Wapun Meadow downtown

As he spoke he said something she'd never expected - the sound of a cuss made her ears burn and her face feel flush, and she briefly averted her eyes to look around them as if a wolf who was more adult than herself would pop out of the grass to scold them both. It was a fleeting feeling, but strong while it lasted. Then he went on to explain the deal and Ibis was shocked again; she had never been given that much power over someone else before. What kind of name could she concoct for him? What if she tried to offer a bunch and they were all stupid, or -- what if she named him something that was utterly unsuitable? She didn't know him at all. Oh no, this wasn't -- this wasn't a good plan, this was terrifying!

Ibis was worried she'd screw up and it was plainly written on her face. Are -- are you sure? I mean, I'm a total stranger, you're a total stranger -- Then again, if she offered something he didn't like then he could just ignore it. He didn't have to take one of her suggestions. Ibis didn't want to cause upset or make him leave angry, so she relented by saying: I'll try.

She went with what she knew: which was mostly the names for birds and flowers she'd collected, or names she'd made-up on the spot for her studies, and gave him a discerning look as she tried to deduce which of these things was the most suitable. What about... Huckleberry? It was her only offering initially; the Hollow had a few huckleberry bushes mixed in among the forestry and that was the first thing to come to mind. After a pause Ibis tried others: Or -- what about Morton? But one glance at the boy's pretty eyes and the expression on his face, and Ibis knew it didn't really fit, no, wait.. hmm, What could she say? It was really hard to come up with names for a total stranger like this, and she didn't want to screw it up.

That's when she thought of something she'd not thought of since she was very, very tiny. So small that she probably should not be able to remember anything of the time period back when her parents were happy and together, and her father was teaching his kids -- something, or telling a story. Was it a story? It felt like it was on the edge of her knowing which frustrated Ibis a little bit. I once heard a story about a group of warriors -- knights, I think they were called -- and um, they were unbeatable. They fought for their king whenever he called, and saved princesses, and fought dragons, maybe Terance had told her a story when she was tiny, or maybe it was her aunt Wraen, or one of her mothers; whoever it was, it came to mind and Ibis hoped she could recall some aspect of it properly for this stranger.

I think there were... twelve? But um, I remember a couple of those names.. Gawain, and Tristan, and.. hm, no, I can't remember the others. She frowned, thoughtful and serious, before blurting, Or you could go by the dragon's name! Dragons are fierce creatures that nobody can defeat - not even a whole bunch of knights. I think this one was... Kilgharrah. There were too many avenues to explore when it came to names so she had to stop herself from rambling further, but hoped that the boy liked something that she'd offered; at the very least, Ibis hoped he wasn't offended or weirded-out by her commentary.