"Probably you'd ideally want some sort of monkey to get a human-enough result? Since supporting the lifebond is a necessary feature it can't look too wild. Not that it wouldn't be very cool to be able to actually legitimately fly."

Nod. "I did not have a reason to do it with monkeys specifically for that research; and it is not ideal for generic research purposes since monkeys are more intelligent and I correspondingly disprefer causing unnecessary harms to them. Also I think they are only native to the southern regions? It ought definitely be feasible, though. I think that version would involve less - potential downtime, with the lifebond." 

"Yeah. I'd say I'm open to both options but finagling some sort of monkey based solution is probably better if it works."

"That makes sense. I can figure out a research agenda for it. ...You are well placed to help with the monkey one, in fact, one of the more straightforward approaches to that work involves working with a Healer who has trained the kind of fine-detail Sight that you have." 

"Huh, okay. What should I read?"

"You could start with all of the notes in this book, and - I do not know if there are others in this library, it is quite an obscure field, but I am sure other writings exist and I can search for them." Or, realistically, ask Nayoki to do it. 

She nods and takes the book.

"Do you have thoughts on what information we can share with the Heralds, now?" he asks her. 

"There's no gentle way to say 'the reason we want to annex you is so we can murder your grandchildren for fuel'. Mentioning the end result is safer if you don't think they'll extrapolate, but they might."

"...No, there is not really, is there." Sigh. "I suppose we can at least share more facts about gods in general with them, since the Companions are mostly jailbroken at this point. And - maybe we can come up with a different plan. Somehow." 

"Figure out how to blow up the moon. - I used that as a stand-in example of something that would obviate the mysterious reasons behind the invasion plan, when I was down there."

He smiles. "It is a good example!" 

"I should probably actually give you all my notes of that time - well, all the relevant stuff, I'd redact some."

Leareth is very curious, but he nods and doesn't ask, if Belrun wants to keep it private then he's sure she has good reasons. 

She does indeed present him with redacted notes some time later outlining the events and speculations and plans spun up during her days in Haven. And she reads the book and asks Amshalan whether it's nice to have a tail.

:I like it! It's useful for flicking flies and such, and it's fun that you can braid it and put ribbons there, and I suppose I do just enjoy the feeling of having it: 

:We're talking about ways to make me immortal and one option is to move me into a homemade Changecreature whenever it comes up. If I start with a monkey - that's the obvious thing, since I want hands and stuff - I could take off the tail, but I might not!:

:Huh! And, yes, having hands seems for the best really. Would the replacement body be Healing-Gifted, I have no idea how that would work..: Sudden pause. :...I’m not immortal:

:I've never heard of a Companion dying of old age but at any rate making you a new body would be easier, you're more like a horse than I'm like a monkey:

:True. And, huh, I'd never thought about whether Companions would die of old age - and at what age - if it wasn't for our Heralds dying. We do seem to age somewhat, I remember being - slower - toward the end of my last last life, but I definitely wasn't as affected as a human at seventy or eighty: 

:And it's not instantly fatal so even if there's a transfer delay...:

:Oh, us dying when our Heralds do? No, we usually have time to make our goodbyes. If it's a very sudden and unexpected death the shock sometimes takes the Companion along, but that's rare: 

:The other option is sticking me in a very early fetus, which wouldn't be able to hold me all at once and might be hard to time exactly, so I'd have to spend the interim being partly an artifact, like Need. It would be awkward and much more stress on the whole 'lifebonded' situation though it does involve less sinister experimentation on monkeys:

:And then you'd have to grow up from babyhood all over again? Gods. That'd get tiresome. Humans take so long at it, too, horses are much better that way: 

:Yes, that'd be more convenient if I wanted to be a horse, but I think it'd be awkward with Leareth, the prospect of me winding up too weird for the lifebond to work right now that we're both dependent on it is pretty salient right now: