Okay, this is a short chapter. Sorry about that. The next one will be, potentially, a much longer one. So, enjoy the shorty!

Disclaimer: I don't own these people, except Valerie. Enough said. As always, I do love reviews!

Raistlin sat at his desk reading a book. It had been over a week now since they had returned from Solace, and there had been no word from the Gods. Raistlin and Valerie, for their part, had not tried to get their attention. It was an unspoken agreement to allow them time to think on their own about the impending decision.

Valerie appeared in a burst of light, and ran over to the desk. Raistlin was quite surprised, and slightly annoyed, when she pulled back on his chair, moving him away from the desk. He was then very confused when she crawled under his desk and pulled back on the chair so he was seated before it normally. He leaned to the side and looked at her, a huge and silly grin on her face, for an explanation.

She put her finger to her lips in a shush motion before whispering excitedly, "Act normal!"

Raistlin decided to play along, if only to see what might happen. He didn't have to wait long, when a knock came at the study door, followed immediately by Dalamar. Raistlin had already returned to looking in his book, and did not look up when the other mage came stalking in.

"Where. Is. She?" It sounded as though he was speaking through clenched teeth, and Raistlin resisted the urge to look up at why Dalamar was pissed.

Raistlin made his voice sound as bored as possible. "I have no idea Dalamar, have you checked the lab-"

*Ribbit*

Raistlin's head shot up, his mouth still hanging open. He had seen, out of the corner of his eye, that Valerie had put both her hands over her mouth tightly.

There was a frog on Dalamar's shoulder. And a suspicious writhing apparently coming from one of the hidden pockets on his robe.

The dark elf looked like he was trying not to knock the amphibian off and step on it repeatedly. And his eye was twitching.

Raistlin closed his mouth and blinked a few times. "Dalamar. Why is there a frog on your shoulder?" His voice sounded just mildly curious.

"I woke up, and my bed was filled with them." His eye twitched harder. "I know it was her."

"Dalamar," Raistlin kept his voice as patient as possible, "why would she do this?"

Dalamar looked at him surprised. "Haven't you noticed she's insane? There is no clear reason why she does anything!" Apparently he hadn't noticed that Valerie was no longer staying in her guest room.

Raistlin sighed slightly. "Insane or not, I'm still forbidding you to harm her." He looked Dalamar in the eye, making the elf's mouth set in a hard line. "I am not done learning about her or her world yet. Understood?"

Dalamar kept himself from bowing. "What am I supposed to do then? Simply take this ridiculous abuse and grit my teeth?"

"Do as you like, so long as it brings no harm to her." Raistlin smirked at him. "I might suggest warding your room."

Dalamar flushed, before bowing to Raistlin, the movement causing the frog to hop onto the back of his neck. He straitened quickly, causing the little frog to finally fall on the floor. He did restrain himself from stepping on it, though, and vanished from the room.

Valerie burst into laughter, still hiding under the desk. Raistlin looked down at her in annoyance. "Was that truly necessary?"

"You know," she was trying to talk through her laughter; "you know…very well…that…you found…that…funny…too!"

Raistlin looked up at nothing, and chuckled slightly. "That may be true," he moved his chair back to assist her in extricating herself from her hiding place, "but I was in the middle of studying. And unlike you, I have to study." Valerie let him help her to her feet, still laughing.

"I said I could put frogs in his bed. So…"

"You had the overwhelming need to do it." Valerie nodded enthusiastically.

"Using a powerful magical artifact for jokes." They both turned quickly to see Nuitari sitting in one of the study chairs, a look of disgust on his face.

Valerie jumped behind Raistlin. Nuitari made her feel very uneasy. Raistlin bowed respectfully, a neutral look on his face. "What can we do for you?" He let his eyes scan the room quickly and briefly; looking for the other two Gods, but only Nuitari seemed to be present.

Nuitari rose from the chair, but only came a few steps closer to the two. "We've been discussing the girl, and the artifact." He paused here to see Valerie's reaction, but although she flushed with anger, she said nothing. "Whatever magic brought her here, it should be in the book. However, we believe it is being bound from sight." He smiled slightly. "Knowing you are, no doubt, in a hurry to see the spell, we will be able to unbind it in a few days. We are busy as Gods, after all."

Raistlin once again bowed to the God. "Of course. We will both be waiting patiently for the three of you." To stay more fully hidden, even Valerie bowed when he did, but she never took her eyes from Nuitari. Nuitari inclined his head slightly, and vanished from the room.

"Is he always that creepy?" Valerie came around Raistlin and leaned against his desk.

Raistlin looked thoughtful a moment. "I don't always know exactly what you mean by 'creepy', but he is acting a little…odd." He saw Valerie bite her lower lip in concern, and smiled slightly. "He may simply be annoyed that no one on Krynn was good enough for the artifact."

Valerie brightened, "Really?" She then frowned, "Too bad for me he doesn't seem to like me much."

Raistlin shrugged. "Well, it's not as though you've given your allegiance to any of the Gods." He tilted his head to the side a bit. "Maybe you should think about doing that. Lunitari, for instance, could be a good choice for you."

She looked at him in surprise. "Aren't you supposed to endorse Nuitari?"

Raistlin waived the thought away as he sat back in his chair and made Valerie move so he could be comfortably seated at his desk. "I would only endorse him if the person in question had a nature that was compatible with his." His gaze moved to hers while she raised an eyebrow at him. "You're a little too…unpredictable…to get along well with Nuitari."

She nodded her head. "You mean that I'm too nuts."

"Semantics." He reached out for his book. "I have a need to finish my book, but I wish to speak to you at length tonight." She tilted her head to the side, curiosity lighting her eyes. "Tonight then, alright?"

Valerie nodded slowly, "Tonight, then."