"I read that one," point, "and started the one about fish but didn't finish it, and now this one."

"Do you like this one?"

"It's the best one so far."

"I'm glad to hear it. Do you want to try food?"

"Yes."

"Before or after finishing that book?"

"Oh. I'm not sure. Whichever."

"Well, the food might be tastier while it's still hot, so why don't we go there now? There are bookmarks so you don't lose your place in the book," she points to a tidy pile of short ribbons on a nearby table.

"Okay. How do they work?"

She picks up one and a book and demonstrates. "You slide it between the pages like this, see, so you can find the ones you're currently reading."

He beribbons his page.

And she takes him to try food! The cooks have prepared a large number of small amounts of a variety of dishes so he can try as many things as possible.

He tastes things! He likes most of them.

Oh good.

"I found out more about elementals."

"Oh. What did you find out?"

"Elementals have been appearing for a few weeks now. Elementals have halos and wings, and generally look like people in the area they start in. There are different kinds, although we're not sure what they all are yet. Elementals generally prefer to be called by the kind of elemental they are rather than acquiring a personal name."

"Oh, yes, I have a halo." He does. It's beads of amber like his wings springing up all over his skin. He puts it back in again after and resumes tasting things. "I think I don't look like you."

"True. You look somewhat like the librarians, though."

Amber looks at the librarians. "I look more like them than like you."

"My father is from the south. People look more like me than like them and you in the south."

"Oh."

"Interestingly, elementals only look like humans and not human-formed spirits, and there are some who look like magicians but they can't do human magic."

"What do spirits and magicians look like?"

"Spirits look like humans but with different colors. Magicians have a little bit of spirit color," she says, twisting a lock of her snow-white hair between two fingers.

"Are you a magician?"