Chapter Four Hundred and Eighty - Public Comment Period

"Hmm," Amaryllis said as she eyed the still-blank paper. "Okay, these first two are either-or kinds of skills. You likely don't need both. But having one would help you a lot."

I nodded and watched as she wrote down two things at the top of the page. Meditation and (right under that) Mana Regeneration.

"Meditation?" I asked.

"It's a practical skill. Helps you centre your mind, helps you think, regain any spent stamina and mana, and best of all, it requires that you sit down, alone and quiet, for hours at a time."

I poked her in the ribs, which got her to squawk. "Rude, you just want me to sit down and be quiet, don't you?"

She sniffed. "Fine," she said before scratching Meditation off the list. "You might have a point there. Mana Regeneration is just good, however. Having you full mana capability at all times is just such a powerful boon in almost any situation.

Now, other options on the less magical side. Danger Sense is a fantastic anti-assassination skill, and it can just save you from lots of trouble, and Common Sense is a skill that... honestly, scratch that one, to get a skill you need to be able to practice it."

Amaryllis half-turned, giving me the list. "Thank you," I said. "But that's only two skills? I need more than that."

"Then go ask the others," she said with a dismissive shrug. "It's not like you don't have people that wouldn't have advice to give you."

I smiled, then placed the list on the table so it wouldn't get crumpled up as I gave Amaryllis the biggest hug. "Thank you! You're the best friend a bun could ask for, you know?"

Amaryllis huffed an embarrassed huff and refused to meet my eyes. "Yes yes, now go along. I was busy... I can't remember what with, but it was certainly more important than whatever you have in mind."

"Thank you!" I said before darting out of the room. It didn't take long for me to find another friend because Awen was just walking out of her room when I left Amaryllis'. "Awen! I need help!"

Awen blinked and turned my way. "What's wrong?" she asked.

I waved my list in her direction. "I'm looking for general skills to fill out my missing skills. Amaryllis had a few suggestions, but I figured I'd ask all of my friends!"

"Oh," Awen said. She took the list and read over it, which really didn't take long. "Awa, I see. Danger Sense would actually be nice. Hmm, but I guess there are other skills too. Did you ever hear of Time Management?"

"No?" I said as I pushed the list up against the wall and added it under a new Awen subsection. "What's that do?"

"My parents both have it. It's a skill that lets you better manage your time. I'm kind of envious of it, so I wouldn't mind picking it up myself. Uh, for other ideas, maybe Basic Mechanics? It'll help you understand how the Beaver works. Actually, you should ask Uncle about his skills too. His ship flies when it really shouldn't, sometimes."

"Thank you!" I said. I gave her a big hug too, with some extra wiggling thrown in so that the love got in deep. Awen giggled and wished me good luck before I darted out of the room.

The next friend I found was Orange. The ship's cat was licking her semi-transparent paws while lounging on the topmost step, where she was in the optimal spot to have someone trip over her.

"Do you have any skills that you think I should get?" I asked after I explained the situation.

"Mow. Mrow," she said as I nodded and took note.

"Thank you!" I lifted her up and gave her forehead a big smooch. She complained, but I knew that deep down she didn't actually mind at all.

I ran into Calamity next. He was sitting next to the entrance, on a cushioned bench where he could take in the sun. He had his old wooden bow out, but it wasn't strung up, and he was rubbing some sort of oil over the wood. "Hey there, capt'n," he said.

"Hi Calamity," I said. "So, uh, I'm looking for suggestions for useful General skills." I showed him my list. His eyebrows rose at Orange's section, but he nodded along. "Got any suggestions for me?"

"Hmm, I've got a few. Nothing quite that normal though. I always felt like General skills, since you can't get them that high up, should be weird things that'll give you a bit of a boost. So, stuff like Laugh in the Face of Death is nice. Swashbuckling could be handy now that we're on a ship all the time. Oh, and since you might not get it with your main classes, maybe something like Never Miss?"

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"I don't know how to get any of those," I admitted. But they did sound really good, so onto the list they went. "Thanks Calamity. Hugs?"

He said yes to hugs and got one heck of a squeeze before I was off and looking for more friends to ask. I didn't get any new suggestions from the Scallywags, none of the three had much to add, but they did accept their daily ration of hugs.

I found Caprica sitting at the very front of the ship, next to Desiree. The foxgirl was on the deck, sitting cross legged and brushing one tail while Caprica was on a bench behind her, brushing the other tail with an ivory comb. "Hi girls," I said.

"Hello, Broccoli," Caprica said. "What's that paper?"

"Oh! I'm making a list of General skills to pick up. I'm missing a few, but I don't know what to work on."

"Oh? Hmm, may I see?" she asked.

"I also wish to see this list," Desiree said.

They shared it for a moment, and Caprica nodded. "Some of these are sensible. Some… anyway. Might I suggest a defensive skill of some sort? Thick Skin? That one's exceptionally practical, and it works against both mental and physical assaults. I know you don't get injured often, but it can't hurt to be harder to be hurt."

"That's a fantastic idea," I said as I added it to the list.

"Might I make a suggestion of my own?" Desiree asked. I nodded so hard my ears almost flew off my head. "Graceful Under Pressure is a strange skill to obtain, but I could assist you with it, and it's both a physical and mental buff. Caprica's suggestion reminded me of the skill. Otherwise, perhaps something like Etiquette? Tail Maintenance?"

"Hmm, I don't know if my tail needs much maintenance," I said.

"Ah, but what if you make friends with more people who have tails?" Desiree enquired.

I laughed, and added it to the list anyway. Then, of course, hugs happened. I was very envious of how much hugging utility Desiree had with her tails and Caprica with her sylph wings. It was nice to be able to fully wrap someone up while giving them a hug.

The next person I found that I could ask for help from was Booksie. She was sitting on the other end of the ship, legs dangling off the side of the hull without a single care about the height we were at. "Hi Booksie," I said.

"Hello, Broccoli," she replied. "What are you up to?"

I explained, then showed her my list. She looked over it with a smile, then grinned up to me and patted the deck next to her to sit down. "Did you want my own suggestion, then?"

"Yeah!" I said.

"And what about my own?" Rhawrexdee said. He rose up from below the ship. It was impressive how quiet he could be sometimes, for a dragon.

"I'd love your advice too, of course!" I said.

"Well, there are a few racial-only skills for buns, you know?" Booksie said.

I blinked. "I didn't know. Like what? Oh, wait! I have Way of the Mystic Bun, that's got to be a bun skill, right?"

"That's one I haven't heard of. I know of Harebrained, Haredevil, Buns of Steel, Hopping Mad, Bun in the Oven is one that I just picked up with my new class. It'll help me with baking and the like!"

"Oh, nice nice," I said as I jotted it all down. I was pretty sure I'd gotten one of those as a class option once, actually.

"Hmm, my suggestions are Hoarding, Flight, and Draconic Confidence."

"What's that last one do?" I asked.

He eyed me. "It reminds me and others that I am a dragon."

"Oh," I said. Well, that made sense. I jotted it down, then looked at my list.

Amaryllis

- Meditation

- Mana Regeneration

- Danger Sense

- Common Sense

Awen

- Time Management

- Basic Mechanics

Orange

- Sunbathing

- Murder

- Petting

Calamity

- Laugh in the Face of Death

- Swashbuckling

- Never Miss

Caprica

- Thick Skin

Desiree

- Graceful Under Pressure

- Etiquette

- Tail Maintenance

Booksie

- Harebrained

- Haredevil

- Buns of Steel

- Hopping Mad

- Bun in the Oven

Rhawrexdee

- Hoarding

- Flight

- Draconic Confidence

That... looked like a pretty good selection to me!

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