Lady Bug appeared out of nowhere. “Welcome to the Thread! I’m Lady Bug, poet extraordinaire! Any tense you wish is fine— though past is the universally accepted standard. What’s this about elephants?”
“Is Gihard doing okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. He usually works late, though. I could direct you to his smithy.”
—
“I’m not impatient,” he insisted. “Just… standing in one place not doing anything or hearing anything. Are we having a silent contest?”