Exton

I sit and think a bit, listening to the others talk. Stoney is worried, but he is determined to be stoic. Ob is boosting Stoney's calm. I can feel Stoney in the back of Ob's thoughts. Pandora seems so far away, her hand clutching Ob's.

"Pandora, I would like to bring a few eyes into the Tavern." Her head turns slowly, as if waking up. "Pandora... did you hear me?" It takes a few minutes for her eyes to clear and I wonder if she was trancing, or just wandering in her own mind. "I would like to bring a few more eyes into the Tavern, but they would need camouflage. With the Harvest Holidays coming fast, I was thinking perhaps someone could bring in a few big mums, arrange them with hay bales and pumpkins."

Pandora's eyes brighten up, thinking decor and subterfuge. She starts looking around the room and making notes on a napkin. Ob hides a smile. I wish she could see the affection that permeates his mind when he looks at her.

I know what I am about to say will bring the protector to the fore in my cooza and in the other males.

"Pandora, you know what would work best. Why don't you and Ob go? Perhaps take a third? The nursery at the edge of town is open until eight and they deliver. Once the flowers are here, I can send for the other eyes."