Gwymr/Frina had only one library, the Sgr?li ac Neidr???—??something, Chwithach assured me, reflected the smallness of the town instead than any lack of culture. Even then, the one thing that stood out to me about the library was its location


    our four libraries belonged to a noble House, whether Specter, Locrian, Obelos, or Cynosure; and each was a familial library that’d opened to the public as a charity, before taking some life of its own. Meanwhile the Sgr?li belonged to Chwithach only, and he’d opened it as a charity too, but in this case, the charity went both ways.


    long straight horns, lay on his back, wings spread, looking relaxed and lazy. His foreclaws held the scroll close to his snout, almost resting there, and his brilles had clouded and didn’t seem to clear.


    Never flap in a library. Chwithach had disappeared behind one of these shelves. Where was he? I had just seen him.


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    “Hello, Kinri,” came a voice from behind, a thick, rich hiss that always had a friendly growl underneath.


    Calculations and neat clawings. Maybe there was nothing else worth mentioning about me.


    does! You will recall sea was the last dragon nation to sign the Severance of Earth and Sky. The sea always had good ties with the sky. Some even considered sea a part of sky, at intervals.”


    threatening.”


    are creepy.”


    incident.”


    every paper.” He patted a bag by his side, reaching in. When I looked back, his head had snaked forward a bit. “Why can’t you stay as long, if I may ask?”


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    I had dipped my attention into two of the papers, but couldn’t immerse myself with the trip into the lake later today still looming over me. I kept peeking at the little ring-glass Chwithach-sofran had sat down near me to remind me of the ‘shopping trip’ later today.


    is someone whom I’ll have look at it, and perhaps there’ll be a chance of making another, and, spirits willing, one with less evidence of wear and malfunction. If so… the possibilities boggle.” The nastiness infecting the sound was waxing worse, garbling his words, and even eclipsing some. Even then, I still heard that cute curiosity-tinged smile of his in the tone.


    Odd. The word sounds archaic and???—” his head dipped a bit “—??from some language I can’t place. Where did you hear it?”


    just right, then slipped them all into my bag. They fell into the pocket where the crysts’ glass flakes had settled, instead of the one where I still hadn’t cleaned the dried crab blood. It might take a vigorous scrubbing to get rid of, now.


    smelt. Had everyone been smelling that? Oops.


    off. I licked my eyes and peered a little closer???—??and saw he’d drawn his reflection.


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