The baby climbs up into the fire and happily curls up in the middle of it. It should make a good bed for it, but I also take out the drake egg and put it in the coals. The baby phoenix sniffs at it a bit, but doesn't seem to mind sharing its bed.

Once the baby has satisfied its curiosity I feed it and the egg some magical fire. The baby eats its fill and then quickly falls asleep in the middle of the coals. It looks like this will work as its bed and it should help the drake egg hatch.

It also warms the room up nicely, it is still winter after all and we have moved further north. With the baby asleep, I lay down with Albion and Nala to give them some affection. The peace and quiet doesn't last, the door opens and Silverstream comes in.

Silverstream says "What did you do to my sister?!"

"I was honest and told her how shocked I was that you and her put your names on that stupid list!"

Silverstream says "What is wrong with us being interested in you? Why did you have to hurt her like that? Don't you know what she has been through?"

"No, I don't, but I have some guesses. Which is part of why I was so surprised! There is no way she can be healed already."

Silverstream says "Of course she isn't. She shouldn't have put her name on the list. But you didn't have to act so shocked, you made things worse!"

"I couldn't help it, I really was that shocked! I didn't mean to hurt her and once she cools down I will apologize. What even possessed the two of you? You should know me well enough to know I would never pay attention to that list."

Silverstream says "It isn't like we expected you to actually choose one of us. It was more that we knew you would never even realize our feelings if we didn't do something."

Lin says "It looks like everyone knows how blind you are, master."

"You are supposed to be meditating! Since you aren't, come meet Silverstream. She is Silverleaf's older sister."

Lin says "Yes, I gathered that from the conversation, master. Hello, Silverstream, it's nice to meet you."

Silverstream says "Hello, Lin. Why do you call Ash master? Are you a slave?"

Lin says "No, I am not a slave. From what I have seen, Ash doesn't like slaves. Ash is my teacher, I call him master out of respect."

Silverstream says "No, he doesn't like slavery, but I thought he might make an exception for a beautiful human woman."

"I would not!"

Lin says "Ash is a good man. He has already rejected my offer several times, but I haven't given up yet."

Silverstream says "Oh, Brightfire is not going to like you. Neesha may even try to kill you."

"I doubt it will go that far."

Silverstream says "You really underestimate how obsessed Neesha is with you. Don't forget that she is a beast with a beast's instincts to fight for their mate."

"I am not her mate!"

Silverstream says "It doesn't matter if you are or not. All that matters is what she thinks."

Lin says "Let her come after me, I can handle myself. In fact, I am fine with being your shield if you want."

"We should try to avoid fights amongst ourselves, but what do you mean by being my shield?"

Lin says "If we tell everyone that I am your lover, then they will target me and leave you alone."

"That would put you in more danger. It is not a good idea to turn half the people on the ship into your enemies."

Lin says "Are there any powerful mages other than you?"

Silverstream says "No. All we have are the wands that Ash made for us."

Lin says "Wait, wands?!"

"They aren't like the wands you are thinking of. My wands simply store and release a single spell."

Lin says "That's incredible! As long as they can't use the wands, I don't fear anyone who can't use magic. I know plenty of spells to protect against physical attacks. Don't forget, I am a powerful mage, I can protect myself."

"That's not the point. I'm sure you can take care of yourself. The point is that there is no reason for you to be fighting."

Silverstream says "Actually, I think her idea is pretty good. You are still underestimating how obsessed some of the women you have saved are about you."

Lin says "It probably doesn't help that he is cute and fuzzy!"

Silverstream says "That and his elven form is very handsome! My feelings for Ash aren't that strong, but I would still jump in his bed at a word."

"Silverstream! That is not funny!"

Lin says "Master, she wasn't joking. You really don't understand your appeal to women, do you?"

"No, no I don't. I do not understand women at all!"

Lin says "Not only that, but you don't seem to want to try to understand them. So instead, why don't you just let me deal with it and you can focus on other things."

"Why are you so eager for this? What's your motivation?"

Lin says "I am going to chase away all my competition so that I can seduce you."

As I snap my head around to look at her, the look on my face must be a sight. Because both Lin and Silverstream bust up laughing at me to the point they have to hold their sides. They laugh for several minutes before they calm down, but at least they didn't wake the baby.

"Alright, jokes over. Go to bed!"

Lin says "Why do you assume I was joking? I meant everything I said."

"What? Seriously?"

Silverstream says "Ash, you are so smart the rest of the time. So how can you be so dense?!"

"Enough of this, I'm tired. Oh, Silverstream, please have a couple of male guards put on my door."

Silverstream says "How come? Are you worried about being attacked in your sleep?"

"No, I am worried about someone bursting in, startling the baby, and getting barbequed."

Silverstream says "Oh. Alright, I will arrange it."

Silverstream leaves, but when I turn to talk to Lin she is already meditating, or at least she is pretending to be. Either way I decide to drop the issue, it is too complicated for me to think about right now. I go back to lying down with Nala and Albion, then I open a soulscape.

I invite the kids, but not Myria, I have had enough of women for right now. I spend some time playing with the kids and not thinking about anything else. Then, after ending the soulscape, I go to sleep for what is left of the night.