“Yet,” added Ayshen from the doorway, “there’s plenty of time to dig it deeper at this spot.”
Nightwind threw up her hands in exasperation, as all three males, Darian, Kel, and Snowfire, now went to the edge to look down at the sparkling waters of the spring-fed lake with speculation.
“I don’t think so,” Darian finally said. “You’d have to dive out too far. Nightwind is right, there’s too much stuff you could hit on the way down.”
“That, too, could be changed in time,” Ayshen said agreeably. “But we do have many other tasks that will take precedence.”
“Far too many tasks,” Snowfire confirmed, with a sigh. “And by the time we have the resources, I’ll probably be telling my offspring why they shouldn’t dive off from here. Nightwind will never forgive me if I remove the obstacles in their path.”
“You can count on it,” his mate said darkly, a hint that a laugh would be out of place at this moment, so Darian choked it down.
Instead, when everyone but Kel went back inside, he followed. Kel took up his place on his ledge again, stretching out in the sun with a huge sigh of contentment.
Inside, the walls had been whitewashed just as the walls of Darian’s home had been, and for the same reason, to make the rooms brighter. The windows were larger than Darian had expected, but instead of glass, had that odd transparent substance, tougher by far than glass, that served as windows in tree-ekele. It occurred to Darian that his skylights must be made of the same substance, in case of a hailstorm.
The furnishings were similar to his own, though there were more pieces of furniture and fewer piles of cushions. Someone had managed to carve a fireplace out of the rock, though Snowfire was perfectly capable of warming the whole home with magic if he had to.
“The bedroom is as dark as a pit,” Snowfire said, as Darian glanced at a further doorway. “Not that this is bad, mind you. I’ll just have to get used to it. I do admire the bathing room, though, Ayshen, and I do not want to think of the amount of work it took to get piped water up here.”
“The water comes down, from a cistern of rainwater, until you exhaust it. Then the amount of work will come from your muscles on the pump, my friend,” Ayshen grinned. “No free-flowing water without a full Heart-stone, you know.”
“It’s worth it, and by the time I’m too old to pump water, we’ll either have a full Heartstone or I’ll be able to delegate the task to the children.” He laughed. “I also appreciate the thick walls of solid stone between the master bedroom and the others. That is one advantage one does not have in an ekele, being able to shut out the shrieks of sibling rivalry or playtime!”
Darian grinned. Well, it looked like Snowfire really was settling down, if he was making plans and statements that included future children!
“Why do you think the cliff houses at White Gryphon are such desirable property?” Nightwind responded. “Ayshen, is the rock at the back sound enough to continue to cut new rooms?”
“Quite sound,” Ayshen replied. “You’ll be able to get a nursery and at least three bedrooms back there before you run into flawed material.”
“Hmm.” Nightwind’s eyes lit up, and Snowfire looked positively gleeful. Darian blushed a little, decided that he’d seen enough, and went back outside.
“Come overrr and ssssee my lair!” Kel called from the ledge. There was a narrow walkway connecting the balcony to the ledge, about as wide as the stair had been, but Kel clearly preferred to leap from one to the other, showing off his agility.
Well, a slip doesn’t have the same consequences for a creature with wings.
Darian practiced discretion, and used the walk as Kel rose to his feet. Darian was a bit surprised to see that Kel’s lair had a door and windows very like Snowfire’s.
For some reason, he had gotten the impression that a gryphon would live in something very like a cave. When Kel opened the door to the eyrie, using a latch made for a gryphon’s talons, he was soon disabused of that notion.
This place was only a single room. “Forrr now I need only thissss rrroom,” Kel said. “When I find the apprrro-prrriate mate, I will enlarrrge my eyrrrie with a nurrrssse-rrry asss well.” There was no furniture, only enormous cushions covered in furs, leathers, or extremely tough and colorful fabrics. There was also no fireplace, and it was quite clear that the place would be illuminated by mage-lights, not lanterns,
“Why mage-lights?” Darian asked. “I thought we were keeping magic use to a minimum.”
“Grrryphon feathersss are flammable,” Kel pointed out, “Ssso I will get to make ussse of magic to heat and light my lairrr. Kyrrree, having no handsss, will have theirrr firrresss tended by herrrtasssi, but the rrrisssk to a grrryphon isss too grrreat to have an open flame about.”
“This could be very cozy,” Darian observed, trying out one of the cushions, and finding it yielded just enough to make it a good seat. “The view from here during a storm should be fantastic!”
“I expect ssso,” Kel agreed with contentment. “It isss-ssso at White Grrryphon. I have enjoyed many sssshowsss of lightning frrrom the balcony therrre.”
Darian resolved to get up here some time when a storm was due; if there was one thing he loved, it was storm watching. Ayshen entered at just that moment, having left the happy couple to arrange their own belongings in peace, and Darian lost no time in telling him what a wonderful job he had done in designing the cliff home and the eyrie. Ayshen couldn’t blush, but he enjoyed the praise, switching his stubby tail a little and stretching his mouth in a grin.
“Well, I do not design costumes, nor artwork, nor furnishings,” he said modestly. “My talent is only equal to partitioning space, as it were.”
Kel snorted. “Parrrtitioning ssspace, indeed! Well, I have told you alrrready that you arrre a geniusss, and I ssshall not botherrr with anotherrr attempt.” He turned to Darian. “You ssshould sssee what thisss fellow callsss ‘parrrtitioning sssspace’! He had no chance to ssshow hisss talent in k’Vala, but he isss the chief desssignerrr herrre.”
“Did you design my place, too?” Darian asked, seeing a similarity in the proportions of his home and Snowfire’s. “It’s wonderful, perfect! I couldn’t have anything better! How did you know what to do?”
“I did design it,” Ayshen confirmed. “And, I admit, it was with you in mind. I am glad you like it, I tried to remember what it was that you liked and disliked about various ekele in k’Vala.”
“I’m just curious about one thing,” Darian continued. “How is it made? It’s not rock, but - ”
Ayshen laughed. “You may not believe it, but I will show you later. Willow withes and earth, little brother! Willow withes and earth! It is the easiest way to build that I know of; it holds in cool or heat, and is altogether an ideal way to make a shelter, so long as you seal the walls well.”
“Earth?” Darian did find it hard to believe. “But wouldn’t it just turn to mud in the first rain?”