You understand your role, correct?

Yeah, yeah. You understand your end of the bargain, right?

Carry out your end and payment will be nothing less than assured.

XXX

Despite being here for a mere few minutes, Nico found himself enjoying the Artisan Realm already.

Who could blame him? Sunny blue skies, soft green grass dotted by colorful flowers, rolling idyllic hills complete with tall healthy trees, elegant stone structures, crystal clear waterfalls. This hub world alone would make for a delightful vacation spot.

Now then, where could the guide be? Fortunately, he didn't have to search far to spot Nestor, who waited by the entrance to a sizable hedge-labyrinth.

"Ah, young Nicolas!" Nestor greeted once he noticed his guest approach him. He held out his hand. "Welcome to Artisans! My name is Nestor; I can tell you're looking forward to exploring our Homeworld!"

Nico chuckled and accepted the Realm Leader's hand. "I-I am! Miss Sofia felt it would do me good to visit now that I can finally see the other side of my heritage."

Ah yes, the emerald elder recalled. Sofia had mentioned a few of the Ecologists having mixed ancestry, the boy here included. "Then I assure you that we will do all in our power to help you feel welcome here, young one." He took back his hand and gestured the smaller dragon to follow him into the labyrinth. "Our first stop will be Dark Hollow. I figured you might enjoy the library there and the amount of information it contains."

Nico nodded as he followed Nestor through the maze, which wasn't particularly large. Since reaching the portal did not take long in turn, Nico couldn't help but notice Nestor taking his sweet time getting there. Was he trying to stall?

The peach-palette dragon shook his head just as he and Nestor walked through the portal. Best not to assume.

Besides, the world that greeted him on the other side demanded far more attention. His curiosity piqued in an instant at the clear midday sky as well as stone structures with candles dotting their walls. All these details, while pleasant in daylight, suggested a more tranquil mystical atmosphere at night. Chances are they wouldn't stay around long enough for that. A shame.

As the young man drunk in the sites, Nestor took the opportunity to scan the area for a certain someone. Hopefully not Alban as the feather-haired scribe had made his disgruntled opinion regarding the lost dragon clan visiting this realm quite clear. Before long, Nestor's eyes landed on a certain other red dragon on the next 'level', organizing some books on one of the outdoor shelves.

Nestor cupped his hand to his mouth and called out, "Oswin!"

The fellow in question turned his turbaned head and beamed in delight before he hopped down to their level and walked up to them.

"Ah Nestor! Not a moment too soon! I was just about to check with you on whether our guest had arrived yet." Speaking of whom, his attention turned to Nicolas. "Is this the dear boy Miss Sofia mentioned?"

Nodding, Nestor turned to his guest and stepped aside so the two dragons could greet each other in a more proper manner. "Nicolas, this is Oswin; he is the librarian of our Realm."

Nico heartily shared a handshake with Oswin. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

"Please, the pleasure is all mine! I can't tell you how many times I've read through all our available books on the Ecologists! To think I'd ever get to meet one of them in this lifetime. Astounding!"

The way Oswin kept gazing at him, though benevolent, made Nico start to feel scrutinized like a science project. Thankfully, Nestor noticed the same and cut in from behind with, "Ah that reminds me, Oswin! Didn't you receive a new collection of books from Sunny Villa just the other day?"

With a gasp of realization, Oswin released Nico's hand. "That's right, thank you for reminding me, Nestor! This way please!" He led his group to the alcove right before the end of the area and down the steps. In moments, the group emerged into a domed subterranean library riddled with lit candles. The floor consisted of large platforms bordered by shallow water, a design choice that Nico silently questioned in terms of practicality.

The reverie cut short as Oswin's voice called attention. "With a plethora of subjects covered in the new books combined with what we already have," the bookkeeper rotated to face his companions and stretched both arms out in a grandiose fashion, "there's bound to be something to catch your interest! Go around, see what you like! Oh, but before you do, there's something I better let you in on."

Oswin pulled out a book from a nearby shelf and waved a hand above it. On cue, an iridescent shimmer passed over the item.

"Not that I don't trust you to return any of these books, but those egg thieves like to break the mold every now and then. That's why I made sure to enchant all the books in Dark Hollow to teleport back to their respective shelves whenever somebody tries to take 'em outside the area. A little something a friend from Magic Crafters taught me." He punctuated this explanation with a wink.

Huh, clever. Nico scanned the library for titles he'd find interesting. So engrossed in the task, he never noticed Nestor pull Oswin aside (and out of earshot) for a talk.

Wow, he wasn't kidding about these books being diverse, the pastel dragon mused in wonder. Already he had stumbled across twenty different topics in just half a minute (and yes, he'd counted). Alas, none caught his eye yet and part of him couldn't help but feel ashamed of that. His guild valued well-rounded knowledge and Miss Sofia always advised to take opportunities to learn new things, even if they seemed boring.

Hmm. Might as well mitigate the pain and pick the least boring one. How about—

Out of nowhere, someone bumped into his side at high speed, nearly knocking him down! Nico managed to catch himself on the wall with one hand, preventing himself from falling down, and lifted his head just in time to see a blue-robed figure dash out of the library, holding something to their chest with robed arms.

"Well that was rude," Nico mumbled to himself as he sent a cross face the offender's way.

A sudden shimmer off the peripherals caught his attention and drew it to a shelf off to his right, this one near coasted by the water. A closer inspection revealed nothing out of the ordinary at first – until the shimmer happened again, this time as an opalescent gleam encompassing a navy-blue book with gold trimming.

Odd. This didn't fit with Mr. Oswin's description. Why glow if the book was right where it should be? Did that count as normal around here?

Nico furrowed his brow, unsure, and reached a tentative hand towards the book...

"THIEF!"

Startled by the shout, Nico stared with widened eyes and dashed out the library just in time to see Nestor holding said robed figure by the scruff of his neck while Oswin snatched away what turned out to be a book from their hands. With a swift resounding kick, Nestor sent the thief flying high into the sky until they sailed out of view with a cartoonish twinkle.

Just then, Oswin turned and noticed their audience. A meek smile came about. "Oh, our apologies you had to see that. We were just about to come back inside when that hooligan came running out. They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Nico blinked and shook his head. Aside from getting shoved aside, he was fine. Aside from that, though, words failed to come since this sort of thing never happened back home.

Nestor sighed in relief. "In that case, would you like to keep looking inside for a book you like, or would you rather move onto the next area? We have plenty of time."

That last sentence proved to be the A-OK Nico needed to affirm his wish to continue his search for a good book. He didn't wish for the elders' efforts for this part of their trip to be for nothing, after all. However, once Oswin passed him by as everyone returned to the library, his sharp eyes noticed something off about the carried piece of literature.

Didn't the spine on that book look the same as that of the glowing one? Then something even more suspicious occurred to Nico as he followed the adults into the library: he noticed said book in the same direction from which that thief originated. He paused, the adults getting a few steps ahead before he spoke up.

"Mr. Oswin, sir?"

The elder looked to him. "Yes?"

"You said it's not possible for books to get snuck out, right?"

"That's right."

"What about books getting snuck in?"

Oswin's face scrunched in genuine confusion.

Nico ducked his head in brief thought. Maybe he should rephrase that question. "What I mean is," he stuck a finger at what he meant, "has that one always been here?"

Oswin looked to where Nico was pointing and approached the shelf in question. Once his eyes landed on the aforementioned book and he compared it to the one in his hands, he sighed. "I was afraid of this." At Nico's confused look, he elaborated. "I made sure to give the anti-theft spell to every book in here and do the same for any new addition that comes in, meaning that thief was hoping to make off with this," he held up the book he got back from the thief, revealing it to look just like the one on the shelf, "while tricking us into thinking we still had it."

With that, Oswin pulled out the fake book and switched it out with the real one. "Good eye, by the way. Not that we wouldn't have noticed ourselves, but a little early detection never hurts either! I'll have to see into the proper spell later on for this kind of underhanded trick. Was there anything else off you noticed about it?"

Blushing at the compliment, Nico shuffled his feet yet managed a small smile. "I-I think I also saw it glowing before, too, if that counts, sir."

"All the more proof! I'll see about getting this book treated and after that I'll be organizing the new arrivals. Unless that is, are there any titles you'd like to check out?" At the boy's hesitation, the turbaned reptile gave a soft and encouraging smile.

"...Actually," Nico spoke at last, "I was hoping you might have something about fireworks?"

XXX

Act natural, Nestor said. Go about your business, he said.

Easy for the Big Boss to say. He didn't have Complicated BackstoryTM correlating to today! Lindar breathed out in resignation as Gavin's café came into view at last. He knew this day would be coming. Nestor told everyone this day would be coming.

Well excuse Lindar if he had a hard time focusing today and wanted some coffee courage. Landing right in front of the door, he sighed in relief and strolled through the door, bell ringing upon his entrance.

"Lindar!" Gavin greeted from behind the bar. "The usual mocha?"

"Yeah," the clockmaker grunted as he sat down on one of the bar stools. From one of his pockets he pulled out a stack of cookies wrapped up in cellophane tied up at the top and set it on the counter. "Extra cream this time."

As the barista got to work on the order, his dark eyes trailed over to the maya blue dragon, who kept looking down at the wooden patterns of the bar top. His attention lingered on the cookies for a moment, but he shrugged it off.

"Gem for your thoughts? Nobody here but us."

At first, Lindar seemed ready to deny anything – only to sigh in defeat and rub his eyes for a moment. "Am I being overdramatic about this?" He took note of Gavin's amused stare and rolled his eyes. "About the kid." When Gavin didn't let up, Lindar threw his hands in the air with an annoyed scowl. "About the kid that's not Spyro!"

Gavin shrugged. "That depends. Your opinion about the Ecologists is pretty clear."

"As clear as everybody's opinion on me."

A disapproving frown took over Gavin's face. "Lindar. Not everyone's like your dad. Most of us couldn't care less that you've got Ecologist in you."

"Yeah, cuz most of you guys just happened to forget how much fun picking on the 'half-breed' was back then."

Gavin flinched and Lindar regretted his wording immediately, wilting in both posture and voice. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to lump you in there."

"It's okay." Gavin knew all too well the grief his longtime friend had to weather throughout his life. The lack of horns had been bad enough; the childhood grief over this had been another beast altogether. "I knew what it was like for people to pick you apart and claim what's wrong with you. It's how we ended up friends."

Despite himself, Lindar smirked. "And here I thought we forged a friendship out of cleaning Alvar's kitchen."

"Hey, I wasn't the one sneaking off with his spices for a prank."

"You helped!"

"Only because I noticed you sneaking in and tried to get you out. You knew we weren't allowed in there alone." That and dealing with Alvar's temper was never a popular pastime.

Lindar arched a brow. "So, which part of getting me out entailed dipping yourself in flour and smearing raspberry jam over half your body so you'd look like a zombie as a distraction?"

Gavin tossed a sheepish grin over his shoulder. "Alvar hates zombies," he went back to making the mocha and muttered, "and near heart-attacks."

Lindar snorted at the memory, only to sag right away. "You think that kid ever had to deal with the same stuff as me?"

"Helping friends sneak out of kitchens?"

That quip earned a snort out of the other blue dragon. "No—well, probably—I meant catching grief from others for being Artisan and Ecologist."

"You can never be too sure from just assuming. From what Nestor said, he sounds young enough to have spent enough time around Eleanor and the others, so..." he shrugged and noticed Lindar's pensive expression. "Why do you ask?"

For a moment, no answer came from the normally talkative clockmaker much to Gavin's surprise.

"Before Nestor told everyone about the whole reintegration thing, he came to me about the Ecologists being back on the grid. Don't need ta be a genius to figure how I reacted." He stared back at Gavin. "To tell you the truth, though, it got me thinking. I don't really hate them. I just hate what being one of them meant for me, what I had to go through."

And now for the first time, there was someone here who might be able to understand him in full.

"What do you plan to do then?" Gavin asked as he finished the mocha and added cream to the top. He slid the completed drink over to Lindar, who picked it up and took a long swig.

The clockmaker's frown deepened. "I'm taking Nestor's advice and staying out of the kid's way, so he has better memories of this place than I did." It was the least he could do.

Gavin frowned in return not too sure he approved of his friend's decision all the way. "Sounds sensible I guess, but you don't have to keep avoiding him. From what Ellie, Carmen, and Amanda told us, he sounds like a nice kid."

"I know; that's why he's best off as far away from me as possible." Lindar may not act like it but he knew very well his own propensity for hurtful comments, let alone passive aggressive slights. Nice folks shouldn't have to deal with stuff like that. "Besides, I need to visit Nevin after this anyway to see how far he's come on some clocks I lent for painting, and we all know how much he loves going on about his 'artistic palettes' and junk like that."

Besides, it would be the perfect excuse to avoid running into their little visitor. Nestor did say in the debriefing that Nevin's castle would not be one of the stops for a while. Hopefully, haggling with the artist on customers' color choices would not take too long.

Gavin nodded. "Alright. Just in case you do run into the kid, be on your best behavior."

Lindar smirked and blew a half-hearted raspberry. "Aren't I always?"

The barista merely arched a brow, skeptic. Sometimes he wondered how Lindar and Spyro weren't related by blood.

"By the way."

"Hmm?" To Gavin's surprise, Lindar slid the cookies his way. "Could you do a favor for me?"

XXX

Nestor and Nico could only gape in awe and confusion at the kitchen covered floor to ceiling in batter. Upon closer inspection, the former noticed a strange dragon-shaped lump in the middle of the floor. A Spyro-sized lump. Expression concerned, Nestor hurried over to the lump in record time, kneeled down, and swiped a thumb across one end to reveal the face of a dazed young purple dragon.

"Spyro? Spyro, are you alright?"

Slowly but surely, the purple dragon managed to regain consciousness as he lifted his head while Sparx burst from the goo in between his horns, eyes woozy and body swaying. "Oh hey, Nestor. How's the cake?"

The green dragon blinked. "Do you mean in appearance or taste because the former could use a bit more practice. As for the latter," he traced up some goo with his index finger and sampled it, "quite a tragedy it couldn't be enjoyed in a more...manageable product."

Spyro groaned as he shakily got back on his feet. "Yeah, I have no idea how I managed this one."

A grunt sounded from Nico's left, directing everyone's attention to an even larger lump peeling off from the wall and wiping its face to reveal itself as Devlin. "In all honesty my boy, neither do I, and I was watching you the entire time."

Spyro sagged in defeat while Sparx and Nestor looked to him in sympathy, the elder dragon putting a hand on the youth's shoulder about to offer words of comfort. That was until Spyro noticed the slightly older dragon beside Devlin and perked right up, disaster fail forgotten in an instant. "Oh hey, you're that Nico guy, right?

The orange dragon gave an absent nod, still recovering from the fact that someone so small caused this much havoc.

"Nice to meet ya! Name's Spyro! This little guy here's Sparx!" He gestured his head to the dragonfly next to him, who waved back at Nico happily. "And this," he winced at the sight of the room, "was supposed ta be your 'Welcome to Our Neighborhood' cake."

Nico started in surprise. "Oh. You didn't have to go that far. I could have just bought a few pastries from here." He had plenty of Gems after all.

Devlin shook his head. "Nonsense, my boy! You're very bit an Artisan as the rest of us – and even if you weren't, you are our guest here!"

"Still, couldn't I help clean up here?" He wilted at the looks of confusion on everyone else's faces. "Just a little?"

"Are you sure?" Devlin inquired.

"Yeah," Spyro added, "I'm the one who made this mess! You don't gotta do that."

"Well no, but it'd feel wrong to just leave knowing this happened because you were going out of your way for me."

Nestor hummed contemplatively. He was starting to see a pattern with this kid. "How about this? You and I will dedicate fifteen minutes to helping the others clean. Once we reach the mark, though, we must continue on. No negotiations."

For a moment, Nico seemed as though he might (gently) insist on seeing this mess to the end. However, his respect for authority won out and manifested in a meek nod and 'yes sir'. While not rebellious behavior per say, Nestor noted throughout the cleanup how the young adult would attempt to do more than his fair share of the work only to be either shooed away by Devlin or (more often) wind up in some weird passive-aggressive stalemates with Spyro that pit a dogged need to help against dogged independence.

"For the last time dude, I can handle this!"

"I just think you'll be done faster if I pitch in a little."

"I'm only taking so long cuz you keep asking me!"

"Well it might not take so long if you just let me help."

In truth, Nestor did not expect such a pushy side from someone so docile. Thank goodness the carpenter and Devlin took care to break these arguments up fast for the sake of time. Indeed, the fifteen-minute mark arrived in a seeming blink, and the Artisan leader called out as he wiped his hands on a clean rag.

"Alright, that ought to lessen the burden for you and the others, Spyro. I trust you all can handle the rest on your own?"

"No sweat!"

Giving the purple drake a nod, Nestor turned to Nico. "In that case, it's time to go."

Again, that heavy reluctance flashed in the boy's eyes, but obedience came easily regardless. Something Sofia warned Nestor about came back in memory, but the Artisan leader decided against voicing it. He didn't wish for the boy to feel criticized.

As a solution, he opted a detour to Stone Hill, more precisely Gavin's café.

Sure enough, the barista greeted the pair with a customer-ready grin before finishing his current order. After sliding a steaming cup of black coffee down the bar to Argus, Gavin turned to the nearing dragon pair.

"Aw, Nestor! So this here's that Sofia lady's boy, eh? Name's Gavin! Take a seat, see what tickles your fancy!" The tattooed dragon gestured a hand up at the fancy wooden menu hanging on the wall behind him as Nestor and Nico each took a seat at the counter. "Normally the alcohol's off-limits to minors, but I take it you just reached legal age recently, am I right?"

Nico blinked in both surprise and slight nervousness, but Gavin raised a hand before the younger dragon could ask him how he knew.

"Just kidding. Ellie told me you're not the biggest fan of drinking. No worries, we've got plenty other options. Just you name it!"

Checking first with Nestor only to receive an encouraging nod, Nico looked back at Gavin and folded his hands together. "Do you serve peach smoothies by any chance, sir?"

"You're just in luck! I just got a shipment of assorted fruits in just the other day!" He turned to his leader next. "Nestor, what about you?"

"I'll be content with a mere cup of Flat White."

Gavin snapped a finger-gun. "Be right back then!"

Once the barista left, Nestor turned to Nico to ask if he was enjoying himself, only to see the boy reading through his fireworks book with rapt attention. Deciding better, Nestor smiled and let the boy be for now, not wanting him to feel smothered. Instead, he took up word with Argus to pass the time.

Gavin came back a while later with both dragons' drinks...and a pack of peanut butter cookies? Nico and Nestor both blinked in surprise – pleasant surprise but still – when the barista offered this to the former.

"On the house, kid," Gavin answered with a wink before the young man could ask any questions.

After giving the older dragon a somewhat baffled thanks, Nico took an absentminded sip of his icy drink as he continued reading, taking bites of the cookies in between each read. The doorbell rang at someone else's entrance but neither Nico nor Nestor paid it any mind until a familiar rumbling voice spoke up.

"Hey kiddo."

Realizing he was the one being addressed by the newcomer, Nico turned to face them with a polite smile that fell into a taken back frown. Nestor looked over his shoulder as well and gasped, though more in surprise than alarm.

"Delbin, what are you doing here?"

The large red dragon shuffled his feet in place. "I, um, I figured it was high time I stopped stalling and saw my nephew." Speaking of whom, he noticed the boy's expression. "Ah, sorry. I guess I did spring myself on ya out of nowhere. Sorry about that."

Nico's face softened as the Eco-Artisan regarded the other red dragon with a head tilt. "Was...Was your sister's name Angela?"

For a cold second, Nestor sees the flash of pain shoot across Delbin's eyes. However, the buff artist hid the pain well with a friendly smile and nod. At first, the related reptiles shared a look of bashful uncertainty before Delbin extended a hand.

"It's good to meet you."

Nico stared at the hand as if deliberating before taking it with a firm shake with some hesitation before taking back his own. Again silence settled in, but Nestor proved quick to step in before repeated awkwardness could occur. "Delbin, would you like to take a seat?"

"Hmm? Oh, I don't want to put you guys out, Nestor!"

"Please?" Both elder dragons looked in surprise at Nico, who blushed at both the attention and his own blurting. "U-Um...if you're alright with that...sir."

Despite his initial surprise, Delbin chuckled. "We're family, aren't we? No 'sirs' necessary here. Just call me Uncle...if you want, of course!"

Nico opened his mouth as if to answer, only to second-guess and smile back instead, the sight of which Delbin considered a success. The painter cocked his head sideways at the article in the boy's hands.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Oh! This is just a book on fireworks I borrowed from the library. It's the closest I could find to my field of interest."

Delbin took a seat next to Nico, opposite of Nestor. "Is that so? Planning on getting into special effects?"

Nico nervously tapped his fingers against the book spine. "A certain kind of art, actually. It might be a bit hard to explain."

His uncle (wow that term would take some getting used to) shrugged one broad shoulder as if to say, 'try me'.

While the two red reptiles talked amongst Delbin ordering his own drink, Nestor watched the scene in between sips of his coffee with a smile. From what the Artisan leader gathered from today, this boy had proven the polar opposite of Spyro. One would think such a personality would be a welcome reprieve from the purple dragon and his chaotic eagerness; Nestor was only halfway sure in that regard. In fact, he was starting to see where Spyro might have been onto something.

Nicolas could use some of the smaller dragon's confidence for one. Nestor caught Nicolas several times in the middle of a mental stall, the boy not so much struggling to decide as much as garnering the will to make that decision known. Second, Nico had this eagerness to please others that Spyro – no, Spyro had that too but it was more like how while Spyro did so to prove himself Nico did so to avoid upsetting the status quo.

Still, Spyro could stand to learn something about self-restraint and caution from this young man as well. For all his hesitation and people-pleasing, Nico knew well when to stand down.

Perhaps it would do to arrange some time for the boys to get to know each other better. Without the task of a giant mess as pretense that is.

Best leave that idea on the backburner for the moment. Delbin and Nico seemed to be getting along well anyway, so Nestor saw no need to interrupt. Once everyone finished their drinks, Nestor suggested the next stop be Nevin's castle since Nico showed a keen interest when Delbin mentioned his occupation as an artist.

Turns out the two red dragons were still so locked in conversation that Delbin wound up tagging along for the time being – and almost immediately after turning a corner right before the entrance to Nevin's castle, Nico forgot to watch where he was going and bumped into the chest of someone headed out.

"O-Oh! Sorry about that sir!" Nico blurted to the somewhat taller light-blue dragon before him.

"Eh, don't sweat it, kid," the other dragon stated as he brushed himself off. "Trust me, we've got enough tykes around here that stuff like this is practically clockwork."

Right then, Nico noticed the absurd number of clocks on the older dragon's person. His eyes lit up in realization once he got the joke and struggled to contain a mirthful snort.

Lindar puffed his chest in approval in turn. Just the response a pun of that caliber deserved. Once his eyes got a better look at the boy, though, they narrowed as they took in the boy's blocky features interspersed with trademark signs of Artisan heritage...and something else.

Faint realization reflected on his face.

"Never seen you around these parts," he commented in an even tone, "What's yer name?"

"My full name is Nicolas, but most folks just call me Nico."

Not as pretentious as he expected. The clockmaker tilted his goggles higher up. "Lindar." Just then he noticed the surprise on Delbin and stern tenseness on Nestor and rolled his eyes. "Hey there. Good to meet you, too. Care to show me around the neighborhood?"

"Nice to see you out and about as well, Lindar," Nestor responded in a droll tone, arms crossed. At least the clockmaker seemed to be his usual self. "I'd been under the assumption you would be home all day preoccupied with orders as well as your own projects."

Lindar waved a dismissive hand. "Orders crafted, artist's block on projects. This batch of requests came from some pretty hoity-toity clients so I figured having Nevin be the painter would make the perfect match. I just wanted to check and see how far he got since today's been so slow. Now if you gentlemen will excuse me, there's an afternoon nap back home with my name on it."

Yet before he could get far—

"Thank you."

Lindar paused and glanced over his shoulder. At the look of flat confusion on the elder's face, Nico cleared his throat. "For the cookies."

No answer came at first. The muscles in Lindar's back tensed for a hot second yet his voice released in a deceptive coolness. "Kid, not to burst your bubble but Gavin gives out sh – stuff like that to every visitor. That's part of his deal with Delvin."

Alas, that excuse fell short at Nestor's knowing smirk.

"And how would you think he'd know who Delvin is?" When Lindar blushed and stalked off almost immediately afterward, muttering to himself, the carpenter shook his head in amusement. Out of his peripheral, he noticed Nico had a contemplative gaze trained on the retreating horologist. "Don't take his behavior to heart. Lindar isn't the type to show his emotions freely."

Based off of this lone encounter, Nico could imagine. However, as he and Nestor and Delbin continued on their way, he stole one last glimpse at Lindar's retreating form. The young Eco-Artisan noticed the same 'something else' Lindar had.

He's like me.

For reference pictures of my OCs:

Artisans - ~professorrat/submissions/1927291/artisan-residents-ocs

Peace Keepers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927292/peace-keeper-residents-ocs

Magic Crafters - ~professorrat/submissions/1927294/magic-crafter-residents-ocs

Beast Makers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927295/beast-maker-residents-ocs

Dream Weavers - ~professorrat/submissions/1927289/dream-weaver-residents-ocs

Ecologists - ~professorrat/submissions/1944688/ecologist-residents-ocs