"Of course it was her idea, no one else knows my weakness for small animals that are ultimately dependent on me. That, and she needed some way to apologize without actually saying the words." And, of course, she chose Bert instead of Alain, Bert instead of Fyra or even Sekht. There was a reason for that, too, because Kaine rarely did anything without an explanation. Whether it made sense or not was usually the grand question.

"In fact, I'm sure she promised you something in exchange, but even so that isn't really enough to get you here is it?"