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 Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 10:24 pm
 Gossamer came in shortly after Sapphire started grooming herself, landing near the edge of the bath and hopping in, before ducking his head into the water and splashing holy water all over the immediate vicinity by flapping his wings as he ducked his head in and out of the water.
Sapphire heard the conversation and looked up from her grooming. "Gossamer and I will be heading back to bed." She said. "Familiar Training is later today and we want to be fully awake and ready for it."
"Familiar Training?" I said with a smirk, looking over at her. "Is that where you two poof off too on Sundays?"
"Indeed." Sapphire said. She smiled. "It's where we learn to be better familiars!"
"Well then, heaven forbid we keep you up." I said. "We'll be fine for tonight."
Sapphire nodded her head as Gossamer jumped out of the bathing pool, soaking wet but feeling much better then before. The two of them looked at each other before walking to the door; Sapphire on her four legs while Gossamer hopped. It wasn't hard to see why; they were waiting for themselves to dry, rather then fly out into the cold room where I slept.
I looked to Larissa as the two headed . "Yeah, we'll have to head there later for hoops and string. I think we can use some of the leaves off of the gemstone trees too." At the mention of researching sonicwings I laughed. "I probably should have been doing that sooner."
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:22 pm
Larissa looked at Poff and then at Garnet. "That's the first time I've heard of that. Why aren't you doing the same class as Gossamer and Sapphire, Poff?"
Poff drew herself up and put her nose in the air "Because I attend the Familiar Training classes during the week. Sundays I like to relax and spend with you. Don't think I neglect my duties, I would never. I simply like to keep weekends free"
Larissa laughed a bit, "I see. I get where you're coming from. You probably got that thinking from me, because I feel the same about weekends" Poff fell into step with her as she grabbed a towel to dry off and walked towards the exit of the bathroom, heading to her and Garnet's bedroom. Larissa motioned to her and Poff jumped up on her shoulder.
"Isn't this spoiled?" Poff inquired, getting comfy.
"I don't care. I like having a cat on my shoulders. It feels nice" she replied "And it's 3:50am so who cares?"
She looked at Garnet "Using the gemstone trees is a good idea. I never thought of using them. Maybe I can get some of my crystals from those, it would cost me a lot less than the magic shop I usually go to" she smiled "So long as they grow back. I don't want to damage them"
They got to the bedroom and she started to get dressed, picking out some comfortable, casual clothes. A pale blue wool dress and a cream coloured scarf. She brushed her hair and put in in her favourite side pony with a pretty white ribbon. She then slipped on her socks and school shoes and grabbed her wand, putting it in the pocket of the dress. "Okay, let's go to the library. There shouldn't be too many people around except the nocturnal students like vampires and such" she always steered clear of those people. They were scary.
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:34 pm
he two familiars watched Larissa and Poff go, and they looked at eachother. I stayed where I was, feeling their thoughts.
"... There isn't a Familiar Training Class during the week, is there?" I asked.
The two of them looked at me. "Nope. The cat's lying through her teeth." Sapphire said. "There's only one Familiar teaching that class and she teaches it on Sundays. Otherwise, Poff would be very sure of what her abilities are."
I got up and sighed. "Well, it's not our problem." I said, flaring my wings as I beat the slowly to dry them. "Go get your sleep you two."
They flapped their wings to dry off, before winging into the bedroom and returning to their sleeping spots at the bed.
I came out shortly thereafter, dried mostly. I got dressed in my usual halter top and a pair of flared slacks, a belt around my waist. The telekinesis granted by the cuff was gloriously helpful. That was around the time when Larissa finished dressing, and I smiled at her, before opening the door for her.
"After you." I said.
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:58 pm
Larissa smiled and walked through the door "Thanks" she said, and headed towards the library, Poff groomed and on her shoulder. It seems like the cat just wanted to be lazy on weekends but was too embarrassed to say it since it would have made her look bad. And Poff cared about her reputation a lot.
When they got to the library, Larissa headed to the section with information about dragons. There were so many different kinds of dragon so she started browsing through the books carefully, trying to find stuff on Sonicwings. "Hmm, isn't there a finding spell I could use to make this faster? I thought it was this" she took out her crystal wand and spoke the words that she thought was the spell.
Books began floating off the shelves towards her. She picked one out of the air and looked at it "Oh yeah, this is them. Garnet, there's a few sonicwing books here. Just grab the ones you want" she invited, taking her book and a few other books to one of the study tables. She sat down and opened it and started to read.
Poff leaped neatly off her shoulder and ran to the magazine section. She grabbed one and came back with it, spreading it open on the table as well. She settled down for a good read, her tail swaying back and forth lazily as her eyes wandered the pages of shiny new products and articles for magical cats. The kitten stories section was full of funny stories about kitten familiars and magic mishaps or things they said, the same as some magazines that told stories about funny toddlers and kids. Poff was soon snickering softly to herself.
Larissa hummed in thought, looking up from the dragon book. "I should research angels too. But I don't know what kind. Are there different types of Sonicwing or are they all the same?" she flipped through the book, searching for information.
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 9:58 pm
I followed Larissa into the library, walking with a sway of my finned tail back and forth behind me. The library was empty this time of night, (save for a nocturnal librarian) so we wouldn't be bothered.
Larissa was quick to find the section on dragons, and pick out several books on Sonicwings. I watched her snag one, and I snagged a couple books myself.
I followed her to the table and sat down next to it, curling my tail around me so that no one would step on it. I started to read.
Quadwings are a unique family of dragons that are named for the fact that, unlike most flying dragons, they have four wings instead of two. Of all the dragons, most species of Quadwing tend to be on the small side with two main exceptions.
All of the Quadwings share a few common traits; body shape, four wings, head shape, finned tail. A highly accurate plasma-blast type breath weapon. Their preferred diet is fish and dragons-bane, and a posionus plant that resides in their preferred habitat; this is a self defense mechanism to keep other, larger dragons from hunting and eating them. Quadwings tend to be skittish around non-Quadwings, which is why they seem to be rare compared to other species of dragon. Quadwings are also the fastest flying dragon family, with Sonicwings leading in sheer speed. Quadwings mate for life.
Quadwings tend to be lean, having thick chests and narrow waists, with powerful legs and long finned tails. Their heads are somewhere between that of a shark and a viper. They have big owlish eyes with pupils that can go from slitted to round.
Sonicwings are the fastest of all of the Quadwings, being able to accelerate so fast that they can easily break the sound barrier, and in the process creating wind currents larger dragons can glide on. They tend to be loners and rather rare, with dark blue scales. They have an average of 1-3 hatchlings per clutch. Due to Sonicwing rarity it is not uncommon to see Sonicwings mating with other Quadwings.
Shadowings are highly social dragons, with dark red scales so deep as to appear black. They live on rocky isles where the water is red with krill, and use their red scales to blend in with the krill while hunting fish. They prefer cold water fish like Char and Cod. Shadowings live in colonies that can range from 500 or more. They have an average of two hatchlings per clutch.
Screechwings are the smallest of the Quadwings, and they live in swamps and fly through the humid air so fast they leave a loud screech in the air. They are the most social of the quadwings, sticking to family groups that can range to thousands. They are also notoriously aggressive, being not afraid to confront or fight anyone who threatens them or their families. If you see one, there will no doubt be more; and they never fight alone, making these dragons hazardous at best to deal with. Their scales are a deep green. They can have anywhere from 5 to 12 hatchlings per clutch.
Driftwings can be any color, and have the ability to change the color and texture of their scales to blend in with their environment. They tend to be solitary, and they live in deciduous forests. It is not uncommon to see a mated pair sharing the same territory, even though they do not interact all that often. They usually have 1-2 hatchlings per clutch.
Blitzwings are the second largest of the Quadwing family, having intense blue eyes and pale white or pale grey scales. They live in tundras and high (really high) mountains. They are unique as they can shoot their plasma blasts from not only their mouths but also their fore wings, allowing them to 'blitz' any other dragon who threatens their territory or family. They have anywhere from 1-2 hatchlings per clutch.
Lastly are the Sandwings, who are the largest of the Quadwing species. They live in deserts and there is only 12 Sandwings at any time. They are notably very vain of their sandy colored scales. They seem to fly through the ground by using their plasma to burrow through the sand of their homes at high speeds. They have a clutch size of 1, and mate very rarely.
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 10:27 pm
Larissa read the book easily, since it was fascinating and new information to her. She didn't know how much of it was going to stay in her head but she figured she could take notes later. For now, she just enjoyed reading about them and trying to remember the main points pertaining to her partner. It mentioned Quadwings a lot so that must be the family of dragons Sonicwings are from.
She looked up from reading to look at her girlfriend "Oh, Garnet, I didn't know that Sonicwings like sugar. It says you guys like honey and fruit" she put a finger to her chin and looked upwards in thought. "Then again you did eat nearly a whole red velvet cake so I shouldn't be surprised" she chuckled. "And let's not forget the Oreos. Hmm. If you prefer natural sugars over cane sugar I could bake us some healthy treats. I have such cravings for sweet, fluffy stuff all the time that it would probably be healthier for me too in the long run".
She looked back down at the book and then commented, looking back over at Garnet "Of all the Quadwing dragons, I think I like the sound of the Driftwings most. I like them because they sound like the most peaceful and least likely to attack. Though it's sad they don't interact much with each other. Dragons are just as smart or smarter than humans so I wonder why it's like that. Anyway I'm getting off track, sorry. I really just want to focus on Sonicwings! Oh, and, you're my favourite Sonicwing, just so you know. If I met a Driftwing I promise I'd never leave you for them!" she giggled. "You're my favourite person, in fact".
Poff licked her paw and turned the page of her magazine "Ooh, these clothes are nice, mrow! And look at this cat condo" She was off in her own little world, making a list of things she wanted Santa to bring this year.
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 10:37 pm
I looked up when she made the comment about sugar. I smiled at her. "I probably should have guessed with how much sweets I eat." I said. "I've always been fond of chocolate but I literally cannot get tired of dragonsbane, fish and sweet."
I grinned at her offer to make healthier treats. "I would like that. And it would be better to take care of yourself more." I said, scooting over to nuzzle her gently, thrumming.
I looked at my book and considered it for a moment. "Mmm. I have to wonder what type of Quadwing I am. Am I a pure Sonicwing? It says here that sometimes they're known to mate with other Quadwings." I mused. "I did seem to have scales like a Shadowing; though they've changed recently. Or is that the spell talking?" I glanced to my scales, now a vibrant amethyst purple, iridescent and shimmering like the night sky.
I tilted my head as I thought about it. It is a good question.
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 10:58 pm
She resolved to make dishes based around those three ingredients. Garnet could no doubt catch and consume a lot of fish easily from a lake or river. But it would be harder for her to get Dragonsbane and sweets. Larissa didn't know a thing about cooking with the red herb. She'd check the library for recipe books before leaving.
Larissa nodded, looking back down at the book she was reading "Yeah. That's true" she admitted. "I should keep healthy for me and the baby, you're right". She kept reading, turning the pages. "I don't know but it says they have blue scales. Maybe there's a way to test it. We should look up your ancestry some time"
They kept reading for a while, Larissa trying to recall the main points she would need to know about Sonicwings. She also tried looking for angel books, but there were many different kinds of angel as well, it turns out and their abilities all varied. She got some main points about them anyway, such as flight and invulnerability to some things. She also read up about angels that didn't choose a god to serve.
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 12:26 am
I helped Larissa find more books, reading more about dragons and angels and stuff. I found one on celestial angels, considering that was the type of angel we were trying to summon in the first place.
A few hours later found us infront of the craft store, waiting for it to open. We need some hoops for dream catchers, feathers, a special type of string. I'd also need a drill so I can snag some leaves off of the gemstone trees and include them in the dream-catcher design.
And, who should show up but Lilian, also waiting for the store to open.
"Hey! Miss Lilian." I said with a smile. "How are you?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 12:47 am
By the time they finished studying, Larissa's head was stuffed full of new knowledge. Poff had read through several magazines. It really helped when Garnet pointed out they were trying to summon a celestial angel. It narrowed down the results and thus it was easier to know what to expect, at least somewhat, from the child inside her. That probably meant Garnet's children would be celestial too, since the scroll affected them both. No wonder Garnet had flecks of white in her gem-like amethyst scales, it mimicked the beauty of a starry sky. Or maybe that's how all Sonicwings looked. She frowned, trying to remember the pictures. Oh right, they weren't sure if Garnet was a pure Sonicwing. But still, she was sure that the spell scroll had affected the half dragon in other ways.
****
Larissa waited out the front of the craft store, rubbing her hands together and breathing warm air on them. She wished she had thought to bring gloves. Her pale blue wool dress and cream scarf were keeping her warm but her fingers were nearly numb. The cold wind wasn't helping. Poff was sitting on her shoulder, her fur fluffed slightly to keep her warm. She was also wearing a little scarf and warm cat coat and she looked rather funny. She would glare at anyone that dared to laugh.
Larissa looked down at the scrawled list they had of supplies to buy. Hoops, feathers, string, a drill. She was planning to enchant some of the crystals off the trees if they didn't already have enchantments on them. If not, she'd just place some crystals and gems from her personal collection in the woven dreamcatchers. She'd have to recharge their enchantments after a couple of weeks because her powers were not very strong and didn't last that long yet but hey, she was getting better. It just took practice. She liked to think she was doing well for someone who had no magical schooling or upbringing prior to coming to the college/academy.
She heard Garnet talking and looked up to see the demoness woman from their Defense Against Demonics class. "Oh hi. Are you making some magical crafty things too?" she smiled brightly, her cheeks flushed from the sharp wind "I think winter is the best time of year for crafts!"
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 1:19 am
 "I'm tracking down the source of a large demonic spell that's settled over the town." She said. "I need to make a tracker, since the one I've been using has been broken." She frowned at that. "I'm having a hard time even telling what the spell does, but it's demonic so it can't be good."
As she spoke the doors opened to the store and I gestured for everyone to come inside. I gestured for Lilian to follow us, as we headed for a section with dowels and sticks of various woods. We were alone, the first people in the store.
"I know what the spell does." I said quietly. "It gave Larissa and I horrid nightmares last night."
This made Lilian pause, blinking, before frowning. "And yet so few people are affected. Do you know why?"
I glanced back and forth, we were still alone, for the most part. "Ask Isabella." I said. "She can explain what happened earlier this year better then we can."
Lilian nodded. "Can do. What brings you two here?" She asked, looking at the dowels.
"Dreamcatchers." I said with a smile. "For keeping the nightmares away. I am not going through that again. Nope nope nope."
Lilian laughed. "Well then." She reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of scrolls. "Holy warding enchantment. Enchant a gemstone and weave it into the catcher, will soak up demonic nightmares and cleanse them."
She handed them to us, and I accepted mine. "Thanks."
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 1:43 am
She listened to Lilian and Garnet talk, staying quiet for the most part. She worried when she realised they might not be the only two people in this town with angelic auras. She hoped they had some way to get rid of the nightmares too. She felt sorry for anyone who had to put up with them.
She had been about to say something to the teacher when Garnet spoke first and she zipped her lips. Yeah, it was probably best not to let on that they had angelic auras right now. That would lead to more questions and she didn't want Ms Abando to know her big secret this soon. It was going to be hard to hide eventually but she liked keeping on the down low right now. She was curious but happy when the woman pulled two scrolls from her purse and gave them to them. "Wow, thank you! This will be very useful" she replied, taking the scroll and pocketing it. "This is definitely stronger than any enchantments I can do right now. Great!" It would enchant one gem, or maybe a bunch of little ones, but that's okay. She didn't have to put gems on every dreamcatcher.
She looked at Lilian "A tracker, is that something we are going to learn how to make in class? Or it's just a personal project?" she inquired. Poff was silent but her paws flexed on Larissa's shoulder as she resisted the temptation to chase strings and bat at feathers. Everything in here looked so fun to play with! Her tail twitched to and fro as she playfully eyed some craft beads.
Larissa chuckled "Poff, noo...I know what you're thinking. If you're a good girl I'll let you play with the string and bits I don't use making the dreamcatchers" she promised, petting the spoiled furball on her shoulder.
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:50 am
Lilian glanced at Larissa. "I would hope that you wouldn't let your... cat play with magical strings and things like they're cat toys." She said. "That could be dangerous. As for the tracker, I--"
"Pah!" I heard another voice say, loud and deep with a pronounced growl. Along through an isle of brightly colored feathers, came a tiger that was nearly as big at the shoulder as I was tall. He looked old, but his fur was well groomed and his eyes were a deep yellow. "No need to be polite with the furball, Lilian. Perhaps getting whiplash from a string of Parabola linen may teach them to not toy with things they do not understand."
"Brutus." Lilian said, turning to greet the tiger as he strode up. "How are you, dear?" She said in greeting, hugging the great cat around the neck.
"Well, my mage." He said, giving a playful growl. "Preparing for this weeks Familiar training class." He flicked his tail, looking around. "I need some materials for the class. Might you help me? I lack thumbs."
Lilian grinned. "Of course!" She glanced back to us both. "The tracker is a side project usually saved for those who wish to hunt down demons, though it can be used to identify demonic users who look like normal people. If you would like for me to teach you, I can dedicate week or so of classes for that." She said with a smile.
"I would like that." I said. I got the feeling I should comment on the gruff old tiger, but he's bigger then I am.
I watched them move to the next isle, stepping aside for the great cat to move past unhindered. I watched them go, before looking at the isle of feathers.
"I didn't know this place sold so many inherently magic items and raw materials. Normally this stuff is sold at super specialty magical stores... Really expensive, and that's coming from me!" I said, picking up a mottled brown feather. I dropped it when it zapped me. "Ow! Roc feather. Right." I carefully lifted the feather up with my mind and placed it back where I had gotten it. It was then something that the old tiger had mentioned hit me. "Oh my god. Parabola Linen? That stuff is the best for dream-catchers. Do they have dual tone Lucid strands too?"
I hurried over to the strings isle. "They do have it! Yess!" A basket floated over to me as I started gathering thick spools of various magical threads.
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:02 pm
Larissa looked a bit upset at Lilian's words. She put a protective hand up to Poff and placed it against her. "She's my familiar, miss. She has human level intelligence. And I wouldn't let her play with anything dangerous. I can just tell she feels playful with all the strings and beads around. I wouldn't give her something that would hurt her. I'm going to be careful with what supplies I use to make dream catchers"
She couldn't afford anything expensive, since she was currently living off her savings and she had planned to do most of the enchanting and magic infusions back home so she wasn't looking for powerful magical supplies. She just wanted some normal embroidery thread, hoops, some white fluffy feathers. Nothing exotic.
She then heard a loud, deep voice and looked in its direction. She flinched at the growly voice, looking a bit scared. The owner of the voice was just as intimidating as he sounded. She didn't like what he said about her beloved feline partner and she frowned unhappily. She was offended. She wanted to say 'she's not a furball!' and that what he said was mean and not very nice. But she was too afraid to say anything. She didn't know what Parabola linen was but it sounded expensive and dangerous, both things she was not here for today and would never give her companion as toys. Poff stayed silent too, making herself smaller by crouching down and curling in on herself on Larissa's shoulder. She glared at the tiger's back, careful not to let him spot her looking at him that way. She knew her partner did not like him and nor did Poff. 'His name suits him', she thought. 'He is a brute. What a rude thing to say to my partner!'.
Larissa moved away from Lilian and Brutus as subtly as she could manage without seeming rude. It was clear they had a close bond. When she heard that he was teaching the Familiar Training class, she thought-spoke with Poff "Don't worry darling; I will never put you in his class. You can study and learn with me. We will train together and I will make sure nothing bad happens to you" She stroked the cat gently.
The crystal witch looked back at the teacher when she spoke about the tracker. It sounded like it would be really useful in their situation! She was grateful for the info. This could potentially reveal whoever in the school had tampered with their scroll and made them pregnant. It could reveal whoever put that nightmare spell over the whole town. She was glad when Garnet said she would like to learn it and she shot her a grateful look. She breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed as soon as Lilian and Brutus walked out of sight.
She looked at Garnet "Well if everything in here is expensive then I won't be buying much today I'm afraid. It's out of my price range. As cool as magical and enchanted items are, I was hoping for just a normal craft store and I can enchant the dream catchers as we make them" She watched the feather zap her and cringed "Are you okay?! Geez, imagine that, did they even put a sign warning people they might get zapped?" she did notice the label for the feathers said ROC FEATHERS. Too bad if someone didn't know what a Roc was. She then looked curious at what Garnet said next "Parabola linen and lucid threads, what are those? They sound scary!" She noticed the basket of it floating towards them and backed away from it like it was a hive full of angry bees, sheilding Poff as she did so "Don't bring it near me!" she squealed.
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:28 pm
I was considering the strands of thread when I heard Larissa say she wouldn't be buying much. I looked at the prices. "They don't seem too bad." I said, considering. "$5 a spool while some places range anywhere from $20 to $100 is a steal." I held up a plastic wrapped spool of parabola linen and flipped it in my hand, studying it.
Unfortunatly, Larissa looked scared of the stuff now. "What he was trying to say is that these are tools." I said. "You wouldn't let a baby play with a drill, would you? Yet a drill is a highly useful tool for helping refine the shapes of anything from wood to stone to metal. They're safe if you use them correctly, but start toying with them and there is a high chance someone's going to get hurt."
"As for what these are?" I lifted the spool up to consider it. "Threads of thought. Parabola Linen is made from Logical thought. Dual tone Lucid strands from dreams. Whisper satin, thoughts of pleasure, and thirsty dark bombazine strands, made from the deepest, darkest parts of someone's psyche. Weave them together in the right patterns and you can quite literally catch any type of dream you wished, weather it to be to guard against or to ensnare for harvesting." I glanced at her as she seemed to try and shield Poff from a bunch of plast wrapped spools of thread. "Use plain materials if you want too. They should have some like that here. But I am going for a guarantee. I do not want to see that dream again."
With that I turned away, folding my wings against my back and heading for the isle of feathers. I considered my options as I stood there, my tail swaying back and forth slowly.
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