Bibliophiles Unite!

[Zero]

Keiran stepped into the living area, looking around with curiosity. It was definitely not like anything he was used to, but it was quaint. He smiled as he saw Mrs. Havish put a tea kettle on. Lyssa had warned him tea would be coming.

He smiled as Lyssa moved to the table, towards the package she had apparently received while at work. Maybe it was none of his business, but he was definitely curious what had been sent. If Lyssa didn't mind opening it while he was there, then surely it wasn't rude. Especially when the crate squeaked.

"It would seem so." Now he simply was dying to know what was in there! "You should open it quickly if there is something living inside."

[DragonSong]

"I should say so!" the librarian exclaimed, darting forward to quickly begin unwrapping the crate. "Mother should know better, why on earth would she-- oh goodness!"

Her rather sharp tone melted into cooing awe as she lifted the lid of the crate and saw what was inside. Two tiny, fluffy creatures blinked up at her, curled around each other with their feather wings all tangled together, tails entwined.

"Oh, you precious little things," Lyssa breathed. Wary of startling the poor little animals, she carefully peeled a letter from the bottom of the crate lid, reading it quickly under her breath.

"Dearest Lyssa, your father and I took a few days to explore La'marri recently, and stumbled across a woman who was quite knowledgeable about drakarys micro. She said they've become quite fashionable pets all over the continent, and I know you've been missing Bluebelle..."

A soft blush rose to her cheeks as she realized she was speaking the letter aloud and she quickly rolled it up, tucking it away. The rest was mostly advice and instructions about how to care for the little creatures, which she could look at more in detail later.

Laughing a little incredulously, Lyssa shook her head and peered into the crate again, carefully offering her fingers for the tiny dragons to sniff. A closer inspection revealed that the lining of the crate was in fact an old blanket from her bed at home-- probably trying to get the animals used to her scent.

Eyes wide, she glanced up at Keiran, shaking her head. "Well, um...if it's alright, it seems we may have a bit more company on the trip?"

[Zero]

Drakarys micro.

That certainly got Keiran's attention, as much as his friend's sudden cooing. As a lover of all creatures mystical, well of course he knew about them! Not that he had ever thought of joining the fad of owning the small draconic creatures, but he certainly was curious to see them.

Risking rudeness, simply because he acted before thinking, Keiran was behind Lyssa peering over her shoulder into the crate as she dipped her hand down to let the little creatures sniff at her.

"Hmm, well I do not think they will be too much trouble. May I?" It was obvious just how interested he was as he gestured at the crate with a sheepish smile. They were not his, but he wanted to see them too. Oh what a fascinating turn of events!

[DragonSong]

"Oh, sure! Here, hold on a moment." Lyssa held her hand down into the crate until the two little creatures had decided she was safe enough to venture onto, where she scooped them up and cradled them against her chest.

"They must have just been weaned," she noted as she shifted her grip, cupping one baby in a hand so she could hold the little thing out toward Keiran. "They're so small!"

The tiny dragon cheaped and leaned forward to sniff curiously at the nobleman, while the one still held against Lyssa's chest curled back against the librarian's warmth. Both still seemed a little wary, but they were friendly animals by nature and curiosity was obviously beginning to outweigh natural fear.

[Zero]

"They are so cute and so young." Keiran gushed lightly, holding out his own hand for the little creature to sniff as she held one towards him. A huge, bright smile was on his face as he observed the curious little dragon. "I had heard of these little beasts but this is the first time I have had opportunity to see one."

Magical creatures were his other passion after books. It was the family business, after all. The Fairhalls bred and sold Kirin, they were magnificent beasts. These little creatures were also quite amazing.

"I think I am a little jealous." Keiran joked, grinning at Lyssa as he gently rubbed under the little dragon's chin with a single fingertip.

[DragonSong]

Lyssa chuckled delightedly as the baby dragon in her hand reached out with his dexterous front paws to grab for Keiran's finger, chirping curiously.

"Well, all the more reason for us to spend time together then," she joked, glancing up at her friend. "According to what I've heard, teacups have to been with their handler nearly constantly for the first few days, to ensure the bonding process goes smoothly. So any time you spend with me you can also spend with them."

The tiny dragon cuddled against her chest seemed to be ready to brave further reaches, and stretched his neck out to sniff her collar curiously, then clambered up onto her shoulder. She giggled. "That tickles, little one," she cooed, stroking his head delicately with two fingers.

[Zero]

Keiran did seem to seek out reasons to remain in Lyssa's company. Getting to spend time studying these cute little critters was certainly a convenient excuse. He wished there wasn't a need for an excuse. Was there a need for reason? Why couldn't he just spend time with her for the sake of being in her company?

He smiled at the way one climbed onto her shoulder and made her giggle. It was such a nice sound, hearing her laugh. She had a radiant smile too.

"Well we will be traveling, so I will very conveniently be in your close company for the next couple weeks while we visit my family. I hope my consistent close proximity will not have a negative affect on your bonding experience." As curious as he was about the tiny dragons, he didn't want to interfere with a crucial period of time with their new Mistress.

[DragonSong]

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine," Lyssa enthused quickly. "I'll need to do some reading while I pack tonight of course, but I think it's meant to be helpful for them to interact with the people their handler will be spending a lot of time with, so they can get used to scents and such."

Her eyes were positively glowing with excitement, and she was unable to keep a smile from her face as she watched the little dragons climb their way back to snuggle against her chest, apparently quite happy to fall asleep there. She laughed again, quietly, and traced a delicate fingertip over the crests that graced their noses.

"Mother scent a letter with advice from this Caliope woman— she's the only real expert we have on the mainland, can you believe it?— and I'm sure I have a book about local Yoreiqi fauna laying around somewhere..."

[Zero]

"Yes, well I suppose we will be spending a lot of time together on the trip." Keiran mused with a shy glance before watching the little dragons move back to Lyssa's chest to snuggle and sleep. He quickly cast his eyes away with a blush.

If they were not traveling together would they still have been spending a lot of time together? He did not know for sure, but the young lord hoped that they would.

"I am also very interested. I wonder if there are any books on them. Maybe they would make a good subject for one of my papers." Keiran did love finding new creatures to study and learn about. That these ones were so cute and friendly did not hurt at all.

[DragonSong]

Lyssa's smiled widened and she adjusted her grip to better hold the tiny dragons. "As far as I know there's been no specific book about drakarys micro written yet. Perhaps you could write the first."

One of the little creatures in question yawned and buried his head under his companion's wing, and the young librarian melted into more coos and murmuring. Glancing back up at Kerian, she gave him a sort of apologetic wince and mumbled, "I think I should probably help them get settled, they seem tired. You, um... You could have a cup of tea, if you don't mind waiting a moment?"

[Zero]

"An entire book? I am not so sure, that would likely require studying them in their natural habitat and Father would never permit it." There was no way Nathaniel Fairhall would let his son go tramping about one of those uncivilized island nations to study anything, let alone tiny dragons kept as designer pets.

"Oh." Keiran blinked and looked wide-eyed back to where the tea was heating on the stove. He had forgotten all about tea! "Ah, I could certainly wait for you to go settle them, if I am not imposing. It is growing late."

They both had to pack for leaving in the morning, after all. Not that he wanted to leave.

[DragonSong]

"Oh. Oh, you're right, of course!" Lyssa flushed. She hadn't even been considering the time. "I shouldn't keep you, I'm sorry. I'm sure you have plenty of your own packing and such to do..."

She cleared her throat, ducking her eyes to look down at the teacup dragons again. She couldn't help smiling; they were just so adorable, snuggled against her chest and crooning softly to each other they way they were.

[Zero]

"Yes, packing. I was quite happy to have been invited in for tea, though, please do not mistake my suggestion to leave as, ah...Well good night, I suppose, Miss Lyssa." Keiran was flushed and stumbled over his words before making a somewhat hasty and embarrassed retreat. He did need to pack for the trip, and so did she.

Sleeping was nearly impossible, but Keiran did his best to at least look as if he hadn't been up fretting about the trip all night. Getting his suit and robes to look impeccable was no harder than normal, nor was ensuring every strand of that blue hair was in place. It was much harder to hide the shadows under his eyes, but even a young lord of his caliber could only do so much no matter how fine the material he was working with.

His driver was quite surprised to know that they were to pick up an additional guest, but Keiran had the forethought to send a letter back to his father that he was bringing the girl the family was sponsoring as his guest to the special occasion. Dutifully the carriage pulled in front of Lyssa's lodging house and the carriage master knocked on the door primly.

The carriage was certainly fine, and the horses pulling it were definitely well-bred beasts, but it was the Kirin being led by a long lead behind it that was the real eye-catcher.

[DragonSong]

Lyssa had spent much of the evening switching between reading up on her new companions, desperately trying to figure out what she should pack, and cuddling the teacup dragons.

By the time she was supposed to meet Keiran the next morning, she'd just barely managed to get a modest carpet bag packed and herself dressed in what she desperately hoped was appropriate attire: a loose-sleeved blouse and a skirt that cut just below her knees, swaying a bit with every movement she made.

She was waiting in the small parlor when she heard the knock, nervously tapping her foot with her bag resting beside her feet and a soft cloth sling crossing the front of her chest, two sleeping teacup dragons curled in the fabric (as she had read the night before that keeping the younglings close to her as often as possible would help the bonding process). She started slightly at the knock, then took a breath to compose herself.

"Yes, I'm coming!" she called, gathering up her bag and hurrying to the door. Expecting to see Keiran, she was a little startled to find the carriage master when she opened the door, blinking. "Oh, um. Hello. Good morning."

Offering a small smile, Lyssa's gaze was still drawn past the man's shoulder to the carriage that waited. Her eyes widened and her breath caught. "Oh my gods..."

The kirin was beautiful! She'd never seen one in person before, and the creature was absolutely breathtaking.

[Zero]

"Good morning, Miss Lyssa." The carriage master was a slender, tall man with a serious expression that was only slightly softened by the light blonde hair and hazel eyes. He cast a glance back to the carriage when the young woman made her exclamation. "That would be Romulus, Master Keiran's mount and a pride of the Fairhall stables. Allow me to take your bag, Miss."

It was less a request, as made obvious when he took the luggage from Lyssa's hand and gestured for her to follow him to the waiting carriage. He stepped up to the door and opened it for her. Keiran was sitting with one leg thrown over the other, a book was in his lap. Politely he closed it and offered his guest a hand up. "Good morning, come, sit next to me. I am afraid this will be a rather long ride, but the company will make it a much more enjoyable trip than the last time I made it."

[DragonSong]

With no other real option, Lyssa allowed him to take her bag with a polite nod and murmured thanks, then darted for the carriage.

She smiled happily when she saw Keiran, taking his hand gratefully as he pulled her up into the coach. "Thanks." She settled herself carefully beside him and tipped her head to the side, joking lightly, "I hope I can live up to your expectations then."

The cloth across her front wriggled slightly, and a small, fuzzy head popped out to look around, chirping sleepily.

"Oh. Easy, little one." Lyssa smiled and stroked the teacup dragon gently with two fingers until he'd subsided back into the makeshift sling. She glanced up at Keiran a little apologetically. "The, um, books I was reading said I'm supposed to keep them close to me as much as I can the first few days. Helps them bond."

[Zero]

"You have yet to fail to exceed my expectations, Miss Lyssa." Keiran replied cheerfully, more than confident that this was going to be a more pleasant then usual journey home. There was a wedding to attend and his friend was coming along as his guest, it was going to be quite the little adventure - for both of them.

The young lord tilted his head to look down at the tiny head that poked up out of the makeshift carrier with a smile. "It is quite alright. I am delighted to have their company as well. They are exceedingly cute."

There was a soft rocking as the driver climbed into his seat after loading Lyssa's luggage. A moment later the carriage was gently swaying as it began the long trip back to Ravensway.

[DragonSong]

Lyssa beamed, though she was blushing a bit from his compliment. She patted the teacup dragon's head gently and the tiny creature subsided back into the cloth pouch with another yawn, shifting against his sibling.

"So." She looked up at Kieran again, eyes bright and excited. "Exactly how long is this trip again? Oh, I do hope I've packed properly— I've never really done anything like this before, I'm a bit nervous..."

She realize she was babbling and snapped her mouth shut quickly.

[Zero]

"Well the carriage ride will consume two days, as long as the weather is clear. We will remain in Ravensway for two weeks or so. I have family duties to help prepare for my brother's wedding, of course. The wedding itself will be a spectacular event." Keiran let slip a frown as he stared across the seat to the far wall. "I do hope they will be happy. Father is not pleased with this match."

Realizing what he said, the young lord shook his head and took up his famous genial smile. "There is no reason for you to be nervous. Truthfully aside from a brief meeting with father and the wedding party, you will have extensive free time to simply enjoy the beautiful estate grounds, pursue the vast library, and view this much like a vacation. It is a chance for you to see the place you will live and work for a time after you finish schooling."

[DragonSong]

"Oh." The librarian blinked at him, then shook her head and looked down at her feet, trying not to stare. Quickly, she enthused, "Well, I'm excited for the opportunity then! I don't suppose many people are lucky enough to get the time to know their patron before accepting their services."

She glanced up at him with a smile and leaned back in her seat a bit, trying to make herself comfortable. They were going to be here for a while, after all. After a few moments though, she cleared her throat and ventured cautiously, "If I can ask...why isn't your father happy with the match?"