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Finally Finished! Enjoy this new chapter!

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Two days ago he would have thought this as being insane. Will was simply astonished by the spectacle unfolding before him. Just moments ago his two closest and only friends had begun to mate in front of him in a bed only a short distance away, and they had even left the door wide open for him to join them if he found the courage. Will didn't wish to join in partly due to an inner turmoil he was still coping with, but also because he truly felt this night belonged to them. It felt right that way.

It wasn't until now that Will could understand exactly how large Roth was built. He didn't have to guess that as far as 'Kin go, Roth was...well endowed. He had never had the opportunity to see him erect before, even when he was helping him with his painting of Velena. That part of body was always kept in good order when he was outside the bedroom. But now, wow. Feelings of inadequacy abound, most assuredly!

Velena was positioned onto her hands and knees with Roth rutting against her from behind and Will could see how much he was stretching her opening with his girth. She was moaning and gasping with every rough thrust of his hips, which seemed to gyrate in a well plotted rhythm to rub his length decisively across her inner walls more so than what a simple straight thrust would have achieved. He was doing well enough to coax Vel into such a state of arousal that with every backward stroke of his length he drug out a splash of her natural fluids to soak the bedding beneath them.

Then, quickly, Roth gave a fierce thrust to bury himself deep and she let out a startled gasp. He now had his hands gripping the base of her tail accompanied by a shallow bucking of his hips that drove him roughly into her deepest regions. His knuckled were turning white as he held onto her, desperately wild. All the while, Velena was huffing and babbling broken sentences that neither male could quite understand. She was literally drunk on his love and his spear.

Will watched on with rapt attention as she tried in vain to form words through the noises spilling from her mouth and dripping slit. Roth was much in a similar state with an expression of pure bliss etched across his snout. Both the dragon's eyes seemed to be fighting to see whose eyes could roll back the farthest. Velena was winning for the simple reason that she was being skillfully bred by a male who had not mated in quite some time. Roth tilted his head slightly and looked at Will and grinned in his direction, which made the human blush fiercely. The male's tongue was trying to escape his mouth like a panting dogs. To say the pair was driven wild by their lust may have been an understatement. Was it always like this?! Will could not keep himself from wondering.

Roth took Vel by the hips and slid himself free of his beloved's folds. She protested at first until he rolled her onto her side and he leaned down over her to press his tongue into her mouth where she was quickly silenced be their kiss. Roth lay draped over her slender frame while his hands worked down to lift her leg, spreading them wide. Will could see her vent clearly and saw how open it was from the mating it had endured before, and he then wondered again if it was always this...passionate when she and Roth mated. Was this why human women did not enjoy sex as much as men? Does this happen with humans?! Even as his mind wandered her hole continued to drool with her arousal and it even seemed to wink as if begging to be filled again. Roth pinned her down and moved his head so he could glance at Will sideways.

The dragon lined up his shaft with his favorite slit and slowly pressed it back in. Will answered Roth's gaze with a shy smile framed by a flushed face and the dragon smiled back and looked down at his handy work. He was giving a show for his friend; for he knew he did not wish to join them this night. Might as well offer him a clear view, right? The rutting continued as desperately as it did before with Roth now uttering noises along with Vel. His grunts and guttural moans were feral and needy. He was burning with a desire for an intense release and Vel's slit was clutching and squeezing at his dick to drive him to it with pleasure enough to spare an army.

For several minutes Will could only stare dumbfounded at the sight of Roth's huge shaft vanishing and reappearing inside Vel's warm tunnel. The dragon was certainly close to a foot long and impressively thick. He was surely the envy of every male alive who had the power of speech and reason! He wasn't even able to get his entire length inside her! She would grunt with every impact as his shaft bumped against the back of her tunnel. Will had ignored his own loins up to this point. He could not shake the feelings of inadequacy that Roth was instilling in him, though he knew it wasn't intended at all. Will was actually grateful for him. Velena deserved this kind of pleasure, and Roth was built to provide it in spades. Roth was also a man who deserved such a creature of beauty, as Velena certainly was.

Roth was quickening his pace and even Will, with his lack of experience, understood the clear sign of a male nearing climax. He was male himself after all. The dragon whipped Vel onto her back and he planted himself firmly inside her and slid himself out again almost to the tip of his length, then plowed it back in again. He did this several times forcing a cry and gasp from Vel every time he did it. She found her voice then, though broken and half coherent it was.

"R-Roth! Yes, p-please!" She only spoke when the majority of him was outside her hole for when he pushed back in she was left speechless. Her voice hung with urgency and his hips worked faster and harder with desperation. His rasping breathe grew quicker and rougher as his hands found his love's chest. He kneaded her tender breasts and lust engorged nipples while plundering the warmth between her legs. The bedding was soaked from her juices and the noises from their place of meeting filled the room loudly. "I-I beg of you! D-dea- Roth! Ah, bree! Breed me!" Will flushed in the face of hearing the intimate cries coming from her mouth.

"Ta-Take me, m-make me! Oh!" she was degenerating into a babbling mess of pleas for his release, for an act that, under normal circumstances, would have resulted in her holding in her belly his children. She was begging him to fill her with his seed and make her heavy with young. Will knew how that would work on Roth's mind and the expected reaction occurred. Roth's back arched and he lunged forward driving every centimeter of his twitching organ into his beloved, and then he roared. His body vibrated as if the Earth itself were shuddering, and Vel could do nothing but stare wide eyed into space with her body held tight and rigid, her arms outstretched to grasp wildly at her lover's chest.

Roth quickly recovered, though he still shook from his ongoing release. Will could not see it, but Roth was still pumping his seed into the hot depths of Velena's slit. He turned and looked at Will again with a great big smile on his face, half dazed and smitten with sated lust and love. Will didn't know what to do aside from return the smile and nod deeply. Roth would have laughed had he the strength, but he did not. William now saw the pool of white growing under Vel's tail as stream of Roth's seed leaked down her tail and buttocks. When the male finally freed himself Vel's slit was spread open wide and filled to the brim with white nectar. Will would have been shocked at any other time, but for now it was purely erotic. Roth was admiring his handiwork as he stared down as he held himself up above a now spent and exhausted Velena. His cock still dangled rigid and pulsing like a heartbeat as seed leaked from its tip in a steady, albeit weak, drizzle. Velena was smeared with Roth's produce and yet the man was still making it! He had been long due for a release it truly seemed!

"And, hah, that, Will, is how," he breathed heavy and forced out his words slow and careful less he blur them with his weariness, " I treat the woman I love most." And then Roth collapsed exhausted into a dead slumber, shaft softening finally but with a trail of seed to show he was not quite empty. Now there was silence aside from Will's and their heavy breathing. He assumed both of them were asleep and he stood shakily to return to his bedchamber, in shock over the night's happenings. It would take all night and morning to work through it all in his head.

"Will?" Vel's voice spoke softly behind him as he made to leave, it being very weak from her near constant and loud mating cries.

"Y-yes, Vel?" His voice was weak too, but only to not disturb either of his weary friends.

"Lay with us, this night. Please. You were our witness to our love. Please share with us this night as you did before." Will would have to put off his thoughts for now. His heart told him and he obeyed. He let the towel fall to the floor and he joined them by lying beside Vel. There were plenty of pillows and blankets for all. Roth was still sleeping, but Vel had wakefulness in her yet. "I thank you so much, Will. We played and teased before, but not tonight. I pleaded it of him, Will, and he gave!" she was lit with joy, though her desire for rest was clear in her eyes seen through heavy lids.

"I was waiting for him to do something. I guess you, or we, finally gave him the right incentive." He said. She smiled and weakly tried to pull Will in closer to her, which he had to do himself for she did not have the strength. When he got near enough she nuzzled his neck and licked at him several long moments before ending it with a kiss. She slid her tongue into his mouth and let it linger as she tasted him and slowly pulled free.

"We both love you, Will." And she was near to passing out into sleep. Before she did he quickly added, "As I the two of you." And she was asleep with a smile. Roth was smiling too but for a different reason, though Will knew if he had been awake he would be smiling just the same as Vel was. How...odd it all was. Bizarre, really. Well, he thought, at least it's done with people I can trust. That was a strong enough assurance of safety to permit him sleep. He was remarkably tired for all the little he had actually done. Perhaps it was the excitement, and then sleep took him.

It was some time later, an early hour in the morning. He had learned that he was generally the first to wake up, especially if Velena had mated with someone that night. As he expected his two friends were sleeping beside him. The memories of yesterday's events came to him, though the shock of it had worn of considerably after a night's rest. The whole of the previous day seemed a blur, but each event was recorded smartly. Perhaps he should have expected it, or even anticipated something like it happening. He sighed audibly and smile at himself. He tended to get himself into such unusually straights. He needed to paint... The daily ritual was calling and his body ached to do something as was its custom at this hour. That was the pain of being so determined to keep a schedule. Whenever you broke it, it tried to break you out of every moment of relaxation. Velena's bed was more comfortable than his own, and he really hated it when he sat upright to leave it.

"Leaving, Will?" he felt a touch on his hand and saw that it was Velena, who seemed to have woken up when he had, or was woken up by him.

"A slave to my trade, I'm afraid." She smiled.

"Perhaps you could delay yourself ever so much for me?"

"Have you grown tired of Roth already, my word Vel, how can I ever be expected to last you?" she gave him a mock scowl and wrapped her hand around his.

"We have things to discuss, concerning last night." Ah, it was to happen of course. They couldn't ignore it, and knowing them they would be as open as the sky.

"Then I shall stay." She continued her smile and beckoned him to lie back down. When he rejoined her she rolled herself over and draped half her body over his own and hugged him. Will was taken aback slightly, but really she did this often enough. Though she was usually standing at the time and it looked like a hug.

"You are our witness, Will. That is a wonderful thing for me and Roth, but it shames me to say we did not...offer you a moment to choose if you would accept such a role."

"I see." He needed to know more, but it was apparent this was something that was going to bother Vel a great deal, and if it bothered her it would almost certainly bother Roth as well. "Explain what this means then, so I can understand." She nodded.

"It is uncommon these days, but there is a time when we of the 'kin choose a mate. If both, like me and Roth, have a person in our company whom we both deeply love and cherish then we may wish them to witness our confession of love to one another. It is just a tradition, but it is a very important one if it's done. We should have stopped ourselves and given you time to know."

"I think you chose well, Vel." She still seemed grave.

"A witness isn't supposed to be...sprung into the position without notice. It's not right."

"Neither of us knew what was going to happen yesterday. It is not anyone's fault. We are each to blame." She knew he was right, but it still hurt. "I am very blessed to have met both of you. I will be your witness, Vel."

She seemed so relief and she sighed deeply. She allowed herself to go limp against him and he took her in his arms. Things were becoming oh so very complicated, but he could manage, he figured.

"It may have also been too sudden to ask you to join us." He chuckled at her after she said it. "Roth will need to return to his chambers after he wakes. You and I can mate if you wish it, that way you would be more at ease with the idea of it being with us." Will breathed in deep and was feeling a little red. He was just outright propositioned for sex. Bluntly, pointedly, decisively issued a formal invitation! He had never before received even a quarter of that, and from a drunk girl even! Oh wow, he thought as his head seemed to spin. Velena could sense his surprise and took her turn to chuckle at him.

"My, it has been a long time since you last mated. I can't imagine anyone still acting so sheepish who wasn't a-. Will, when was the last time you mated?" she sounded serious and bumped the top of her snout up under his chin beckoning him for a proper and honest answer. Might as well admit to it, Will conceded to himself.

"I have never mated, Vel. Came close, but I am glad I did not then, because it would have been the wrong way to lose it." He seemed so much worse being a virgin when you have to say it out loud to someone. Velena didn't immediately respond, but she didn't react negatively.

"You never told either of us?" she asked.

"It's not a subject I'm particular proud of. It seemed worse when I first came here, with your people mating so often. And then, after a time, it didn't seem important. I did not entertain any notions of mating with a dragon, Vel. I did not intend any harm to come of it, if there was any."

"No. Just I would have been- no. Will, I am excited and blessed to be able to know that I will be the first person you have mated with. And you are Roth and mine's witness, this makes it ever so much more special!" she was building in excitement and energy with her sleepiness shedding off quickly.

"I, I didn't know." He didn't know what to say! She didn't need him to say anything and she embraced him front to front and met his mouth with her own. Her tongue explored his mouth and she pressed her breasts against his chest where he could feel their softness. Roth decided he could no longer sleep through both a conversation and the sounds of breathing and kissing right next to him.

"And I see you are not going to wait for me?" Roth chuckled as he rolled onto his side, head propped onto his hand and elbow dug into the pillow under him.

"Roth, Will decided-", Velena began but Will cut in.

"I am proud to be your witness, Roth. I'm glad that you both thought well enough of me to choose me. It's an honor." Will bowed his head to him and Roth needed a moment to let the pieces click into place.

"I am glad as well, my friend. Will, it pleased the both of us, I am sure, that you're as comfortable with us as we are of you. Seeing as how you're in Vel's bed locked mouth to mouth." He laughed then fooling both his lover and friend into believing he had been building up to something grand and not a joke. Velena scolded him for being so light with the matter at hand, but Will could only laugh with him while trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Roth, this is serious, we did not ask him as well should have!"

"I do not see a disgruntled and offended man in our bed, Vel. Will seems quite content, though I am sure he still feels odd about the whole thing." Roth looked to Will for his say.

"Indeed, it was odd. Humans do not have any such thing as this. It will take time to become truly adjusted to what this means for both me and the two of you. But this I promise, I will never cease being grateful to the two of you for what you have done for me, both tonight and all the things that came before what will come after."

"And that should put an end to your worries, Vel. Will may be young by our standards but you forget he is an adult human." Velena seemed flustered at him now for implying that she did not know that. She wacked him on the snout and he jerked back and laughed as he rubbed the spot where she landed her hit. Will grabbed her in a mock display of holding her back as she was huffing at the two of them with this and that about not being serious about something so important. Will actually held her arms at bay even though she was fully capable of ripping his own limbs out their sockets.

"Well, if your candles are any indication of the time, then I do believe it is time for me to depart." Roth said after his laughter subsided. He was quite right. Traditional 'Kin-made "time-teller" candles were thick as a human's wrist and at least a foot tall. The wick in these candles was impregnated with a slow burning resin that kept the candle burning steady for two or three days with a tiny flame. Candle makers put notches in the candle's stalk to help 'Kin tell time by just judging the height of the candle. The candle in Velena's bedchamber was down to its twelfth notch, and if Will's math and memory was correct (he had been the one to replace the last candle) then it was approaching noon now. It was rather late.

"Return to me, love, so that we three may continue our toil!" Velena proclaimed with unhidden exaggeration and embraced him and found his tongue dueling his. Out of modesty Will did not stare at them. It took a far longer amount of time than necessary but Roth and Velena did eventually part with him standing and Will and Vel now seated upright. "I will make a small feast tonight for the three of us."

"And why not invite all the elders as well, seeing as that's how much food you'll prepare for a 'small feast'". It was actually Will who ribbed Velena on her penchant for overcooking.

"No, I will actually make a small feast for the three of us alone." Roth dared not say anything beyond a grin as he had suffered through more small feasts of Velena's that the number of years Will's father had been alive. It was excellent food, as Velena was an impressive cook, but it did not change the fact that she made so much of it one couldn't possible have the room for everything.

"Do you need anything for this feast?" Roth asked.

"I have most of the things, but I need the meat. Does Will care to go find us a good cut of cow from Bremen?" Will had spent most of his life bartering and haggling for goods. Being poor all your life made money management a very high priority, and for this reason Velena had officially christened him as her market shopper. Bremen was the 'Kin who dealt with their herd beasts. Will shrugged since now he knew he would have to argue with the dragon over a price then lug a huge haul of meat back to Velena's chambers with nothing but a ruggedly built backpack to hold it in. He'd be stooped over and sore by the time he got back.

"Only if Roth carries it!" Will was quick to add. Roth laughed and agreed.

"Tell Bremen to keep it safe for us until I come to get it. When should I bring it, Vel?"

"As soon as possible, Roth." She rolled her eyes. "And Will, get roasts only. Though get a few vegetables while you're out. Carrots and things. And rice! That lovely white kind from the plains." He nodded and took all his mental notes.

"Ah, but I must be off. I hope to make some progress on my 'silly' arch today!" Roth said in a manner of finality. Velena and Will bid him farewell and he retrieved his loin cloth and left wearing it. Will was thinking of how he was going to factor his new chore into his day's schedule when Velena reached around him and hugged. His head was under her chin and she just held him and breathed. He felt a little awkward being held so he hugged her back, which made it seem less odd.

"Would it bother you if we waited until after we all eat, so that Roth may be here when we mate?" She asked him. He then found himself extremely concerned for his personal health, and his sudden bought of nervous jitters was probably the thing that alerted Vel to his thoughts. "He would like to watch! I would never let him mate with you, my dearest Will!" she laughed at him. "He'd no doubt end your life prematurely if he ever tried!"

Will couldn't help but laugh with her. Oh how his mind could play the most awful tricks on him. Still, the thought of that massive thing between Roth's legs going anywhere inside a human orifice made him cringe. Humans just weren't built to accommodate that sort of equipment.

"Well, I don't see how I can compare to him for you. I don't think that-" she pinched his arm and bopped the top of his head with her chin hard enough to hurt a teeny bit.

"Do not speak poorly of yourself, Will. I don't want to hear it! I'm not mating with either Roth or you for that reason. I love the two of you, and that, to me, is much more arousing than the tool a male breeds with." He still felt as if he'd shame himself on poor performance when Vel couldn't...find any sort of satisfaction what so ever. Since he didn't say anything immediately she took the initiative and let go of him. She laid herself back and grabbed his hand where she then proceeded to move it and him downwards to her nethers. "Touch me, Will."

Will's hand rested on her groin just above her sex. He felt both hot and cold and was frozen where he sat. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "I. You're certain?" He was tremendously nervous and she could see it. Her hand touched his gently and reassuringly.

"I put you there, Will. Of course I am certain. I want to show you why I don't think your size will matter in the end." Still hot, cold, and nervous he hesitantly slid his hand lower until he found the outer lips of her vent. She felt hot to the touch. Not the kind of heat that would burn, but something you'd expect for a nice cup of tea or under a warm blanket when sitting by a cozy fire. It was a good feeling. He also desperately tried to ignore the fact that Roth's...stuff was everywhere. She was dry, but still, the thought certainly counted enough!

"Inside, Will. It doesn't bite!" she laughed. Velena was feeling so aroused she had to stress to herself that she must only coax him verbally, but oh how she wanted to pounce upon him! In time, in time, she kept repeating. Tonight! She watched him nod and she felt him press a single digit in between her lips. She relaxed herself and his finger slipped in quickly, making him lightly gasp and look at her for assurance. He looked so nervous and she nodded to him with a smile. His finger found greater purchase and slid in deeper. He loved how warm she felt, and the most aroused part of him, standing proud, was eager to find out what it'd be like to be in there.

She then squeezed the muscles in her sex and he was greatly surprised at the sudden tightness surrounding his finger. She began to relax and squeeze rhythmically. "I can do that pretty hard if I wanted to. It helps a great deal to have powerful muscles in there when we lay our eggs year after year. As we age and continue to lay those muscles become quite strong and dexterous. I am old enough to be very experienced with those muscles. So put your trust in me that I will feel you and enjoy it. I actually have to fight to relax myself when I'm with Roth otherwise I'd squeeze too hard and make it uncomfortable for him."

"I, uh, I see. Is there, uh, a-anything else, V-vel?" she giggled at him and pulled away his hand. To tease him she sat up again and slid his finger into her mouth to lick away anything of hers that was on it. She found a strong taste of Roth and remembered she ought to bathe profusely before going anywhere.

"I should go bathe!" she kissed him, and then noticed his erection. She rubbed her snout into his neck and without him seeing her she moved a hand to touch his tip lightly. He sat up straight as a tree and gasped. "It's alright. Just get used to this feeling, Will. After tonight I may very well invite you into my bed at night, rather than leave you to sleep alone."

"T-that would be n-nice, Vel. I-Uh, don't need t-to bathe again. Paint! I should p-paint!" he tried to change the subject, and he was so damn nervous and shocked. Good shocked! He needed time to regroup his thoughts and straighten up, and oh boy... He needed to go paint, yes, paint! Paint paint paint. He would be better at thinking and dealing and going to the market after he painted some. Collected his thoughts, yes, go paint. Velena laughed at him, fully understanding he had a great deal on his mind right now. She also wanted to see that silly painting finished so she could finally find out what it was!

"Go paint. I'll be in the spring if you need me. Find me when you're ready to go to market. I may have other things in mind for you to get. You're also going to need money or something to trade with Bremen, so don't think about sneaking out!" he nodded vigorously and she stood up off the bed and laughed. She made sure to sway as she left to the bathing spring, knowing Will was watching. She was so excited for tonight! She'd have to make an extra effort on the food to help keep herself too preoccupied with the thought of being with Will.

Will managed to wander into his personal chamber feeling rather stunned. He did somehow manage to put on clean clothing, and miraculously he wound up perched on his stool in front of the painting of Velena he was apparently poised to finish today. Seeing the painting up close forced him to notice the this and that that yet remained to be done and slowly but surely his mind tic tocked away from the confusing and distracting thoughts from before. It took thirty minutes for him to become completely absorbed into his painting and it took a freshly cleaned and clothed Velena at his doorway to snap him out of his trance. He had put out a rather impressive amount of work! He was still not quite sure he'd finish it today, however. Tomorrow, assuredly.

"Will? Would it bother you to go to the market a bit early?" she had to say his name again to get his attention. "William?"

"Oh! Forgive me, Vel! What is it?" he was startled and got off the stool to walk around the painting to face her. She was wearing the silk skirt and mantle that he and Roth worked very hard to afford. It was a gift from both of them to help celebrate the day she had first taken true flight, which is the closest thing 'Kin get to a birthday. The skirt wrapped around her legs with only a neat hole for her tail to poke through. It fell to her ankles and the mantle covered her entire front leaving a v cut to expose her collar bone. A gold broche clasped the front hem of the skirt to the bottom corner of the mantle.

"I need you to go to the market early for me. I know what I need and the sooner I get everything the earlier we can eat. It will take more time to prepare the roasts."

"Oh, of course! I can certainly do that for you, Vel." He walked to her and she smiled brightly and hugged him in thanks. She explained to him everything she now needed, which included the meat and a variety of herbs and spices she was either out of or running low on. She handed him a paper cylinder of silver coins. "Try not to spend all of it, Will. However will I survive without silver if you waste it all on Bremen?"

Of course she knew full well William was a fantastic haggler. He would return with the majority of her silver coins.

"You know I will. You owe me a present this year for my birthday, remember? Can't very will buy one of those if you're poor." He winked and she elbowed him.

"I'm sure I can plan out a better gift than what a silver coin can buy, Will."

"I know, but you can't very well make that wonderful stew of yours, the one with deer, if you're too poor to buy the meat and ingredients!" OH! Velena just understood that hint. She logged it aside in her memory for later. Stew for Will on his birthday. She always found it silly that humans celebrated the day they were born, but she supposed that for creatures who only lived for a hundred years at most they took each year more seriously than a 'Kin would.

"Be back soon, Will." He nodded and gave his farewell and was off. Velena went into the small chamber where she maintained her kitchen and went over everything she knew she could do before hand, such as prepping her two ovens. She was so thankful that Roth and Gortund had managed to bore the chimney hole through the rock so it wouldn't interfere with Mellice's home. They had found the angle needed to send her smoke out above the 'Kin dwellings without having to send a pipe through anyone's home.

Will was on his way with a purposeful gate, and he was nervous. He kept sniffing and smelling his shirt and checking for stains. He had not really bathed, and yet he slept beside Velena...who needed bathing. He didn't want to smell like sex... would Bremen notice? Was he overreacting and over thinking? Maybe he didn't smell at all out of the ordinary? Would a 'Kin even care if they smelled...someone else on him? He didn't think so, seeing as how casual mating was as common as shaking hands. Oh dear.

_ _ "No satchel, artisan?" Will was being called by someone from up above him. He stopped and looked up. He was in the process of passing through a walkway set through a crevasse with a slender suspension bridge above him. Leaning against one of the bridge's posts was Wonden, Velena's brother and senior by a hundred or so years. He now lived with his new mate several homes down the cliff from Velena's own dwelling.

"Not today, craftsman. You're sister has me running her errands today." Wonden was a sculptor of wood, and probably the only one in the village of any worth. When Velena had discovered that William had a bit of practice and learning with carving she set him to pass on whatever he knew to Wonden. Though it was not a great deal of knowledge that William possessed Wonden's work had still improved as a result of his teaching. He had recently begun working furniture rather than just the small statuaries or ornaments he had worked on previously. Wonden had thanked him by promising to gift him with any sort of carving he needed, should the desire ever arise. Will thought he may take him up on the offer if he ever needed a fine gift to woo a potential bride.

"A pity!" Wonden beckoned him to wait for him outside the crevasse. Will made it to the exit as Wonden was finishing his glide to his own level. Tucking his wings behind him Wonden was quick to approach and offer a greeting too formal for a close friendship. Will and Wonden were more friends due to their shared relation to Velena than for any mutual like for the other. The greeting was a swift arm and hand clasp only that lasted as briefly as it had been started.

"I was planning on seeking you out this day or next, but fate has landed you in my lap, William. As courier for the Council I was asked for you to appear at their next meeting to discuss your mural project. I do not know their motives, but likely it is an issue of payment." Will shrugged, perhaps he had haggled his price too coarsely?

"I was afraid they'd get cold over my price if they gave themselves the chance to think it over. Velena mentioned once that many on the Council were hard pressed to pass a coin onto its next owner." Will scratched at an imaginary itch behind his head as he sighed.

"Do not doubt their desire for a mural, William. I can assure you they want it. Most of the Council is in complete agreement that you are of supreme talent and they wish to take advantage of your presence. You're getting your commission, friend." Will thanked him for his assurances and told him they were most appreciated.

"When is the next council meeting?" Will asked. He'd need to tell Velena that way she could remind him of it when the time came. As he was ever reminded again and again in the past: 'Kin do not forget.

"When you last met the council it was only Council Elderman Wilther and seven other councilman and women. The full council is going by Elderman Wilther's word that you're to be trusted with the project. I believe they mentioned that they did want you meet with the full council first, did they not?" William thought about it and did remember that the Council head, the 'Kin named Wilther, who seemed to be in his eight hundred and something odd year, had requested he meet with the entire council before the project was started.

"Yes, Elder Wilther requested I meet before them, but judging by his wording it seemed like it was to happen before I started painting."

"Ah, well the meeting you were in is a common meeting of eight held every few months, simply for convenience so we can sort out grievances. I do not know what exactly you know yet of our Council but I will not bore you with all of it, for it is much to tell. The whole Council only meets every four years, and the meeting they wish you to attend will occur a year and three days from today." Wonden didn't sound remorseful or surprised at all, but William certainly was!

"A, wait, a year and three days? I was not told that I would need to wait that long!" he had to struggle to keep himself from sounding angry. He certainly was angry at the heart of it! He was under the assumption that he'd be painting a mural in perhaps a month's time.

"That is not a long time to wait at all, William. Is there some pressing concern that will happen before then that may keep you from the meeting?" A pressing concern? How was Will to know what would happen in the next year? Illness, injury, marriage, he could die! He may not even live here in the village! William was always faced with the question of his future and he always took pains to avoid it at all costs. He simply did not have the courage to face up to several things. Artists did not make money in the human world if they did not have connections. He was poor at birth, and will continue to be poor until death. No one would commission him for anything more than a small still-life and they would refuse to pay him a fair commission for it at that for his background. So many artists were neglected geniuses...

The 'Kin gave him a chance at prosperity, but they were 'Kin. He was not 'Kin. His heart often did long for people like himself and he felt that he could not stay in the mountain forever. Even now he was poor, but only a few notches above where he was in the human lands. He lived off Velena's generosity and kindness. He hated being a beggar and most of his modest earnings went to Velena, though she always refused it. He would find a way to give it to her anyway. Her favorite chair was one way. He bought it both as a gift and a way to pay her for all she had given him. The unpleasant thoughts and questions they aroused made him feel uneasy on his feet.

"I'm sorry. I was just under the impression I would be working on the mural very soon. Much sooner than that. You forget that we human live brief lives. A year is a long time for us." Wonden gave his words some thought and nodded.

"It is unlikely the council can be persuaded to hasten their meeting. They are not prone to breaking tradition." Will shook his head.

"No, I will bear with it, or will not. Time will determine which I choose." Wonden cocked a brow and gave a nod. "It would be best for me to think on these things, the air is certainly clear enough for that this day."

"It is very clear, and it makes for good hearing with many of the eldest claiming they feel ill weather riding towards us on the wind. Now I must depart for my duties will harry me should I not."

"Of course, Wonden, and I have my own duties as well. I thank you for your time and knowledge." Wonden returned the gratitude and passed William by to go the way he had come himself.

William stood idle for a time, in thought that was too cloudy to be cleared by the air he personally had claimed to be therapeutic. Could he wait a year? A leech until then. Why were his thoughts turning so sour now, despite the evening holding what was intended to be a great...something he would never really understand. Perhaps that was why. He was not fit to live here. He would never understand, and understanding was the key to ones place in the world. He had no place here, and the thought seemed to clap bands of iron around his chest. He sucked in a breath and continued on to Bremen's market.