[SpringsSong]

Caitria
(Continuation of this breeding~)

Caitria's eyes glistened as she listened to the Sailfin speak, and then nodded when Pascal made his interjection.  "Ah, I see," she said, and when the scene unfroze, Caitria listened eagerly as Fleetwing told her tale of a Taigra hunting an easy meal, noticing the pride in her eyes.

"That's amazing!" Caitria said, her eyes shimmering in admiration.  "Oh, there are so many questions I could ask, both of you and about your clan," she said, raising a claw to tap her chin slightly.  "Let me think... oh!  What sort of a structure does your clan have?"

[Freezair]

Fleetwing pulled back her neck and smiled. "Well. Here within my clan, we have a heirarchical structure. But I, the leader, am not the highest on the rung! Hatchlings are given top priority, for without them, our clan would not survive into the future! Not all hatchlings are as fierce as I, after all. Once a Paragon reaches a year of age, however, they enter the lowest rung of our clan structure--that of the trainees. Based on the aptitudes they show as hatchlings, they are apprenticed to an older clan member in one of the many jobs necessary to keep our clan alive! Hunters! Trappers! Agriculturalists! Navigators! Artificiers!"

Pascal froze the scene again and turned to Caitria. "She's paraphrasing almost directly from the book here--here inside the book, she relies on her author's words for her knowledge. Real people, living or dead, do not make book spirits as nicely as fictional characters do. If I were to bring her to life outside this book, she would grow and evolve, but she would become someone quite different from the real Paragon she's based on, I think.

"But you must admit, it's more lively than just reading for yourself," he chuckled.

[SpringsSong]

"It is indeed more lively," Caitria said, smiling as she reflected over what the Sailfin had said.  It would seem that this clan was not all that different from her own; well, there were no artificiers in the Root, but she was scrambling as to what that even meant.  She waited for a few moments, and then, she replied to Fleetwing.

"My clan is not so different," she said.  "I will admit, however, I do not quite know what an artificier is, and my clan does not have all of those positions, but we do follow a structure."

[Freezair]

"Hmm. Those of your clan do not have enchanters? Those who can weave magic?" Fleetwind tilted her head. "Magic runs deep in the blood of my clan, but we are no crude spellcasters. We craft magical artifacts of great power and subtlety! Our spells do not fade after one mere casting, but live on and persist--even beyond the lives of those who cast them! Look there," she said, and pointed to the fire pit in the middle of the clearing.

On first glance, it would have seemed that the fire was surrounded by a circle of stones to keep the blaze contained. But on a closer inspection, it was the very rocks themselves that were burning! Without wood or kindling, the stones blazed on, red-hot but never crumbling.

"Our firestones can burn for a year and a day without ever weakening," Fleetwind said with a sly grin.

"In fact," Pascal interjected, "that's why this particular clan is so famous. Some of their artifacts really were rather excellent, and survived to the modern day. Their most famous artificer was a Pipe by the name of Daggerdive. Actually, she wasn't born yet during Fleetwind's time as clan leader. But a curious side-effect of her being in a book is that she'll know all about her."

[SpringsSong]

"Oh!" Caitria said when Fleetwind mentioned magic.  "There are some in my clan that can weave magic, but..." here, she turned her attention to the stones that Fleetwind had indicated, her eyes widening as she saw that it was the stones themselves that were burning, rather than any other sort of kindling.  "...I'll admit that I'm not sure if we have anything quite like that, although our leaders have been able to imbue stones with light to illuminate our dens."

Caitria turned to face Pascal as he spoke about the clan's artifacts, and about the clan's most famous artificer.  She inclined her head ever so slightly, her maw forming a small "o".  "That is indeed curious," she said, a small chuckle behind her words.

[Freezair]

"Spellcasters, eh?" Fleetwind did a small, low chuckle that said something along the lines of, "I'm too noble to publicly pity you." She cleared her throat. "Do you, perhaps, come here seeking the secrets of our artifacts? We can't give those away for free, you know. But I might be willing to let you spend some time with one of our artificiers so that you may learn to make a few SMALL artifacts. Perhaps a mystic stone that always points north? No harm in that, no... Ah, but how do I know you're worthy of such knowledge...?"

For the first time, when Pascal cleared his throat, he directly addressed the apparition in front of him. "You might be surprised, good Fleetwind. A great magical power rests within this girl... I have seen some evidence of it, myself." He winked at Caitria and chuckled.

[SpringsSong]

If Caitria caught the tone in the chuckle that Fleetwind gave, she dismissed it.  Every clan was different, after all; as was every Paragon.  When she asked if, perhaps, came seeking some secrets of their artifacts, she perked up, her eyes gaining a bright glow to them--particularly when she mentioned the possibility of her learning from one of the clan's artificers.  When she asked how she would know if she was worthy of such knowledge, she moved to speak, but Pascal spoke first.

"Oh!" Caitria said, her eyes sparkling as she smiled.  "Yes, well... it may be because I am an Ambia, and therefore my elemental affinity is stronger... but," she said, raising her claw and allowing a few fire-lily blossoms to appear.  They grew slowly at first, but they came in a little faster after a few moments.  A vine curled around her arm with a few flowers, and three more appeared in her mane.

"...I am the physical manifestation of the spirit of a fire-lily," she said.  "Additionally, I have a strong connection to the earth, and serve my clan as one of the Paragon that constructs our dens--and I can aid my clan in telling when plants can be harvested."

[Freezair]

"A spirit!" Fleetwind drew back, and seem rather impressed. Her wings gave two short, sharp flares. When her retainers stared at her in confusion, she glared back. Suddenly, all of those around her dipped their heads, showing their respect for Caitria.

"Well, now! Certainly, a spirit would be welcome to learn from us... and a manifestation, at that! Well, well, well. We will definitely have to find a suitable study partner for you. Someone who can teach you the ways of fire-stones and more. Hmm... Let's see... but who to pair you with...?"

Pascal froze the scene and turned to Caitria. His wings were wide and open. "I saw the glow on your face when she mentioned the artifacts. I can tell that the idea pleases you."

He hummed. "If you wish to learn of artifacts, we may wish to change books. As I said before, the knowledge of these figures is limited by what is written about them. While this book can tell you many details about what kinds of artifacts this clan was famous for, and basic details of how they work, it cannot tell you how to construct them. If you do wish to know, I know of an excellent book. But if you crave more history... We can certainly stay here. This author has a way with words, I find, and it transfers very well to the way these figures speak, I think! This Fleetwind is delightfully bombastic, wouldn't you say?"

[SpringsSong]

"I think that switching books may be best," Caitria said, her tail swishing happily.  "But that Fleetwind is definitely, as you put it, 'bombastic'.  She must have been a great leader in her day," she said, her eyes glistening.

"You wouldn't happen to have any books with the Pipe you mentioned before?  Daggerdive, I believe you said her name was?" she asked.

(Sorry for the wait and the shortish post.)

[Freezair]

"I do have a good book that goes into more detail about Daggerdive," Pascal nodded. "However, said book also goes more into her history and her achievements than her methods. So if you wish to learn how to construct artifacts, we would need one book, but if you wish to meet Daggerdive, we would need another."

He scratched his chin with a rugged, taloned claw. His eyes drifted off pensively into the scene he'd frozen behind Caitria, with Fleetwind trapped in the middle of some ostentatious claims. "You know, I've never tried to do it before, but maybe... it's possible I might be able to do some welding of a sort, so that I could have a figure of Daggerdive who came equipped with the actual knowledge of how to make several interesting artifacts. It would require combining the knowledge in two books... pretty uncommon, but I think it's something I'd be willing to try! What say you? Would you like to be privvy to a new magical experiement?"

[SpringsSong]

"Oh, I see," Caitria said when Pascal said that they would need two books--one on the artifacts themselves, and another about Daggerdive herself.  But, when he scratched his chin with his claw and proposed the idea of attempting to "weld" two books together, Caitria perked up.

"Would I?" she asked, her voice alight with excitement.  "I would love to!  It isn't everyday that one gets to witness something that has never been attempted before," she said, her tail flicking in excitement.  There was a brief part of her mind that wondered if, maybe, the clan was beginning to miss her presence, but she shook her head after a moment--Honora and Ilessani were more than capable of handling themselves with the dens, and building had come to a standstill as they had no immediate need for new dens at the moment.

[Freezair]

"Alright! I'm always glad to see such enthusiasm in a patron! Ahh--but we should leave this book first. I've tried to do things while in books before... it's not dangerous, but it will give you one devil of a headache."

Pascal left the book frozen, and with a sweep of his hand, the forest clearing dissolved around them. Suddenly, they were back in the library. Having just come from the book, it was clear that there was something slightly "unreal" about the world inside the book--the colors were almost too sharply defined, and the edges were fuzzy, and the proportions of everything were just slightly off. Pascal lifted the book, and began skimming the shelves.

"We'll need to go a few shelves over for the book on crafting artifacts," Pascal said. "Don't worry. It's not a far trip."

He shuffled himself around the shelves with a smile. "I do hope you're enjoying your little adventure so far."

[SpringsSong]

Caitria couldn't help but chuckle when Pascal commented that they ought to leave the book that they were in first, and then, she shook her head and blinked a few times once the scene of the book disappeared and they were back, once again, in the library.  It took her a few moments to re-adjust to the real world, but she was soon following after Pascal again.

"Oh, yes; I am enjoying this adventure," she said, beaming.  "It's been very rewarding, to be sure," she added.  She knew that there would be a few Paragon from her clan that would think her tale of the day impossible, but, as their den-mother liked to say, the impossible stories are the ones that challenge the hatchlings to think about what really is possible.

[Freezair]

"I'm glad," Pascal smiled. "Truth be told, some people find what I can do... frightening. And I don't blame them! The world suddenly shifting about, finding yourself in new places... it can be most disorienting! I try not to drag anyone along with my little adventures who doesn't have fun, but some people are afraid to speak up for fear of being rude. Poppycock, I say! This is all for fun, and if you aren't having fun doing something that's supposed to be... err, fun, then you shouldn't do it!"

Pascal swung them around the bookshelves into another nook. Some of the books here looked especially loved--these where the books on making things went. Books on cooking, woodworking, crafting, and even magic were all there, and Pascal took a deep sigh. "I do love making things. I'm not very good with my claws, though. I tried to knit a scarf once and it came out... rather lumpy. But it was fun to try!"

He scooped up the appropriate book. "Here we go. One book on making magic charms. Now time to try a crafting experiment of our own!"

((Sorry for the slightly late reply. Gah. 'Gratz by the way! ))