Stillwater leaves and as the door closes behind him the baby phoenix wakes up. It looks around nervously at first, but it looks at me and then relaxes. Nala comes over to give the baby a sniff and gets a face full of flames.

Luckily, Nala is not hurt by the flames, but anyone else would have been. I lift the phoenix up until I can look it in the eye and then try to communicate with it. At least I need to convey to it that it is safe and doesn't need to be scared.

The problem is that I don't speak bird, all I can do is try to convey feelings directly. I do this by attaching the feelings to a tiny amount of mana and sending it over. It seems to work, the baby calms down and starts looking around curiously.

Of course, I can instantly recognize curiosity, so I walk around the room carrying the baby. I let it get a good look around and then slowly introduce it to Albion, Nala, and Lin. After it is comfortable with them I put it down and let it waddle around on its own.

Lin says "Aren't you worried it will set the room on fire?"

"Not really. The ship is enchanted with protection against fire and I can put out a fire pretty quick if one starts. Besides, the baby should only shoot out flames if it gets scared."

Lin says "Aren't people likely to come rushing in once they hear you are back?"

"Oh, yeah! That's probably true! Why didn't I think of that?"

Lin says "I don't know, but you should probably do something about it."

Before I can think of what to do the door opens, but luckily the one who enters does so calmly. It is Silverleaf who enters and while the baby runs over to me, it doesn't shoot off any flames. It helps that both Nala and Albion rush over to greet Silverleaf, who starts petting them.

The baby is really skittish, but it is understandable considering its life so far. Given a few days here, it should calm down as it gets used to the surroundings. For now I just let it hide behind my leg and watch Silverleaf interact with Albion and Nala.

"Hi, Silverleaf. Please keep your movements slow, this little one is a bit nervous right now."

Silverleaf says "Ash, it's so good to have you back! Does this little one have a name yet? Its cute!"

"No, I haven't named it yet. It will barbeque you if you startle it, so be careful!"

Luckily, Silverleaf is smart enough to listen to me and kneels down a few steps away. Once she stops moving the baby phoenix slowly comes out and approaches her. After a minute it relaxes and moves closer so that Silverleaf is able to pet it.

Silverleaf says "It's adorable! What do you plan to do with it?"

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"Well, unless it chooses to leave, I will probably adopt it. I also have a drake egg that I plan to help hatch. If I do it soon then they two of them can grow up together."

Silverleaf says "A drake egg? Can I see it?"

"Sure. By the way, this is Lin. She is my student."

Silverleaf was mistreated and abused by humans, but she is polite as she greets Lin. I wasn't too worried about her reaction, but it probably be different if it was a man. Silverleaf has shown herself to be strong yet calm since I met her, but you never know what's under the surface.

Out of everyone, other than Stillwater, she is the one I wanted to meet Lin first. As long as she has a good impression of Lin, it will go a long way in keeping problems from happening. Especially since she is good at getting her sister Silverstream to remain calm.

Now the only one I am really worried about is Brightfire, she is way too impulsive. However, if the three of them and Stillwater accept Lin, the rest of the elves should behave. Or at least that is what I am hoping, I will just have to wait and see how it goes.

"Oh, Silverleaf, that reminds me, thank you for taking care of Albion and Nala for me!"

Silverleaf says "It was my pleasure! We got along really well. Although not as well as Brightfire is getting along with Keeble and Neesha!"

"Oh? To be honest I had forgotten about those two!"

Silverleaf says "You better not say that to Neesha, she will be crushed!"

Lin says "Who are Keeble and Neesha? Why would Neesha be crushed?"

"Keeble and Neesha are brother and sister, they are beasts who can take human form. Neesha has a slight crush on me."

Silverleaf says "A slight crush?! Are you really that blind? Or are you just stupid?"

"Um..."

Lin says "I take it this Neesha has a large crush on him?"

Silverleaf says "Huge! Ash is practically all she ever talks about."

"Wait. Don't tell me she is the one behind that stupid list?!"

Silverleaf says "Oh, you already heard about that? So, who are you going to choose? Please don't pick my sister!"

"I am not going to choose anyone! Wait, Silverstream put her name on the list?!"

Silverleaf says "Yes, she did. So did I and so did Brightfire."

Lin says "Well, master, you certainly seem to be popular! No wonder you turned me down!"

"This has nothing to do with that. Brightfire is no surprise, but you and your sister are truly shocking!"

Silverleaf yells "You truly are blind!" and rushes out of the room.

Lin says "That was not a wise thing to say, master."

"I know, but I was too shocked to think straight. I really never imagined that she thought of me that way."

Lin says "She was right, you really are blind."

"It would seem so. Now what do I do?"

Lin says "Wait until she cools off and then apologize."

"Apologize for what?"

Lin says "For being a blind idiot. Unless you actually want her, in that case you should chase her down right now."

"No, I will wait till she cools off."

Lin says "If you aren't interested in her, who are you interested in?"

"No one. I can't afford to get entangled with anyone. There is too much depending on me."

Lin says "What if there are no entanglements? What if it is for pure fun?"

"It still isn't possible. I am too strong, I will break anyone I am with."

Lin says "Then have your fun while shapeshifted."

"My stats don't change when I shapeshift, only my appearance."

Lin says "Have you tried?"

"Well, no, I guess I haven't."

Lin says "It seems to me that you are just hiding behind a bunch of excuses."

"It seems to me that you should be practicing your meditation!"

Lin laughs, but she obediently sits down in a corner and starts meditating. She obviously won that round, but I couldn't really argue with her since she is right. It does not bode well for the immediate future that she can already read me so well.

Especially since I have absolutely no idea what she is thinking, or planning. To avoid thinking about it I take out some metal and shape it into a huge bowl. Then I fill it with coal and light it on fire, this immediately attracts the baby phoenix.