade of gold coins and taterfalls of silver old The walls were stacked with glittering, polished samples from the Imperial horde, the metallic art of a thousand orthickly about the back of his shelf, and pleasing arorances emanated from behind them

Polished wooden shafts like ribs ran up either side of the cha at a peak in the top Captured banners, so here Above the banners were four riffaran, with polished metal talon extenders on their forilant as hawks They looked strong enough to tear hiriffaran let out a friendly click from the side of its aard, don’t let the bodyguards worry you Come forward, and we’ll talk"

The Copper smelled NoSohoth so the Tyr’s shelf

"What service can I do you, your honor?"

"I should be asking you that, drake Take a old No, don’t pretend; just enjoy I’ve more than I could ever eat if I live to be another thousand"

The Copper sed a mouthful of coin The heavy yet soft metallic tastethe Tyr asked of him

Which, he supposed, was the point

"I wanted a quick chat with you without a dozen ears listening to every word"

"Yes, Tyr?"

"According to Nivom, you’re one of the better drakes in the Drakwatch, yet you always get overlooked because of your…well, let’s be frank about it, your injuries"

The Tyr stood on his shelf and turned, as though finding a more comfortable spot fro, as from a burn, on the inside of one saa He’d never seen the injury before, but then, the Tyr always rested so it was hidden against his underside