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Aurin holds his mother's hand as she leads him from the street to his aunt and uncle's house. He's been here only a couple of times, and can't remember most of them distinctly; they're sort of awkwardly related, his dead father's half-brother and the wife thereof. But now they have a baby parunia, and that means there is a dragon related to Aurin who is not too far from his age, only thirty-one years younger. This is apparently the sort of relation that it will be particularly enriching for Aurin to meet. They can do this now instead of waiting a month, because parunias don't die when they're babies; this one is safe, unlike the miscellaneous cousins on his mother's side he's never met because they are all in too much danger to get attached to (and have all succumbed to that danger). So here they are. Even though it was a very long flight and he couldn't ride his mother for takeoff and landing when she had to be a heron, only for the middle part.
Alys knocks on the door.
"You like climbing things," she says. "Maybe you should learn a thing that climbs. You're silver, you can learn a bunch of things."
"I like climbing a lot! But I'm only sure I want to be a merlin and a human. I'll wait to learn a climbing thing until I'm sure I want to be that exact one. It had better be at least as climby as my natural form, and that's pretty climby."
"Then we will both know."
He decides to stop being on the counter. He birds over to a sofa in the next room and flops upon that.
He decides to stop being on the counter. He birds over to a sofa in the next room and flops upon that.
Finnah hops onto the floor in human form and toddles over to the sofa. "It doesn't hurt anymore," she says dreamily, flinging herself onto the couch and wedging herself between the cushions.
"Then I dunno. Maybe I go everywhere again," he says. "Maybe I help Mom make better teleportation spells!"
"Mommy says I shouldn't try to learn to even tell time until I'm forty-five or so because of fine motor skills."
on-my-word
Mial's father appears in the room and scoops him up delightedly.
"I did it, Dad! I did it!" crows Mial.
"Yes you did," he agrees.
"Now I wanna go see the entire world and learn to teleport and go see the entire world again and help Mom invent spells," Mial adds.
"...How about," Avar suggests, "I see if you can visit Aurin sometime this week?"
"Well, okay. But it better be soon!" says Mial sternly. "I have things to do."
"I did it, Dad! I did it!" crows Mial.
"Yes you did," he agrees.
"Now I wanna go see the entire world and learn to teleport and go see the entire world again and help Mom invent spells," Mial adds.
"...How about," Avar suggests, "I see if you can visit Aurin sometime this week?"
"Well, okay. But it better be soon!" says Mial sternly. "I have things to do."
on-my-word
"Yes, you can," Avar agrees. "I'll think of some places to take you both."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Mial cackles gleefully and birds and flies in a circle around Avar's head and humans again straight into his arms, plop. Avar catches him easily.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Mial cackles gleefully and birds and flies in a circle around Avar's head and humans again straight into his arms, plop. Avar catches him easily.