Written for the 31days comm on lj. August 06, 2005. To the lords and ladies of Byzantium.

Yuuko writes a letter.

Greetings to my stupid four-eyed cousin,

I'm writing to protest (protest!) at the idea that 'butterfly wings are insensible and impractical'. Do you know how 'insensible' and 'impractical' having feathers can be? They require extra care! Molting and shedding and all sorts of nasty things. I don't know how Yue or Cerberus ever put up with it. Surely you remember their creation and how you ended up growing feathers in Wrong Places until we could figure out a counterspell. I remember a particularly fine summer evening. We were talking about how the last apocalypse ended in a shower of golden mosaic and holy fire. Yue and Cerberus interrupted us, shedding fur and feathers and emotions, demanding to know why you gave them such inexcusably soft wings. I said (with what I thought was admirable restraint on my part) that you should've taken my original suggestion. You replied: I will not burden my creations with those insensible, impractical things. With these feathers, these guardians will soar heights and find new meaning in godspeed. With gossamer-thin wings, they will be easily broken. As they are now, they are majestic and divine.

I was unable to respond, shaken with my impractical and insensible fury. I felt as if you had accused me of trying to imprint my wishes and designs upon your creations because I was incapable (incapable!) of creating or understanding something as majestic or divine as your creations. But now, a lifetime later, I am able to tell you this: to be practical is to limit your imagination. To be scientific and logical is to fill your mind with the toxicity of age. At eleven, you are fortunate enough to build new monuments of unageing intellect.

- Yuuko

P.S. You still owe me for the time I gave you that spell to stop them from shedding so many damned feathers. It's been a while, so the interest has been adding up.
P.P.S. The plans you have for Spinel Sun look quite good though I had to modify some of the equations and his design a bit. He really is quite cute now. If he ever decides to leave you, can I have him?