" She nodded." She nodded. "I expected that answer." She seemed genuinely pleased with the conversation, although it was making me most uncomfortable. She looked out the window and said, "Can we do something together?" "Like?" "Oh, I don't know. Play a game, cards, chess. Go motorcycling." "You ride a motorcycle?" I asked, surprised. "Yeah. A real 'Icehog.'" I looked at her stunned. "How big?" I asked. "800 cc." I stared at her dumbfounded. "P'raine, if it falls over, how will you ever stand it up?" I asked. "With help," she said. I laughed. "Okay, we'll go riding. I'll even take lunch." She smiled. We packed lunch for two and planned a route that would take us out of the way of most villages, although eventually it would take us straight through the town of Rocchodain. We descended down from the Castle and walked along the pathway away from the lagoon towards the rim of the crater and the long dark tunnel towards the motorpool. There we found her Harley and, compared to hers, my toy. I whistled in appreciation at this thing she rode. It must have weighed nearly four hundred kilos, and was in tip top shape. "You must have replaced most of the parts with hullmetal equivalents over the years," I said. |