"It was--the way I was doing it, I was, technically, sort of--reinforcing their wings, holding them up, but externally? Shrens are sort of constantly on the verge of dying, and they're sucking strength out of their wings, and if there's more strength they suck harder and if there stops being as much to suck on..." she shudders.

"...I see. You should tell Ehail, that would be relevant to her research."

"Ironically I didn't start staring at shrens in earnest until we had just finished a conversation and she left."

"I have a communication crystal for her."

"A what?"

Jensal goes and gets it. "You hit it against something, and her twin to it will ring and you can speak to her through it."

"Oh, that sounds convenient."

"Juggling a lot of them less so, but yes."

"I'd probably make, like, a belt or a sash or something to hang them from, they're pretty."

"People do," agrees Jensal. "They normally only come in green but you can recolor them if you're going to use them as decoration or find labeling them annoying."

"I will definitely keep that in mind." She hits it against something.

Ring ring "Hello?"