Vayu just sighed deeply, grabbing his head with both hands in a gesture of complete exasperation. "Ugh, fine. Fine! I'll tell you what I know. But I don't know much about this—I'm not some ancient repository of all knowledge. After meeting you the first time, I did some research, gathered some information. That's it. Don't expect me to have all the answers."
Vayu moved to a shelf and pulled down several more books and scrolls, some looking even older than the first one he'd shown them.
"When you didn't transform," he began, settling back down with the materials, "when you showed no beast scent, when you carried that strange weapon—" He gestured to Kaya's gun. "—I knew you were something different. So I started digging through old records, asking questions of the older snakes in other territories, trading information with scholars from other tribes."
He spread out a scroll on the floor between them. It showed a timeline marked with various symbols and annotations.
