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"So what's so good about books, anyway?" Rand asked, as his mother sheperded him along to the bookstore. Verde had opted to stay home today, one of the dwarves was teaching him to play cards and the little dragon refused to miss a game. Rand didn't seem to appreciate the strategy, though, so Owle had decided now was a good time to spend a little time with him.

"Well, you know how much you like being told stories, right?" Owle asked.

Rand nodded, waiting for her to answer the question.

"Well books contain lots and lots of stories!" Owle explained, throwing her arms wide for emphasis. "So many you could never read them all, ever. And you don't need to get someone to tell the story to you, it's all right there, in the book."

"Really?" Rand asked, sounding skeptical. He shrugged, trying to pretend he wasn't excited. "Well, I guess it won't be that bad..."

Owle pushed open the door to the bookstore, holding it open for Rand to dash it under her arm. She'd never been here before, but it had been the first place she'd been able to get directions to. Normally she'd just have gone to the public library, but heaven knows what Rand would do to a book once he got his hands on one. It was safer to buy one for him to keep, rather than risk her library card being revoked because he'd destroyed a book.

The little Herald immediately charged up one of the aisles, apparently deciding that running a circuit around the store was an appropriate thing to do.

"Rand!" Owle shouted after him, taking a few steps after him then sighing in resignation. "Get back here this instant!"

"Come on...!" Owle reached out as Rand dashed by her again, snagging the back of his shirt. The boy choked, slowed, and finally came to a halt.

"Aw, mom, I was just having a little fun..."

"We do not run in bookstores," Owle scolded him firmly. "Or any stores, for that matter. We run outside, or at home. Understand?"

"..." Rand shrugged out of Owle's grip and went casually strolling up the aisle, as if nothing had ever happened. "So where are the stories? Are they in here?"

He pulled a book from the shelf at random; it was really big so it had to have lots of stories in it. "It's heavy..." he complained.

"I think that one's maybe a little too advanced for you," Owle said, chuckling as took the large tome from him. War and Peace, probably not the best thing to start a little boy with. "It uses lots of big, boring words you wouldn't like at all, and it doesn't have any pictures in it."

"Pictures?" Rand asked, his ears perking up. "You means some of the stories have pictures to go with them? Like a movie?"

Owle nodded, still smiling. "Kind of, yeah..."

Rand moved eagerly up and done the aisles now, scrutinizing the title of each book, occasionally pulling one off the shelf and flipping through it to see if there were pictures. Finally he held one up to Owle. "This one! Can I have this one? It's got a knight, and a dragon, and everything!"

"Alright, alright," Owle laughed, taking his hand and leading him up to the counter. "I promised I would buy you one, right?"

She looked around, puzzled for a moment when she didn't see anyone there. Then she spied the little bell, and lifted a hand to ring it.

Rand was faster, though, fingers flying at lightning speed to push the little bell, over, and over, and over...

"Rand, stoppit!" Owle shouted over the din. "You're only supposed to ring it once!"

Children. Had to be little children. Jade had been in the back room where the lounge, small kitchen, and a bathroom were located. Having been sipping fresh coffee while going over a book, it'd been a welcome sense to have something to do rather than sitting and waiting with no one to talk to.

She'd thought to close early, what with her new guest in her home, but didn't dare want someone to catch suspcion of her. After all, in the little town, everyone knew everyone else; if soemthing was happening, word spread like wildfire.

"Coming! Coming!" She called when the bell first started tolling. After all, 'ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee'. Opening the door, Jade came into the room and came up to the front desk rather quickly. "Yes, may I help you?" Seeing Rand, she couldn't help but arch a brow before turning to his care taker. "Pardon me Ma'am, but does your son realize last week was Halloween?"

Unable to stand either of them, Jade sighed deeply and merely took a seat behind the service counter at the little chair that had been provided for her. "I didn't realize there was a mascquerade in town tonight... Can I help either of you?" She asked again, this time more firmly. For someone not quite thirty five yet, Jade certainly acted like a bitter old grandmother.

Owle finally straightened up, a chuckle still escaping her lips every now and again. "Sorry, sorry...we'd just like to get this book, please."

She passed the picture book Rand had picked out over to Jade, sliding it across the counter to her.

"Mom, what's a masquerade?" Rand asked, looking up at her curiously.

"It's where people dress up. You remember the festival we went to where you met Lind?"

"Oh, yeah!" Rand replied happily. That had been a great day. "There's one in town tonight? Can we go mom, can we can we please?"

Owle couldn't help letting one last giggle escape her lips. "I don't think there is one, Rand...but I'll tell you what, we can have our own little masquerade at the Firebrand, okay?"

Rand jumped and turned around as a high pitched squeal erupted from somewhere behind him. He clasped his hands to his sensitive ears, wincing in pain, but through all the noise he recognized the girl who was making all that noise.

"Oh, hey there, Miyon. Did you come for a story, too?"

Then, in a stroke of genius, he lied, "Mom says you have to be quiet around stories."

When Rand covered his ears, Jade looked all the more confused. He seemed to function like those appendages were real. When the pair had their backs to her, she curiously reached out to carefully grasp Rand's wing with one hand, and a feather from Owle's. It was impossible.... they couldn't be real, could they?

Dumbfounded, Jade stared at Owle and then Rand and back again. "I-I thought it was a costume....." She said in utter innocence, confused beyond belief of the situation. "Those a-are real! I don't understand...."

Looking to Myron and her keeper, Jade pointed to the small child. "And hers as well? Those are real too?"