ANGUS AND LANON DID NOT SLEEP. They walked the grounds and talked. And throughout the course of the night, Lanon learned much from Angus who, as he explained to Lanon, had been "working the universe" for some 5,000 years Urth time. This, compared to Lanon's 2,000 or so, made Angus' experience invaluable to the neonate.

On the other hand, Angus had never taken on human form, and so he found Lanon's experience interesting. Gradually they got around to discussing personal perspectives, and when Angus confessed to Lanon that he had met his own soul mate millennia ago while she was still a mortal and he himself was on an assignment, Lanon ventured to confide in Angus about his and Audley's awkward emotional development.

Over the centuries Angus had developed into quite an expert on the many variations of love. As such, he was pleased to give Lanon some pointers on how to become an effective lover. "Women are women throughout eternity, Lanon," he said, "and they all enjoy the same aspects of love. Women like romance."

"What do you mean by romance?"

"Romance," Angus extolled, "is a sentiment, a refinement of emotion. Romance calls up feelings of tenderness and beauty. Graciousness." He embellished his lesson with inflections and gestures. "The ideals inherent in the romantic situation are represented by things that depict romance, such as music and flowers. And gifts. Or candy."

Lanon was duly attentive.

"Women also long for adventure," Angus continued. "They want their hero to take them to new and exciting places. Not just physical places, but places in the heart and in the imagination. They do not want to be constantly taking care of things. Women appreciate a break from nurturing. They want to soar, and they want their mate to go with them on the flight."

After a while Lanon asked, "What about men? What do men want?"

"Ah, you are such a babe!" Angus heaved. "Men want to feel important. Not a pompous kind of importance, but they want to feel that what they do is meaningful."

"Well, I do feel I'm doing something meaningful, but how would that affect Audley?"

"Well, she's crazy in love with you."

"She is?" Angus nodded. "How do you know?"

"Because, dear boy, she looks at you, and when she looks at you, her eyes light up. She looks to you for confirmation of her existence, for reassurance. She is so impressed with the importance of your mission, she was willing to give up her own career, risk her father's affection, and even go half way around the world to find ways to help you, and at her own expense!"

"I hadn't thought of it that way."

"Apparently not. You could begin appreciating her efforts and you could let her know you appreciate her. Have you ever thanked her for teaching you how to be a human being? No? Well, you're not being very romantic, then."

"Angus," Lanon ventured after another long moment. "What about sex?"

"Sex is wonderful. What about it?"

"I don't understand it. I've seen Audley's frame, but ...."

"Her what?" Angus interrupted.

"Her frame."

"Her body, dear boy, her body! Her voluptuous, sensual, desirable, caressable body!"

"Not her frame?"

"Not her frame."

"Alright. I have seen Audley, and I believe she knows that I appreciate her voluptuous, sensual, desirable, caressable body, but she won't let me make love with her."

Angus threw up his hands. "Well, that's probably because you were approaching her as a frame! That goes right back to what I was saying about romance, Lanon." He warmed to his subject. "Woman is, of course, a mass of flesh and bone and nerves and organs arranged in a frame, but the whole woman is so much more than that! The whole woman lies in her charm, her personality, her soul, and her feelings. These things aren't literal, but they are real, and they comprise the female. This is why romance is so important! To love the body is only part of the mystery. To find the female inside and love that is also only part of the mystery. To love the body and the soul together, is to love the whole woman."

"How do I find the female inside?" he wondered aloud.

Angus studied the stars for a moment and sighed deeply. "Give Audley a chance to show you. Let her know you care about who she is, how she looks, what she thinks, how she feels. Women are vulnerable, Lanon, or at least they like to think they are, and they are very protective of those tender feelings, which could be ignored or abused by an insensitive male. You get her to reveal her inner nature by being romantic."

"If it's that easy, wouldn't she know that I was trying to get her to reveal herself?"

"She wants to reveal herself!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. You just have to assure her that when she does reveal herself, her inner self, you won't make light of her sincerity or disdain her frailties."

"I see. And then we can make love?"

Angus shook his head and chuckled. "Yes, Lanon, ideally that is what will happen. But you must be patient! When I was courting my soul mate, we knew from the first moment that we would spend eternity together, but she made me wait for almost 200 years."

Lanon was aghast. "But by then she had discarded her voluptuous, sensual, desirable, caressable body!" he objected.

"This is true," Angus admitted, "but she was still voluptuous, sensual, desirable and caressable. Some things never change." The smile on Angus' countenance was akin to smug, but Lanon was downhearted. "What troubles you?" Angus asked.

"Audley is a strong woman. Emotionally she is stronger than I am. I am still concerned that I will not be able to court her effectively."

"Then you must wait until you become more human, Lanon, or until she becomes more divine."

It was Lanon's turn to look at the stars and sigh.

"I perceive that you are becoming more romantic already!" Angus said.

And many more things they discussed before the sun rose and the two entities went their separate ways to take in energy and prepare for the new day.