MatchlessMinion literally bounced with excitement and declared, "At last!"

Danika laughed and asked teasingly, "What do you mean at last? We're early too! Kit isn't supposed to be here for another half an hour yet."

MatchlessMinion rolled his eyes and told her seriously, "She'd better show up early too, we don't have much of a lead on them. And then we should all squeeze into your garden, although they've probably already figured out basically where we are."

"What?" Danika asked blankly.

Shrubbery snickered and said succinctly, "Salty."

Ais.h.i.+n, remembering the crowd at the familiar binding, said, "I just told the guys that we'd meet them in the human capital to build the guild, and gave them a time two hours later than we planned to meet here."

MatchlessMinion looked at Ais.h.i.+n with admiring eyes and exclaimed, "Woah, teach me your ways senior!"

Danika looked at Ais.h.i.+n with doubtful eyes and asked, "You lied to them?"

Ais.h.i.+n glanced back and forth between them and then asked with false innocence, "Isn't adding members an integral part of building up a guild?"

Shrubbery giggled and MatchlessMinion declared, "Absolutely! But I was hoping to be able to join within ten seconds after it's formed?"

Danika decided to let it slide and suggested, "Let's find out how long Kit can play. Maybe there will really be time to meet everyone there?"

She glanced at MatchlessMinion's rotund furry form and then composed a message to his sister, SaltySiamese that read: "MatchlessMinion says that you're hoping to meet up with us for our new guild formation. The plan, after we pick up Kit, is to return to Fogton and meet up with Ais.h.i.+n's friends who've been waiting to join it."

The snow leopard cub bounded across the flowered valley with the message, beneath the summer sun, with an almost gleeful amount of bouncing.

"That cute snow leopard cub messenger is something I can't get even with unlimited Karma," Eyes on the Sky commented regretfully from where she sat in the tangle of leaves and flowers that covered her dryad daughter Shrubbery's head. When everyone turned to look at her, the little flying squirrel then turned and pointed at Ryullusion and asked, "Who's the new beauty among us?"

Ryullusion stepped forward, bowed to her, and introduced himself before Ais.h.i.+n responded. "I'm Ais.h.i.+n's father outside of the game. Here I'm a mere novice bard. My name is Ryullusion, it is a pleasure."

"Oh wow," Shrubbery breathed as he rose from his bow with a graceful flourish. She looked a little stunned.

Ais.h.i.+n said a little dryly, "Outside the game he's just a master bard."

Ryullusion grinned at Ais.h.i.+n and shrugged.

Shrubbery said nervously, "I've seen pictures of Mirage when they were young, I mean when you were young, but wow!"

Eyes on the Sky asked curiously, "Is my daughter correct? You're really from Mirage? Even I know who they are."

Danika raised her eyebrows, which made her ears point forward as a fairy dragon, and asked, "Isn't that obvious since he admitted that he's Ais.h.i.+n's dad?"

Ais.h.i.+n chuckled and pointed out quietly, "Not everyone knows who I am?"

"But Shrubbery is your fan!" Danika objected.

Shrubbery just blushed and shrugged, but Ryullusion spoke up and said, "Our relations.h.i.+p is usually depreciated and people avoid mentioning it in official publicity interviews. Yes, I'm Ryuske of Mirage outside the game."

"Sing one of their songs," Eyes on the Sky challenged.

"Mom!?" Shrubbery protested.

"Sure," Ryullusion agreed with a grin. He pulled a violin out of his inventory, and this time Danika stared.

Ais.h.i.+n warned, "Your in game skill level may affect your playing."

"It won't," Ryullusion a.s.sured his son. "This is my starter instrument, against my mentor's recommendation, but it's well designed and I've played it enough to know that as long as I play it instead of using the skill, it's the same as a real one."

The violin sang, that was the only word for it and Ryullusion sang a song in his deep resonant voice that made Danika remember her mother dancing in the kitchen. It wasn't a sad song, but tears welled up anyway. She'd known who he was, but she knew that after hearing it, Eyes on the Sky wouldn't have any doubt left.

The little flying squirrel stood and launched herself off of her daughter's head and glided over to land on Ryullusion's shoulder. "My feet have touched greatness, I'll never wash them again," she declared loftily as Ryullusion turned his head to look at her with a startled expression.

He laughed. Even though they weren't related, and Ais.h.i.+n had told her that he'd already been nearly fifteen on the day he'd been adopted, Danika thought that he'd picked up Ryullusion's pure laugh. He didn't always laugh with the open amus.e.m.e.nt that Ryullusion did now, but when he did, it was very similar.

Shrubbery covered her eyes and told her mother, "You've never washed your feet here that I know of anyway."

Eyes on the Sky waved a paw disdainfully, MatchlessMinion laughed almost as openly as Ryullusion had, and Danika giggled. Ryullusion grinned at the little squirrel on his shoulder and winked, and then stored his violin again.

SaltySiamese's Siamese cat arrived and dropped its message disdainfully in front of ZipZing. Her reply read: "Pfft! Don't think you can misdirect me so easily! We'll be there soon! ;) "

Kit logged in a moment later, and drew all of their attention to her as she practically squealed, "I'm back!"

Danika and Shrubbery both hurried over to her and exclaimed, "Welcome back!"

The men and squirrel followed more slowly, but with smiles as Kit hugged Shrubbery and laughed.

"What kind of internet cafe has VR?" Danika asked laughingly.

"It's not VR, I can't really feel the hug, but it's still really good isn't it?" Kit asked happily. "And I didn't wind up having to go to a cafe after all, although I'm paying for the connection instead of a phone, until I can afford both. My friend that I hadn't talked to in a long time listened to my complaints about not being able to play this and sent me her old full motion console. She said that she has upgraded to one of the new VR motion systems."

Ais.h.i.+n gave a low whistle. Danika looked at him questioningly and he told her, "Those make your VR-medi pod look reasonably priced, and apparently if you tear the nano fabric, you have to replace the whole glove or boot."

Kit admitted ruefully, "Yeah, when I see how successful she is, I wonder what I've done with my whole life."

"We haven't met yet, but I can tell by how happy your friends are to see you again, that your life also has plenty of things to treasure," Ryullusion said gently.

"Fight to the end, there's always something that you've never seen before somewhere ahead," Eyes on the Sky advised from his shoulder.

He grinned and nodded. If Eyes on the Sky wasn't already married and, well, dying… Danika thought that the two parents might have been a match.

Kit Tay gazed at Ryullusion with a stunned expression and said nervously, "Um, wow." She looked at Eyes on the Sky and asked, "Is this your husband?" She glanced back at Shrubbery questioningly.

Shrubbery waved her hands and shook her head in negation, while Eyes on the Sky laughed merrily. "30 years ago I'd have killed to get this guy, but no. Mine is sweet and steady, and gave me my daughter, and I wouldn't trade him for the world."