Author:  The Wanlorn

Title: For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky 28/?

Summary: I bite at summaries, so you're not getting one.

Rating: PG13 for language and stuff.

Spoilers: None that I know of.

Pairing: Eventually will touch upon all pairings I like.

Distribution: Ask and ye shall receive.

Disclaimer:  Jander and Laeral belong to WotC.  Nire, the dog, the boy, the shopkeeper, and Azrael are mine.  No money is being made, this is purely for my amusement.

Thank Yous: Thanks to my beta, Kitrine.  Thanks to all the people who talked me out of leaving home.  Without them you guys wouldn't be getting this chapter and I would be somewhere in Maine by now.  While I can't say I'm grateful that I didn't just pick up and leave then, you guys should be.

Author's Note: I'm not thinking I like this fic much, anymore.  I might be putting it away for a while to work on other things.

Story Notes:  A chapter in which the moodiness of Nire is shown.

Italics denote emphasis or thoughts.  I trust you to be smart enough to figure out which ones.  Or book names and the like.

Italics denote telepathic speech.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

            "Are you sure Az doesn't want to come?" Jander asked once more, half an hour after sunset.

            That was the wrong thing to say.  Nire stiffened and turned on her heels to face him.  Had her eyes been angrily flashing at him, it would have been so much more reassuring than the coldness in them now.  He caught himself taking a step back from her and forced himself to stay still.

            Her voice seethed at him.  "Fine," she snapped, her words clipped to add further emphasis.  "Forget it.  You didn't want to go in the first place, she just stay here and do something with Az.  You obviously much prefer his company to mine."

            "No, little one, no, that's not what I meant," he said desperately, grabbing onto her shoulder before she could leave.  The very stillness in her body as he touched her conveyed clearly that he had under a second to remove his hand or he would lose it in a bloody manner.  Not wanting to test how true that was, he hastily dropped his hand.  "I just wanted to make sure because I don't want him angry with me if he really did want to go.  I'd be doing the same to him, asking about you."

            She sighed, expressing an emotion Jander couldn't identify.  "I know, I know.  Sorry, just being over-sensitive, as usual."

            He hugged her with one arm, squeezing her shoulders slightly and letting go.  "That's why you're my little one."  He spoke slightly possessively, which neither of them noticed.  "Let's go."

            They walked together for a while, not saying a word.  Waterdeep was probably the one town where an elf and a human could walk together on the street and not get strange looks.  Jander spent the companionable time marveling over how easily her mood could swing from being about to kill him to being almost joyful to be in a big city.  He still felt awful about how she had misconstrued his words, though.  Perhaps he would make it up to her somehow tonight.  While he understood that he didn't need to buy anything for her to earn her forgiveness (which she had already granted), it made him feel better.  And she certainly didn't complain.

            While Jander was busy feeling guilty, Nire was watching the people they passed.  Her vacant eyes, suggesting that she was either simple or deeply lost in thought, were actually carefully studying everyone on the street, looking for the perfect person.  Wealthy, but not rich, preoccupied and not paying attention to the surroundings, preferably slightly baggy clothes… The perfect target caught her eye, coming down the street towards them.

            AS the man drew abreast of them, she suddenly stumbled, tripping into him.  As she jostled against him, her deft hands untied the poorly done knot that secured his money pouch to his belt and transferred it to her own pockets.  The man didn't notice, surprised as he was by having someone almost knock him over.  Jander automatically reached out a hand to steady his friend, not realizing that the whole thing was an act.

            Her balance 'regained', Nire apologized to the now penniless man.  "I am so sorry.  I'm such a klutz!  Are you okay, sir?  Terribly sorry about falling into you.  I swear, I have two left feet!  I do hope you're alright."  Her wide-eyed innocence, while putting the man at ease, was making Jander suspicious.

            "Yes, yes, I'm quite alright, young lady.  Are you okay?"  She could see in his eyes that he was itching to continue on his way, but had to perform the social necessities first.

            "Oh, yes, I'm fine.  Dreadfully sorry.  Have a nice day!" she ended cheerily, beginning to move away.

            Grinning happily, she glanced back once to make sure the man was truly moving away.  Although he had his suspicions, Jander was reluctant to confront her, in case he was wrong.  The last thing he needed was to have he thinking he didn't trust her.  Not with her being as moody as she was right now.

            His suspicions were confirmed, however, when she pulled out a little bag that jingled with coins and began shuffling through it.

            "Nire!" he exclaimed, at a loss for words.  That she would so blatantly pickpocket a man, with him right next to her…

            "What?" she asked, telling him matter-of-factly, "If they're dumb enough to let me get my fingers on it, it's their fault."

            "You can't…" he sputtered.  "I mean… That's…"

            She interrupted him, further explaining.  "Besides.  He had lots of money - you could tell by the look of him.   He's not going to miss this."

            "He most certainly will!  That was his hard-earned money!"

            "How do you know it was hard-earned?" she shot back.  "Jesus Christ!  Where do you think I get my money anyways?  It's not like I'm old enough to have a job.  And I certainly don't have parents who give me money I can spend here."

            Of course he had suspected, in the back of his mind, that this was why she had so much money on her all the time.  But he had never actually wanted to think about it.  "You have to give it back."

            "I don't have to do anything."  Get used to is, Jander.  This is me.  This is who I am.  I'm not hiding it from you any more.  Either get used to it or leave.

            Nire, that's stealing.

            No shit, Sherlock.

            He couldn't out his feelings into words, and he didn't want to just show her the feelings.  If that made him win, it would be because she took pity on how he felt, not because she saw she was wrong.

            What?  You think this is easy? she continued.  Have you ever tried to pick out a mark and jostle it just right so it doesn't know you're taking its money?

            While Jander was trying to come up with a response to that, Nire was checking to see if the man had noticed his money was gone yet.  He hadn't, but he was thinking about- "Oh fuck!" she exclaimed and whirled around, dashing to catch him.  After a moment's shock, Jander ran after her, wondering what had prompted her to take off like that.  Was she running from him?  No, the curse beforehand led him to think it was something else.

            She finally caught up with the man, panting.  "Sire!  Sire!  You dropped this, or it fell off when I crashed into you, or whatever.  Here."  She shoved the brown pouch into his hands.

            He looked surprised and gratified.  "Thank you, miss.  Here, for your trouble."

            She waved off the proffered coin.  "No trouble at all."

            Before he could try to offer again, she had turned and was running back the other way to find Jander again.  Not knowing that he was almost right behind her, she had to skid to a stop, this time really coming close to falling.  Jander caught her easily and set her on her feet.  She almost dragged him back the way they were going.

            "Care to explain?" he asked her as they moved away.  There was a look that almost passed for guilt on her face.

            "I've really got to learn to check their surface thoughts first.  His father just died and left him lots of money.  They were dirt poor before 'cause his dad wouldn't give 'em any money for some reason.  And now he's buying stuff for his family.  An' I can't take money from someone like that.  Contrary to what you think, I do have some morals."

            A frustrated growl escaped from Jander's lips.  "How can I make you understand this?"

            "The same question has been running through my head," she responded dryly.  Unbeknownst to him, she had already chosen another mark.  As the woman brushed past Nire, her fingers slithered in and drew out enough money to keep her happy.  She pocketed it while the woman walked on, oblivious.

            "How would you feel if you were in their place, little one?" Jander finally asked.

            "Assuming I had plenty to spare?" she asked, thinking it over for a minute.  "Well, if it wasn't some other rich dude, I wouldn't care."

            "Yes you would!" he cried, even though he couldn't sense a lie.

            "I would not.  Just drop it.  Neither of us are going to win, and I don't want to be pissed at you."

            He sighed in frustration, but did as she requested.  It wasn't worth getting in a fight over it now.  When she was in a better mood, he would confront her again.  He couldn't help but wonder what made her so touchy today.  There wad always that sneaking suspicion that her family had done something again.  She wouldn't tell him, though.  No, she preferred to keep everything bottled up inside and pretend that nothing bothered her.  The problem was, sometimes, he wasn't sure if she was pretending.

            As it was, if he pressed her to talk, it would merely make her more irritable.  He just… he just wished that she trusted hi enough to talk to him.  They walked silently for a while, Jander strewing about all of that and Nire stewing about hwy he couldn't see her side of the thing.

            They turned down a side street at the same time, expecting the other one to follow.  So alike were they in their thinking, their want to get away from the crowds and onto a quieter street, that it seemed they had discussed it beforehand.  Nire absently kept track of the buildings they went by, waiting for something to catch her eye.  And something finally did.

            "Oh my God!  They're adorable!"  She stopped so abruptly that Jander kept walking for a few steps before realizing she wasn't beside him.

            She had stopped in a place between two buildings.  A relatively clean boy, definitely from the bad end of town, was standing there.  At first, Jander couldn't see what she was cooing over, but then she knelt down.  Sweet Lathander, a box of puppies.  All he could do as pray that she wasn't like every other female in the world.  Otherwise…

            "How old are they?" Nire asked, scratching the perky ears of all four puppies.  Four bushy tails wagged in response, red tongues dangling.

            "Six weeks ol', miss."

            The runt of the litter was drawing her attention the most.  The other three were yipping and bouncing, trying to get out of the box.  They were a shadowy gray color, reminding her in passing of huskies.  All four had blue eyes, but the black fur of the runt made the eyes stand out even more.  It was just standing there, its tongue lolling happily, tail sweeping back and forth slowly.  Nire could have sworn the puppy was laughing at her.

            "What kind of dogs are they?"

            "Um… They're not 'zactly dogs, miss.  Their mum was half wolf, an' their da was a full wolf."

            "Neat!" she exclaimed, reaching her hands down to pick up the black one.

            "Er… She might bite'cha, miss.  She's a moody 'un."

            Nire ignored the warning and picked up the puppy, cuddling it to her chest.  The not-short-but-not-long fur was soft as goose down.  "Aw,' she cooed, "you're so sweet, yes you are.  You're a pretty puppy!"

            As befit what he was, Jander had been hanging back.  The puppies were to young to be able to sense what he was unless he was really close to them.  It wouldn't do to have them go into a frenzy of barking and draw attention to him.  Although he hid it well, he was nervous, being here.

            But when Nire summoned him over, he came, albeit reluctantly.  "Jander!  C'mere!  Isn't she adorable?"

            As soon as he got close, the puppy began to growl menacingly and snapped at him, struggling to get out of Nire's arms.  "Knock it off, missy," Nire said gently, in that high-pitched voice people use to talk to animals.  "He's not going to hurt anyone."

            Jander could have died of shock when it actually stopped growling.  "Yes, she is a beauty," he commented as Nire continued to soothe the pup.

            "Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a dog like her around?" she asked slyly.

            "Oh no, no no no no no," Jander began protesting immediately.  "You can't take her home and I certainly can't keep her for you."

            "Of course you can!" Nire wasn't about to give this up without a fight.

            "No!"  Two sentences.  She had spoken two sentences and he was already losing.

            "Please?" She used all of her acting skills to make her eyes big and sad, pleading with him.

            "Well…" He couldn't relent.  Could not.  Animals did not like vampires.  Although, whatever Nire had done seemed to have calmed this one down.  And it really was a pretty puppy.  What could it hurt?  No.  Three-quarters wolf?  With all the time he spent on the road now, as soon as the pup grew up, it would be gone.

            He tried explaining this to Nire, but she didn't care.  "Big whoop!  If it happens, it happens.  Then it was meant to be.  C'mon, Jander, please?  Lookit 'er!"  She held the black pup up for inspection.  It looked around, blinking its eyes a little, and let out a half-hearted growl at Jander.

            Resisting Nire was futile.  The street urchin didn't interrupt, seeing the girl working her magic on the elf.  Jander wasn't sure how anyone could say no to Nire.  It wasn't like she asked for much, anyway.  But when she did ask… Maybe it was just him.  Maybe only he was powerless against her hidden charms.

            "I suppose…" he said, reluctant to admit defeat.  Maybe the price would save him.  "How much?"

            Nire's voice, thanking him over and over, drowned out the boy.  Before he could ask again, she said, "Don't worry about it.  Here, this'll be enough."

            She pressed a couple coins into the boy's hand and fairly dragged Jander off, the boy exclaiming behind them, "Thank you, miss!  Thank you!"

            "How much did you give him and where did you get it?" Jander asked suspiciously.

            "Enough and none of you damned business.  And don't worry, it wasn't from your pockets.  That's rule number one - never take from friends."  She was grinning as she cuddled the puppy.  "Come on, let's go find a pet store of some kind."

            Jander sighed, walking on the side away from where she was carrying the puppy.  While he didn't doubt that she was serious about that first rule, it still disturbed him that she had rules like that at all.  The only one she needed was "Don't do it period".  He knew were a shop of the kind she was speaking of was located and led her there.  While she looked through all of the fancy items, she talked to the black puppy, asking its opinion on things.  The most it would do as lick Nire's chin in response.  But Nire took the little licks as some sort of sign, and kept moving back through the building.

            While he had known the place was here, Jander had never chanced into it.  He could not believe all of the… the crap they had in here for animals.  He had to wonder what would possess anyone to buy something jewel-studded for their pet.  Luckily, Nire was passing by all of that, heading for the back.

            "What are you looking for, little one?" he ventured to ask.

            "Something right," was her vague answer.  "And," she added afterwards, "something that's not ugly and covered with stupid ugly sparkly jewels.  Yuck.'  The pup  barked in agreement.

            No, the wolf pup did not bark in agreement.  It couldn't understand what Nire was saying, the yip was mere chance.  Jander followed Nire, shaking his head sadly at having fallen into the trap of the blue-eyed puppy so easily.

            After brushing off the shopkeeper, Nire stopped in the very back of the place.  "This is where all the good stuff is, right puppy?" Yip.  "Back here," Nire continued, "is where they keep all the stuff they have but don't like the admit they have."

            Jander fought back a sigh of relief.  It was an unequivocal fact that he would be paying for whatever she picked out.  He would have to start making and selling more carvings.  Ever since the two kids - Nire and Azrael - had attached themselves to him, there were times when he had to sacrifice quality for quantity on the things he made.  It galled him to do so, but otherwise, the two would drain him dry.  No pun intended.  Now he understood why the word 'no' was such an important part of every parent's vocabulary.  He just couldn't make himself use it.  There were still quite a few pieces he was working on that were the quality he usually worked at, but others were made in between, churned out just so he had some kind of cash on him.

            "What about this one, puppy?" Nire held up a simple leather collar, brown and without decoration, while the puppy sniffed at it and the shopkeeper hovered unhappily behind Jander.  "That's a yes, honey?  Mmkay, hold that, Jander."

            He took the collar thrust back at him, and the whole scenario continued.  The pup would yip, Nire would take that as a yes, and something else would be handed to him.  In the end, he was carrying the leather collar, a leash to match, two wooden bowls for food and water, and some kind of rope toy.  The woman looked disappointed that all they were buying was the cheap items, nothing fancy.  When she tried to convince Nire, and then Jander to look at more expensive things, the puppy growled and snapped at her, little white teeth clicking together.  Nire didn't apologize or tell the puppy to knock it off.  The lady got the hint, though, and led them to the counter.  Nire shuffled impatiently, the puppy still growling at the shopkeeper, waiting for Jander to pay so they could leave.

            Back out on the sidewalk, Nire knelt on the ground and out the puppy down, taking the bags from Jander.  She talked to the little animal as she fastened the collar around its neck.  "There ya go.  You're such a pretty puppy!  And what a pretty collar you have."  Even buckled as tight as it would go, the leather hung loosely around its neck.  "There.  You'll grow into that, yes you will.  You wanna walk or be carried some more?"

            The black pup sat down and yawned, so Nire picked it up again.  It leaned over her shoulder, looking particularly happy, and watching all the people walking past.  Silent once more, it's little pink tongue lolled out of its mouth.  Jander had ot admit that it was a cute thing.  Now he could be sure that Nire had totally forgiven him for earlier.  It would be interesting to see if the pup became hostile again once Nire wasn't around.  While he was curious as to what her special hold over animals was, she didn't appear to know, and it was just another piece of her, so he wasn't too curious to question it.

            "What are you going to name it?" he asked as they began walking again.

            "Her, Jander.  What am I going to name her," Nire corrected as the puppy nuzzled her neck.  "And I don't know yet.  She's mostly wolf, so it will have to be something cool.  Something from another language that sounds uber awesome."

            "Like etriel?" he asked.

            "Not cool enough," she immediately said.  "Besides, doesn't that mean something like princess?  That's dumb."

            "Oh?" he asked casually.  "Then what is 'cool'?"

            "Dunno.  Something like… Fang, or Darkness, or Death-on-Four-Legs."  She turned to grin at him, a wicked gleam in her eyes.  "Preferably, something in Latin, or something like that."

            "Not Elvish?" he asked, somewhat petulantly.

            "No, not Elvish.  It's too… I don't know.  But Latin is good.  Romulus and Remus and all."

            Jander didn't understand the reference, not having read up extensively on Roman myths, so Nire took the time to tell him the legend.  When she finished, the nameless puppy had fallen asleep on her shoulder.

            "In conclusion, it has to be a cool name because wolves are cool.  And Latin is cool.  Maybe something odd, like Nameless or Nothing or Nobody, ey?"

            He had to laugh at her strange choices.  "I pity your kids," he told her.

            "I'm never having kids," was her flippant answer.  "Or a husband.  Too much work, too much time, and I hate people."

            "So what am I?" he joked.  "Chopped liver?"

            "No, you're Jander.  Special allowances are made for people named Jander, Raistlin, Azrael, et cetera."

            "Glad to hear that, little one."  He grinned at her, perfect white teeth flashing in the glow of the streetlights.

            Jander saw Laeral Silverhand only a second before she saw him, their eyes meeting.  Before he could escape, make a gate and disappear, Nire's hand had clamped onto his wrist.  He wasn't getting out of this.

~~End Chapter Twenty-Eight~~