(Morgan trots up the stairs as soon as the door's been opened.)

"Interestingly.  I'm going to need to perform some practical experiments, but I think I have a proper answer to husking - and a lot more questions."

"Oh, what kind of experiments?"

"Not - on anyone, well.  Until actually attempting the thing happens.  But...seeing if certain magic is constructed in the way I hypothesize it's constructed.  And I probably am going to need to look at what's actually responsible for the...not exactly generative, portion, but the coloring.  Magic back home had - maybe a signature, but not something as explicit as this.  You could tell a mage by how they threw a spell, but not the mana they actually threw.

"It's weeeiiiird."

"Huh, how's it weird?"

The young man on the couch looks up at Hali.

"Hey, I'm Tobi. Thank you so much for helping Su-Yeong."

"It's unusual, especially given the way that - color can stain gems over time in a way that improves their affinity to carry that mana or maintain structure or - something.  I should try conjuring up something by specification, sometime, and seeing how that - works, compared to...

"I can get distracted by 'why this' later, it's just really quite strange that -

"So, souls are also made of mana.  And there's...hm, now I really am wondering...

"Every single person, even those without any active access to it at all, has their color of mana constantly - being generated, falling in and out of alignment, there's something about the process...

"What is it doing?  Why is it doing it?  Is it just ease of - but then what's with the soul animals?  I don't know, and it confuses me!  It's like it was designed, and I don't know by whom or for what purpose!

"It could just be - adaptation - but still, the soul-animals!"

"...Excuse me, that's gotten rather off-topic.

"Hello Tobi; I'm glad I was able to - properly help Su-Yeong."

"Huh. I didn't know that about gem color. It sounds like the magic is… doing stuff on purpose?"

Morgan trots over; she looks at him thoughtfully.

"Maybe it's… I know that familiars are the manifestation of magic, or at least that's what they say about them. So maybe they're… I dunno, an expression of that personality? Wow, that just sounds like I'm on drugs."

Tobi laughs.

"I think it just means that this stuff is over our head for now. Anyway, you said you had an 'answer' to husking? What do you mean, by that?"

(The color of his magic, as it so happens, would be a rich forest green.)

"Yes, soul animals are a personality thing, absolutely, but - why are they a personality thing, from what source are they deriving personality traits associated with themselves - has anyone ever had an animal they've never seen before?

"...Anyway.  Answer to husking.  Yes.  I've had a chance to look at 'normal' mages, and I can - compare what they have, and sort of figure out what needs to be set up, to make a full - solution to husking?  In a way that's not...tool-dependent."

Su-Yeong thinks.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. At least, I'd never seen an armadillo before Tully - uh, that's Philomena Vasillia's. And I'm pretty sure she had to look up what he was in a book."

Tobi pipes up.

"Yeah, I think they're from the other side of the world. Anyway, yeah, it's not super common, but Philomena's not the only time I've heard of."

"Yeah. So - what do you think you'll need to make a real solution? And…"

She looks down.

"Do you think you'd be able to do - awakening people's dormant magic? I don't know if it's - a good idea, because I bet there's people who wouldn't want to take that option and I wouldn't wanna force them. But… some people would probably kill for the opportunity."

"What I need for a real solution is - mostly, time.  To experiment.  And data to work with.

"As far as awakening someone's magic - I think I might have the one tool I need for that already.  But it would be risky, to just try jamming it in to see what happens.  So I'd want to study and prepare, before trying."

"Right. Well, we've got time now. I agree on not wanting to take risks like that, though. What kinds of experiments are you gonna run? I'm guessing that you won't be doing any on, you know, people, at least at first."

"Yeah.  Seeing if I can - make something like the structures a non-husk mage has, and seeing if I can - connect it to a 'dummy' soul that's shaped sort of like, well, yours, and...stuff like that."

She giggles.

"A dummy soul? Almost makes it sound like you're trying to build a magic zombie."

"I wish it was that simple; I'm going to have to do techniques on top of techniques around a riddle wrapped in a mystery surrounding an enigma at this rate just to create the practice targets!  At least I have - helpful ideas, from how your items work, and some things I've seen..."

"Yeah?"

"...I don't know if I want to say anything about it aloud.

"Because it's - the knowledge is dangerous not in the knowing, but in what the knowing enables one to do therewith."

"Well, that's pretty spooky. But you're pretty sure that what you wanna do won't hurt anyone?"

"Yes.  Unless - someone makes me beat the plowshares into swords.  Which would be...difficult to do."

"Ah, so you don't wanna… risk someone finding out that - my brain is deciding to substitute in the thing where if you mix a cleaner that has ammonia with a cleaner that has bleach, it's really bad - and forcing you to metaphorically make bleach and ammonia bombs. Even if it would be really hard for them to force you to do that."

She yawns.

"Speaking of cleaner, I'm gonna take that shower I mentioned and probably hit the hay. Tobi, I told Hali that we might be able to keep her for a night or two…?"

Tobi, who had picked up a book when the discussion turned to technical magic talk, looks up.

"Oh, that's - I think that's okay?"

"Yeah, that sort of thing."

"...Thank you, Tobi, Su-Yeong.  I - don't need to borrow your roof, but I appreciate it."