It's a pleasant day for travel, and Deka's enjoying it - just enough clouds in the sky to cut the early summer heat, a nice breeze, birds singing in the trees, the clop of her draft goat's hooves on the trail, the twittering of her griffon friends as they flit from tree to tree overhead, keeping pace with her cart. She's excited, too: She's on her way to wizard college, but she's decided to check with any wizards she hears of along the way, as well, to see if she can find an apprenticeship, and the people in the last village she passed suggested she try here, at the arboreal mansion she's surely just a few minutes from being able to glimpse through the trees.
Raafi's similarly quiet: "Flight's one that I can share, if you think she'd like it."
"Well, you probably know her better than I do at this point, I'm not going to guess it. We could ask."
His grin widens a bit. "Is now a good time, do you think, or should we wait for another day?"
Figment eyes the angle of the sun. "Should be, yeah. Wuk. Probably just getting home, if she didn't stop anywhere."
"We can go check, then - I can carry you, if you'd like, it'll be a bit faster." He stays still as he speaks, not drifting any closer.
He floats over and offers his arms for One to climb into. "You can put your claws in my vest if you'll feel safer that way, I don't mind mending it."
"All right." He waits for One to get settled and heads off at a brisk walking pace. "How has your day been?"
"It's been good, I think?" One says after a moment. "I sat for the elf that wanted to draw me, and Figment, and Phantasm?"
"Oh! Swimming. And I got to watch the elf drawing some while she drew Figment and Phantasm!"
One hums. "I didn't...dislike it? It felt a bit weird? But it...didn't hurt? And I...think it was kinda nice?"
He nods. "That could just be that you aren't used to it. Good to know either way, though. How about the artist, what was that like?"
"It was...nice? Strange. New. But...I kind of know how to hold still. So...that bit was easy. But she was...nice? And...let me have a break, and paid me before that, but said she wanted me to come back if I was up for it?"
"Sounds like a pretty good first try. If you're interested in working, I do have a couple of ideas for things you could do, especially if you're in the city with Deskyl."
One makes a curious noise, tilting his head at Raafi to indicate that he's listening closely.
"The most obvious thing would be to work for a smith, probably a dwarven one - they make things out of metal, and they need very hot fires to do it, and dwarves do fancier things and need hotter fires, or fires that are exactly the right temperature; I think if you found the right person they'd pay a lot for you to make fires for them that were exactly right. Or you could work for someone else who needs fires made, like a cook - I don't think you'd want to start out doing fancy show-offy things but I think you could get good money at a nice restaurant cooking peoples' meals in front of them, if you did want to, people like to see something interesting with their meal at fancy places. Or if you care more about helping people than about making lots of money, you could work at a fire department; they're the people who go help when a building catches fire, and if you can go into the fire safely to find people who are trapped and figure out how the firefighters can get to them, that'd be a big help."
One's quiet for a moment. "...I don't think I'd like being...seen. Like in those restaurants. But the smith...or the fire department. That...I might like that?"
"Mmhmm. And you can still try at restaurants if you don't find a smith or a fire department you like, and just tell them you'll only work in the kitchen, it'll be less pay but you could still support yourself that way, I think. And you can ask around - or have Deka and the griffons ask around - about who else needs fires, too, I'm sure there are other trades that use it. If you decide to, I mean; I think you should definitely look into the wizarding college too, if you like that idea."
He nods rapidly. "I- I think- I'll need to...think. About it. And- I think I have time? As well? To...decide?"
"You do," he agrees. "It sounds like Deka's planning on letting you stay with her group, and I can find you something else if you ask, while I'm still around. I think it's important to know what you could do for yourself if something happened to us, though - not that it will, I don't think, but it's different if you know you'd be all right either way than if you really need us."