Effren was about to spout some doubt ill-conceived come back, and nobody needed that.
I shot him a wink, partly to show that there were no hard feelings and partly to let him know that I was ending the interaction on my terms.
I turned to Buster, injecting extra enthusiasm into my voice.� �Buuuuusteeeer!�.� Little pause for effect.� He knew what was coming and he was loving it. �Hi!�
�No� rumbled the big guy around a huge grin �just really happy to see you!�
I freely admit it�s not the best comedy routine in the world, at least I very much hope it isn�t.� It had taken me about three weeks to teach Buster the joke and I�m still not convinced that he understands it, but that wasn�t the point.
Bonding, including teamwork and associated mumbo-jumbo was the point, at least that�s what I wanted everyone to believe.� The actual point was making sure Buster was my best friend so if he should fly into indiscriminate violence, hopefully there wouldn�t be any indiscriminate coming my way.
Prue spoke up, cutting through the banter.� �Now that we�re all here, let�s get to it.�
As everyone shifted focus, I held up one hand for Buster to slap so the big guy would know he�d done well.� It had taken me a long time and a lot of bruises to get him to dial back his enthusiasm, but we had it sorted now.
Prue raised an eyebrow and I held up my hands.� It was time for business.
�Word from the shops and markets is that Aldor Thiviar, a very well-known wizard, has been making the rounds trying to buy identify scrolls. He�s after several scrolls, so that tells us that he has come into a few magical items. We�re going to steal them!�