Bendi, Or Just Flexible? (Aaze, Ilvira)

by **Zhol** on April 14th, 2015, 2:04 am

.

.
..55th Spring, 515

.

Zhol wasn't sure if it was Zulrav or Makutsi that someone in Wind Reach had angered; perhaps both; but certainly someone had managed to infuriate the gods into unleashing the torrential downpour that had been hammering the mountain all day, with absolutely no sign of it letting up. Rumour had it that the rain was so heavy and the storm so bad that the Endals were grounded, the weather too perilous for wind eagles to safely fly.

The horse boy wrinkled his nose, peering up at the sickly grey sky between sheets of rain, feeling a cool damp breeze wafting towards him through the open stable door. It was an old habit that refused to die: a little boy standing at the threshold of his family's pavilion, listening to the drum roll of raindrops against the canvas, watching the colours of Endrykas fade and blur behind the constantly shifting screen of moving water. The sound was missing though, the mountain as ominous and silent above him as ever; just the patter of the rain falling on the paved surface of the Sanikas Road. Zhol let out a saddened sigh, and pushed the creaking door closed.

At least inside the mountain was dry; that was the thought that Zhol mused on as he ambled amongst the mostly empty stalls of the stables. He couldn't quite decide if he missed that aspect of Endrykas or not: the frantic dash from tent to tent, cowering from the rain, and yet somehow ending up just as cold and drenched as if you hadn't even tried. Inside the mountain, you could get everywhere without so much as a drop of rain falling on you, more or less; it was warm; it was cozy; comfortable yes, but boring. That said, he was glad to be here rather than stranded outside, especially after his experiences earlier in the season; he hoped that there weren't any unfortunate scouts or hunters stranded out in the Unforgiving by the relentless rain.

Now wasn't the time to be standing about contemplating the weather though, he reminded himself: today he was on Yasi duty. It was a strange conflict in the way that things worked in Wind Reach: as far as most Inarta were concerned, any animal that wasn't some kind of bird was pretty much useless; yet the Yasi relied on horses, and ponies, and mules on a daily basis without realising. Birds couldn't fly down into the depths of the mountain. Birds couldn't drag back heavy loads of food and resources. Their importance was why the city devoted such vast spaces to the stables; the cavernous horse caves were proof that they weren't so useless after all.

Several of the city's roles and jobs crossed paths with beasts of burden in one way or another; and so every now and then, a group of Yasi would arrive at the stables to learn how to handle a horse without pissing it off too badly and getting trampled. Usually, it was Kami who took care of educating the young ones, but this time around Zhol had volunteered. He didn't doubt Kami's ability to teach the Yasi what they needed to know; but she was still an Inarta, albeit a progressive and uncharacteristic one. There was an opportunity here, Zhol had decided, to influence the next generation of Inarta, to broaden their minds and soften their judgements towards horse-kind. If he could manage to convince even a single Yasi that horses weren't so bad after all, he would have done his job.

He came to a halt in the populated corner of the stables, and clapped his hands, rubbing them eagerly together as he cast his gaze eagerly around the waiting equines. "Well then, friends," he asked aloud, "Who wants to volunteer to help me make the world a better place?"

* * *

Solo could not have looked more disgruntled about being here if he had tried. Normally, any opportunity to leave his stall was met with enthusiasm, regardless of the reason; but right now he seemed almost embarrassed. Perhaps it was the fact that instead of a saddle and riding tack - the sort of thing befitting a steed of his noble stature and elegant appearance - Zhol had trussed him up like a pack animal. What indignity was this, to be in the presence of people while dressed like some lowly mule? Solo sputtered out another announcement of his disapproval and protest; one that once again, Zhol entirely ignored.

"Well then!" Zhol said enthusiastically, smiling at the small group of Yasi who were to be his students for the day. For a fleeting moment, it occurred to him how small they all were; Inarta were hardly the tallest of humans, and these Yasi were shorter still, making his six foot stature quite the contrast. He only hoped that his demeanour would make him come across as friendly rather than imposing.

"My name is Zhol Emberwing, and as you can tell -" He scruffed a hand through his short brown hair, another significant contrast from the average red-haired Inarta. "- I'm not from around here. I'm from Endrykas in fact, so it's a safe bet that I know a thing or two about horses. Rather than subject you all to my terrible attempts at speaking Nari, I'm going to stick to Common today; I hope that won't be a problem for anyone."

A brief pause followed, one broken by a grunted breath from the unhappy horse standing beside him. "And this is Solo," Zhol added, shooting Solo a stern look reinforced by a grassland sign instruction to behave. The look lingered for a moment longer before Zhol turned back to his students. "He's pleased to meet you."

The urge to pace crept into Zhol's mind; the fact that he was currently attached to Solo by a length of rope suggested that maybe that was a bad idea. Fidgeting didn't really seem like the most confidence-inspiring thing for a teacher to be doing either; that realisation made him want to do so even more. Petch.

"How about you all tell me your names, and a little about yourselves, and then we can get started?"

by **Aaze** on April 14th, 2015, 12:32 pm

The young owl issued a pained sigh through his lips, looking out at the rain. It had been only a day since his.... Accident down in the forest. He still wore the wrap about his chest, as if to stem the now nonexistent bleeding. The wrap only seemed to be there for decoration now, or even a sign to all the inhabitants of Wind Reach that this boy was off limits to everything. They had even excused him from his Bendi, though he didn't see the point. It wasn't as if they were going to go outside or anything.
The downpour was just that.... A downpour. Horrible weather to do anything. Anything at all.

Giving a sniffle of boredom, he turned easily on his heels, ignoring the slight pain coming from his chest. He walked briskly to his bed, where he sat, staring at the wall. Here he was, a boy of only so many days, and he was bored. He had seen others his age, his real age, they were so small. Usually with a big, toothless smile on their faces. He wondered why he couldn't be that small, not having a care in all the world. He needed to learn more about Kelvics.... Where was the library? I might go there later.... For now, I have nothing to do. I think I'll go back to sleep.

Turning over, he closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep.

But he couldn't. He could sense the rain, the millions and millions of little drops falling from the sky. If he was out with Taofin and Natoi, he was sure they would say they felt it in their gizzards. For some reason, it was making him slightly nervous, prompting thoughts of him falling from the skies. Ugh, I can't even go anywhere... Can I? Aaze sat up abruptly, already stripping off his bandages. He remembered that Bendi he was supposed to do today. The bit in the stables with the horses and all. Horses, heh. Who needs them when you can change into an owl and fly! Though..... I wonder if they'll let us ride around on them. Probably not, but.... I'm going anyway!

He slid easily from his bed, already looking out of the door to see if anyone was present that could stop him. He was quite used to sneaking around, as he probably wasn't allowed to go hunting by himself. Well, he couldn't go hunting with another person unless they could keep up, because then they would be a hindrance, and not a partner. Aaze hated hindrances, because he didn't like to be held back or held down. It was why he liked his owl form so much; the feeling of flying was incredible, he felt truly free. Free to go pretty much wherever because no one could catch him. Free to do whatever because most didn't know he was Kelvic, and not a regular owl. Free to fly to his hearts content.

By that time, he had already shifted. He had removed his bryda easily, folding it up and setting it on the bed. The room had illuminated briefly as he did so, as he borrowed his owl form from who knows where. He hadn't had anything else on, because clothing was so scratchy and gave him limited movement. His feathers, on the other hand, were warm and comfortable.

With a hoot, he quickly preened his feathers, giving a powerful flap to become airborne. With a few more, he was going out of the room and down the hallway, ignoring the yells and shouts for him to stop. He banked easily, still learning to use his small tail feathers to maneuver about easily. After using his wings a few more times, he settled into a comfortable glide, easily above all the rather short Inarta's heads. He was able to go easily around each of the corners, preferring to do the fancy stuff when he was fully healed. And that was not right now.

Soon, though, he arrived at the stables. There, he saw a few young Inarta waiting for the Bendi to begin, and as he landed and ruffled his feathers a bit, a tall man with brown hair. Obviously not Inarta. Aaze cocked his head when the tall one said something about 'Endrykas'. What was that? I really need to go to the library and learn how to read....

When the man introduced him to Solo, Aaze left his black gaze upon the animal. The horse was huge. Though, he was really cool looking. He probably could haul lots of stuff around, and run really fast. Hrm, why couldn't I be a horse? That would have been cool.

When the man said something about introducing themselves, Aaze looked at the others, give an expectant hoot. When none stepped forward, he shook his body slightly, before shifting again. Man, I'm getting hungry..... I need to eat, soon, haha.

"Hi there! My name is Aaze, not sure of my last, but yea.... I'm was born here, but I'm not Inarta at all.... Er..... Yea, I think that's all. Oh, and I like lots of food, so you can give me treats. Aaze nodded, his face still serious-like, as if he hadn't said such a stupid thing. He shifted once more, looking around at the others. Ugh, I'm famished! I hate shifting.

Nari | Common | Owl | Thoughts

by **Ilvira** on April 15th, 2015, 1:50 am

Ilvira watched the younger Yasi chatter excitedly amongst each other as they filed out of the Learning Gallery. And why were they all so jubilant? Well, the smaller children in Kindergarten and the Basic Class were taking a field trip today; and although these field experiences were not uncommon, the children were clearly still gleeful about the occasion all the same.

Ilvira smiled slightly as she recalled her own joyful moments and experiences when she was younger. Back when things were simple and you didn't have a care in the world. She sometimes wished she could go back to those days... but that wasn't a possibility. She had her own responsibilities now and something to work toward.

Turning her thoughts away from her childhood and the loud Yasi class outside the classroom, she tuned back into her own class. Ilvira, a 14 year old Yasi, was in the 2nd Advanced Class. And while her and her fellow students didn't get field trips anymore, they did get what is called Bendi which is an experience in and of itself. Her assigned Bendi as of now was learning how to manage horses. Ilvira herself wasn't all that excited about this assignment as she found that she was more drawn to the idea of flying the skies rather than keeping to the ground level. As she usually did though - and because the notion of ever riding a Wind Eagle was doubtful at the least - Ilvira was bent on doing her finest on this assignment in the hopes of one day getting an apprenticeship to a hunter; that was the goal she was striving to achieve... after becoming a rider, of course.

~~~~~

Ilvira had been listening to her new Bendi instructor - who was evidently called Zhol - with attentiveness as she listened to him speak Common, actively translating his words into her native tongue. Abruptly though, she was distracted by the flapping of wings from behind her. Before she could turn, an object whizzed over her head and landed not too far from her. Getting a good look at the creature, she realized that it was in fact an owl that had been making the noise. Curious as to what the animal was doing here, Ilvira disregarded Zohl and focused her attention on the owl instead, a jumble of gibberish playing in the background of her mind as Zohl continued speaking.

It wasn't until the owl began to change forms that she broke off her train of thought. Her eyes widened in surprise as the owl turned into the form of a boy before her eyes; a naked boy at that. Although careful to keep her eyes trained on his face, she wasn't at all fazed by his lack of clothing - it was common for Inarta to see others naked, as they all bathed and washed together in the bathhouse.

The boy, turning out to be called Aaze, quickly rattled off in Common a few things about himself including his name and Ilvira's unfocused brain worked overtime to try to keep up with and understand what he was saying. When Aaze was finished speaking, he immediately turned back into his owl form. As Ilvira's brain began the process of untangling itself and it's thoughts, Ilvira listened as the other Yasi began to state their names also, some giving a small biography of themselves as Aaze had. It was then that Ilvira figured that the Bendi instructor had asked for their names and she mentally kicked herself for not paying attention.

Once all of the other children had finished introducing themselves, Ilvira speedily ran through the proper Common phrase to say when announcing one's name.

"Hello! My name is Ilvira, and it's very nice to meet you," Ilvira said, with a polite smile on her lips.

She then waited for Zhol to continue.

by **Zhol** on April 19th, 2015, 8:14 pm

.
.
..

.
Zhol's heart sank as he watched the owl transform into a person for a few brief moments. A kelvic. Another petching Kelvic. First it had been the Endal, Sira, stripping down to nothing in front of him and then transforming into a wind eagle. Then it had been that petching bat, exploding into Brandon Blackwing, agitating him on a day when he needed anything but. Now there was another; a Yasi one too, which probably meant that he was born yesterday, given how quickly Kelvics were supposed to age.

The only solace came from the animal that Aaze transformed into: remembering how Brandon felt about owls after his close encounter the night he had arrived, all manner of opportunities to employ Aaze in nefarious schemes began to form in his mind.

Now wasn't the time to be thinking about such things, though. He paid careful attention to each Yasi, focusing on their faces, their voices, the way they wore their hair, and anything else distinguishing about them that he might be able to use to associate each name with the person who owned it.

As he came to the end of the list of names though, there was one missing; one less name than he was told to expect. No one had told him who to expect - just how many - so he couldn't be sure who was missing, just that someone was. A moment of panic sparked in his chest. A missing Yasi? He heard stories about children disappearing, especially over the winter when the cold claimed them, or at other times when they simply became lost in the tunnels. Was that what had happened? Was there something he was supposed to do? Should he assemble a search party, or send for help, or -

That train of thought was interrupted by scampering footsteps and a yelp of surprise, as someone burst through the entrance to the riding cave from the warrens, and was caught off guard by the transition of the floor from stone to sand. Relief washed over Zhol as the errant Yasi sheepishly trudged across to join the rest of the group. "You're late," Zhol pointed out, trying his best to sound stern and teacherly instead of relieved.

"Sorry," the boy muttered back; Zhol wasn't sure if he hadn't noticed that the question had been asked in Common, or if the boy's reply in Nari was simply a reflex.

"Not to worry. What's your name?" Zhol prompted.

"Brisk," the Yasi replied.

Zhol blinked, wondering for a moment if you'd misheard. "Really? Your name is Brisk?" The Yasi nodded silently, shooting Zhol a quizzical expression. "A little ironic, don't you think?" The boy continued to stare at him blankly. Mild concern began to sneak into Zhol's words as he slowly started to explain. "In Common, Brisk means fast. It's a little ironic that you were late, given that your name would suggest otherwise."

"It doesn't mean that in Nari," the boy muttered under his breath, darkly.

Zhol almost responded to that, but he decided otherwise, letting his mind settle before he broadened his focus to the rest of the group. "Well, since we're all here, I suppose we should probably get started." A thoughtful pause followed, before he posed his first question to the class. "You don't see many horses around Wind Reach, and yet we have enormous stables dedicated to them. Who can tell me something that the Inarta use horses for?"

A snicker came from one of the Yasi before he answered. "Food?" they suggested.

Solo sputtered out a noise of protest, and Zhol was inclined to agree. He nodded to himself, as if somehow understanding the horse's meaning in intricate detail. "Any more jokes like that," Zhol countered, shooting the Yasi a stern look, "And Solo here says he'll make sure you get eaten long before he does."

His gaze swept over the Yasi again. "Any more sensible suggestions?"

by **Ilvira** on April 28th, 2015, 7:36 pm

Ilvira grinned in amusement as Brisk made his entrance into the stables, stumbling a bit and crying out in surprise as stone gave way to sand. Ilvira had never been one to enjoy other people's embarrassment, but even she found herself entertained by the Yasi's display.

Brisk plodded over towards her and the rest of the class, and everyone listened as the teacher began to speak to him in a slightly reproachful tone. Zhol seemed to be a pretty patient teacher though, and he easily forgave Brisk for being late - although there was a slight issue on Brisk's part when Zhol pointed out the humor of his name and his tardiness, successfully irritating the boy.

Once everyone was settled an accounted for, Zhol began the lesson with a question: what kinds of things do the Inarta use horses for?

While the question didn't seem all that difficult to answer, some of the Yasi found this inquiry to be a little troublesome - Ilvira included. One Yasi shouted out that they could be used for food and many of Ilvira's classmates seemed to find the boy's answer funny. Solo and Zhol didn't share in their amusement though, and the teacher reprimanded the student.

Ilvira began to turn her thoughts inward and ignored her school mates as she thought about what horses might be useful for. Curiously, Ilvira realized that she had never really thought about what role horses played in society in Wind Reach. While she remembered seeing horses up and about before, she had never paid them any attention other than a passing glance. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she pondered where she had seen the horses (other than at the stables) and what they had been doing. After a few more moments of thought, Ilvira finally raised her hand and gave her answer.

"I believe that I have seen horses carrying parcels up and down the Sanikas Road," Ilvira said breezily.

by **Zhol** on May 3rd, 2015, 8:52 pm

.
.
..

.
"That's good!" Zhol enthused, flashing a smile in Ilvira's direction. "Some goods from Thunder Bay are flown to the city by Wind Eagle, but much of the less urgent cargo is carried by pack animals and carts and wagons. Horses also carry a lot of heavy loads inside the city as well. Wind Eagles are too large to fit comfortably in the warrens. Horses are used to bring ores from the mines, carry food to the kitchens, produce to the markets; anything that is too heavy to be carried through the city on foot."

Zhol cast his eyes around the crowd, slightly saddened by the lack of enthusiastic answers. He supposed the Yasi were far less passionate to be here than he was. Not only was this something as remedial and useless to their eyes as horses; they'd been lumbered with an outsider to teach them as well. The fact that Zhol was an Avora required them to be respectful and obedient, but it made no stipulations that they feign enthusiasm for their strange instructor.

"What about you, Brisk?" Zhol asked, skewering the tardy student with a look.

Brisk seemed startled, and then momentarily embarrassed to have attention drawn to him again. "Poop?" he blurted out, cheeks turning slightly red at at the word his mind had thrown out of his mouth. "To help food grow and stuff?"

Snickering gripped the class again, but Zhol allowed them to indulge it. "Absolutely right," he chimed in himself. "Any of you who have already spent time down in the Hydroponic Gardens might remember the fertiliser that is spread across certain crops. Every time someone in the stables mucks out one of the horses - that is, shovels all of the moss and horse shyke out of one of the stalls and into a bucket - that waste gets carried down to the gardens to be used as manure, and on the way back, the horses bring mushrooms and vegetables for use in the kitchens."

His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "That isn't all it gets used for, though. Outside the stables, and also at all of the camping spots along the Sanikas Road, there are stone vats where riders are expected to leave their horse's... leavings. Oer time, the shyke dries out, and it makes an absolutely fantastic fuels for camp fires."

The Yasi made no efforts to hide how disgusting they thought that notion was. Zhol practically grinned; at least they were some sort of enthusiastic, even if it was only enthusiastically repulsed. "When you leave it to dry," he insisted, raising his voice a little to carry over the Yasi's noises of protest, "The smell evaporates away. At that point, it's not much different than burning anything else; and because of how careful Wind Reach has to be about how much wood it uses and here those trees are taken from, it's a great way to preserve Wind Reach's resources by making use of something a little more renewable."

His gaze settled on Aaze for a fleeting moment. Could the Yasi even hear like that, in his owl form? Zhol pushed it from his mind; after all, his responsibility was merely to teach. If the Yasi didn't make sure they were learning, that was their choice. He let his eyes instead find Ilvira, the student who had thus far been taking things the most seriously. "Now, Solo here has plaits and braids in his mane and tail. Can anyone thing of a reason why that might be useful?"

by **Ilvira** on May 7th, 2015, 7:06 pm

Ilvira was somewhat proud of herself for giving a correct answer, but at the same time she berated herself for not immediately thinking of it. Now that she really thought about it, she could recall seeing horses in the streets occasionally. She had promptly dismissed all of those images from her mind though, deeming them unimportant. She would have to be more aware of horses from now on.

Aliya, Ilvira's best friend of 5 years, caught her eye and gave Ilvira a small smile from across the room, effectively lifting Ilvira's spirits for the time being. It may have taken Ilvira a moment, but at least she had thought of something.

Aliya is a 13 year old Yasi with green eyes and orange hair. Even though she's a year younger than Ilvira, it's debatable over who is more responsible. Aliya is a little more timid than most Inarta and is much more studious than the majority of Yasi, but Ilvira immediately took a liking to the girl when she met her during a Bendi class 5 years ago. The two have been friends ever since then.

Brisk, the late Yasi from earlier, ended up giving an answer, too. One that almost everyone found equally disgusting, excluding Zhol and Solo. Ilvira had never heard of people using dried droppings as a resource for fueling a fire. While it was grotesque to Ilvira, she couldn't help but acknowledge that it was a smart alternative to wood. She found herself hoping though that the teacher was right about the smell dissipating though.

The fact that horse 'leavings' were also used for fertilizer in the Gardens was something Ilvira had some knowledge of. Like most of the Yasi in her class, Ilvira had been down to the Hydroponic Gardens for another Bendi class in the past and they had learned all about how the crops are grown and what was used to grow them. While initially it was a nasty concept to think about, Ilvira, as well as most of the class, had just accepted it and tried to forget or ignore what they had learned down there. Now though, it seemed bringing it up grossed the Yasi out all over again.

Once the class's chatter had calmed down a bit, Zhol asked his next question.

"Now, Solo here has plaits and braids in his mane and tail. Can anyone think of a reason why that might be useful?"

If Ilvira had found the previous question hard, this one was at least 3x more difficult. Ilvira was completely perplexed, just as the rest of the class was. What could possibly be the purpose of a few braids? It couldn't be to make the horse prettier, could it? No, Zhol had said the plaits were useful for something...

Ilvira met Aliya's gaze and tried to ask her through her facial expressions and a few shoulder shrugs if she had any clue what the answer might be? Aliya, getting what her friend was trying to silently say, shook her head and tried mouthing 'I don't know', in Common. Even Ilvira's highly intelligent friend didn't have the answer.

Out of the blue, Aliya's eyes lit up and she grinned at Ilvira excitedly. Initially, Aliya had no idea of what importance braids could be to a horse. She had then begun glancing at the horses in the other stalls and had noticed that some appeared to look the same as others... aside from the braids. Then it had hit her. Often times Yasi were born as twins or triplets. So to distinguish them from each other, they would wear different clothes or do their hair in a unique way. If Aliya's line of thinking was correct, then the braids and plaits were used for identifying each horse more easily.

While to her the logic was sound, she didn't have a way of checking to see if the answer was what the teacher was looking for. Except for giving her answer to the teacher himself.

Stealing her nerves, Aliya raised her hand above the heads of the other Yasi and waited a moment to be seen by the teacher before beginning to speak.

"I think... that the plaits might be used for determining which horse is which?" she said, though it came out like a question.

by **Zhol** on May 19th, 2015, 11:39 pm

.
.
..

.
Zhol chuckled at Ilvira's guess. It wasn't in itself amusing, but it reminded him of an old joke he'd heard, about two drunk horse thieves who had stolen two horses from Syliras. They had decided to divide their spoils equally, but were having trouble knowing which horse should belong to which. One thief decided to drape a blanket over his horse, so that he would know which was his, but overnight the blanket had snagged against some brambles, and was nowhere to be found. The other thief braided the mane of his horse, but after a day out to pasture his drunken attempts at braiding - something that even a child in Endrykas could do, compounding how much of a buffoon the horse thief was meant to be - had come unfurled, and both horses had a tangled mess down the back of their neck. Eventually, the two horse thieves decided that the simplest option would be for one of them to have the black horse, and one of them to have the white one. It was a stupid joke, amusing mostly because of the stereotypical villainy of horse thieves, and the dramatic flair and comedic voices that were usually applied by the person delivering the joke; but it never failed to make Zhol smile.

"I suppose you could use it for that," Zhol conceded, careful to make it clear that any mirth that might have crept into his expression had nothing to do with the answer that Ilvira had posed, "Though in the Skyhigh Stables, it's more likely to be an identifier of who groomed the horses. I braid horse manes a lot, because it's what I'm used to from where I come from. The Inarta grooms don't bother so much."

He cast his attention around the assembled Yasi, looking for someone to use as an opportune example. "The Inarta plait their own hair a lot though," he pointed out, waving a hand to one of the female Yasi, whose intricate spiral of braids looked like it must have taken either hours, or a good amount of assistance. "Sometimes it's for purely decorative reasons, but sometimes it's practical as well."

He patted Solo on the shoulder. "Solo here has braids for the same reason that a hunter, or a game scout, or an Endal does something practical with their hair. Whether you're out in the Unforgiving, up in the Craft Gallery, in the kitchens, or anywhere else: the last thing you want is your hair snagging on things or getting in the way. It's the same for horses. The last thing you want is their mane getting snagged on brambles, or caught up in a harness. That's uncomfortable for them; and believe me, they'll make sure you know about it."

He cast his gaze over the group again. He wasn't entirely sure how to interpret the way that the owl kelvic was looking at him, but most of the other Yasi stared back with a mixture of boredom, disinterest, and outright defiance. Brisk seemed to be trying particularly hard not to stare back at him at all. Maybe he wasn't so good at this whole teaching and inspiring thing after all.

At least Ilvira was trying though; whether that was actual interest or just her being a good student, he didn't know, but he supposed it didn't really matter. He frowned, rephrasing his next question so that he could aim it at her directly. "What is it you're hoping to be when you graduate from being a Yasi, Ilvira? Is there anything you have a flair or a passion for, or are drawn to? Can you think of a reason why a horse or a mule might be useful as part of that?"

Closed Bendi, Or Just Flexible? (Aaze, Ilvira)