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.

Comet was incredibly proud of James for transcending! It took a lot of bravery to go and try again, especially since when he failed the first time the penalty had been snake bites. Now there was a longer journey ahead for him, which was recovering back into using his magic at the strength he had before, which would not be easy. She would help him as best as she could though.

She had tagged along to help, James couldn't have stopped her from coming anyway.

"Mmyess?" The voice was deep, strong, her tone polite enough but alert. They kept coming here, these new creations, with questions, demands; with missteps. There was a sort of aloof curiosity in her as she stepped forward to meet this next caller. A sort of, "what will they do next?" A vague desire to standoffishly observe their antics--so long as it did not damage her palace in any way.

"I am Isra," she declared, as she stepped into the Void-Light, a light which ignited her markings, her fire, even the few drifting motes of dust, in its inverted glow. She came to a halt, standing primly one paw beside the other, fiery eyes trailing over this stranger--ahh, two strangers--as the snakes at her tail chittered and hissed.

"And what can I do for you..?"

@James

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.

@Comet

Comet had never seen anyone like Isra before, and bravely met her firey eyes with her own ocean blue ones. She didn't know what to think of Isra, as she was polite, yet also seemed dangerous at the same time. Hmm. Comet flexed her paws, not quite trusting her, but not exactly distrusting her either.

She was cast into shadow for a moment as James snapped his wing over her, but it was lowered with a greeting. "Hello!" Comet shook off her fears, and settled into a more relaxed position at the touch of the horse's wing. She didn't like the look of those snakes, but looks weren't everything. For all she knew Isra could actually be really nice! Some animals choose to look scary on the outside, but she had met some rather nice looking scary ones. Like... Chaos! They weren't really too scary, but they were scarier than some other animals she had met. They were super nice!

Comet nodded as James gave an explanation, and hoped that Isra would agree.

...Well.

At least these had some semblance of manners.

Isra's chin tilted up a notch, as she listened. Polite greetings were offered. An acknowledgment of her sovereignty over at least the guest quarters of this place. A "please" of sorts, and an assurance that her property would be treated well.

Hrmph.

Isra gave a soft, huffing sigh, looking out over the palace grounds. It would be a hassle, but he'd asked quite nicely... Isra looked back to James. "I will allow it," she offered, at last, "but in exchange, I will require a living stone to replace the one that you will be taking. Bring me that, and I will let you try to befriend one of my birds," she answered him. She paused, flaming eyes ranging over the pair.

"It's good that some of you have manners," she added.

@James

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.

@Comet

That sounded like a fair exchange. It was only fair that if they were going to be taking an animal away from Isra's property they should give one back in exchange. Comet's thoughts wandered back to the stones that she had collected, although she didn't feel too comfortable with using those. They had lives of greaters in them, it would probably be better to use one of a lesser. She waited for Isra's response to James's question.

Flaming eyes swung from James, to Comet, back to James. Well, the question wasn't a stupid one, at least. "So long as it is alive," she allowed, with an incline of her head. "But when you return, wait outside. I don't want dirt tracked across my floor," she added, glancing over the hooves and paws somewhat sourly.

@James

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.

Exit James to --> /showthread.php?tid=9332 (will return after comet posts an exit)
@Comet