Isuma stretched like a happy cat beneath Caiside's petting, eyes squeezing closed in feathery rapture at the attention. "Well, the dragon we met was only a little bigger than Isuma," Jigano reassured his friend with a chuckle. "I think the lack of resources in the barrier keeps most things a bit smaller than usual," he paused, remembering the Land Shark with a shiver, "...for the most part," he amended. "But companions like these tend towards the small side, from what I've discovered. They're smarter than normal animals, although..." he hesitated, then shrugged. "When it comes to gryphons, dragons, and unicorns I'm not sure what 'normal' sizes or intelligence are here. Gryphons and dragons on my world tended towards being quite large, especially dragons, and at least as smart as humans. Though the two unicorns I've seen were the size of fairly normal horses - large enough to ride, at least." Kalt's had been big and strong enough to carry two adult humans, even.
As they set to clearing the earth while Isuma played her games, one of her pounces took her almost into the way of Jigano's shovel. He stopped quickly, especially when the little gryphon made a soft peeping noise and raised her head, something shiny held in her beak. His heart seemed to clutch in his chest at the gleam of copper and gold, and he held out an unsteady hand to the little creature, who obediently dropped the elegantly-crafted charm into his hand. He set his shovel down to brush the dirt off of it with gentle fingers, using a corner of his sleeve to burnish the little luxere charm to brightness in the spring sunshine. He bowed his head for a moment, the corners of his eyes tightening against the unexpected pressure behind them as he tucked the gift into a pocket of his wide sleeve.
When Caiside spoke, the bard turned back to his work with gratitude for the distraction, though Isuma's hunting remained subdued even with the red-haired smith's assistance. "Did they know?" he asked curiously. "That you were the child of a god? It sounds as though your stepfather was human, at least... and your mother, too." He might have wanted to ask more, but family matters could be tricky things and he didn't want to bring up bad memories with a verbal misstep.
Surveying their work, the lorekeeper nodded and gave his friend a smile of approval and thanks. He turned to his satchel and began pulling out the contents. The seeds were in twists of paper tied by colored threads that he used to recognize the contents of each packet. The bulbs were a bit more haphazardly marked with dabs of paint, while the seedling plants and cuttings had been carefully wrapped in damp rags for the trip. "The acorns should go in holes around 2 inches deep," he explained as Caiside seemed to wait for instruction. "Around the outside of the area we cleared, at the cardinal points. The bulbs can go around the perimeter between them - try to keep the ones of the same color close together so they'll be easy to mark and harvest from next year. They'll go in holes a little over twice as deep as the bulbs are tall. I'll get these seedlings settled near the center and then we can fill in with the smaller seeds in between," he suggested, giving Caiside the easier task of digging holes and dropping things in, rather than messing with the more delicate roots and cuttings. "Try to give each one a handful of soil from the Glade - from the bag here - before you cover it over again."
Isuma had settled outside of the broad patch of fresh earth to watch them, tail flicking occasionally as a breeze ruffled across the meadow. Jigano grinned at her, then glanced to Caiside with a smile. "So what have you been up to since last we met? Did you make it out to the Shrine?" Obviously the gods hadn't agreed to send him home... or perhaps he'd been given a quest that the bard could help him with, to achieve that goal?
As they set to clearing the earth while Isuma played her games, one of her pounces took her almost into the way of Jigano's shovel. He stopped quickly, especially when the little gryphon made a soft peeping noise and raised her head, something shiny held in her beak. His heart seemed to clutch in his chest at the gleam of copper and gold, and he held out an unsteady hand to the little creature, who obediently dropped the elegantly-crafted charm into his hand. He set his shovel down to brush the dirt off of it with gentle fingers, using a corner of his sleeve to burnish the little luxere charm to brightness in the spring sunshine. He bowed his head for a moment, the corners of his eyes tightening against the unexpected pressure behind them as he tucked the gift into a pocket of his wide sleeve.
When Caiside spoke, the bard turned back to his work with gratitude for the distraction, though Isuma's hunting remained subdued even with the red-haired smith's assistance. "Did they know?" he asked curiously. "That you were the child of a god? It sounds as though your stepfather was human, at least... and your mother, too." He might have wanted to ask more, but family matters could be tricky things and he didn't want to bring up bad memories with a verbal misstep.
Surveying their work, the lorekeeper nodded and gave his friend a smile of approval and thanks. He turned to his satchel and began pulling out the contents. The seeds were in twists of paper tied by colored threads that he used to recognize the contents of each packet. The bulbs were a bit more haphazardly marked with dabs of paint, while the seedling plants and cuttings had been carefully wrapped in damp rags for the trip. "The acorns should go in holes around 2 inches deep," he explained as Caiside seemed to wait for instruction. "Around the outside of the area we cleared, at the cardinal points. The bulbs can go around the perimeter between them - try to keep the ones of the same color close together so they'll be easy to mark and harvest from next year. They'll go in holes a little over twice as deep as the bulbs are tall. I'll get these seedlings settled near the center and then we can fill in with the smaller seeds in between," he suggested, giving Caiside the easier task of digging holes and dropping things in, rather than messing with the more delicate roots and cuttings. "Try to give each one a handful of soil from the Glade - from the bag here - before you cover it over again."
Isuma had settled outside of the broad patch of fresh earth to watch them, tail flicking occasionally as a breeze ruffled across the meadow. Jigano grinned at her, then glanced to Caiside with a smile. "So what have you been up to since last we met? Did you make it out to the Shrine?" Obviously the gods hadn't agreed to send him home... or perhaps he'd been given a quest that the bard could help him with, to achieve that goal?
