She loved the people and the food of Ok'Gundu. She tolerated the cold. She learned to clean skyfish and ride sanuwa without falling off. She sang their songs and danced their dances, and even taught them some of her own. (The reels were a particular favorite.)
But they still laughed at her, not unkindly, when she refused to sit on the edge of the island with her legs dangling the way the younger hatchlings did.
"Blessed by the winds you are, netherling." Snorting, Linu Vali gestured to Garuda-Egi hovering nearby. "You have such little faith in your creations?"
She raised an eyebrow. "And would you jump off a sanuwa mid-flight, then?"
"Oh, now this is a story I've got to hear..."