Ranara and her little daughter Azabel move to Urtho's Tower when the latter can say six words ("up", "mama", "milk", "no", "now", and "please") and hasn't started to walk yet. Ranara sets up to teach little children to read, ones who don't have evident Gifts yet - Ranara herself has Mindspeech, is all, with about a classroom's worth of range. Azabel sits in on classes, worn on her mother's back or later plopped in a corner with toys or, when she's only four, plopped in a corner with a book, younger than the other kids in the class. When Azabel has in fact sat through her mother's curriculum she is turned somewhat loose, to walk very carefully up and down and around the Tower, exploring.
Adorable.
She hangs out with them for a bit longer and then goes looking for Skan.
Skan is, as usual, flying the obstacle course. He spots her and swoops down.
"Hi Skan! I had lunch with Urtho today and we talked about how he made gryphons."
"Apparently he doesn't let gryphons have babies unless he thinks they'd be good parents?"
"I don't! You can't do that with humanss, right? Make them not have babiess unlesss they're good parentss?"
"I think they're fine parentss? I don't know what ssortss of thingss parentss are meant to be good at."
"They have to be good at listening to your problems and giving you advice, and getting you stuff if you need stuff but maybe since you live here hertasi do that for you, and if you have a problem with another grownup they're supposed to talk to the grownup for you if the grownup won't listen to you, and make sure you eat vegetables - I guess you don't eat vegetables - and go to the healer if you're sick and stuff."
"Oh." Skan considers this very seriously. "- I think they are good parentss then. The Healer comess to uss, ussually, and the trondi'irn to groom uss, but my parentss give me advice on flying and come to all my competitionss and ask about ssschool and they tell me what to do if the insstructor is being unfair."
"I don't think sso? ...Oh, maybe. My parentss talked about their friendss once wanting a baby but not being 'ready'."
"They're here. Why'd you want to meet them? They're not that interessting."
Skan flies off. He's only gone for about ten minutes. "They ssaid yess! They are excited to meet my friend, they ssaid I sshould have invited you ssooner. I never thought of it."