[Nurumaiel]

"I have five brothers and four sisters," said Don, and then raised her chin pridefully when Nuru looked at her in amazement.

"Five brothers and four sisters?" asked Nuru in shock. "Ten children in your family? Tell me... how did you get so many?"

"My first mum had four boys and me, and then she died and my dad married again and my second mum had one boy and four girls. All the girls are younger than me and they're so wimpy."

"How old are they?" Rie asked. "Your sisters, I mean."

"Two months, two years, three years, and five years," replied Don instantly. "I have a twin brother who was the best, but when my second mum and my dad died, we all had to be split up... even me and my twin. We did all sorts of bad things while we were together, though!"

Nuru looked wickedly at Rie. "Twins always seem to be really horrible people," she said slyly.

Rie laughed and replied, "How about stuck-up elves who don't have any twins?"

Nuru rolled her eyes and looked back at Don, who had been muttering how she wasn't horrible and her 'twin weren't, either.'

"You know my parents are dead," said Nuru.

"So what? That doesn't make you a thing like me! I'm not a stuck-up elf without a twin."

"I think we'd better watch what we say around this girl," said Nuru, looking at Rie. "She's picking up on everything we say."

Don looked indignantly at Nuru. "I'm not pickin' up anything. I'm listenin' to you, though." And Nuru had to laugh.