A Temporary Home (open)

[Bunbun]

It was nice to hear Flit in a better mood, but Juliana didn't want to risk providing a false sense of hope so early.

"Hey, don't say 'thanks' yet. Like I said, we don't have any leads right now and I don't want you to get your hopes up over something that might not be possible. Besides, we can't exactly start searching right now, when everything's pitch black."

[Kalak8538]

"Pitch bla-" the voice questioned, before coming to realization.

"Oh... It's night?"

[Bunbun]

"What? Of course it's night. Can't you see it?"

A few seconds passed before Juliana's palm collided with her face.

"...Right, you can't see. Sorry, that's not going to be easy for me to get used to. Yeah, it's nighttime, or at least pretty close to it."

[Kalak8538]

"Well, anyways... I have apparently waited thousands of years, right? What's one more night?!"

There was a hint of doubt in those words, yet Flit tried his best to cover it in a bubbly and optimistic tone. He had come to terms (at least mostly) that he would never be released from the sword. Now, there could be a chance of freedom once again. They may not have known how, but there had to be a way to do it, right?

[Storm]

Whitebone hummed in agreement not adding much "let's get some rest though. If we are planning on hunting for books, we better get some sleep. " He said finally and stretching out onto the ground, holding his bow in his hand

[Bunbun]

Juliana nodded, gently placing the sword on the ground beside her. Afterwards, she curled up much like she had done the night before.

"Okay, we'll start looking tomorrow. G'night, you two."

She fell asleep considerably faster this time. Maybe it was a result of getting more accustomed to the Fell, or perhaps it was because there was simply a more positive atmosphere overall compared to the previous night.

[Kalak8538]

"Umm... Good night." Flit's voice said softly in response.

That part: 'you two' echoed. It was nice to be counted as a part of the group... As a living being. In his time trapped in the sword, he had never been considered as such. All he was to his wielder was a power source. Nothing more.

The sword lay 'awake' on the earth. The gem continued glowing dimly. Flit did not need sleep, or even rest. Time may well have not even existed for him in this state. He would stay there, refusing to go dormant, waiting in anticipation for the next day.

[Storm]

With a yawn whitebone woke up refreshed and exuberant once again. Looking around blinking in confusion to where he was at for a solid few minutes. As his brain slowly woke up he yawned again with more force "morning" he grunted and looked over at the embers that were a fire. "Mmm coffee" he grumbled and rolled over onto his back

[Bunbun]

Juliana took a little while longer to wake up, and would've been happy to sleep through the whole day if the sun hadn't disturbed her rest. Even when she was finally awake, she kept her eyes shut and remained in her curled-up position. Quietly, she mumbled out a few words.

"Morning, Whitebone. Morning, Flit."

It was definitely simplistic, but she figured that was good enough of a greeting.

[Kalak8538]

"Oh! Is it morning already?" asked the voice.

The gem began to shine more boldly, but its light was outdone by the newly-risen sun's.

"Good morning!"

There was renewed excitement in Flit's voice. The new day meant possible freedom for him, after all! The night had passed so quickly it seemed, for all sense of time was lost to the prisoner. He had stayed up all night, in a span of time indistinguishable from any other, simply... thinking.

There was not much Flit knew about his predicament. From both previous knowledge before and knowledge gathered since the ritual, he toyed with some theories on how these humans could possibly release him. These were just silly ideas, thought up to keep the mind from going dormant again. They could wait until all other plans were exhausted.

Hopefully, it would not come to that. Some were... crazy, to say the least...
Others had an unpredictable possible outcome...

[Storm]

He just lifted his hand in greeting. There was no way he could bring out such a chipper happy mood without coffee. Groaning again and rolling over he helped bring the fire back up lazaly and put the pot on the wood to make coffee. As soon as it was hot enough he poured himself a cup and nursed it feeling a bit better and now willing to talk.

"Yup. Morning flit. " He yawned out. "Hey without getting us lost can you see if you can tell us how you got in the sword. Maybe that would be a good starting point to help us understand what we should look for"

[Kalak8538]

"Oh, umm... Alright, I guess..."

There was definitely a change in tone there. Flit did not enjoy retelling that story, and it was obvious. Telling that tale meant he had to relive it again. He really did not want to go through that...

However, if there was a chance that it would help him, he would power through it. Flit decided to start at the very beginning:

"Well... I-It all started one day. I was flying through the forest, just minding my own business, when I caught wind of something shiny. I went to go get it, but it was a trick. Humans had placed it to lure Nimbats, and I fell for it..."

[Bunbun]

Upon hearing that Flit and Whitebone were indeed awake, Juliana finally sat upright and open her eyes, stretching as she did so. Afterwards, she listened intently to Flit to see if anything in particular caught her attention. As it happened, that didn't take very long.

"Wait, what's a Nimbat? I don't think I've ever heard of those before."

[Kalak8538]

A human not ever hearing of a Nimbat? That did not bode well...

"You... N-Never..?" he asked nervously.

That was all Flit needed today: Anxiety that his kind had died out in his absence...
Of course, the odds of an entire species of intelligent creatures dying off were very slim. At the same time, however, a lot could happen in a few thousand years.

"It's what I am! Or... umm... was. Little flying things! Orange fur? Long bodies? Big... ears? Are you sure you've never heard of them?"

[Bunbun]

There was a brief pause as Juliana considered her answer. Try as she might, she couldn't recall any instances of people mentioning Nimbats. Flit did seem pretty worried about that, though, so maybe it would be better to just pretend for now? Although, that would just create a bigger problem if they eventually found out a way to undo the enchantment, and her words were proven to be lies...

"Um, I'm pretty sure I've never heard of them specifically. To be honest, though, I might not be the best person to be answering that question. I don't really... talk to people that much."

[Storm]

Whitebone looked up from his coffee "I don't recognize the name, maybe they went underground? I mean not to make you worried but this place is pretty beat up. It could be that they are hiding from everyone" he said hopeing it would help a bit. He wasn't good at consoling people but if there is a small hope then maybe he could try.

[Kalak8538]

"Underground? Oh no, we don't do so well in holes in the ground... We were built for the sky!"

Flit both realized and appreciated what the two were doing. They had replied honestly, but neither of them wanted to submit to the thought that Nimbats were gone from the world. To make him feel better, they offered both excuse and possibility in favor of the opposite.

"Yeah... That's it. They're hiding! We've always been really good at hiding from humans! Why else would they have to rely on traps?"

Flit was reassured. There was still that doubt, as there was with all things, but there was no truth until he searched. If his kind was gone, he would have to see it with his own eyes. First thing was first: he needed to be free!

[Bunbun]

Flit seemed to accept the answers to his question without too much difficulty, allowing Juliana to relax a little. It meant that they could count of Flit to continue telling his story, which might not have been the case if he had gotten upset and stopped talking. That would certainly have been a problem, considering that Flit's account was the only thing they had to go on right now. Nodding and giving Whitebone a quick thumbs-up, Juliana continued her questioning.

"So, the humans set up a trap that was specifically meant to catch Nimbats. I guess they must've had a reason for trying to catch such a particular creature. It probably had something to do with the enchantment, right?"

[Kalak8538]

Flit once again realized that he was in the middle of a story.

"Well... there's actually a good reason why we're so good at hiding... Humans have always wanted us for our magic!" he said with a subtle hint of anger.

[Bunbun]

So, it had to do with the magic of Nimbats, huh? As Juliana recalled, Flit had mentioned having some kind of magical powers the previous day.

"Now that I think about it, you said something along those lines earlier. You have the ability to enhance the sword with the power of the elements, right? Do you have any idea how that works?"