ORIGIN

James stepped into the palace, weakened from his trial but at the same time feeling... accomplished. New. Like he'd finally settled the ocean of his mind. Now there was only one thing left to do, and that was to get a familiar.

Like Pride had. He needed something similar to himself, a creature that was graceful (well, sort of) and could fly, to make it easier to connect with. On his flights through Cepheus, he often saw the Hellswans in their ponds, necks curled and wings folded up, with their white feathers like snow. Though the guardian of this place might not appreciate him just taking one.

"Excuse me?", he called out, "Isra? I'd like to request an audience with you."

He stood in the front hall, admiring the architecture, head slightly cocked. It reminded him of his home in Orion, though really only because of the deliberation that clearly went into every aspect of this place. It was nice.

James blinked as Isra came into view, snapping a wing out instinctively to cover Comet, despite the girl being technically more powerful than he was.

"Good morning, Isra," he said pleasantly, and lowered his wing, "Lovely to meet you, my name is James and this is my daughter, Comet."

He used the extended limb to drape around Comet's shoulders almost proudly before clearing his throat, "I was aware that the lessers of this cave- beautiful, by the way- are yours. And because I've heard you don't take kindly to people doing things willy-nilly, I thought it polite to ask..."

A small little wisp, a soft, glowing cyan, popped into existence, hovering off to James' left, where Comet wasn't, casting a light that allowed the horse to see a bit better in the gloom.

"But I kindly ask permission to take one of your swans as a familiar," he said, "As long as I am able, I will treat them kindly and with respect. I just require a familiar that can take care of itself, should I send it out for a message and some rogue decide it looks like easy pickings. Your swans are so ferocious and beautiful that it would be the perfect companion for I as I travel around the caves. I don't fight much unless absolutely necessary, but on the off chance, a familiar that I can trust to take care of itself would be ideal."

He had not yet explored the spell he'd learned, tingling at the edges of his consciousness, waiting for him to try it out. Once he had, though, he'd find that having a Hellswan would be easier to get around due to its similarities to his mutations.

James lit up, despite the twinge in his chest, "Oh thank you so much!! You're so kind, really."

He bowed his head and turned to Comet, an excited grin on his face, before turning back to Isra, another question in his mind.

"Does it matter where the stone came from?", he asked curiously, "Like... does it have to be from a greater or a lesser gembound?"

His ears were forward and the crests on either side of his head raised, eyes sparkling with excitement. He honestly couldn't wait to try and befriend one of the birds before then attempting to make it his familiar. He expected a loyal companion, for sure.

"Either way I'm certain I can find something," he assured.

Well at least she didn't have to worry about James. He meticulously cleaned himself as well, just because of his new bird genes making him preen as often as possible, but he did run through streams as often as he could to rid himself of dirt and filth.

Cetus had certainly scarred him the few times he'd gone there, and now he just hated mud and dirtiness in general.

"Alright, I think I have just the stone for you," he said, bowing his head, "But I'll wait outside for sure, thank you!"

He nudged Comet gently, "I'd like you to go home, dear. I'll head there and then back, and meet you at home after this whole thing."

James nuzzled the top of her head before taking off, "Bye!!"

And with that, he zoomed out the doors, headed to Pegasus for the gem he and Tahi had found on the beach.