Chapter 6: Dwarven Methods

"Keep your feet on the ground."

Cattie-brie heard Drizzt's quiet footsteps on the stairs as he came down from saying goodnight to the children. She hastily darted into the study, scrambled onto the back of the overstuffed sofa, and pulled herself up onto a crossbeam. She inched out into the middle of the room and hung from her knees so that she could greet him upside-down when he entered.

Only a moment later, Drizzt was in the doorway. He stopped, momentarily startled, then a smile spread across his face as he took in his wife's lithe form, curly red hair gently swaying in two feet of auburn waves beneath her head. "Sore back?" he inquired, and surprised her by easily swinging up to join her. "Aahh. Seems like a good way to stretch."

Cattie-brie snorted, but gave him a wry grin. "Ye've been givin' me strange looks ever since ye came inside. I figured I'd give ye something ta look at." She unhooked her legs from the beam and flipped down.

The smile left Drizzt's face. The return of the accent from Cattie's dwarven upbringing always signified stress. He hadn't meant to worry her. At least not yet.

"Well? D'ya have anything to say?" she demanded.

Drizzt regarded her from his upside-down vantage point, her lips pressed together, her arms crossed defensively. "Well, now that you mention it..." he began, half teasing.

"Now that I mention it?!" Cattie-brie narrowed her eyes. Her hands darted out without warning, taking advantage of his vulnerable position to viciously tickle his unprotected ribs.

"Hey!" Drizzt gasped, twisting away and nearly falling from the beam. He grabbed for her wrists but she darted back just in time. "Not fair!"

"Not fair?" she laughed. "Very rarely do I have you at a disadvantage."

"Oh?" Drizzt raised an eyebrow, still hanging from the beam. "You'd be surprised."

Cattie-brie knew why he didn't flip down – surely he was baiting her now. His eyes twinkled, but his muscles were tense and ready. She went in anyway and gave a little shriek when he grabbed her wrists, though it had been expected.

She pulled her arms down swift and hard, but she couldn't dislodge him. That hadn't gone according to plan. Cattie frowned. "Happy?"

He laughed. "Good try."

Cattie-brie grinned and began backing up, thinking to undermine his leverage, but Drizzt let go of her wrists and flipped the moment she was clear. His feet missed her head by a mere inch, but, she knew, that was his intention. "Show off."

He grinned and scooped her up suddenly, kissing her cheek before depositing her lightly on the couch. "Only for you."

She looked up at him coyly. "And the children?"

He laughed, lavender eyes sparkling. "Of course. Always for the children."

Cattie-brie smiled too. She patted the sofa beside her and he sat. "Well. You have something to say to me." It wasn't a question.

Drizzt nodded, studying the reflection of the softly flickering flames from the hearth in the study window. How to begin?

"Then say it already."

"Alright." He met her eyes. "Were you planning to tell me about the snakes?"

"What?" Cattie-brie's brow knit. "You know about the snakes."

"I do now."

She sat up a bit more, not sure what to make of his almost-stern tone. "Now?"

"Do you have any idea what you put Zaknafein through today?" His gaze was intent.

"What I put him through? Drizzt, you know Zak is scared of snakes. He has been for a long time. What d'ya mean by—" Understanding dawned, and Cattie-brie could hardly believe the accusation. Disbelief mingled with outrage. "Drizzt Do'Urden! If you think I'd deliberately send snakes into the house for our son to encounter, then you don't know me half as well as you should!"

He sat back, looking a bit like she'd struck him.

Cattie-brie sighed. "I'm sorry, I—"

"No," he cut her off. "You're right...you wouldn't. It is I who should apologize." Drizzt shook his head ruefully. "Jewel snakes don't behave that way. They avoid areas frequented by people, as far as I've observed. I just don't understand that so many have been coming in on their own, and it hardly seems a coincidence that it's always Zaknafein who encounters them."

Cattie-brie's eyes widened. "Violet?" she wondered.

Drizzt shook his head. "Not today anyway."

"She wouldn't think it was funny? She wasn't out of sight at any time?"

Drizzt tipped his head to the side, remembering the stuffed mushrooms and the deep bond between his children. "Certainly they fight and tease, but she's not cruel. She knows his fear."

"Maybe she thinks she's helping him?"

Drizzt frowned. "Possibly. But she was with me from midday until—" he stopped suddenly. "Helping," Cattie had said. The snakes had always been harmless. They were always directed to Zaknafein. "Cat...when you were afraid of something as a child, what would Bruenor do?"

"My da?" She wrinkled her nose distastefully, recalling her adoptive father's dwarven methods. "He would make me do exactly the thing I was afraid of." Cattie's eyes widened suddenly. "Drizzt, d'ya think he knows Zaknafein is afraid of snakes?"

The ranger met her eyes. "Undoubtedly. If Zak hasn't told him, Violet surely has."

Cattie-brie nodded slowly. Violet would talk the crusty old dwarf's ear off if she had the chance, and Bruenor was more than happy to let his dear granddaughter do so. She narrowed her eyes. "I'll not thank him fer interfering with our boy, I'll tell ye that!"

"Cat." Drizzt took her hand. "We don't know for sure."

She snorted. "One way to find out."

He studied her face, her expression all protective mother – colored with more than a little anger. "I don't appreciate it either," he stated, "but I do have to admit that it seems to have worked."

Cattie-brie sighed, not so willing to let go of her frustration. "Aye, it worked, but that's hardly the point!"

Drizzt inclined his head. "We go to the mines tomorrow. We'll have it out then."

"Suren' we will!"

"Cattie." Drizzt sighed. "His heart's in the right place."

"Even if his head's not?"

He smiled ruefully and nodded. "Just try to remember the heart when we adjust the head."

A/N: More to come as I edit the draft. (And yes, this chapter jumps between their thoughts too much...I do know better now, but didn't want to do a whole rewrite)! ;) Reviews are always appreciated! Thanks so much to those who have left comments thus far!