Sunbeam Lair See, you almost would be gone if you couldn’t wait for me

Troublesome Airi continued to do what she did best, while Shiori was left burning with embarrassment. Just apologize! You don't have to mean it! she thought, sending Airi an imploring glance as though sheer force of will could transmit her message to her sister. But once Kaori was crowded in close to her, Shiori shifted her attention to the matter at hand. A story!

There were a great many things Shiori loved about her mother, but her voice was chief among them. It was like the currents of the sea, beautiful and wild, patterns that dictated life. When her mother spoke she saw these patterns arrayed before her, a color that Shiori had never seen anywhere but in her mother's words. The story fascinated her (though she couldn't imagine a time before Asterr, who seemed so old to her.) Awestruck, Shiori listened, unable to imagine what a dragon looked like but certain that they were amazing. And when her mother finished, another member of the tribe spoke up, asking a question that Shiori hadn't thought of, but certainly wished she had.