Daemion firmed his lips slightly against a triumphant smile as Naomi laughed away the thought of all her dreams coming true. He had her. Beyond that, she was smart. Only a fool wouldn't see the folly in such an occurrence. Still a willing fool was often easier to use to one's own ends.<em>Rain's safety must be paramount,</em>he reminded himself. Nothing was more important to him. This trek was dangerous for her in more ways than one.<br/><br/>"She will need protection. A good deal of it," He agreed. "Fighting is not something she's ever been able to abide. She was trained as well as could be managed, but it's all forms. She refuses to use those skills on others." No need to tell her why. She'd figure that out soon enough for herself like as not. "She's too sweet for her own good."<br/><br/>His eyes moved to her neck, when she reached up and began to toy with a vial there that he hadn't noticed before. He'd seen similar, usually they contained a medicine, or some form of magically substance. He was tempted then, to ask her what her's contained, but he held his tongue. The more questions he asked, the more she was likely to. She was strong and healthy enough, that was all that mattered. He did smile when her eyes rose to his as she agreed to go along with his proposal. It only widened when he heard her condition.<br/><br/>"But of course," He agreed. "After all, that's what I'm rewarding you for. Of course, convincing her that she doesn't know what's best for her may not be quite so easy. I'm sure you've noticed how pig headed she is about this. She's very opinionated, but usually not stupid, if it's clear that she's in imminent danger there's a very good chance she'll listen to the most rational voice she hears. Make sure that's yours."<br/><br/>He reached his hand inside his coat then, and took out bracelet sized chain with a small glass encased flower charm on it, holding it out to her. "This is enchanted, it will allow you to communicate with me over any amount of distance so long as we are on the same Plane. Once you enter the Shadow, it will be useless, but hopefully it won't come to that point. Ensure that Rain does not see that, she'll recognize it, and if she links you to me, she may leave your company. Then again, she might not. It's a risk I'd rather not see run." With his other hand, he tossed a small coin purse onto the table. "To cover any expense you may have need of. Do you have any more questions?"<br/><br/><div align="center">***</div><br/><br/>"You may not have started it, but you did finish it," Rain found herself muttering rather darkly as the dwarf turned down the mop that Harlan had offered him and sat down to finish his drink instead. It was uncharitable of her, and she knew it, but this mess had almost entirely been made by him, even if he had just been defending himself. There was something so fundamentally unfair about Harlan being left with all the clean up that it irked her just a little.<br/><br/>"No need to fuss yerself lass," Harlan whispered softly to her as he passed by. "I can look after myself." Then he raised his voice and took on his authoritative voice. "There'll be no more ale for you until this mess is cleaned so I suggest ye help if you're wanting yer precious booze." He called to the Dwarf as he went about setting the tables. The door opened, and a rugged, travel stained man entered the Inn.<br/><br/>She would never know then if it had been Harlan's words, or the entrance of this new man who offered to help that got the Dwarf up out of his chair, but he took the mop, and started using it. She shook her head at him, and continued giving the bar a thorough wiped down as she smiled at the new entrant.<br/><br/>"Hello," She called, musical voice light and welcoming. "I'm afraid we're not quite available for business at the moment. If you really do wish to help, you're welcome to grab the broom and sweep up some of this debris. Don't feel you must though."<br/><br/>The Dwarf approached her then, and she almost scowled at him, except for just a moment as he was introducing himself he looked sad. Extremely sad. Rain sighed. The sadness was quickly overcome by anger though, intense anger, and then he was off, scrubbing at the floor as if he was trying to resurface it. He was in pain then. Maybe she'd been too harsh. "I'm sure you're wrong." She called to the Dwarf, and finally done with the bar moved on to cleaning up the righted tables.<br/>