"I'm gonna make glow-seeds and house-seeds and tashu-seeds! And all sortsa new seeds, too, someday! Tana makes pet'e braids and 'bitu cloth, which's cool too, I guess."

"Pet'e and 'bitu?"

"Pet'e braids do things! Like make you focus better! Tana does them for me lots. 'Bitu cloth is super warm and thin and lightweight, it's good for flying in."

"Woah, are the braids expensive?"

"Not usually?" says the blue one. "Though that's within our own community. I don't know if they'll even work on aliens - or, well, non-incusai. Might be it'll be harder to weave the life-threads."

"Is that the sort of thing that is safe to test?"

"Probably. Or, I should know if it is soon as I get a look at your life-threads. I suspect someone who's been here longer would know better than me, though."

"Fair enough. We are the first ones from our world so it might be more complicated than finding someone that already knows the answer."

"Wouldn't mind the money from doing braiding myself, though. Do you want braids, or were you just curious?"

"I do want the braids, yeah."

"Well, I can give you the address of where we're staying, you can come by after you finish your things? I need my supplies to do a proper braiding, anyways. ...Or on second thought, I can come by your place if you don't mind me bringing the kids, you'll probably have trouble fitting in the apartment."

"We don't have an address yet. We are currently living on our ship."

Shrug. "I can swing by the docks, too, we're pretty close to there."

"Sure." She checks and gives them their dock's number and a description of their aircraft.

"See you this evening, then?"

"Of course." She makes a note.

"Well, I'll be seeing you. Good luck with your meeting!"

"Thank you."

They wait.

They're waved into the office, which has no windows, instead being lit by softly glowing globes.

A tall, willowy woman with shimmery golden skin, darker golden feathers spilling down her back in the place of hair, and large black eyes sits behind a lightweight desk. Her clothes are different from the local style, solidly colored and form-fitting rather than embroidered and draped. She doesn't have external ears, and her nose is nearly flat.

"You're the Whiteburns?" she asks, in an oddly melodious voice.

"We are." Adam confirms in a formal tone he continues. "We come here representing ourselves and the crew of our ship. I'm Captain Adam Whiteburn."

"This office is intended to orient new arrivals to this country, get them documentation, and provide assistance in settling in, finding meaningful work, and learning the local language, among other duties," she practically recites. "New arrivals who intend to stay in the area are provided with appropriate shelter and a small stipend for basic goods. If you already have arrangements for a place to stay, your stipend will be increased. Basic preventative care and emergency healing are free of charge at the temples. Classes are also free for those under their species' age of majority, and many temples provide free adult learning classes. You will also be provided with a copy of our laws, written, recorded, or orally given as you prefer. As a note, participation in the local fire-rituals at appropriate times is a general requirement; if participation conflicts with your religion, moral code, or ability, accommodations can be made, or for extreme cases the requirement can be waived entirely. Details of the rituals will also be provided."

"We have our ship which works to live in the short term, but not very comfortable on the long term. I presume the entire crew will be required to come here in person for the legal work? Regardless, that's easy to manage. We don't know what the fire-rituals entail and if it conflicts with anything. We are hoping to find a way back home eventually or that someone from there might be able to move between both worlds."

"That would be preferable, yes. How many are in your crew? And we can try to put you in contact with magical theorists; unfortunately there's currently no known way to move between realms."

"There's a few different fire-rituals; they're all vital to maintaining the fire-net, which protects Madeza and somewhat the rest of the continent from natural disasters, wide-scale attacks, severe disease outbreaks, and other ills, as well as aiding the health of our farms. The monthly rituals are not required, though you're welcome to participate - they usually involve feasting and a small sacrifice, typically blood or a hand-crafted item. The yearly ritual takes place over the five intercalary days at the end of the year. No business is to be conducted - only essential services are exempt - and as many activities as possible are to be avoided. You make a small sacrifice, then douse all fires at the beginning, and relight them at the end, after the great temple fire is lit and the criers announce the dawn of the new year. The greatest fire-ritual takes place only every fifty-two years - fires are doused for thirteen days, as many tools and clothes are replaced as possible (and the devout usually replace as many other items as they can), and fires must be relit from the central great fire. The last great cycle one was twenty-four years ago, so you have a while before you need to worry about that one."

They nod along. "That doesn't sound particularly onerous."

"Mmhmm. The ritual is traditionally considered to invoke the old Madezan gods, which some religions object to as well."