Skif blinked as a bee buzzed near his face. He also would have blushed, if Stefen had not resumed the conversation as casually as if he had not interrupted it to talk to Skif alone :There's no great virtue in being lifebonded, you know. It's a lot like having a Predestined Fate; often uncomfortable, frequently inconvenient, usually hazardous.:
Skif shook his head, and waved the bee away. He had often envied Talia and Dirk - how could Stefen say something like that? Wasn't being lifebonded the ultimate love?
"I thought lifebonding was something to be sought above all else," Nyara replied dubiously.
:That's the poets' and Bards' interpretation,: Stefen said with a grimace :It has far more to do with compatibility than with love, and the match is more random than, say - finding two people from different countries with exactly the same eye color. When you're lifebonded, your choices are limited to the things you both want, because if your lifebonded is unhappy, so are you. It takes two very strong, well-established personalities to make a lifebonded pair work, because if one is passive, he 'II be eaten alive by the other.:
"That doesn't sound very pleasant," Skif put in. "In fact it doesn't even sound - romantic. It sounds like a disease."
Stefen laughed :I don't know about a disease, but it isn't love, that's for certain, even though love usually cements the bond. Van thinks that it's likelier that someone with an extremely powerful Gift of some kind and a tendency to deep depression will be lifebonded than someone who is not so burdened and hag-ridden. That's so the Gifted-and-suicidal half has someone outside of himself to keep him stable and give him an external focus. But - all we know is that while it's rare, it isn't something to yearn after.:
"To think I've envied Talia all this time - " Skif mused. And at Stefen's puzzled look, he added, "That's the current Queen's Own."
:Of course, the one with all the Empathy! 'Fandes almost swatted her once, when she thought the girl was going to lose all controclass="underline" Before Skif could express his surprise, Stefen went on :I liked her, though - so, she lifebonded? You shouldn't be too surprised. I'll bet I can describe her lifemate. Strong, kind, thoughtful, intelligent, tends to keep his feelings to himself, the kind of man everyone knows they can depend on. Little children and animals love him immediately.:
"That's Dirk!" Skif exclaimed.
:So, that illustrates my point. Love now - a good, solid love is something infinitely rarer and more difficult to maintain, because you don't know everything your partner is feeling. Love takes work. Love means being able to apologize and mean it when you blunder. Love is worth fighting for!: Stefen sounded absolutely fierce :One of the very things that made what Van and I have a love-match as well as a lifebonding was that we were so different. It is like a marriage - you marry who you think your beloved is, and then discover who they really are over the years. It's that discovery that makes a marriage work :
:We did have things in common, lots of them, but you would never have assumed that from first seeing us. It made hunting and finding them all the sweeter. And it gave us chances to introduce each other to something new. You two have that same opportunity. Van and I took pride in being different - we enjoyed the diversity to be found among people of all kinds, and we enjoyed the diversity in the two of us.:
Before Skif could react to this, Need spoke up :All very pretty, I'm sure,: she said scathingly :But this is Skif we're talking about. You're assuming the young lout has enough imagination to recognize diversity.:
"Of course he has imagination!" Nyara exclaimed immediately. "How can you say something so stupid?"
:Oh, he has about as much imagination as he has sensitivity,: Need continued as if she hadn't noticed Nyara's angry exclamation :Frankly, I think both of you are giving him more credit than he deserves.:
Skif wisely kept his mouth shut. He thought he saw what Need was up to. Furthermore, Stefen, after all his impassioned speeches, was keeping quite, quite silent -
And Nyara had taken his hand in a most unmistakably possessive manner. With her other hand, she drew Need from her sheath. Need rasped on. When she insulted Skif's sexual prowess, Nyara pitched the sword away with a hiss.
Skif held Nyara closer. She glared at the discarded sword.
:Well, I've tried to shake you before, but this is going to be the last time,: the sword said, sounding pleased :If I can't rattle your faith in each other, no one can.:
:Exactly so, you crafty woman,: Stefen replied :You see, Skif? If her heart doesn't lie with you, then I know nothing of the heart - and as a Bard that has been my special study for a long time. And Nyara - he trusts you enough to allow you to fight your own battle and win, even when he is the target. Love is as much trust as it is devotion.:
Nyara's face relaxed, then she snorted a tension-breaking laugh and picked up Need. "You fooled me again, you chunk of lead. But - I was not perfectly ????--missing--
Skif smiled. Life was very, very good at the moment.
:Oh, there is no such thing as perfection, or a "perfect" love - Van and I still argue and even become angry with each other,: Stefen countered :It annoys the birds and small animals to no end when we do. I doubt there is even perfection in the Havens. Wouldn't perfection be a bore?:
:Build on what you have, children,: Need said gruffly :The foundation is a good one, so now see what kind of a house you can raise. And don't worry if the windows aren't the right size, the door is too tall, or there's dust on the mantelpiece. Just make sure the walls and the ceiling are sound, and make certain your home holds laughter. The dust will take care of itself.:
"I think we can do that," Skif told Need, feeling much better about the entire relationship than he ever had before. "We'll certainly try." He squeezed Nyara's hand, not noticing the claws. "And we'll succeed. Won't we?" he finished, looking into her eyes. "Oh, yes," she answered, smiling. "I know we will."
Treyvan curled his tail around his haunches and waited beside the cave for his mate. He needed to have a discussion with her that he did not want anyone to overhear. Especially not certain interfering spirits....
It had been two days since their unexpected arrival in the Forest of Sorrows. The gryphlets had taken it all in stride, as they always did, and found excuses to chase things and chew on them at every opportunity. Rris had been as faithful as a hertasi and infinitely patient. Firesong had apparently come to grips with his changing status - that is, not being fawned over - and his dyheli companion remained nonplussed. And Vree - well, Vree had resumed hunting crest-feathers. Treyvan tolerated that. It was something familiar in an unfamiliar environment.
It had taken that long to make certain everything was ready for the Gate to go up - and for Vanyel's protective spells to corne down. When the moment came, it would feel to the gryphons like the magical equivalent of a change in air pressure before a storm, then all would be calm. Valdemar had been alerted, and there would be an escort waiting for Elspeth and her friends at the terminus of the Gate.