Jon'a-ren quickly put a halt to that!"Michael, my son! We are here to test you, to learn your abilities and your limits. We cannot do that if you hold...back! I must insist that you not waste our time or this opportunity because of some absurd notion of modesty or reserve. I sense this in you, and it is foolishness! We are not so insecure, Berl'ahan or I, as to resent your abilities if they should exceed ours! Do you understand? Will you please let go and exert your best effort for us?"Michael. They were mortal, after all.Diane stayed a while longer, actually daring to examine Nicole's rings at close range after a bit. She told how her husband had been killed while stationed overseas. He had been a Major in a Special Forces unit. She had never been told how or where, only that it had been in action and that he had died serving his country. JT had taken his Dad's death hard but had never cried that she knew of. He just kept it bottled up inside.She left with an invitation to come to. We'd been hiking for about 4 hours when the sky quickly became overcast with dark, heavy clouds. It was close to 4 in the afternoon and it looked like we were going to get rained on so we moved up the hill until we found a small nearly level spot to set up a camp. We still had another hour to hike before we got to our favorite fishing spot but now we'd have to wait till morning.Just as we set our packs down, it started to rain and, almost immediately, the rain became a cold, drenching downpour.. He had a very nice face and deep voice. "Thank you," Jean said. She was used to men buying her drinks. In fact, she could not remember the last time she paid for a drink at any club. She picked up the drink, leaned back against the bar, raised her foot to rest it on the foot rail, and put the glass to her full inviting lips. Looking over the rim to get her first long look at him, she smiled to herself. "Do you come here often?" he asked. "Yes. I come here often. How about you?" she asked. His.