"- or maybe running out in the fields would be easier. But why running? I think practicing kaleid magic is a better way to be useful..."

"Running to escape.

But that is how you grow your magic, right? Blue for travel? Or, no, red for exertion!"

"Um, if I went running to escape I would die in the drydark? Yeah. For red magic. And for being healthy. I'm already practicing magic as much as I can and running out every day."

Huh. She thought he was worried about people wanting him, but if he doesn't realize how valuable he is, there's no reason to scare him more. "If you run into the drydark with a fireplate and make it blink on and off, someone will see it and rescue you. How about we run first, and then go to the square to do some illusions? Do you think you could make an illusion stick to me as I move?"

(Oh, he is. He has just heard of the idea of subterfuge more than the average eight year old.)

"I think illusions would be brighter than a fireplate but okay. That will be good practice, I'll try it! Okay, I'll do stretches! I hope my spring idea I told Siki helps him."

Stretching! And running! Both of those things are not thinking about the vast scary wall of being the only one who can do some things, and weird baby magic to change that!

A group of catfolk stand around the edge of the ramp of equartier path.

"A drake is arriving soon, going right where you're standing and then turning left out to Pieta's field."

"-A drake is a kind we can't be near, Calsa? Because they change things? That seems sad." Blue can do magic suppressant...

"Yeah... it's not that bad; once the drake is settled in to their house we can visit them. And we can watch now as long as we stay outside the ring of fire - the issue is touching air that the drake just breathed, so they won't be talking now, but you could show them an illusion? Let's move to the side."

...clomp clomp clomp clomp CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP

The catfolk split into two lines parallel to the equartier path, with tall fires on their outstretched inside arms. The equartier sets down a shimmery teal reptilian person in the middle and jogs out the other opening (with quiet footsteps). The catfolk close the circle.

The drake stands and looks around.

"Oh! Dustlife! Like grows in food if we don't put it in things and boil the things!" Bounce bounce!

He will throw up a shimmery rainbow swirl of drifting sparkles, in a big circle! Red gold green blue violet red. And wave!

There is a faint breeze blowing toward the circle.

The drake waves back!

The catfolk who spoke before calls out "one two one and go" and the circle shuffles away in awkward synchrony.

"Pretty!

I don't know if it's a 'dustlife' issue! I think it's safe to touch the air after an hour? Maybe that's long enough for the dustlife to die... Want to follow them?"

Lin tries snatching a sparkle.

"Woah kid that was awesome!" exclaims a passing werewolf. "How big can you make those things?"

The sparkles are completely insubstantial. They'll shine out through her hand, faintly, if she waves through one.

"I could go pretty big! But I'd get tired faster! I'm practicing instead."

The flowy circle of sparkles breaks into a rainbow line and snakes past Lin and the werewolf's head, then forms up into a five pointed star.

"I'm Nico!"

"Ha, nice! I'm Pavel, the quiet one. That's not a joke, Loud Pavel is even worse, hah hah! 

Can you do like a straight line and be sure it's straight? Not that a little pup like you needs to worry about mining stuff, just a thought popped into my head and out my mouth!"

"Hmmmmmm!"

What if he controls two points of light and has the rest line up between them?

The result is very... Wobbly? Like a taut string moving back and forth fast, between the red and violet fixed points.

"Hmm!"

"Neat! Now try with your eyes closed!"

"Of course!"

He closes his eyes and moves the endpoints around. To where he thinks Lin and Calsa are.

The points of light between them are following a rule about where to go. White is good at that. They take a bit to settle though.

"Is it working?"

"It's still buzzing like a viol string, but, yeah, it's working. ...Better now!

Can you do that a thousand feet long and hold it for five seconds? With your eyes open of course! And then we can knock back early and party the rest of Breath shift, with you as the guest of honor!"

"You want to take him into the mines?"

"Just for a tiny moment, and of course you're invited too! Ah, where are my manners today!"

"Hmmm...."

He has burnt through about a third of one white point. It's dimming, but not done.

The lights go out. 

"I think I can do it. But if I'm saving you so much work maybe I should get paid."

Blink. "Of course, my friend, of course! I'll need to talk to my foreman... You've got spirit, though, kid! You've got the Kef spirit."

When located at the main entrance in the werewolf part of town (all the houses here have roofs), Pavel's foreman says that actually they'll need some circles and lines, at least 5, but 10 would be nice, held for a minute each. The figures are all less than 50 feet across, though. "And that will save us all an hour or two, so let's make that a square fifty today, and another hundred to do the exact same thing 10 cycles from now, if you can do it when the whole room is filled with turbine parts?"

"I'm not sure if I can do circles. You should test it if I can." He probably can. Keep the same distance but wobble side to side, that's a rule.

"That seems fair, and thank you for letting me try! You don't actually know if I can do it yet after all, and you're going out of the way to try it anyway. I might not be able to do it all today... But I'll try! What are all the big turbines going to be for?"