Isuma peeped contentment at the expert scritches, arching her winged feline body into the attention and practically prancing with delight beneath Killian's hands, grateful for the distraction in her companion's mood as well as for the attention to herself.
Jigano's lips quirked a little more warmly at the request for her story, and he smiled down at the young gryphlet and her shameless - and very successful! - bid for attention. "There was a day in winter when a number of us found ourselves out by the Labyrinth for one reason or another. The ground beneath us suddenly seemed to open up, swallowing us down into an ice cave, though no one was hurt. It was quickly obvious that whatever was happening was no normal occurrence, and we were greeted by a... an ice fairy, for lack of a better word. Or perhaps an elemental spirit of ice? Either way, she asked us all questions and then bid us to chase her. I was the one who caught her - or rather, she let me catch her, I suspect, and as a reward she handed me an egg." In spite of his own pain and worry his face softened at the memory as he watched his companion, who sat back and blinked smugly back at him. "And when that egg eventually hatched... well. Isuma fit in the palm of one hand, back then. I don't think she'll ever get very big, judging by her paws." He looked back up at Killian after a moment, watching him dote on Isuma. "From what I have read, some species of animals will only bond to specific types of humans. Dragons will only bond to Accepted, for instance, while unicorns will only bond to Abandoned."
And of course, he couldn't think of unicorns without thinking of Isla. Killian's question brought a faint wince and a fading of the momentary smile as the memories of Long Night and his more recent talk with Remi came back to him. "That is a... complicated question," he said at last. "Isla is... was... a dear friend of mine, a fellow Outlander and a medic of startling talent. She was one of the founding members of the Loreseekers... and the first of us to be lost. During Long Night she was killed by a monster while trying to save the life of a young luxere, or so I was told. Another of her friends discovered what had happened and made a deal with Ludo to bring her back, but her body... she had died from terrible wounds, and could not be brought back as she had been. Instead the god took... raw materials, shall we say, and made her a new body. She was reborn as a unicorn, who then bonded to her friend. But... he has said that though she has Isla's memories there is something vital that has changed in her. Something... missing. She is but a pale shadow of the woman we once knew." The smile he offered the newest guildmember was sad and a little wry.
"This world is one of magic and miracles... but we do not always get to choose the ways in which our prayers our answered."
Jigano's lips quirked a little more warmly at the request for her story, and he smiled down at the young gryphlet and her shameless - and very successful! - bid for attention. "There was a day in winter when a number of us found ourselves out by the Labyrinth for one reason or another. The ground beneath us suddenly seemed to open up, swallowing us down into an ice cave, though no one was hurt. It was quickly obvious that whatever was happening was no normal occurrence, and we were greeted by a... an ice fairy, for lack of a better word. Or perhaps an elemental spirit of ice? Either way, she asked us all questions and then bid us to chase her. I was the one who caught her - or rather, she let me catch her, I suspect, and as a reward she handed me an egg." In spite of his own pain and worry his face softened at the memory as he watched his companion, who sat back and blinked smugly back at him. "And when that egg eventually hatched... well. Isuma fit in the palm of one hand, back then. I don't think she'll ever get very big, judging by her paws." He looked back up at Killian after a moment, watching him dote on Isuma. "From what I have read, some species of animals will only bond to specific types of humans. Dragons will only bond to Accepted, for instance, while unicorns will only bond to Abandoned."
And of course, he couldn't think of unicorns without thinking of Isla. Killian's question brought a faint wince and a fading of the momentary smile as the memories of Long Night and his more recent talk with Remi came back to him. "That is a... complicated question," he said at last. "Isla is... was... a dear friend of mine, a fellow Outlander and a medic of startling talent. She was one of the founding members of the Loreseekers... and the first of us to be lost. During Long Night she was killed by a monster while trying to save the life of a young luxere, or so I was told. Another of her friends discovered what had happened and made a deal with Ludo to bring her back, but her body... she had died from terrible wounds, and could not be brought back as she had been. Instead the god took... raw materials, shall we say, and made her a new body. She was reborn as a unicorn, who then bonded to her friend. But... he has said that though she has Isla's memories there is something vital that has changed in her. Something... missing. She is but a pale shadow of the woman we once knew." The smile he offered the newest guildmember was sad and a little wry.
"This world is one of magic and miracles... but we do not always get to choose the ways in which our prayers our answered."
