Ranryu

Ranryu couldn't find anyone anywhere. "Hello? Bookwyrm? Lark? Emma? Wizard?" Oh... wait. Wizard is that weird tiger thing or something. "Where did everyone go?"

"Oh." Zephyr stops. "That might be a good idea. Do you know of any fun places to go?"

Zephyr stares up at it. "Huh. So that's what my home looks like from the bottom. Let's get away from it!" She takes off running south without checking to see if Charlotte is following.

That was close. If she hadn't gotten distracted... "I know, I know! Come on, they're over here."

Upon learning this, Noot didn't care. All he wanted was cookies, no matter the price. Narrators made excellent cookies. Especially @That1Cellist

“Why is it called a bog?” The mud was so squishy! What was that, the little hopping animal that quickly escaped into the undergrowth? Zephyr’s senses were overloaded.

What are we doing in the shadows? The stupid sequin doesn’t matter! “This could be important.” This wasn’t the deal! We need to fulfill the contract. Let me drive, or I’ll take over by force. “Okay, okay! If this is gonna work, we need to trust each other.” Fair point. But I should be in charge. You need me. “We’ll talk about this later. As you said, we have stuff to do.”

Noot enslaved Eof.

"Fun! Mind if I join?"

Noot used all the chaos to finally eat the Ultimate Cookie and ascend, becoming the shard Goldfish.

“What are you guys doing?” Ranryu asked, her cloud from solidifying next to them. Something seemed different about her.

“Yeah, but I didn’t expect you to throw me off a cliff!” Zephyr opened her wings to slow her fall and focused. After a few seconds, she was gliding lightly down like a feather.

"Wait- what" Zephyr splutters. "Don't we have parachutes or something?" Charlotte pushes her off the cliff. "I CAN'T FLYYY!!" She screams as she falls.

"Yep!" Zephyr grins. "My governess says I'm the best she's even seen at it!" She stops and watches in awe as a faint meteor streaks across the sky. When it fades, she resumes fiddling with her hair.

"This way." As Zephyr leads the way to the edge of the floating island, her hands fiddle about, pulling leaves off the lush trees and curling the tip of her braid a thousand times. "So, what's it like? In the real world?

As night fell, Zephyr crept out. Ah, the stars! she thought. Zephyr's parents rarely let her out of their heavily guarded house, and only during the day. Which was exactly why she was running away. The only things Zephyr carried with here was her flute and a small bag of provisions. Any more, and the servants would notice the missing items. Now, in the dead of night, everyone was asleep. Zephyr turned to her companion. "I'm ready to go."

Name: Zephyr Age: 17-ish Appearance: Dark grey wings that are deformed so she can't fly so much as glide, long black hair kept in a braid, olive skin, honey brown eyes, about 5'7". Likes to wear clothes with lots of pockets. Personality: Quiet, but not shy. Very easily distracted, but can tend to obsess over things she finds cool. Doesn't really care about people, just wants to explore the world. Very curious, loves nature - especially the more extreme aspects of it. Averted to violence, but not incapable of quick thinking in dangerous situations. Other: always carries a wooden xiao flute in a sheath on her back. She never plays it. If she was on Earth she'd probably be diagnosed with ADHD. Lives with her adopted skyfolk parents. Has mild claustrophobia. She‘s 1/2 skyfolk, mixed with an unknown race.

The fire had been fun. A fleeting, ephemeral joy. But, as all fires did, the library fire had eventually burned out. Now Ranryu was left feeling empty, in need of something to do. Her family had settled into their new lives quietly, without much trouble or attention. They would be fine if she left for a few days. The portal was made of ashes and broken pencils. The beings on the other side were expecting her. I'm here to make a deal.

As she should. Ranryu responded. What can I do to help?

Ranryu pants and closes her eyes, trying to catch her breath. "A being not that different from yourself, I suppose. Something not dead, but not completely alive either. The spells that hold me together come unbound in the astral realm."

She immediately screamed in pain and doubled over. "No! I can't be here! GETMEOUTGETMEOUTGETMEOUT!!"

Ranryu shook off the cloud Bookwyrm's song had created. More important things to do. Just gotta keep the facade up a little longer. "A fight? Are you guys training? I'm gonna watch!"

The music smelled like time. It filled the entire clinic, so strong that Ranryu was nearly knocked off her feet. Where have I heard that before?

"Mental analysis complete. Results inconclusive." "Argh. We're going to have to test again, aren't we?" "Yup." "Alright then. I'll prep the equipment."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY @That1Cellist!!!" Noot shouts randomly.