The next time I meet Karma he says he’s sorry about me getting shot (a weird phrase, really) but when I say I’m fine, he gets right to it and show me the work done so far (they’ve made a foundation) before we look over the blueprints.

I can’t say much about the blueprints for the forge itself, not knowing much about designing buildings, but as before we look over and tweak the designs for the furnaces and bloomeries and their control boards. Three of each, from small ones for jewelry to large ones for bulk smelting and big projects.

Two different power hammers and a rolling machine, as well as a number of belt sanders. Well, they won’t buy them all at the same time, for budgetary reasons, and will move some existing equipment over to the new forge for the same reason.

Right now there’s not much for me to do, aside from taking the materials and plans for the magic control boards, so I don’t stay long before leaving. Having a free day (aside from the time already spent) and knowing exactly where the nearby pod of sky whales is, seeing them is my goal for today.

I find them after a trip of a bit more than an hour, plus some time spend looking around to find them. To begin with I just fly close enough to see them well, maybe one to two hundred meters away from them, but if they aren’t too shy or aggressive, I would like to get their aspect and learn any magics they use.

The pod consists of fourteen skywhales, of which three are large, five are somewhat smaller, and the other six are likely calves. They’re wider than they are tall, and their fins are pretty broad, where the outer half seems to be able to twist separately from the rest, not unlike the ailerons of a plane.

They react to my presence with a series of calls, but aside from forming a loose sphere with the calves in the middle, they don’t seem to mind. I fly closer, into range for magic, to be precise, which was fifty-four meters last time I measured it, and just stay at that distance for a little while.

With the assumption that they can sense mana, I keep my mana to myself, as I let them get used to my presence. As much as my large wings might make me seem big, I think that if you count the fins, the whales are wider than me, wingtip to wingtip.

As I slowly, but intentionally, drift closer it becomes clear just how big they are, and eventually I approach to maybe ten meters of some of the adults. And big, they are. From the largest, an impressive specimen which you could park a bus in (if it was hollow, anyway), to the two smallest calves, both of which are a bit bigger than most ‘big’ land mammals.

Since they seem to be somewhat used to me, I slowly spread out my mana. They notice rather quickly, and make more calls as the big one spreads its mana to me. I ‘flinch’ with my mana but stay calm to see what it does. And it does… nothing, it seems like. I mean, it’s doing something, but I can’t tell what. It doesn’t affect me directly, at least.

It doesn’t take long of studying them before I learn their aspect, but in the process I am surprised by how much Air is in and around them. I mean, I’ve seen creature have a strong affinity before, but this is the first time I’ve seen it this strongly.

Upon further investigation I realize that it is not so much an innate aspect (though it is some of that), but because they are continuously casting air magic. One spell helps them stay afloat, one helps them move around, and there are some other minor spell I can’t decipher, but Air also isn’t as strong in those.

Naturally, I set about learning the major spells, and almost instantly find out that the magic the big one uses around me is a partial version of the flotation magic. In hindsight, I really should’ve noticed when it became easier to keep altitude.

The skywhale resists for a moment when I weave my own mana into the spell, but I’m more skilled than it on this, and either way it soon stops resisting. With that I have a faux mana link and can learn the spell by piggybacking of an innate caster. I study the spell and find a few points where I can improve it for my needs, and that one part of the spell is well suited for binding.

Binding a spell lets you channel it by simply supplying it mana, no need to think about controlling it, though the partial spell isn’t exactly complex to begin with. Then again, if it were it wouldn’t be so easy to bind, or maybe it’d just unravel like when I tried to make a healing enchantment.

Speaking of which, an enchantment of this spell could be really useful, so I’ll have to try that next time I sit down to craft some stuff. For now I’ll just study them, and maybe befriend them a little bit. It’d be really cool if I could ride them, and would make for a cool way to make a vlog.

The video starts with no fadein, and shows Lars in birdkin form. He sits on something that can’t quite be recognized, but the sky is a light grey and no landmarks or features can be seen. After a short moment, he raises his right arm in a greeting that is familiar to regulars of the channel.

“Hello, world.”

“I am Lars Eikeli of Terra Arcana, and I have quite a few things to go through this time. First off I should probably start by addressing… well, getting shot. Yes, I got shot, on live TV. Yes, I’m fine, only the first shot did any real damage, and by now the aches and bruises are gone, too.”

He looks up at the sky as he struggles somewhat to pull something out of a pouch. He holds it up magically as two images of a crumpled metal ball from different angles show up. “This is the first bullet. As you can see, it’s made of silver. In addition, it hit at my side, so even before I had fully raised my defences it wouldn’t have killed me.”

He goes on to explain the method he used to protect himself, namely by creating hard metal scales to cover his body and then fortifying those with magic. “With that said, thanks to all those who have expressed their concern.”

“But let’s get to more fun stuff. As some of you might have realized, I’m pretty high up right now.” He starts to lean over the side as camera moves and rotates to point down to the ground below.

The camera tilts back up as it moves in the direction it was previously facing, then rotates around the skywhale Lars sits on before coming back down. “Magnificent, aren’t they? I finally managed to find a pod of skywhales, and after spending a while to let them get used to me, well, it’s a nice perch to make a video from.”

“Aside from their Aspect, I’ve learnt a few Air-affinity spells from them, one of which lets you levitate, while another reduces your apparent weight. Both increases drag, though, which is how these things can fly, and probably part of why they are so -relatively- slow.”

“I’ve seen the question of what they eat asked several times, and wondered about the same thing myself. Sadly, I don’t have the answer, but they seem to draw in a lot more mana than they use, so I hypothesize they might fuel their bodies with mana instead of chemical energy. Have fun with that, neo-biologists.”

There’s a sharp cut, after which he has changed positions. “Next up I want to address some rumors and speculation. I’ll get to the new years display at the end.”

“Before that, though: Yes, I do have the ability to make someone more youthful, what I call youthful rejuvenation. Yes, I’ve done it already. Twice, in fact. It is a service -unlisted- I offer now. And no, it’s not cheap. Why would it? What is a few years worth of wages for living several years longer, or at least stay physically healthy for just as long?”

He addresses a few other, relatively minor things that have come up enough to warrant an ‘official’ answer, before getting to the new years display.

“I’m impressed by how close some people got, and two days ago someone even compiled a few of these theories together into something which got really close, link where links are found. Hyrule, maybe. Or just the description.”

“So to clarify: I was never in danger, and neither was the audience. All the summoned monsters were a combination of puppets and illusions, as was the demon king. The flames were mostly just illusions, but with some actual flames at a safe distance and heat spreading out to really sell it.”

“As some theorized as soon as the day after, I never actually teleported, or burnt and died, but instead made myself really hard to see, and harder to notice, then snuck away. As for the question of whether it is possible to do a lot of the more… extreme things people have guessed…”

“Teleportation is possible. I’ve done it. I’ve also died and gotten better, depending on how you define dying, of course. Is it really dying if it’s not permanent? Anyway, I wouldn’t recommend it, it sucks. Summoning stuff is apparently possible, ref the Tokyo incident, but if you search a little you will find stories. Haven’t tried it myself, though.”

“That aside,” he says, hopping to his feet and leaping over to another skywhale, wings held close. “Meet the reason for that sharp but, and one of my customers. Want to introduce yourself?”

“Uh, hi, I’m Jane!”

“As you can see, Jane here is a customer of mine. To start off, what have you bought from me?”

“Ehm, shapeshifting and a flying course, a, uhm, you called it a spatial bag, it’s this pouch here, and it’s bigger on the inside, and this-” she gestures to the clothes she are wearing on her upper body.

“Flight form clothes.” Lars offers. He is wearing similar, but much more elaborate, clothes, with more colors and a few hoops, most of which have some gadget, pouch or magical thingy attached.

The overall design is similar to a tank top or T-shirt with very short arms, but with the arm hole opening for the wing along the entire upper body- The cloth seems a bit stiff, and it’s tied with a simple belt just below the wings and continues for about a hand’s length below that.

“Jane, what do you think about flying?”

“It’s super fun! I can go anywhere I want and you can see so much from up here. And if you do loops and…”

“Aerobatics?”

“-yeah, and stuff, it’s like a really good roller coaster.”

“So there you have it. This vlog got even more here and there than usual, but that’s just how it goes. And with that, I’m done, with the next magic howto video hopefully coming soon -it’s a bit hard to properly edit these things on my laptop without all my tools-, and as usual the next vlog post should be up in about a week.”

“Signing out.”

“…so I hypothesize they might fuel their bodies with mana instead of chemical energy. Have fun with that, neo-biologists.”

“And then there’s-” I say, before something lands on the skywhale to my left. “Ah, it’s you!”

Upon hearing my voice and looking at me for a moment, it dawns upon her who I am. “Lars? Oh no-”

“Calm down, I’m not gonna hurt you.” I say as she spreads her wings wide again to take off. “I’m also not going to let you go.”

I hold her in place with magic, and she lets out a startled scream. “Please no! I don’t want to go back!”

“What?” Back? “Oh.” She’s a runaway, right. I stop the recording and put the camera in its pouch. “Nah, I’m not gonna do that, it’s none of my business.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. My business is selling magical goods and services.”

Her first response is a laughing snort, after which her expression turns to one of mixed mirth and fear. “Really though, I just want to get the money for the spatial bag, well, pouch, and maybe the flight clothes thingy. I really need to get better at naming things.” The last bit I say more to myself than to her.

She relaxes, and in the process finds out that I no longer hold her, but after a moment of hesitation, remains standing. “But I don’t have much money…”

“Well… One, that’s not my probl-errr, it might be a problem to me, but two, you should have thought of that before running away. Really though, a small spatial bag like that isn’t expensive. It’s like a one point three increase in size, maybe? I’m sure we can work something out.”

“As for the birdkin clothes, those were made simply to be one-size fits all, so I would prefer if you bought some which were a bit better made, or at least let me customize them a bit so they fit you better.”

“Won’t that be expensive?”

“Ehh, nah, I make them from weaving the cloth to enchanting them and whatnot, so the biggest cost is my time, really. Besides, it’s better advertisement for me if you have proper products instead of basically just demo-wares. Now, I think you’ve read the prices, so how about you tell me how much you’re willing to pay?”

She thinks about it for a moment before coming with a very insecure offer, but it sounds good enough to me. So I helpfully offer to customize the birdkin clothes to better suit her and also look more interesting for a 20% increase in the price, and make her a custom, slightly bigger (inside and enlargement multiplier), bag made for the birdkin form for the same price.

“Really? But won’t you lose money on that?”

“No, I already told you, I don’t use any money on making them, just time. And honestly, I am biased for- against? Towards? Uh, yeah, that sounds better. Anyway, I’m willing to give you a better deal because you’re obviously not super rich or anything, and also you seem to be in a… not great life position.”

She flinches at that and shrinks into herself.

“Also, while I’m not going to drag you kicking and screaming back to your parents or anything, I think I’m obligated to tell the police at some point. Not sure how they would get to you up here, though. If you are dumb enough to stay here.”

“What? But then where do I…” Is all she manages to say before it becomes a mumbling mess as she starts crying.

Well shit. How do I manage to get myself into these kinda social situations where I have to actually… take care of people? Okay, so my goal is to calm her down and offer emotional support. I would assume she has friends and such she could go to, but I suppose they might not have moved out, so going to them risks an arrest. Also, the birdkin form is not made for being indoors.

So emotional support… cute animals can do that, and I can do cute animals. “Hey, do you prefer cats or dogs?”

She stops sobbing for a moment and looks at me like I’m weird. “Ahdahkas.”

“Uh, cats?”

A nod.

I summon a kitten and walk right up to rub against her, which brings out the tiniest transient smile as she, too, sits down and starts petting it. I shut down most of the senses from it, no need for distractions now.

“Look, I’m… not good at this kinda stuff, but talking about things, if you’re able to, tends to help. Also, I don’t really feel all that adult or anything, but I’ve lived a bit longer than you, so if you’d let me, I can try to help you find help or a safe place or whatever.”

She stops petting and looks at me with a… look, so I offer her an out. “Just think about it. The option is there until we part ways.”

A minute pass, then two, and after six minutes she has sufficiently calmed down. Having made up her mind, she gives me the money for the things. “Take off the clothes and I will fit and customize them for you.”

“But then you’ll see my…”

“Feathered chest, yes. You are, more or less, a kid to me, and unless I did something wrong, the feathers should cover it plenty. Though if you want I can give you a blanket to cover yourself in.”

In the end I take some quick measurements of her, then turn my back to her. Soon enough she trades the-

Okay, I need a name for it now. Shirt, jacket, suit, upper body… tunic? Specifically made for a birdkin form… birdkin tunic? That works. ‘Birdkin tunic’ it is.

-trades the birdkin tunic for a blanket, and I get to work tightening it here and there, remaking the enchantments to be more efficient and a bit stronger, and make the design just a bit more interesting.

“Are you enchanting it?”

“Yeah, well, unravelling the existing enchantments and remaking them to be a bit better.”

“For free?”

“Well, yeah. With a birdkin tunic, as I decided to call them, for actually flying, a simple enchantment to stay warm is very useful. I also add one to make it feel soft to the touch while making it a bit tougher in general. And one to draw mana from the wearer. Not much, though, but you can input mana if you are cold. Just be careful of how much.”

As options come up I ask about what she wants, and soon I can sense her looking over my shoulder as I steadily turn it from a very boring, simple thing to a something with a simple aesthetic while not being boring.

“Hmm, yeah, that looks much better. How does it feel?”

“It’s a lot tighter than before, but it feels good. Now I can move without showing my boobs. But you know so many useful and cool things, can you teach me how you did the thing where the threads wove themselves?”

“I could, but that costs money, you know.”

“Oh. Aww.”

“Anyway, when you got here I was filming a vlog, I would like to finish that. Is it okay if i ask you a few questions about the things you bought and stuff? We can look over it afterwards and I can edit it out if you don’t like it.”

“I can be in one of your videos?” She says happily, before her mood drops again. “…but then they will know that you’ve seen me.”

I let out a sympathetic sigh. “Yeah. But I need proper internet to upload the video, and I need to edit it, too, so it probably won’t be up until tomorrow. I’m gonna have to stop by a police station and tell them where I met you, though. But let’s not worry about that right now. Interview yes or no?”