Bark Village - The Library

"There are actually two libraries in Bark Village," Mom said as she climbed the tree with Maizy in her pouch. "We're going to the main branch, which is near the top of the tree, right across from the Kad Post Office."

"It's a long climb, so we're going to take a shortcut," Mom stated as she moved out from the trunk and onto a particularly thick—and perfectly flat—branch. "You're going to love this."

Maizy looked around and could see dozens of kads going about their day. Most were wearing ponchos or cloaks, but one kad in particular stood out among the crowd: A tall female was sitting up in front of them, wearing what looked like a very fancy, emerald green cloak with a yellow hood. It had an official-looking seal of some kind on the back.

She turned around as Mom approached. "Good morning, Proscribrarian."

There's that word again! Mom's a 'Proscribrarian' but what does it mean?

"Good morning, Postmaster," Mom replied. "What brings you down here?" Mom stated in a surprisingly skeptical tone.

"Oh, no reason," the Postmaster said as the corner of her mouth moved upwards in half a smile. "Oh, is this the new two-tailed kaydee I heard about? She's so cute." Despite her words, the Postmaster's voice sounded dry, and strangely serious. The voice of someone who never laughs.

Maizy swore she could feel Mom's eyes roll at that statement when she replied, "Yes. She has two tails. Probably two gifts, too!" Mom then motioned with her hands as if inviting the Postmaster to take a closer look.

Maizy prepared to bite. Somehow it seemed appropriate this time. But the Postmaster just crossed her arms and stated, "Nice try, Proscribrarian. I must admit, I am fighting my desire to pet her very hard right now. She really is that cute. Wow. Congratulations." The Postmaster then bit her lip and looked away.

Mom decided that was enough interaction with the Postmaster and stated simply, "Well, we're off to the library! See you around.  Thank you for your service." She said the last part like a playful insult, and Maizy thought she could see the Postmaster roll her eyes.

Just as Mom began to move past the Postmaster, a voice from above shouted, "THERE YOU ARE!" and a kad wearing a similar emerald green cloak glided down.

As they moved away, Maizy could hear the Postmaster grumbling something about, "I can't even have five moments to myself."

Haha, I guess she was slacking off.

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Wow, how long is this branch? Maizy wondered as Mom made her way farther and farther away from the trunk.

Mom strolled up to a short line of kads that all appeared to be waiting their turn for something. "Are you ready? Hehe," Mom said, trying to get Maizy excited about what was in store up ahead.

Maizy just looked up at her, then forwards at the line of kads. As they got closer, she saw a kad rapidly rise up into the sky with his limbs splayed—like he was gliding, but straight upwards, as if on an elevator.  WHOAH! she thought, How'd he do that? Wait—Are we going gliding? YES!  Maizy was suddenly very excited.

Maybe there's a huge fan over there?  She wondered.

A few more kads shot up into the sky as they got closer and closer. Then Maizy could see what was sending them upward: A large wooden box with a layer of cork on top, similar to the flooring at the doctor's office. It was quite plain.

Well, that's a bit underwhelming, Maizy thought, it's just... wood.

Just as the last kad in front of them went skyward, Mom spoke. "This is called an 'uppee' device. It sends kads UP!" She said the last word with flourish and motioned for the kad waiting behind them to go ahead of them.

The kad—who was wearing a black tie that Maizy thought was handsome—understood immediately. "Ah! Showing the new kaydee how it works, are we? I'll try to set a good example. Hello, little one! Watch!"

He then walked up and touched the box. "I'm going to send some magic into it," he smiled gently, "then immediately after I'll hop on top! It's that simple." He gave a thumbs up, then followed up, "The more magic you put into it, the more powerful the push!" Then he leaned in towards Maizy with a very serious expression, "And don't let the Postmaster catch you playing with it. Nooo, no!"

He then grinned widely and made an overly dramatic motion like he was pumping enough magic into the box to make it explode. Maizy giggled, "ki ki", which made the well-dressed kad smile much more broadly.

"It activates very shortly after you hop on, so be prepared." He gave Maizy a pretend stern look, then finished with a statement he must've been waiting to say his whole life.

He said, "We call it an up ee because we go UP..." then hopped onto the box, and as he shot upwards, he shouted, "EEEEEEE!"

Maizy wanted to clap. Then suddenly, butterflies. She was nervous and excited at the same time.

"Want to go fast?" Mom asked, and Maizy nodded very excitedly. "Then let's both put our magic into it and see how high we get!"

Mom then stepped up to the box, and both she and Maizy touched it together. "Okay, GO! Push your magic into it!"

Maizy had already started flooding the box with magic the moment she touched it. She couldn't wait! This was real magic!  This was the life she was promised!  This is going to be AWESOME! Maizy thought.

Mom, meanwhile, didn’t think Maizy’s contribution to this little exercise in practical magic would amount to much. She’d played this game with each of her older siblings. Moms did this so often that the kads waiting in line didn’t feel inconvenienced by the mild delay. They were all smiling gently—it was always nice to witness heartwarming moments like this.

"Here. We. GO!" Mom dramatically jumped onto the box, all four limbs ready to spread. Then came the BOOM! And all the kads waiting in line were blown backwards.

"BY THE GODS!" Mom screamed as she rocketed into the sky. She was moving so fast she instinctively pulled in her limbs and tried to orient her head upwards to improve her aerodynamics. She'd never felt such strong air pressure on her body before! She could feel Maizy's head slip down into her pouch from the sheer force of the momentum.

Then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped, and Mom spread her limbs to glide. "Wow! That was somethin'! Are you OK down there?"

Maizy popped her head out of the pouch with her mouth open in amazement.

That. Was. AWESOME!!!  She looked up in wonder at Mom, then nodded.

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"Have a look at Gnotus, Maizy! This is our world!" Mom said, enthusiastically.

As Mom glided way, way above the tree Maizy got a glimpse of just how big it was. It was tall for sure—twice as tall as the trees nearby, but what stood out was just how wide it was. Maizy guessed that it had enough room to house thousands of kads—if they each got a home like the doctor's office.

She could see what looked like over a hundred kads gliding above the tree—presumably launched from uppees. Nearly all of them were wearing cloaks or ponchos in various colors. She counted at least ten wearing the same emerald green poncho as the Postmaster.

They must work for the Post Office, making deliveries.  Maizy decided.

In the distance, Maizy could see what looked like a quaint little village next to something like a great big pasture.  Are those cows?  It was hard to tell from this far away.

The village definitely had people living there because she could see chimneys emitting smoke. It didn't seem like it was cold outside so Maizy assumed they were cooking.  One could be a Blacksmith she thought, definitely low-tech.

Maizy then had a sudden realization, how do I even know what a Blacksmith is? Or 'low-tech'? I just emerged from Mom's pouch yesterday!  Maizy made a note that she must ask Mom about reincarnation and if it's normal to remember such things.

"That's Mirehaven, the kittay village. And on the other side of the lake is Stillhome, where the chessafolk live." Mom stated, without giving a hint as to who those people might be or what they look like. "They're all very nice people."

Maizy thought she could see a human-like creature walking in the village but it was too far to make out any details.

Beyond the village was a lake and it looked like there was another village on the other side of it. Everything else was just forest.  Wait—Is that actually forest? Even from this distance Maizy could see some of the cattle standing at the edge of their pasture and the plants—whatever they are—were only about twice as tall as they were.

Maizy strained her eyes and thought she could see a few normal-sized trees mixed in with the other plants but they were more like weirdly green poles with just a few branches. Like they were covered in vines.

Mom then circled around to face the opposite direction, and gave Maizy a few more details, "On the other side of that mountain—near the top—is where the mountain kads live. They have the same problem as us: Only one tree."

So there really IS only one tree. Why don't they just grow more?

Given this perspective, Maizy could see that their tree was about half way down a great big mountain that looked like it was part of a larger range of mountains. As she peered left and right she could see mountains all around them. Most with snow on top.

This must be something like an oasis in the middle of a mountainous region.

Out of nowhere a huge eagle-like bird suddenly swooped down and under Mom! Suddenly terrified, Maizy pulled her head back into the pouch, thinking this could be the end.

"PROSCRIBRARIAN! What in the name of Frick are you doing up this high? My goodness!" the bird said with more than a hint of concern in his voice.

"Ahahaha! Yes, well, we had a bit of a mishap with the uppee device." Mom laughed, "Nice to see you, Mr Fisher. It's been a while."

Hearing that this bird person? wasn't a threat, Maizy poked her head back out of Mom's pouch to get a better look at him. His head, chest, and tail were white but the rest of his body was a brownish red color with black wings.

"Oh is that what that BOOM was?" He said 'BOOM' very dramatically, "I was just flying over to investigate." He then noticed Maizy, "Oh, hello there!" He then opened his mouth which Maizy assumed was his attempt at a smile. She thought it looked terrifying, yet regal, somehow.

"This must be the two-tailed kaydee I heard about!  Very cute. White fur? Must have mountain kad in your ancestry!"

In the top of her vision Maizy could see Mom's mouth open wide in both shock and amazement at the same time.

Even THE SKIES know‽  Mom thought, it hasn't even been a day!

Maizy then wondered if this—obviously sapient—bird person failed WHAT's tests and that's why they ended up in a body without hands.

If I ever get reincarnated again I need to be a lot more careful what I ask for.  She thought.

"Would you like a quick ride down? I know you kads aren't made for long flights." Mr Fisher asked.

"Oh thank you for offering Mr Fisher, but no, I'll be fine." She said, then with a giggle, "Patch has taken me up this high many times. One day we'll get a keedo named Sky."

Patch? Who's that?  Maizy wondered.  Gah! I have so many questions!

Ignoring whatever Mom was implying with her statement, Mr Fisher asked, "Oh, Patch! Right! How's he doing? I haven't seen him in quite a long time." He seemed genuinely curious.

"Oh he's fine. He comes by when he can but his work at the university takes up nearly all of his time." Mom replied.

"Hmm, yes. That makes sense." Mr Fisher seemed to be thinking about this, "He's the only individual on Gnotus that can open that door."

Whoah! What are they talking about?  Maizy was suddenly very interested in this conversation.  This Patch guy is the only person IN THE WHOLE WORLD that can open some door? At... a university? No, THE university.

Oh! I bet it's a magic university! Maizy thought, excitedly.  I want to go there!  It suddenly became a life goal.

"Well, we're off to the library. Thank you, Mr Fisher." Mom stated, then with a more serious tone, she said, "Really, for everything you and your people do to keep us safe. We'd be extinct by now if it weren't for your efforts."

Mr Fisher then seemed to shift his body a bit as if to make himself look more proud and regal. "No problem, Proscribrarian! If anything were to happen to you kads, all of Gnotus would be lost." He spoke the words in earnest.

Gnotus would be lost without us? My species must be awesome!  Maizy was suddenly much more excited to get to the library.

Mom then decided that was enough sightseeing and turned her body downwards, rapidly picking up speed. Maizy smiled, mentally preparing herself for more zoom zoom.

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Mom swooped down close to a branch in front of the library, turned her body upright to slow herself down, and landed gracefully right outside the entrance. It was a large building—about five times bigger than the doctor's office. Instead of being attached to a branch or the trunk, it was built into the tree itself.

It goes into the tree, like home.  Maizy wondered how it was constructed.

Similar to the ramp leading up to the Doctor's office, the front of the library appeared to be molded or grown into its shape, rather than carved. Instead of wooden planks, the entire surface appeared to be part of the trunk of the tree—including the bark. To the left and right of the entrance were carvings of books—except they weren't "carved" at all. It looked like the tree itself somehow grew book shapes.

Mom walked into the Library and Maizy could see Pathy was there, speaking with someone behind a very fancy wooden counter. When they got a bit closer, Maizy saw that it was a female kad and she looked just like Mom!

"Hey sis," Mom waved from behind Pathy as she continued past the counter, mostly ignoring the two kads standing there.

"BLOOM!" The lady behind the counter shouted at Mom, "Don't you dare walk past me without letting me see Maizy!"

Bloom IS Mom's name! And this lady must be Mom's sister. Maybe her twin sister? Maizy deduced.  I have an aunt! Oh, I hope she spoils me. "Ki. Ki. Kiii." Maizy made a quiet, mischievous laugh.

Mom stopped, then turned to look at her sister, expecting her to still be behind the counter, and was taken by surprise as she was suddenly right there in front of her. Then, without skipping a beat, Maizy's aunt reached down and pulled Maizy right out of Mom's pouch.

Wow, I didn't bite her. Maizy wondered why.  Maybe because she's family? Or because she looks just like Mom?

"Oh, look at you! SOOO CUTE!" She held Maizy up in the air, "And two tails, just like you said, Pathy."

Pathy grimaced, and pretended to look innocent.

Mom seemed to only be mildly upset at this violation of her child and pouch autonomy, "Yes, yes. She has two tails." She stated. Then, before she could follow up, Maizy's aunt said, "And I bet she has two gifts!  Incredible."

"Hello Maizy, I'm your Aunt Blossom! Your mom's much cooler twin sister." She grinned, "You can call me Auntie. I'm the Head Librarian, in charge of all these books." She said, gesturing with her arms in the air

She then put Maizy down on the counter and out of nowhere Path jumped up, next to her. Maizy sat up and waved to Path, as if to say, "long time, no see."

Instead of harassing Maizy to get a good look at her tails—like last time—Path just grinned and stared at her. All three adults then turned to look at the two of them, as if they were genuinely wondering how this situation would unfold.

Path then made some awkward hand gestures at Maizy—slowly, like he was trying to remember each one and execute them correctly. Maizy had yet to learn Kad Sign Language so she had no idea what he was saying. She turned to look at the three adults, watching them for an interpretation but that's not what she got.

"Okay, that was cute." Said Mom, smiling.

"Oh that's nice, hehe." Giggled Pathy.

"THAT WAS THE CUTEST THING I'VE EVER WITNESSED!" Exclaimed Auntie Blossom, as she grabbed her own head with both hands in amazement.

Maizy held her hands up, looking at the adults, as if to say, "what did he say?"

All three adults knew exactly what he said, and what Maizy wanted from them, but they just grinned.

"You'll just have to do a good job learning the signs." Mom said, with a sly grin. "Speaking of which," Mom turned towards her sister, before being interrupted.

"You want books on Kad Sign Language, and books for beginning readers." The Head Librarian stated, then reached under the counter and put a big stack of books down next to Maizy. "I had my apprentice grab them the moment Pathy said she met Maizy."

She then used a shrinking glove on each book to make them pocket-sized and wrapped them up in a ribbon, one by one, finishing each with a neat little bow.

The ribbon must prevent the books from expanding.

Mom then picked them up and put them into a pocket in her poncho.

I love magic!

"Actually, since you're here..." Blossom said, as she looked at Path and Maizy. "Are you two hungry?"

Maizy was actually very hungry—she just puked her guts out at the doctor's, after all—and apparently Path was as well—he nodded.

"We have something of an infestation of sugar snap beetles in one of our storage rooms." She grinned, "Us librarians had our fill and there's still a lot of them! Seriously, I could still hear them skittering around after I closed the door a little while ago."

The Head Librarian then turned to look at the two moms, "What do you think?"

Path jumped up excitedly, and made a pleading face at his mom. Maizy did the same with her mom.

Sugar snap beetles‽ That sounds delicious! Maizy thought.  This is turning out to be the best day, ever!

Pathy just shrugged, "I don't see why not."

With a sly grin, Maizy's mom said, "I'm all for nominative determinism!"

Pathy raised her eyebrows and said, "I have no idea what that means."

The Head Librarian smiled and turned to look at Pathy, "Our last name is 'Debugger'."

Pathy nodded and grinned in understanding, "Oh, haha, I get it."

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The Head Librarian lead the four down a ramp at the back of the library. At the bottom was a very wide, long hallway with a surprisingly high ceiling. There we doors to many rooms, each with labels that Maizy couldn't read.

They stopped in front of a door and Maizy instantly knew what Auntie Blossom was talking about. She could smell... something coming from the door. It smelled good. A strong, instinctual urge took over her thoughts and she jumped at the bottom of the door, trying to smell what was on the other side.

Path seemed to have the same thoughts, except he was much more motivated, clawing at the door and reaching under it, trying to get at whatever was on the other side.

"Aw. Look at them." said Pathy, with a warm smile.

Mom looked at Blossom and asked, "remember when we were kids? We never got to do anything fun like this!"

"I know, right! We'd say we were hungry and Mom would kick us off a branch and yell, 'Hungry? Hunt!'" She replied, saying the last part like she was mocking their mother.

"Keedos and kaydees these days... They have it so easy!" Mom stated with authority and Pathy nodded.

Within millimoments of the door being opened both children launched themselves into the storage room and disappeared around a pile of boxes.

"Eat until you're full and just sit tight. We'll be back in a little bit." Auntie Blossom spoke, then closed the door.

"This will probably be a day they remember forever." Pathy said, as all three adults made their way back up to the main floor.