Even through the trees, it's quite something to behold, looking less like it was built, and more like it grew this way, rising elegantly through the massive tree it calls home. As she draws nearer, she'll see that there's a garden set around the base of the tree itself, well tended, and blooming.

She's maybe a little bit too halfling-raised to be properly impressed, but it's lovely. She rubbernecks a little as the goat brings them closer, absently calling her dog up into the cart but leaving the griffons to play until she's ready to stop; they swoop down promptly to land on her shoulders when she calls, and she pets them as she goes over her script in her head and then hops down to have a closer look at the place and figure out how to get to the door.

She does not, in fact, need to figure that out. There's a tall, willowy man stood in the garden watching her approach - an elf from the looks of things, who appears to have been tending to his garden. He doesn't say anything immediately however.

Ah! "Hi! Are you taking apprentices?"

He considers her, sweeping his gaze up and down, and he doesn't seem entirely impressed. "I was not in the market, but I could be convinced."

"Mm," she nods, agreeably. "I'm-" she pauses oddly, trying to remember the word, "self-taught, fr'm books; know a few spells already and c'n do them silently. Illusions mostly. Here-" she casts; her diction is even worse, now, but she mumbles her way through the spell confidently enough and it does work, spinning off a duplicate of herself without the shoulder griffons that steps away and turns to also look at him. "I have trouble talking, but," she gestures at the duplicate, "figured it out."

He considers the duplicate for a moment, and while he doesn't look impressed, he does look considering. "Do you have a name?"

"Deka. Figment and Phantasm," she indicates the griffons.

"Hi," one of them croaks.

His eyes flicker to the griffon that speaks, and then back to Deka. "Join me for tea." It is not, precisely a request, but it isn't an order either.

"Sure."

He flickers his eyes back to her cart. "Do you need to do anything with your animals?"

"Now, no. They're trained. If I stay - place for the goat, bit of time for chores, couple days spring and fall to shear him. Rest're easy."

He nods, and then starts to lead the way up to the actual house. "I'm Rogeiros," he says, almost as an afterthought as he opens a door and beckons her inside.

The room he leads her into is well lit with natural light, and comfortably appointed enough as a reception room, although it doesn't appear it gets much use for it's intended purpose.

She looks around a bit as she goes where she's led. "What kind of magic do you do? They didn't know much in town."

"As of late, I have been considering the elements, and ways in which one can make use of the powers of an elemental with less risk to oneself."

That's slightly disappointing. "I..... skipped, evocation. And not conjuring yet. Anything interesting, though?"

"I did say 'of late'," he points out, tone somewhere between amused and offended. "There are other things I am good at, but now that you mention it." He snaps his fingers.

-For a second, there's no response, and he snaps them again, a little more impatiently.

A small creature pokes its head out from near a well-contained hearth, and skitters forward, pausing, retreating, and, at a harsh look from Rogeiros, and another snap of his fingers, and it continues into arms reach, although it keeps itself small (and it wasn't too big to begin with), almost as though it's trying to avoid notice.

"Oh! Hi, sweetie." She leans forward to offer her hand for the creature to sniff. (One of the griffons shifts to her back; the other hops up to the back of her chair.)

-It doesn't seem entirely sure how to take that, and after a moment where it freezes, it does indeed, lean forward to sniff her hand carefully. She can probably feel some heat emanating from the creature? More than you might expect from a creature this size.

"-warm," she comments, and then looks back up. "Safe to pet?"

Rogeiros regards her, and then the creature, before returning his attention to Deka. "It should be," he confirms. "Its had some trouble with controlling itself, but I think I've mostly solved that."

The creature pulls in on itself a little more.

She nods and looks back down at the little animal. "It's all right, sweetie." She moves carefully, trying not to startle him, hoping he'll let her pet his cheek.

"Scared," comments the griffon on her back, consideringly.

"New," she replies. "S'ok."

He holds still, watching her carefully, but surreptitiously, again, obviously not sure what to expect here.

Rogeiros continues to watch the interaction curiously, although he flashes a slightly irritated look at the griffon on her back.

Well, if he doesn't object, she'll pet his cheek, very carefully. It's not that uncommon for an animal to need an example of being treated gently before they decide they like someone.

-Oh. That's...strange. And new.

He leans a tiny bit into the touch, and then pulls back the same amount, as though he's not entirely sure he should be pushing into the touch.

"You certainly seem to know your way around animals," Rogeiros observes.

"Mmhmm." She gives the little creature another stroke and sits up again. "Raised goats and dogs, growing up. Trained mine."

He stays where he is, although sat a little more naturally now, less stock still like a creature caught in a predator's gaze, although still making himself small.

Rogeiros hums. "An attention to detail, and the patience for hard work," he muses. Then he gestures to the creature again. "What do you discern of its nature? Can you tell anything about what it is?"

"Fire, obviously. Not sure species - not raccoon, moves wrong - mix, maybe? With... mink? Or otter, moves wrong for otter but if it's a mix, who knows." She clicks her tongue at the griffons and signs, and the one on the back of the chair chirps an acknowledgement and hops into the air to fly out the window. Meanwhile she shifts to sit on the floor to get a better look, offering her hand to be sniffed again before attempting to pet along his back.

He watches the griffon fly away, and then stretches out to sniff at her hand again. And when she attempts to pet along his back, his first instinct is to crouch lower, still unsure of the contact, but he shudders a little, and it doesn't appear to be in fear.

"It has been hypothesised that this species is related to racoons," Rogeiros agrees. "But it is a species in its own right. Although perhaps using a mix of creatures would, in fact, have been a wiser decision... Something to think on I suppose."

She pets him along the spine, shoulders to rump, watching carefully so that she can back off if he seems bothered. "Racoon I'd say - maybe train for tricks, spy, something like that - clumsier than a racoon, though. And not - fire, really. Hm. -could be just reagents, not really fair to ask me to guess it but could be."

He mostly seems confused, and a little wary, but not...distressed? Probably not distressed at least.

And although his fur and small size hide it fairly well, once she's stroking him she'll be able to tell that he is far thinner than could be considered healthy.

"No. And you got further than I would've expected you to." Rogeiros regards her for a moment more. "I have noticed in recent days that something is not quite right with it. It doesn't appear to be related to the magic, or to the hyrbridisation." A shrewd look. "You could consider it an audition, figuring out what plagues it. As much as this might be considered a failure of my purporse, it does represent a not insubstantial amount of time and resources."

"Wasn't done," she chuckles. "What does it eat?"

Figment reappears through the window as she speaks, carrying a small leaf-wrapped bundle in her beak; she swoops over, staying a polite distance from Rogeiros, and deposits it in Deka's hand.

"Mostly herbivorous, grasses, fruit, the occasional insect."

She nods, and somewhat clumsily unwraps the little bundle to reveal a bit of dried meat, a large dead cricket, and a couple of dried berries. She picks out a berry to offer to Figment, who takes it solemnly, and offers the rest to the mystery creature, including the leaves that made up the wrapper. "I want to see his teeth - gives an idea of - diet, how they live, kinds of thing."

He shifts a little at that, sitting back, stretching up a little and opening his mouth - his canines are sharp, but most of the rest of his teeth are flatter, looking designed for chewing something perhaps tougher to break down?

...uh?

Well. "Grasses, bugs, yeah. Maybe more bugs than he's had. Doglike, in the front. Here, sweetie, eat."

His eyes flicker briefly to Rogeiros, but then he settles back down some and cautiously starts eating, watching Deka as he does so. There doesn't seem to be any impediment to his eating?

Yeah, something weird's going on here. "I'll need to see more to figure out what's wrong - hard to do without knowing the species, I don't know what's normal. But I can - guess, or tell you you need an expert, in a few weeks."

"Acceptable. And it will give me time to decide if I do wish to take an apprentice."

She nods. "I'd like - a lesson or two, too, make sure we work together okay. Maybe - I have, Ventriloquism, a scroll, to copy to my book, you could help."

(Phantasm climbs down from Deka's shoulder, making use of the hand she automatically offers as a step when he starts moving, to nudge a runaway berry back toward the mystery creature and then settle down to watch him.)

"Quite," Rogeiros agrees with a nod. "It would be pointless to take an apprentice I couldn't teach."

The creature tilts his head at Phantasm before reaching out a paw to pull the berry closer, and picking it up to eat, eyes still fixed on Phantasm in curiosity.

"Wuk," the griffon comments quietly, watching just as curiously.

"Start - tomorrow, if you're not busy? Give me time to settle in."

The creature chirps back at Phantasm, and then twitches slightly, as though surprised by it's own voice.

"There was nothing that was time sensitive, and there's little reason to delay." Another, brief pause. "Do you require a room?"

"I'd prefer one."

Phasm cocks his head curiously, then stretches grandiosely and pads a bit closer.

"Then I shall provide one. And a temporary dwelling for your animals until we're sure of the match."

The creature stretches out again, enough to sniff at Phasm, although still in a position easy to retreat from.

Will he stay still to be groomed? If Phantasm is very gentle and careful not to get too close to his eyes?

"Thank you. And I can take care of - what's his name?" She indicates the creature.

...He doesn't quite seem to know what to do with being groomed, but will stay still for it. To begin with it's more frozen stillness, but he'll relax some as Phantasm continues to be gentle.

"One," Rogeiros says simply.

"Okay. I can take care of him, if you show me his things."

("Gentle Phasm," the griffon mutters to himself as he works. "Gentle gentle gentle."

(One seems to melt a little under the ministrations, giving a content purring sound on occasion.)

Rogeiros thinks for a moment, and then nods. "That would be acceptable. Would you like to do that now, or would you like to get your things and get yourself and your animals settled?"

"Now is fine. Might want to - bring things up, for him."

"Very well, this way."

And Rogeiros will lead the way through a kitchen, to a fairly bare room. It's designed to be far more fireproof than the rest of the house. There's not much in it, a pile of branches that might be for a nest, a small platform for climbing but other than that...not much at all.

Not great, but she doesn't make an issue of it, she can fix it later. "His food?"

Rogeiros shows her - kept in the kitchen. It's mostly leaves, branches, some fruit. But probably not varied enough.

It's hard to tell with a strange species, but yeah, probably not, with that dentition. "Eats grass, you said? Hay?"

"Yes," Rogeiros confirms. "And I think I've seen it catch the occasional bug."

...this guy doesn't know animal husbandry from a tree, does he. "Okay. Anything else of his?"

That gets a slightly perplexed look. "No, that's everything."

"All right. Grass eaters needs lots, usually, there's not much - energy in grass. I'll go to town for it tomorrow."

Rogeiros nods. "As you wish. We should likely agree to a specific time for your lessons."

"I'm best in the evening but I'm not picky."

"Evenings would be agreeable, perhaps right before dinner?"

"Sure. I should be back by then. Or another - or we can start another day."

"We will consider it for tomorrow, but if you are not back, we will not consider it a loss. A first day settling in may be appropriate before starting anything."

"Sounds good. Do you need time to - set up the room?"

"Some, yes. I was not expecting guests."

She nods. "I'll settle the animals and bring some things in."

Rogeiros nods to her, and goes to ensure that there's a room prepared for her.

And she goes down to take care of things. By the time she's done there's hay in One's nest, for bedding, and in a little pile in the corner waiting for her to rig up some kind of rack for it, with a shallow wooden bowl set next to it with a few more leaf-wrapped griffon treat balls, a bit of shredded jerky, and a couple of expertly-dispatched caterpillars courtesy of Figment's hunting skills.

Phantasm probably has the little creature melted into a puddle by now; she goes to check on them, when she's satisfied that she's done the best she can with the room for tonight.

He is fairly melted yes, but, perhaps, still seeming somewhat perplexed by the entire situation.

"Hey, sweetie-"

    "Wuk."

"Yeah, cute. Going to town tomorrow, you coming?"

    Phantasm stops his grooming and regards her seriously. "Blackberries?"

She chuckles. "Yeah, blackberries."

    "Wuk," he says again, with some finality. "I'll come."

"Okay. Fig's catching... bugs for your friend, if - go help."

   "Wrr... later." He rubs his beak on One's fur.

"Mmhmm." That's really not a surprise. "Join you?"

    "Scared."

"Huh, okay. His room's - through the kitchen."

   "Wuk."

And she goes to see if she can find Rogeiros or her room.

One seems to be paying quite a bit of attention to the conversation, although he's doing it fairly inconspicuously. He does, however, seem confused by it.

Rogeiros is sat on a landing that is open to the outside, reading.

"Your room is just along there," he points when he notices her, barely looking up from his book. "Third door."

"Thank you." And how is it?

It's a fairly comfortable room, although very plain. There's a bed, with a table beside it, a washstand, a chest of drawers, and a desk and chair. To one side there's a set of doors that lead out onto a small balcony area.

Not bad, considering. Hopefully the apprenticeship will work out, or at least she'll be able to get the little creature's situation straightened out. She flops on the bed for a little while and then gets her things settled in the room before dinnertime, when she goes looking for One again.

Retreated to 'his' room now, sniffing around, a little suspiciously, at the additions to it.

She leans on the doorframe and watches.

It doesn't take him long to realise he's being watched, and he glances around, eyes wide and startled and-

-Oh, yes, that's a tiny flicker of flame that runs along his fur, although it doesn't truly ignite.

She backs out of the door and drops into a less-intimidating squat immediately, swaying slightly as she finds her balance. "Sorry, sweetheart."

That gets a curious head tilt, and a slightly confused blink and then One abruptly goes back to sniffing around the room, as though some invisible switch had been flipped.

She'll hang out for a few minutes, then, if he seems okay with it. She wants to make sure he's figured out the new food before she goes to eat her own meal.

He seems, perhaps, a little unsettled by her presence, but again, he does a good job of hiding it, and after a few minutes, does in fact come to the new food. He darts a look at her, before sniffing at it, and nibbling cautiously at it.

"Good boy," she comments as he takes his first nibble, and then goes off to her room to eat.

She checks again before bedtime to see how much he's eaten, and freshens up the bowl before she heads back to town in the morning.

He's eaten some, but probably nowhere near as much as he should've - although a couple of the treat balls, and one of the catapillars seem to have been eaten.

Well, possibly she just hasn't figured out what he ought to be eating yet. She gets a variety of things in town - a bale of hay and a couple of armfuls of fresh-cut grass, some oats, one each of a few different kinds of fruit and vegetables, and a few different kinds of meat. She stops several times on the way home to cut branches off of different bushes, too, to see if he's interested in the leaves Rogeiros had him on as at least part of his diet.

She checks on him and his food dish first thing when she gets back, bringing a head of lettuce up with her when she does.

He's curled in the nest, and watches her as she comes in. The food bowl is a little emptier again, but still not by much.

"-sweetie," she sighs, and pulls off a lettuce leaf to offer him.

He hesitates for a moment, and then creeps forward to sniff at the lettuce leaf. And after a long moment where it very much feels like he's watching for her reaction, he nibbles at the edge of the leaf.

She stays very still, holding it for him, even when Figment flaps down from her shoulder to take a treat ball from the bowl.

He flinches a little when Figment moves, freezing for a moment before going back to eating. He'll finish most of the leaf before retreating.

Not great, but it could be worse and she'll get nowhere by pushing it. She leaves the lettuce by the bowl and goes to get the rest of the things put away.

Figment stays, however, busy with her treat.

One watches Figment for a while, before creeping slightly closer to her, extending his neck towards her to sniff her.

She makes a soft trilling sound when his breath disturbs the fur of her flank.

He flinches back when she trills, crouching down and making himself smaller.

She continues eating for a few seconds, then turns to look at him.

He's retreated a little more and tucked himself into a ball, half watching her.

She takes another treat ball out of the bowl and bats it toward him.

His head comes up, and one paw catches the treat ball. He rolls it around slightly, and almost bats it back, and instead...bends down to eat it.

Good. She settles down to watch him.

Deka comes back a few minutes later; not into the room, but she's audible in the kitchen, putting things away. Figment pads out to see her, returning shortly with Phantasm, who trots up to One. "Hi."

One tilts his head, watches them, seems to check where Deka is.

"Hi," he echoes, a sound that could almost be considered a chirp rather than a word.

He freezes in startlement for a brief moment before fluffing out his feathers. "You talk?" (He's quieter, though maybe not as quiet as One might like.)

One makes a gesture that is probably a shrug, looking startled, almost as though he hadn't anticipated making the sound. "Yes?"

"Elf knows?"

One wiggles his head - he's not sure. "Don't- not...really?" (Doesn't know he speaks, thought he echoed.)

"Important."

"Why scared of elf?"

One dithers, clearly not sure how to answer. "...Scary?"

He makes another gentle trilling noise. "Scary big, scary loud, scary mean? Hurts you? Something else?"

He ducks his head down. "...I- all? It's- I mean- Just- scary."

"Shouldn't hurt you." Phantasm stretches forward to preen the top of One's head.

He twitches a little when Phantasm stretches forward but-

-But it hadn't hurt before, it had been nice, so he stays still.

"...But he's-" He doesn't have the words to explain, not really.

"Big, and yours?" he says through a beakfull of fur.

"Big," he agrees, a little louder now.

"Still shouldn't hurt you."

"Deka doesn't hurt anyone."

One tucks himself into a ball again. "Make mistakes. Lose control."

Phantasm snuggles up next to him, draping his wing over the larger creature's head. "Still shouldn't. Everybody makes mistakes."

...Oh. It's nice being able to hide under the wing. "...Just how it is?"

"Shouldn't be. Isn't everywhere."

The sounds of Deka working in the kitchen wind down, and there's a flap of wings from Figment. "No. Wuk. No, no."

"...okay," Deka sounds confused.

   "Wuk. Leave it."

"All right."

    "No!"

"Fig."

    "No!"

"Fig I'm just - looking."

    "No!"

Phantasm trills quietly. "Fig, down. Deka, down."

One tucks a little smaller (the fact that he's hiding against Phantasm is probably just a proximity thing), and a faint tremor goes through him. He wants to reassure Phantasm and Figment that it's okay, but...he doesn't want to talk in front of Deka.

Deka's voice comes from the doorway, next. "You okay?"

    "Scaring him," Phasm replies, and Deka sighs.

"He won't - get used - me - if I'm not here."

    "Different problem."

"Different problem. Tell me?"

Phantasm ducks his head under his wing to check on One.

He does not look happy at all about Deka being told, and actually whimpers slightly, and almost inaudibly, when Deka says 'Tell me?'.

Phantasm looks back at Deka. "No. Secret."

There's a long pause, and the griffon eventually ducks his head back under his wing to croak quietly at One.

"Is he a person."

One looks enough to blink, obviously not understanding the statement.

Feather-fluffing. "Secret."

    "Animals don't have secrets, Phasm."

".....wuk."

...Yeah, now One is going to tuck a little tighter against Phantasm. (If he's not an animal, what is he?)

"Scaring him."

    "All right. I want to - talk about it, later." And she goes.

One waits a long moment until he's sure she's gone.

"Don't- I don't wanna- get you in trouble?"

"Not in trouble. She's not mad."

"...But you're...hiding from her?"

"Staying with you." He reaches out to preen the top of One's head again.

"-Oh." One is quiet for a moment, starting to melt a little under Phantasm's ministrations. "I- She won't be mad?"

"She won't be mad." Preen preen. "She likes you. She's worried."

One is quiet, slowly turning into a purring puddle, and thinking. "I- But I'm fine?"

"You aren't eating enough." He punctuates this with a fluff of his head-feathers. "It'll make you sick."

Slightly startled twitch. "I- but- I've never- That's what I've always eaten?"

"It's not enough." He thinks for a moment. "Feel my back."

One is still for a moment, and then one paw, very cautiously and hesitantly feels along Phantasm's back.

It's not bony, like his, but padded out with muscle and a little bit of fat.

"Feels different?"

One cocks his head, and nods a little. "Yes?"

"Supposed to be like that."

"Oh." Prods a little at himself, and how bony he is. "I- didn't know? I- It felt like enough?"

He trills to himself. "Might be something else wrong."

One shakes his head slightly. "Feel fine?"

"I dunno."

One flops down a little again, humming quietly, a little uncertainly.

"Can ask Deka. But - faster if you talk to her." Preen preen. "Won't hurt you, I promise."

One shakes his head. "I- he'll be mad."

"About what?" He snuggles back up.

"...Wouldn't want me to disturb her."

He drapes his wing over One again. "He asked her to help you. It's her job."

One thinks about it for a moment. "I- I'll think- think about it?"

"Okay." He preens through a lock of hair on One's head again.

One settles more as Phantasm preens him. "Mmm. Why?"

"Why she worries? Always that way." Preen preen. "Kept goats, before. And dogs and things."

...That wasn't what he'd meant to ask, but it's good information.

"No. Why...groom?" (He seems a little uncertain of the word.)

He gives a deeper, chuckling trill. "Feels nice, yeah? And keeps you clean, but mostly that."

"Mmm. Yeah, feels good?"

"Yeah. Good reason." Preen preen preen.

Figment comes back, after a few more minutes, carrying a beetle, which she presents to One.

One looks at it for a moment, cocks his head. "Yours?"

"For you, I ate."

"...Oh." He hesitates for a moment, before extending his neck, sniffing at the beetle, and then...eating it quickly.

"More later, if you want." She cuddles up on the other side of Phantasm.

    "News?"

"Wants a cleric."

One chirps curiously, before he remembers himself, and makes himself smaller again.

Phantasm runs his beak along One's head in a petting motion. "Wanted a cleric when we started talking, too."

    "Told her to be good to us."

"Might want a cleric to talk to your elf."

"-He won't like that. Won't like being told what to do."

Pet pet. "We'll warn her."

    "Still important, cleric stuff."

One presses a little into the pets, making the purring sound again. "...Okay," he agrees softly.

Pet pet preen preen. "Okay to tell her, now?"

He hums a little. "I- okay?"

"Safe, I promise."

Which is the point at which Rogeiros' voice can be heard, summoning One, and One carefully extracts himself from the pile and leaves the room in a gait that could be called scampering if it was less resigned.

Phantasm follows, though he hangs back by the door when they come to the room Rogeiros is in.

Rogeiros doesn't notice Phantasm at first, but snaps his fingers and indicates a small platform with a stone surface - it's looking like he's considering some form of experimenting? Once One has obeyed the implicit order, Rogeiros moves over to close the door. He squints a little irritably at Phantasm, and waves a hand in a shooing gesture.

(One is watching in concern.)

"Wuk." He hops away, but not out the door, just to another perch in the room.

Rogeiros presses his lips together, and lets out a controlled breath. "Go back to your mistress."

That does get him to go, though with an annoyed twitch of his tail first.

Rogeiros closes the door rather firmly behind him.

The next few days pass much the same, with little changing, although One starts to be a little less tense around Phantasm and Figment, although he still won't speak around Deka or Rogeiros, and his behaviour is still, on the whole, very timid, and although he's eating more, it perhaps still isn't enough.

Rogeiros meanwhile is...somewhat dismissive of One, and of Phantasm and Figment, and while he obviously tries to restrain himself from snapping at Phantasm and Figment, he does seem perhaps a little irritable about their presence, especially around One.

With Deka he is still a little distant, slightly aloof while being perfectly pleasant. He does instigate a couple of trial lessons, where he proves himself meticulous and focused, and definitely in favour of getting things done right rather than quickly, and he shows rather more patience with Deka than his dealings with One and the griffons might suggest.

Deka likes Rogeiros as a teacher, though his treatment of the griffons and mystery creature is worrying, to say the least. She continues to make sure One's food bowl is full and hay trough is stocked, trying different things on different days to see if anything catches his attention but always including a few of the griffons' treat balls, since he seems to like them. She spends time with him, too, when Figment and Phantasm don't object; they do, often enough, but she doesn't seem to mind, and never pushes him to talk to her, just tries to tempt him into trying some new kind of food or sits and plays her recorder or offers to pet him.

After a few days, when it won't raise suspicion that she's heading back too soon, she goes into town to ask their cleric about Rogeiros.

Deka's presence near him makes him relax some, and he'll start to come near to greet her when she enters, is less hesitant about trying the new foods she offers, and will curl up just withing arm's reach when she sits.

The cleric can only tell her so much - Rogeiros keeps to himself mostly.

He's lived near the town for many years, and while he doesn't particularly involve himself in the town's affairs, he is willing to help if it's needed, sometimes even to his own detriment. Was there something more specific Deka wanted to know?

"I have - " she nods at Phantasm, who's accompanied her in. "He talks, he's a person, right? Not allowed to - do anything I wouldn't to a humanoid. Rogeiros has - little creature, he made - smart - doesn't talk to me, but - same kind, I think. Scared of everything, very thin."

The cleric frowns a little. "You're correct about him being a person. And that situation does sound worrying. And there's no underlying reason you can see for him to be thin? Or scared? Perhaps his nature?" (He's not disagreeing, he's just looking to make sure he has all the information.)

"Said the elf hurts him. Wuk."

That gets a serious nod. "I think I might need to... I don't think I can deal with this. I'll send a message to the nearest city, as fast as possible. They might have a better reach for help than I have."

"Thank you. Not - sure he knows - doesn't talk to him, I think."

"If he doesn't know, there's a reasonable chance it's because he's done something that made the creature scared enough to not want to tell him. And either way, it should be investigated to make sure one way or the other. You did the right thing bringing this to us."

Nod nod. "How long to -?"

"I can't say with any certainty. I would expect at least a week. I'm sorry."

"Should still be there in a week. Don't want to - I'm there to try apprenticing; feels wrong to stay on a lie, past that."

The cleric nods. "I'll try to impress the urgency of the matter on them."

She nods. "Anything else?" she asks Phantasm.

    "Wuk. He needs -" he preens a lock of Deka's hair, thoughtfully. "Needs help."

"Can come with us, if he wants to."

   "Good. Good Deka."

The cleric gives a slightly wry smile. "If he does go with you, I never heard you were intending to ask him. If I can't get someone to you before you have to leave, and you can't convince him to leave, someone will still check on him."

"Thank you."

She hangs around in town for a bit, letting the griffons play in the marketplace for a bit and following up on some questions she had about selling wool or yarn from her goat if she's somehow still around that long, and heads back.

It's a somewhat tense few days, after that; Deka keeps busy, asking for lessons in spell design once she's got Ventriloquism copied into her spellbook and spending the rest of her free time with One, or her other animals, or in the woods around the house.

And late in the afternoon of the fifth day after her trip to town, Figment comes back early from an insect-hunting expedition to tell Deka that there's a cleric coming up the path, and she goes to see.

He's an older man, human, dressed typically for a cleric of Fharlanghn and wearing a holy symbol that confirms the impression. He starts hurrying, a bit, when he sees her - "Hello there! Are you - what was it - Deka?"

    "Am," she nods.

"Good, I wasn't sure I had the right place. Is this the creature?"

    "No - Figment, mine. Creature is a little - like a racoon, not quite. Named One."

"All right. Can you bring him down?"

    "Probably not. Can try."

"Don't upset him over it, I don't think. I'm going to need to talk to Rogeiros in any case."

    "Okay."

She leaves him waiting on the path and goes to see if One can be coaxed into letting her bring him down.

Probably not without making him very stressed. There's an indication that he wants to obey and be good, but also that he doesn't think he's allowed to leave, and he's more worried about what Rogeiros might do if he does.

Well, she tried, and also that's pretty reasonable, really. She leaves Figment with him - they're still awkward with each other, a bit, but still get along much better than One does with either humanoid - and brings Phantasm back down with her. "Scared to come," she reports.

    "All right. And the message said - he's thin and anxious, and speaks but not to you or Rogeiros - to your griffon - griffons, is that the same one? - to them, anyway, I assume - and reports being hurt by him. Has he said he wants to leave?"

        "I'm a different one. He didn't understand when I asked."

    "Okay, I can try to work with that. Can you give me some examples of why you think he's smarter than an animal, if he doesn't usually talk?"

"Understands when we talk. Animal, can train them, but you have to - show, what you want, first times, not just say. One, can just say."

        "Gets scared when we talk about scary things. Wuk. And keeps secrets."

    "Mmhmm. And what's Rogeiros like?"

        "Rude."

"Polite to me, rude to them. Doesn't - talk, social, much. Patient, about magic, lessons, again not to them. Not - interested, in One, really? As - person, or pet. As tool some."

    "All right. Would it make sense for me to say you've asked me here to check on One's health, if he's thin?"

"Yeah."

    "I'll do that, then." And he goes to knock on the door.

Given that the knock was unexpected, it does take Rogeiros a moment to reach and open the door. He regards the cleric for a moment, as though he isn't quite sure he's seeing right.

"Can I help you?" he asks eventually.

"Hi! I ran into Deka on the trail and she said you have a mystery creature that could use some attention from someone who knows more about healing, and I thought I'd come have a look."

There's a slightly displeased press to Rogeiros' lips, but after a moment he nods. "Of course. I did place his care in her hands, and if she thinks this is for the best." He steps to one side, and gestures for the cleric to enter.

He steps inside and waits for Rogeiros to show him to the creature.

And he does, not saying anything as he leads the way to One's room.

One is curled up in his nest, not quite hiding, but very close to it.

Figment is curled up with him, purring reassuringly.

"Oh, a red panda. No wonder she didn't recognize him, he's well out of his range." He goes in, checks out the accommodations - "do you have bamboo for him?"

"...I do not."

"That's at least part of your problem, then. I think it'll grow around here, I'll have to see if I can get you some stalks."

He goes over to the nest, next. "Hey, sweetheart, can I get a look at you?" He offers his hand to be sniffed.

He extends his neck out, sniffs at his hand, and then slowly emerges, keeping himself small - although perhaps a tiny bit less cautious than he had been with Deka. (He does seem reluctant to part from Figment, but.)

Raafi goes to pet him, hesitantly -

    "Gentle," Figment puts in.

"Of course." And he is quite gentle, running a hand down his back. "Thin - he'd benefit from a healing spell, at this point - you can probably turn it around without one but it'll be risky, if he's not familiar with what he should be eating."

One tilts his head slightly, and shivers a little under the gentle hand, and is carefully watching the cleric without really seeming to watch him.

"If you think that's best," Rogeiros agrees, almost impassively.

"Mmhmm. Let's see if there's anything else going on - I'm going to look at your feet and then your mouth, sweetheart," he says, and reaches for one of his forepaws.

One obediently lets him inspect each of his paws in turn, and when he's finished, opens his mouth without prompting.

"-did you train him to do that?"

Rogeiros' lips have pressed together, perhaps in surprise? "I did not."

"Sweetie, can you... go over and touch the wall and come back?"

One hestitates for a brief moment - and yes, his eyes flicker to Rogeiros - before he does exactly that.

"That's, uh, pretty decisive that he understands the language. Which means he counts as a person, ethically speaking."

Rogeiros does not look particularly pleased with that revelation. "I see," he says tightly, watching One as though this is his fault.

One shrinks in on himself some - he hadn't meant to give that away.

"You haven't done anything wrong, sweetheart. Do you talk?"

-He really doesn't want to answer that, and his eyes flicker between the two men, backing away a tiny bit.

"Hey, it's all right, nobody's going to hurt you." And to Rogeiros: "I think I need to speak to him privately, if you don't mind."

There's a moment when it looks like Rogeiros is going to argue, and then nods, a little discontently. "Very well." And he leaves.

One, meanwhile, has tucked himself into a ball.

And Figment has snuggled back up and draped a wing over him.

"It's all right, sweetheart, take your time. I mean it that you haven't done anything wrong, though, and that nobody's going to hurt you - I won't let them, all right? You don't need to worry about it, I'll take care of it."

One's head pokes out from his ball, but he doesn't uncurl, and he stays tucked against Figment.

"I know this is scary, but - it's important, okay? It's important that you get to live your own life. That you have a chance to find someplace where you're safe and happy, that you aren't stuck here. That - you matter, you know, just as much as anybody else does, just as much as he does. He's unhappy right now, but it seems like you've probably been unhappy for a long time, and if nothing changed you would have just kept on being unhappy, and it's better for him to be unhappy for a little while than for you to be unhappy forever."

He makes a low, uncertain whining sound, and looks to Figment as though the griffon will have an answer.

She shifts a little closer. "Still scary. But - better." She pets the top of his head with her beak. "Bad, here."

One is quiet for a moment long. "Didn't like me...mimicking." His voice is very quiet, and he flinches when he's finished talking.

"Sometimes people think that if they can pretend that something isn't true, that's the same as it not being true. It really isn't, though."

One doesn't seem to know how to actually respond to that. He settles for a very quiet: "Oh."

"Yeah. The way he was treating you - I don't know much about it, but anything that leaves someone this scared isn't okay. It wouldn't really have been okay even if you were an animal, but it's definitely not okay if you're a person. And - there are rules, about that. He's not allowed to make you stay. You're allowed to leave if you want to. If he wants you to stay and do things for him, he has to make it nice enough that you want to do that, instead of leaving. He doesn't like it, but it's an important rule, it means nobody ends up stuck in a place that's hurting them, and if they do, then other people know they should help them. Deka and I want to help you, like that - I know leaving is scary, I know you're not sure how it'll work, but that's my job, to help people figure out how to go to new places- I'm a cleric of the god of travel, he gives me magic just for that."

"I don't- There's-" He stops, blinking - and a there's a flicker of fire at his muzzle, and he shuffles, reluctantly away from Figment. "Nowhere else to go?"

"There's plenty of places you can try - a lot of the time, people in situations like yours end up going to a church for help - Pelor's will do it - or I could probably come up with a couple dozen people I know to introduce you to and see if you get along well enough to live with them, and more who might know someone else to try. Or you can live on your own, somewhere, if you want to try that - it's harder, if you're not used to it, but you still can."

He tucks in on himself a bit more, obviously rather overwhelmed by all of this - more flames flickering over his fur. "Don't- know. Don't know how to."

Figment hops away from the flames. "Go get Phasm," she comments, and does so.

"It's all right, sweetheart. That's not your fault either. And that's why I think it'd be better for you to start with a church, or someone I know will be good to you - they'll help you figure it out, they won't expect you to know everything."

"I- ah- if you- think- that's best?"

"I think it would be a good idea for you to meet more people and see what it's like in more places, and then you'll know more about what you like and where you want to live. I can help you decide - and Deka and the griffons, too, if you want to travel with them - but we can't do it for you."

"...Never had to. Make choices before."

"Yeah. That's one of the things that was wrong with it, here. It'll get easier when you've had some practice."

"...Oh." He stares a little blankly ahead of himself - although the flames on his back do seem to be calming some? They're certainly not getting worse.

"Yeah."

"I should say - you can stay here, if Rogeiros lets you. I don't think it's a good idea, and I'm not sure he will, but I'm not going to steal you away if you don't want to go. That's not okay either."

One tilts his head slightly, hums. "...Scary."

"I know, sweetheart. I wish there was more I could do about that for you. I can say - it's hard, doing new things, but it's almost always worth it."

"...Maybe 'll...try?"

"Good."

Deka shows up then, with a griffon on each shoulder. "Leaving?"

"I think we ought to."

She's visibly relieved. "I'll get my stuff. Ten minutes."

Phantasm takes the opportunity to hop over to Raafi's shoulder as she goes.

One...doesn't really seem to know what to do with himself now, although he gets to his feet, and shakes himself slightly, almost trying to shake the flames away - it helps some, but not a lot, and he's mostly focusing on Phantasm.

"What happened?"

"Rogeiros admitted that he's a person. What happens next should be up to One, but we've been talking and I don't think it's very fair to ask him to make that kind of decision yet, so I suppose it's up to us. For right now I think we should get out of here - I don't think Rogeiros will try to stop us but I'm not as sure as I'd like to be, and I don't want to hang around - and find someplace cozy to stay for a few days while One gets used to the idea of it, and then we can see what sounds good from there. Does that sound all right?"

"Yeah. Deka wants - wuk - city, eventually, for college. If the apprenticeships don't work. But not in a hurry."

"We could head for the city; we'll have to camp out for a night before we reach the next town in that direction, though. Does that sound all right to you, sweetheart?"

One stops, sits back a little on his haunches, and tilts his head. "I- yes?"

"All right. I can cast something to protect Deka or me from fire, so we can carry you - that seems like the best way to get you down without burning anything, if you're all right with it. If not I can figure something else out."

"I- I'll- try? Being- carried?"

"All right. Should I ask Deka, or would you like me to do it?"

(Phantasm shifts his weight nervously on Raafi's shoulder and reaches over to preen a bit of his hair.)

"I-I don't- mind? Whichever's...easiest?"

"Deka."

    "All right. I should probably stay here, if you can go ask her."

Phantasm bobs his head and takes off.

    "Do you have any questions for me, while we're waiting?"

"...Why're you doing this for me?" It's out before One can stop it, and he twitches at asking it.

"Well, it's part of my job, for one thing - I'm a cleric of the god of travel, he gets very upset when people are trapped places. But it's also just the right thing to do, and plenty of people would do it just because of that, or because it upsets them to see people getting hurt."

One hums quietly, sort of relaxing at the words. "I- ah. What should I- call you? Other people?"

"My name is Raafi, but anyone with a medallion like this one is a cleric of Fharlanghn, and you can call us 'Traveler' if we don't remember to introduce ourselves. People should usually introduce themselves when you first talk to them, but you might have to ask sometimes, and they usually won't mind if you do."

One nods slowly, and then curls up again, not really sure what else to ask. "Thank you," he murmurs.

"You're welcome."

He stands quietly for a minute, half-turned to keep an eye on the kitchen. "Is there anything we should take care of here before we go? Any questions you want answers to, or anything?"

"I don't- think so? I wouldn't- I don't think I'd know if there was?"

Raafi nods. "Well, you can send him a letter if you think of anything later. Do you know what he was trying to do when he made you? I think I'd want to know that, in your position. I suppose I don't know if he'll answer the question, now."

"I- M'not sure. I think- trying to make...elements a tool? I think?"

"That's kind of broad, but if you're satisfied with it I suppose that's enough." It sounds like he doesn't really think One should be satisfied with it, though.

"-I. You could- try? To ask? If you- think I should- but-"

"If you think I shouldn't I won't, sweetheart."

"I just- He's- It's scary."

"Yeah, but - you're scared for a reason, right? And I should pay attention to that; I think we'll be safe either way, I'm pretty sure I can take him in a fight if I have to, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to provoke him if I can help it."

One nods slowly again. "You just seemed- About what I knew?"

"It's usually important to people to know about where they came from, and decide what they think was good or bad about it. It gives you - more of a story about who you are and where you're going, for most people, and what you want to do with your life. So it'd be good to have, that way. But that's not the only important thing - this is already going to be hard for you, and if we leave without provoking him there's a better chance he'll answer your letter later, if you want to do that." He shrugs. "These things are always messy, it's hard to say what the best way is. And I don't know him at all, you're going to be a better judge that way."

One is quiet for a long moment, thinking that over. "Think it's probably better not to, right now?" he hazards, sneaking looks at Raafi like he's not sure that's the right answer.

"Then that's what we'll do. I do think we should tell him we're going; do you think that's a bad idea? It would be strange not to, he'd probably think it was rude, but it gives him a chance to pick a fight if we do, if he's the type. I can wait until you're out of the house to do it, if you don't want to see him; that should be fine."

"I- he might not--want to let me leave?"

"I don't think he's going to be happy. But I can't let him keep you here if you don't want to stay, my god doesn't allow me to, and I'm pretty sure he knows that, most people do. So the question isn't whether he'll be happy, it's whether he'll start a fight about it, knowing that I can't back down and might be stronger than he is."

"...m'sorry, don't know if he'll fight. Never really seen him get mad at people."

"Mmhmm. Well, I'll tell him, and you don't have to be there unless you want to."

"...Don't think I do." He sounds guilty about that.

"That's all right, sweetheart."

"You know, even if you had been just an animal, it wouldn't've been okay for him to treat you that way. It matters less, and to different gods, but it still matters. It's not like this would have been fine if only he'd been right about you." He's angry about it, just a little.

One twitches back a little, eyes widening. "I- he did look after me?"

"Not well enough to excuse anything. He didn't even know what kind of food you're supposed to be eating."

"...Oh. I- Oh." He doesn't seem to know what else to say to that.

"I'll have to talk to one of my druid friends about it - I don't know much about red pandas - and he'll be livid." He sighs. "But we'll get things straightened out for you, and figure out how to make sure he doesn't do anything like this again."

One twitches, and opens his mouth, almost as though he's about to apologise again, and then stops, cocking his head slightly - he's very confused by the concept of people being angry on his behalf instead of angry with him, but he's also concerned that continuing to apologise will make them angry at him for not understanding it.

"I- that's- good? He shouldn't hurt people."

"He really shouldn't, and I'm sorry it happened even the once. But I'll leave that to someone who can talk to him about it without yelling. I'll probably be busy with you for a while, anyway, I want to make sure you get settled in somewhere you like."

There's a little confusion there, and then a tiny nod. "I- you don't- have to? I'll...be okay?"

"I don't mind. This kind of thing is my job too."

"...Oh." Pauses, thinks about that. "Thank you."

"It's no trouble."

He waits quietly for another minute, and Deka turns up before he says anything else, wearing a full backpack and with both griffons along; Figment is riding on her shoulder, and Phantasm glides over to Raafi's.

    "Going?"

"Mmhmm. I'm going to stay behind for a minute to talk to Rogeiros, but I've got a fireproofing spell for you, I want you to take One down to ground level and be ready to go if he decides to attack me."

    "Okay." She peers at One. "Heal first? In case?"

"I can." He looks back at One. "If you'd like. I was going to wait until things had gotten a little less overwhelming; it might feel strange, if you've been that thin for a while."

One looks between them, and skitters a little towards Deka. Hesitates looking up at her. "Ah- if- if you think it's best?"

She sits, and offers her hand at the correct height for petting. "Worried about you. But - we can probably... get to town, by ourselves. Find a healer. If you want to wait." She sighs and looks up at Raafi. "Plan? If you don't-?"

    "I very much doubt that he'll be able to keep me from leaving. I can meet you in town."

"Okay. Can wait, if - too much, today."

One thinks for a moment, and then nods hesitantly. "Lots of scary?"

"Yeah. Okay." She pets Figment, taking a moment to think- "Ready."

Raafi casts, and the air around Deka shimmers faintly orange for a few seconds. "That'll last five hours," he adds, and she nods and turns to One.

He moves closer to her again, a bit more slowly, aware of the flames still flickering over his fur, but does come close enough to be easy to pick up.

She's a little hesitant, reaching into the fire, but scoops him up and makes sure he's comfortably settled before standing.

And Raafi escorts them through the house and makes sure they'll be able to get down safely before going to look for Rogeiros.

One tucks himself carefully into Deka's arms, and tries to hold himself still, but in a way that's easy to carry.

Rogeiros is fairly easy to find - on a wide balcony that is currently serving as a study for him.

Raafi raps on the doorframe to get his attention.

He doesn't immediately look up from his writing. "Did you need something?"

"I wanted to let you know that we're leaving. And see if there was anything you wanted passed along to One."

Rogeiros does look up now. "I hope you understand the investment One represents for me."

"I have some idea." His hand goes to the holy symbol hanging from his neck. "I have my own obligations here, though. I do think there's a chance - maybe not a large one - that he'll decide to come back, if it seems like you'll do right by him. Once he's ready to make that sort of decision for himself."

Rogeiros hums. "I suppose that is the best I can expect." He doesn't exactly sound pleased, or entirely accepting, but he doesn't seem like he's intending to fight. "There is little else to tell it- him that won't become apparent with time."

"I'm not sure that leaving him with unpleasant surprises in store will help your case."

"They shouldn't be unpleasant to him. His power and control over fire should grow, it certainly has been so far, although his control has been somewhat lacking thus far in relation to the strength of his abilities. He's probably reached his full size."

"That sounds reasonable. The other thing that might matter is what he can expect it to be like, if he decides to come back - I've suggested that he can write to you about it when he's ready to consider it, but it might help to know what you have in mind now, if anything."

"I don't know," Rogeiros says, with a surprising amount of sincerity. "I had never intended to create a person. I would need to consider how things might go, should he decide to return."

Raafi nods. "I'll encourage him to write, then."

"That is acceptable yes. Was that everything?"

"I think so. Good luck with your studies." He gives a nod that's more like a bow and goes to see how Deka and One are managing.

Deka's made it down from the tree and around to where she's been keeping her carriage and goat and dog; the dog is trying to sniff at One, who she's holding just out of range.

One has tucked himself tighter against Deka, and is in fact resisting the urge to try and climb onto her shoulders where he would be further away from the dog. (He's curious, but it's big. And also he doesn't want to hurt it by accident and upset Deka.)

The dog breaks off when he notices Raafi approaching, going on alert, but Deka orders him into the cart, and he goes readily.

    "Go okay?"

"Mmhmm. Better than I was expecting, he didn't give me any trouble at all."

One watches the dog go curiously, but also listens attentively when Raafi speaks.

"Good. Next problem - don't think I can drive and carry him."

    "I can drive for today, if that's all right? And we can figure something else out for tomorrow, I have a few ideas for how it might work."

Deka agrees, and so they can get going, with the dog alternately lying at her feet and running alongside the cart and the griffons flitting from tree to tree overhead and occasionally coming down to offer One a choice bug or berry or bit of greenery to eat.

For the start of the ride, One stays tucked in a ball, hiding behind his tail, but as they get further away, he slowly starts relaxing and taking in more of the surroundings - and the flames that had still been dancing over his fur slowly start to die down. He sniffs at the offerings from the griffons, and will occasionally take them, slanting looks at Deka and Raafi just in case.

Deka grins and pets him encouragingly; Raafi seems to be lost in thought and ignoring him entirely.

They get a few hours of travel in, and stop just as the western sky starts to turn colors, when they spot a campsite by the side of the road. They unload, and Deka goes to get the travel rations out of the storage in the back of the cart, but Raafi stops her and casts something that produces a pile of food that's at least half bamboo, though the remainder is still plenty for everyone else; it's not a small pile.

One blinks at the pile of food for a long moment, and then at Raafi, but doesn't move.

"You can eat as much as you want, sweetheart, the magic'll fade in a day anyway. Stop if you start feeling sick, that's all, and let me know."

The griffons are hanging back too, but after a moment Phantasm glides over and rummages through the more diverse half of the pile, coming up with a sprig of cherry tomatoes, which he expertly plucks from their stem. "Tastes right," he declares after a few seconds' consideration, and then he grabs a piece of bamboo to bring to One. (Figment, meanwhile, goes for the rest of the tomatoes.)

One sniffs, curious and suspicious in equal measures, at the bamboo, before curling one paw around it, eyes still flicking between Deka and Raafi, and, if neither of them seems to object, he'll start nibbling at it.

They don't object even a little bit.

Raafi goes off to find some firewood, and Deka attempts to get the fire circle cleared out enough to use without putting One down; this doesn't go very well, though Phantasm's help is useful.

One will try to shift to help, and after a little bit: "You could put me down? I can- Help more?"

"This'll... catch, easy," she nudges the leaf litter with her foot. He's not on very much fire, though, and she does have the area partly clear... "Maybe... stay in the circle?" She bends down to let him into it.

He goes into the circle, and curls up, staying very still, and trying to stay away from the leaf litter.

There's not really enough room to stay properly away from the leaves, but between the stony firebreak encircling him and Deka's hasty clearing of the rest of the area around it, the resulting fire stays contained. She pauses to check on him when she's got the immediate area clear: "You okay?"

One looks up at her, and hums quietly. "Yes?" he doesn't sound entirely certain, but that might be more that he's not used to people asking that.

"Good. More bamboo?"

"...If that's okay?" (He doesn't believe he can eat as much as he likes yet.)

"Healer said so." She brings over an armful and sets it just outside the ring of stones.

He reaches his head over the edge, sniffing at it, and then reaches one paw to draw a shoot into the circle to eat.

She grins at him and goes back to clearing up the area, then goes to have a look at the food and figure out what to do for dinner. By the time Raafi gets back with the firewood, she has her dog fed and goat set out to graze and has started putting together a simple meal for herself and him.

When Raafi comes back, he sets the wood he's collected down outside the fire circle. "Are you comfortable in there, One? I'd like to build us a fire, but I think I can keep it to one side, if that's all right."

"...I should be okay? Fireproof?"

"All right."

The structure he ends up building doesn't quite keep all to one side, but ends up as more of a crescent half-encircling One but still giving him a clear space to leave through if he wants to, with Raafi checking a few times as he goes to make sure One doesn't feel too crowded, and then he goes to help Deka with dinner, piling leaf-wrapped bundles against the far side of the fire to cook.

"So, what do you think so far? Anything you've been wondering about?" he asks, when dinner is settled and Deka's gone off to brush the goat.

One seems a bit perplexed by the affordance given to his escape routes, but when the fire's built, curls up in the middle of the crescent, apparently enjoying the warmth of the fire. He startles a little at being addressed.

"I don't- it's...calm? Peaceful. I don't- It's big?"

"Mmhmm. You'll get used to that, I expect it's a lot to take in right now. We should get to town tomorrow afternoon, and then you'll be back indoors, at least for a bit - I think we should take a day there, give me a chance to go talk to my druid friend without losing track of you - I'll have to teleport to the other side of the continent and back, he's not nearby."

One nods, but also looks, perhaps a little concerned at the idea of someone going to that level of trouble for him. "I- that's- Okay?"

"I'd hate to find out there's something we should have been doing for you and didn't know about. And I'm a cleric of travel, remember, I couldn't be one if I didn't like bouncing around from place to place. It's really no trouble."

"...Oh. Okay." Pauses, curls a little tighter into the fire. "What's it like?"