It was almost an hour later when Nolan came downstairs and headed for the bar, only to be drawn by a commotion in the street outside. His eyes widened as he saw Irisa, weaving from side to side and dragging a wooly animal along.
"Irisa? What are you doing?"
The Irathient peered owlishly at her father. "I found a pony."
Nolan bit back a smile. "That's not a pony. That's a llama."
"Well, whatever it is, I found it."
"Uh-huh."Nolan glanced around the gathering crowd. "Just where did you find it?"
"In a field. It was just standing there all alone and I climbed over the fence…" Irisa frowned thoughtfully. "It
couldn't climb so I had to open the gate."
"I see." Nolan approached his daughter, got a whiff of her breath, and counted to ten. "I think he probably belongs to somebody."
"Well, he does have a name tag." Irisa squinted at a metal plate on the animal's collar. "His name is I Belong To."
"What's his last name?"
She looked again. "Kazha Bandik."
The Castithan bartender had been watching Nolan and Irisa with interest and now he stepped forward. "That would be me." Nolan moved protectively in front of Irisa and the man smiled slightly. "Relax, friend. This fellow breaks loose from time to time on his own-he doesn't seem to have come to any harm, so you can be on your way."
Nolan shot the man a suspicious look. "That's very kind of you. What's it going to cost me?"
"Not a thing." The Castithan shrugged. "Maybe someday you can do a good turn for one of my people." Nolan seemed doubtful but Irisa pulled at his arm.
"I don't feel so good."
She swayed dizzily and her father scooped her up, holding her tightly as he turned to the bartender. "You mean it? No trouble?"
The Castithan looked wistfully at the man with his precious burden as if the sight of them conjured a memory of something bittersweet. "You have my word."