Though Vell wanted to examine Sonder's things more, or rather, he wanted to play with the sword and staff, he refrained.
He simply watched as she packed them away, one after another.
He paid attention to the puff of dust whirling around Sonder.
"Your pet seems very happy to leave the tower," he said.
"She is not a pet," Sonder said.
"'She' isn't? She seems pretty pet-like."
"Her name is Sireacht. She is a companion, and she chooses to come with me. I do not force her."
"I never meant to imply that. I guess my tongue isn't as silver as it used to be."
Vell turned his attention back to the little creature. He stretched out a hand, allowing her to approach if she wished.
Sireacht did not approach.
Instead, she drifted a little farther away from him.
"Well. She doesn't seem to like me very much."
"She is still getting used to you," Sonder said.
"Perhaps."
He withdrew his hand and watched her float around Sonder instead. There was something rather peculiar about the creature, though Vell could not quite put his finger on it.
"What exactly is she?"
"She is a featherling. She is still in her egg or larval form. I am not entirely sure which term is correct. She has gotten a little bigger recently."
"A featherling?"
Vell looked at Sireacht again.
He seemed to consider this for a moment before his expression changed slightly.
"I know of featherlings. Though, to be honest, I have never known them as little things that float around like a puff of dust."
He watched Sireacht drift behind Sonder, apparently content to keep her distance.
"The ones I know of are rather different. Giant, fearsome beasts. Dragons, more or less, though I suppose that depends on how one defines a dragon. But Sireacht seems quite small."
"She will grow."
"Oh, I don't doubt that."
Vell gave the creature another curious look. It was difficult to imagine the little puff of dust becoming anything particularly fearsome, but he had lived long enough to know that appearances could be misleading.
"Still, you should be careful with her," he said. "If she is anything like the creatures I know, you would be wise to raise her gently."
He paused.
"Very gently."
Sireacht drifted a little closer to Sonder, as though she had understood that she was being discussed.
"I have always treated her gently."
"I'm glad to hear it. I suppose we shall see what becomes of her."
He looked wistfully at the puff of dust.
"Even though she isn't a pet, I sometimes wish I had one."
He fell quiet for a moment, as though something had occurred to him.
"I did have a few, over the years. Or, well, I suppose I tried to. Most of them I couldn't keep. Some were never meant to stay. Others belonged somewhere else, or simply had lives of their own to return to. You can't keep everything that takes a liking to you, no matter how much you might want to."
His gaze drifted back to Sireacht, who was floating close to Sonder.
"The ones I did keep died long ago. That is the trouble with pets, as people call them. They don't live very long. A few decades at most, if you're fortunate."
He said it matter-of-factly, but there was a certain distance in his voice, as though he were looking back at something far away.
"You get used to having them around. Their little habits, the noises they make. And then one day, they're gone, and you find yourself noticing the absences."
He paused, watching Sireacht drift around Sonder's shoulder.
"I haven't had one in a long time."
He watched the little creature for another moment.
"But a featherling is different. If she wishes to stay with you, she could keep you company for a very long time."
His expression softened slightly.
"Provided she wants to, of course. It would be rather unfair to expect her to stay just because you would like her to."
Sireacht drifted around Sonder's shoulder, seemingly unconcerned with the conversation.
Vell smiled faintly.
"Still, it would be nice, wouldn't it? To have someone who might stay for a while."